2020 January/February

2020 January/February

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All Issues

A rail construction site sits in the middle of lush, green peatlands.

Feature

China's Belt and Road Initiative Threatens to Pave the Planet

The Chinese government is laying plans for trillions of dollars of new ports, rail lines, and roads across the globe

By Mike Ives

December 16, 2019

Departments

Mary Crowley, wearing bright blue and turquoise, stands by the bay in Sausalito.

Do-Gooder

Untangling the Problem of Ocean Plastic

Mary Crowley captains the search for discarded fishing nets

By David Helvarg

December 27, 2019

Editor’s Desk

How the Environmental Movement Can Go Beyond NIMBY-ism

Dirty and dangerous industries shouldn't be in anyone's backyard

By Jason Mark

December 18, 2019

From the Top

The Sierra Club Has 2020 Vision

Inside the organization's new 10-year blueprint for social change

By Michael Brune

December 19, 2019

Leila Madrone, her hair in two tight buns, stands at a table with a solar device on it.

Faces of Clean Energy

From Girl Who Loved Math to Solar Roboticist

The key to making solar that lasts is to treat it like infrastructure

Adapted from an interview by Heather Smith

December 26, 2019

A girl sitting on a tree stump, looking toward the back of her house and an airplane.

Eyewitness

Wildness Is Everywhere

How Queens taught me there's no wrong kind of nature

By Stephanie Jimenez

December 31, 2019

Bulletin

In California, Gas Is the New Coal

Cities in the Golden State are banning gas hookups in new buildings

By James Steinbauer

December 22, 2019

A hiker watches the sunrise from the porch of the Mt. Pilchuck fire lookout in Washington. The building is a white weathered cabin atop boulders.

Field Trip

On Scaling a Historic Fire Tower in Washington's North Cascades

The allure and romance of remote, one-room mountaintop cabins

By Megan Hill

December 23, 2019

Critic’s Notebook

Toxic True Crime

The drama of Dark Waters doesn’t get any more real-life

By Katie O'Reilly

November 23, 2019

Stress Test

Who You Gonna Call? Algae-Bloom Busters

A sewer plant in Utah is fighting algae with algae

By Emma Penrod

December 24, 2019

A backcountry skier slides uphill in the snow through a heavy mist.

Material World

One Backcountry Skier Reveals Her 11 Essential Items

Ski up ungroomed powder to earn that first summit view in style

By Dina Mishev

December 21, 2019

Fran Silva-Blayney stands in the middle of a river, wearing waders and holding up a water sample.

Changemaker

Fran Silva-Blayney Is Forever Fighting PFAS

This Sierra Club volunteer works to reduce toxic contamination in Colorado

By Wendy Becktold

December 30, 2019

Adapt all your favorite recipes with a little substitution savvy

Taste Test

Easy Vegan Baking Hacks to Shrink Your Sweet Tooth's Footprint

Adapt all your favorite recipes with a little substitution savvy

By Katie O'Reilly

December 20, 2019

A polar bear walks away from the camera in the snow.

Photo

David Yarrow Makes Fine Art out of Wild Nature

A polar bear in Svalbard, Norway, leaves only footprints

December 25, 2019

"After Geoengineering" documents a spectrum of planetary interventions

Books

Is Geoengineering a Solution to Global Warming?

"After Geoengineering" documents a spectrum of planetary interventions

By Jason Mark

December 29, 2019

Isabella Tree champions the biodiversity of ecoysetms in "Wilding"

Books

The Case for Turning Farms Back Into Habitat

Isabella Tree champions the biodiversity of ecosystems in "Wilding"

By AC Shilton

December 29, 2019

Protect

The Destruction Caused by the Border Wall Is Worse Than You Think

Border Patrol agents tear though the Arizona desert

By Adam Federman

October 21, 2019

Ask Ms. Green

How Do I Avoid Single-Use Containers?

Fight back with reusables!

By Jessian Choy

December 21, 2019