Atmos

Climate and Culture

Dark Wanderings: Opening Our Eyes to Nocturnal Life Welcome to The Overview newsletter, a weekly meditation on nature from Editor-in-Chief Willow Defebaugh.

A termite mound in a forest.

A termite mound in a forest.

The Promise of Biomimicry: When Buildings Breathe Like Termite Mounds If we redesigned our buildings to channel nature’s genius, we’d come away with a built environment that honors the Earth.

Science & Nature Climate Solutions

United We Stand: Jonas Lindstroem’s Homage to Togetherness

United We Stand: Jonas Lindstroem’s Homage to Togetherness

United We Stand: Jonas Lindstroem’s Homage to Togetherness We’re more powerful together than we could ever be apart.

Photography Democracy

Gif of California governor, Gavin Newsom, and other images of mountains, ocean, and skylines to represent California.

Gif of California governor, Gavin Newsom, and other images of mountains, ocean, and skylines to represent California.

Newsom Is the Star of COP30—But His Climate Receipts Are Messy The California governor has made great environmental strides in his state. But he’s also cosigned on some major setbacks.

The Understory Democracy

27 Bold Ideas for a Better Future—From the Experts

27 Bold Ideas for a Better Future—From the Experts

27 Bold Ideas for a Better Future—From the Experts Influential voices from across climate and culture answer the question: What’s your one big idea to help us build a better future?

Climate Solutions Changemakers

Volume 12: Pollinate

A collection of bold ideas and imaginative solutions for a thriving future. In an era defined by urgency and possibility, our planet depends on visions for progress that are actionable, daring, and transformative. Because a single idea, like a grain of pollen, can travel great distances—and catalyze new life.

Jonas Lindstroem Pollinate cover.

Daniel Shea cover for Pollinate.

Elizaveta Porodina cover for Pollinate.

Rahim Fortune cover for Pollinate.

Min Hyun-Woo cover for Pollinate.

Lea Colombo cover for Pollinate

Clara Balzary cover for Pollinate.

Zachary Handlet Pollinate cover

Pink flowers grow on several trees.

Pink flowers grow on several trees.

Keeping Record: An Intimate Portrait of Earth’s Most Endangered Rainforests Designed like a contemporary field journal, photographer Stefan Dotter’s Record captures remote rainforest communities.

Photography

A green and black poison dart frog sits on a log.

A green and black poison dart frog sits on a log.

Aposematism and The Beauty of Awareness In Costa Rica’s rainforest, beauty proves both luring and dangerous—nature’s vivid reminder to pay attention.

The Overview Deep Ecology

Bars of gold.

Bars of gold.

The Long Work of Making Gold More Responsible Small-scale miners, designers, and NGOs are reimagining what extraction could look like, but even “ethical” gold carries some weight.

Art & Culture

Solar panels cover China's mountains.

Solar panels cover China's mountains.

While the US Sits Out the World’s Biggest Climate Summit, China Is Stepping Up As the U.S. pulls away, the world’s former climate villain is emerging as a clean energy leader.

The Understory Democracy

Episodic art for The Nature Of episode on Kate Marvel.

Podcast Episode 12

Kate Marvel Will Change How You Feel About Planet Earth

The latest episode of our podcast explores the emotional experience of climate change. Read More

Oryx run across the ORKCA landscape.

Oryx run across the ORKCA landscape.

‘The Land of Thirst’: Inside the Fight to Rewild Southern Namibia Over the last century, southern Namibia has lost 90% of its wildlife. One conservation organization is working to rewild the region.

Science & Nature Climate Solutions

Papayas grow on a tree.

Papayas grow on a tree.

The Climate Crisis Is Displacing Indigenous Peoples First Dr. Jessica Hernandez discusses her new book and how Indigenous knowledge can guide climate action that allows people to return home.

Changemakers

This Former Oil Worker Is Now Exposing Dirty Methane Emissions

This Former Oil Worker Is Now Exposing Dirty Methane Emissions

This Former Oil Worker Is Now Exposing Dirty Methane Emissions After fracking fouled her air and water, Sharon Wilson devoted her life to documenting the emissions fueling the climate crisis.

Climate Solutions Changemakers

The Sagacity of Spiders and the Webs They Weave

The Sagacity of Spiders and the Webs They Weave

The Sagacity of Spiders and the Webs They Weave As much as people fear spiders, they are emissaries of many of nature’s most vital teachings—especially in how they spin their webs.

The Overview Deep Ecology

The BIOME

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Think You Know Red America? Think Again

Think You Know Red America? Think Again

Think You Know Red America? Think Again Pockets of rural activism—and conversations across party lines—challenge assumptions about America’s political divide.

Art & Culture Points of View

The Power Play That Paid Off

The Power Play That Paid Off

The Power Play That Paid Off Candidates who campaigned on lowering electricity costs—not defending fossil fuels—swept Tuesday’s races.

The Understory Democracy

AI-Generated Animals Are Distancing Us From Nature

AI-Generated Animals Are Distancing Us From Nature

AI-Generated Animals Are Distancing Us From Nature Cuddly polar bears and hyperrealistic chimeras may seem harmless on social media, but experts worry AI animal content can be harmful.

