• slice of an artwork depicting a desert scene, wildlife and livestock drinking from a small pondThe Big Dry
    A 21st Century Water War Erupts in Texas.
    By James William Gibson
  • photo of burned railcars in a heapWarning: Highly Flammable
    Oil trains are crisscrossing North America with volatile cargo, yet many communities
    are unprepared for an accident.
    By Adam Federman
  • photo of people drumming and singing in a forestIt’s a Hardrock Life
    In Wisconsin, a battle over iron ore extraction pits environmentalists and Native Americans against mining companies. By Mary Catherine O’Connor
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Latest News

A Pledge that Promises to Keep Seeds Free For All to Use

In battle against seed patents, plant breeders and advocates find inspiration in open source software

by Zoe Loftus-Farren – July 22, 2014

For years, many of us have kept an eye out for organic and pesticide free vendors at our local farmers markets. Thanks to a new movement hitting the American food scene, we may soon be looking for another important environmental marker: open…
> Read more

EPA Restricts Mine Waste Disposal in Bristol Bay Watershed

A crucial step towards protecting the world’s most prolific salmon fishery

by Bonnie Gestring – July 21, 2014

On Friday, the US Environmental Protection Agency released its long-awaited plan for restricting mine waste disposal in Alaska's Bristol Bay watershed — a crucial step towards protecting the world's most prolific wild salmon fishery and the 14,000 hardworking fishermen who depend on…
> Read more

In Review: Snowpiercer

No, it’s not another climate change dystopia flick. It’s the first geoengineering dystopia flick

by Jason Mark – July 19, 2014

The end of the world won’t be prophesied by the feverish nightmares of the Book of Revelations, but instead by the apocalyptic fantasias of Hollywood. Movie directors just can’t seem to get enough of crafting stylish dystopias. Doomsday is its own genre…
> Read more

Court Bars Paved Serengeti Highway, But Concerns Remain

Tanzania still plans to upgrade existing dirt track to gravel, which could lead to increased traffic through the park

by Dave Blanton – July 18, 2014

Last month, the East African Court of Justice (EACJ) ruled against the Tanzanian government’s plans to build a paved commercial highway across the Serengeti National Park calling the proposal “unlawful.”  This is a victory for sure, but big questions still remain about the…
> Read more

Denton Council Washes Hands of Fracking Ban Proposal, Now Voters Will Decide in November

Texas city’s marathon public hearing reveals citizens’ outrage, exposes oil & gas industry’s bullying and fear-mongering

by Sharon Wilson – July 17, 2014

I spent eight hours in Denton on Tuesday night at a city council hearing to consider a ban on fracking in city limits, and during that time, I saw the oil and gas industry do what they do best. And that’s not…
> Read more

Your Tax Dollars Fund Climate Change Denial

US still spending billions a year on fossil fuel subsidies

by Stephen Kretzmann – July 16, 2014

Climate change scientists and energy forecasters are quite clear that the world has at least three times as many fossil fuels in proven reserves as we can afford to burn and emit into the atmosphere. In 2012, the International Energy Agency warned…
> Read more

Let’s Have a Marshall Plan for Clean Energy in the Caribbean

The vulnerable islands are a perfect laboratory to test out renewable energy solutions to our climate crisis

by Richard Schiffman – July 15, 2014

In June, Lefties Food Stall, a pint sized eatery serving Barbados’s signature flying-fish sandwiches, became the first snack shack on the island to be fitted with a solar panel. The nearby public shower facility sports a panel as well. So does the…
> Read more

more articles

Voices

Senator Sheldon Whitehouse
The Rhode Island Democrat is on a crusade to wake up Americans to the threat of global warming.
> Read more
A Prayer for Earth
The Rev. Canon Sally G. Bingham on how her faith fuels her environmental activism.
> Read more
Shoot to Save?
Humane Society International and Safari Club International debate whether hunting can help conserve wildlife.
> Read more
Readers Poll
What do you think? Is hunting animals a viable conservation strategy?
> Read more

Current Issue

thumbnail of the cover of the Earth Island Journal

Gemstone Mountain

In a remote Cambodian province, children as young as seven risk their lives mining for a shiny blue rock

Microbeads: Don’t Use as Directed

Our columnist, Annie Leonard, warns that plastic microbeads are the newest environmental hazard.

“We Came Back to Struggle”

Indigenous communities in Honduras are fighting against new mining projects.

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