Feature

Life After Wartime

Laotians live and die among 80 million unexploded munitions, many of them as dangerous as the day they dropped from the sky

By Karen J. Coates January 6, 2011

In this story: international environmental justice

A mother paddles her children down the Sepon River in a canoe made from fuel tanks dropped by bombers during the Vietnam War. Laotians have incorporated scrap metal from U.S. bombs into their daily lives, but unexploded ordnance remains one of the country

How the Coal Industry Poisoned Your Tuna Sandwich

U.S. coal-fired power plants pump more than 48 tons of mercury into the air each year

By Dashka Slater November 1, 2011

In this story: food and drink, coal, oceans

Grass Roots

A Great Plains native finds his way home

By Michael Parks November 27, 2010

In this story: travel, adventure, wilderness

Near the Nebraska-Colorado border, an early-summer High Plains mosaic stretches to the sky. | Photo by Michael Forsberg

Higher, Deeper

Snowboarding icon Jeremy Jones climbs his way to the top—and hopes others will follow

By Melissa Larsen November 22, 2010

In this story: adventure, skiing

Jonaven Moore gets a little air (left) after melding his 'skis' into a single plank (right).

Liberty, Equality & Caribou

Celebrating 50 years of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

By Paul Rauber November 7, 2010

In this story: arctic, saving wild places

The coastal plain of the Arctic Refuge is the preferred calving ground of the Porcupine caribou herd, and the preferred drilling ground of the oil industry. | Photo by Florian Schulz/Visions of the Wild

The Latest From the Labs

University researchers around the country are leading us back to the future

By Edward Humes September 28, 2010

In this story: clean energy, technology

Cow manure becomes cost-effective horsepower thanks to engineering technology professor Eric Leonhardt. And his biogas is cheaper than a gallon of milk.

First Steps

In China, on-campus environmentalism is a young but ever-growing movement. And it starts with the students.

By Adam Minter September 28, 2010

Planting Seeds

In New York's urban core, pastoral dreams take root

September 7, 2010

In this story: community garden, gardening, children, education

Community gardens are, by definition, welcoming places.| Photo by Sara Stathas

Lighten Up

Jettison the tent, the candle lantern, and that copy of Moby-Dick. Ultralight through-hiking takes you farther, faster.

By Daniel Duane July 28, 2010

In this story: hiking, adventure, travel

With a light pack and nimble feet, Janine Patitucci goes rock hopping in Evolution Basin on the John Muir Trail.

Homeland Security

When you're poor, the environmental movement doesn't stop at simple things like pollution

By Javier Sierra July 7, 2010

In this story: environmental justice

When you're poor, the environmental movement doesn't stop at simple things like pollution