Welcome to the Anthropocene
Supposedly we have entered a new geologic epoch: the Age of Man.
What does this mean for our relationship with the natural world?
Essays by David Biello, Raj Patel, Gus Speth, Ginger Strand, and others.
Radiant Wildlands
The radioactive forests near Chernobyl and Fukushima might be the
ultimate Anthropocene environments. By Winifred Bird and Jane Braxton Little
Return of the Wild
Will humans make way for the greatest conservation experiment in centuries?
By Adam Federman
Latest News
Under a Microscope
In Review: The Leafcutter Ants: Civilization by Instinct
There are few spectacles of nature as fascinating as a long line of leafcutter arts marching along a well-beaten trail, each of them carrying a piece of a leaf many times their own size, making a tight and well ordered column of…
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Democratic Governors Raking in Funds from Fossil Fuel Companies
Oil and gas industry campaign contributions a bi-partisan affair
As fracking has made its way through several states, those concerned with its inherent dangers have vehemently voiced their opposition to the practice, but their concerns have fallen on deaf ears. While communities across the country have pleaded for bans and long-term…
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On World Biodiversity Day, Remember the Taxonomists
Species are disappearing before we even know what exactly they are
If you’re a regular reader of Earth Island Journal or other environmental news sites, you probably know that plant and animals species around the globe are going extinct at the fastest rate in human history. According to the International Union for the…
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From Food Security to Food Sovereignty
By asking Who is in control here? the sustainable food movement sets example for broader green movement
It’s an exciting time for the good food movement. Sometimes it can feel as though the efforts to make agriculture more sustainable are the most visible and active component of the broader environmental movement. This shouldn’t be surprising. Our relationship to food…
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US Diplomats’ Campaign GM Foods
Review of Wikileaks cables reveals effort to break down other nations' resistance to GMOs
by Suzanne Goldenberg American diplomats lobbied aggressively overseas to promote genetically modified (GM) food crops such as soy beans, an analysis of official cable traffic revealed on Tuesday. The review of more than 900 diplomatic cables by the campaign group Food and…
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Tim DeChristopher’s Case Reveals Obama Administration’s Selective Prosecution
Film Review: Bidder 70
Bidder 70 is a stand-up-and-cheer documentary about an activist who made waves while sitting down. Shortly before the Bush regime left office W. leased vast swathes of federally-owned pristine acreage to developers for drilling and mining — an exploitation of public property…
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Remember When the IRS Targeted Environmental Organizations?
This isn’t the first time the agency has investigated political groups – just the first time it’s become a full-blown controversy
On Wednesday night President Obama, speaking from the East Room of the White House, called the IRS scrutiny of some 300 conservative groups “inexcusable.” “I will not tolerate this kind of behavior in any agency, but especially in the IRS, given the…
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Voices
- Alex Steffen
- The planetary futurist discusses what it will take to get to what he calls carbon zero.
> Read more - Eco Politics 2.0
- Nathanael Johnson, author of the new book All Natural, explores a new strategy for environmental activism.
> Read more - Hack the Planet?
- Should we begin researching atmospheric geoengineering to counteract global warming?
> Read more - Readers Poll
- What do you think: Should we try geoengineering? Can we risk not to?
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Current Issue
Chemically Altered
Synthetic chemicals permeate the environment to such an extent that they have changed the chemistry of our planet.
A Hitchhiker’s Guide to Planet Earth
Human behavior has altered the biology of the planet.
City Life
Our urban environs have become ecosystems all their own.
Earth Island Updates
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