Returning the 'three sisters' – corn, beans and squash – to Native American farms nourishes people, land and cultures

For centuries Native Americans intercropped corn, beans and squash because the plants thrived together. A new initiative is measuring health and social benefits from reuniting the "three sisters."

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agriculture nutrition native-americans indigenous-peoples food-deserts us-history us-midwest vegetables corn thanksgiving food-sovereignty indian-removal-act reservations

Climate change and forest management have both fueled today's epic Western wildfires

Debating whether climate change or forest management has caused the devastating wildfires in California, Washington and Oregon is a false choice.

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climate-change donald-trump wildfire forests california us-history wildfire-fighting oregon logging forest-management washington-state us-west endangered-species-act timber-industry us-forest-service

American environmentalism's racist roots have shaped global thinking about conservation

US ideas about conservation center on walling off land from use. That approach often means expelling Indigenous and other poor people who may be its most effective caretakers.

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conservation racism us-history indigenous-people national-parks us-environmental-policy wilderness theodore-roosevelt

Trump greenlights drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, but will oil companies show up?

The Trump administration is opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas leasing – a step that's as much about politics as it is about energy.

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National parks – even Mount Rushmore – show that there's more than one kind of patriotism

President Trump is scheduled to appear at an Independence Day celebration at Mount Rushmore on July 3. For some, this event will symbolize love of country. Others will see it very differently.

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5 ways the world is better off dealing with a pandemic now than in 1918

A century ago, the influenza pandemic killed about 50 million people. Today we are battling the coronavirus pandemic. Are we any better off? Two social scientists share five reasons we have to be optimistic.

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influenza covid-19 coronavirus history pandemic vaccines flu quarantine sars-cov-2 1918-flu-pandemic h1n1-influenza us-history swine-flu-pandemic

Can Asia end its uncontrolled consumption of wildlife? Here's how North America did it a century ago

In the 1800s, Americans hunted many wild species near or into extinction. Then in the early 1900s, the US shifted from uncontrolled consumption of wildlife to conservation. Could Asia follow suit?

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Gold rush, mercury legacy: Small-scale mining for gold has produced long-lasting toxic pollution, from 1860s California to modern Peru

Small-scale gold mining operations in developing countries are major sources of toxic mercury pollution, using techniques that haven't changed much since the California Gold Rush 150 years ago.

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amazon air-pollution mercury mining mine-tailings california us-history gold metals peru toxic-waste minamata-convention

The first Earth Day was a shot heard around the world

April 22, 2020 is the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, which catalyzed action to protect the environment not just in the US but internationally.

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conservation earth-day united-nations us-history us-foreign-policy richard-nixon us-diplomacy international-affairs united-nations-environment-programme-unep