Science & Nature

A coffee pitcher and a mug are placed atop a tree stump.

A coffee pitcher and a mug are placed atop a tree stump.

How Climate Cafés Help Activists Cope With Anxiety and Burnout Climate cafés are emerging in coffee shops, apartments and virtual rooms as the emotional toll of the climate crisis becomes hard to ignore.

Climate Solutions

Welcoming the New Season

Autumn reminds us of life’s cycles—of release, renewal, and return.

Early fall leaves

Early fall leaves

A Love Letter to Autumn’s Wild Rose Artist Landon Speers documents the wild rose in a poetic meditation of the beauty and transience of autumn.

Photography Science & Nature

The Changing of the Seasons

The Changing of the Seasons

The Changing of the Seasons They say that the only constant is change—and nowhere is this more evident than in nature where we can witness the changes of the seasons.

Anthropocene Well Being

Rites of Passage

Rites of Passage

Rites of Passage Every autumn, trees show us how beautiful it can be to shed our leaves—and that what we let go of can never really be lost.

The Overview Deep Ecology

Several butterflies gather together in the shape of a tree.

Several butterflies gather together in the shape of a tree.

Saving the Monarch Butterfly Migration Recently, monarch butterflies were listed as endangered, threatening the future of the annual monarch butterfly migration.

Science & Nature

The sun sets along the horizon, behind a shadowed mountain

The sun sets along the horizon, behind a shadowed mountain

Circadian Song: Kinsale Drake on Living by the Sun Kinsale Drake explores how we can honor synchronicity with nature.

Art & Culture Anthropocene

Stay the Winter

Stay the Winter

Stay the Winter This season is often dominated by darkness and a feeling of lifelessness, but it is also a time to reflect, restore, and recharge.

The Overview Deep Ecology

A young woman wears a white costume.

A young woman wears a white costume.

adrienne maree brown and Prentis Hemphill On Restoring Our Rhythm What does it mean to rewild ourselves? In a culture that teaches us to treat our bodies as machines and see them as sources of shame, there

Well Being Identity & Community

Welcoming the New Season

Autumn reminds us of life’s cycles—of release, renewal, and return.

Early fall leaves

Early fall leaves

A Love Letter to Autumn’s Wild Rose Artist Landon Speers documents the wild rose in a poetic meditation of the beauty and transience of autumn.

Photography Science & Nature

The Changing of the Seasons

The Changing of the Seasons

The Changing of the Seasons They say that the only constant is change—and nowhere is this more evident than in nature where we can witness the changes of the seasons.

Anthropocene Well Being

Rites of Passage

Rites of Passage

Rites of Passage Every autumn, trees show us how beautiful it can be to shed our leaves—and that what we let go of can never really be lost.

The Overview Deep Ecology

Several butterflies gather together in the shape of a tree.

Several butterflies gather together in the shape of a tree.

Saving the Monarch Butterfly Migration Recently, monarch butterflies were listed as endangered, threatening the future of the annual monarch butterfly migration.

Science & Nature

The sun sets along the horizon, behind a shadowed mountain

The sun sets along the horizon, behind a shadowed mountain

Circadian Song: Kinsale Drake on Living by the Sun Kinsale Drake explores how we can honor synchronicity with nature.

Art & Culture Anthropocene

Stay the Winter

Stay the Winter

Stay the Winter This season is often dominated by darkness and a feeling of lifelessness, but it is also a time to reflect, restore, and recharge.

The Overview Deep Ecology

A young woman wears a white costume.

A young woman wears a white costume.

adrienne maree brown and Prentis Hemphill On Restoring Our Rhythm What does it mean to rewild ourselves? In a culture that teaches us to treat our bodies as machines and see them as sources of shame, there

Well Being Identity & Community

Inside a Swiss Mountain Retreat Where Artists Rethink Rest and Creation

Inside a Swiss Mountain Retreat Where Artists Rethink Rest and Creation

Inside a Swiss Mountain Retreat Where Artists Rethink Rest and Creation Photographer Yumna Al-Arashi documents a retreat where artists experiment with slowing down as a form of renewal and artistic exchange.

Photography

A group of people lie down in a circle on a green field.

A group of people lie down in a circle on a green field.

Hallowed Ground: Unearthing the Pagan History of Samhain As the veil thins and the dark half of the year begins, we turn to the old ways—honoring land, ancestry, and the Earth's enduring rhythms.

The Overview Deep Ecology

A model wears a black dress.

A model wears a black dress.

Standardized Sizing Could Make Fashion Fairer—and Greener Fair fashion advocates say fixing sizing systems, improving fit, and pricing ethically could make sustainable fashion more inclusive.

Ethical Fashion

A creek flows through a forest.

A creek flows through a forest.

Protecting Ecosystems of the Future Before They Exist Inside the curious movement to safeguard the climate-changed habitats that will follow melting ice.

Science & Nature

A verdant green field leads to a snowy mountain range.

A verdant green field leads to a snowy mountain range.

Alaska Towns Are Sinking. Trump Wants to Increase Drilling Trump’s plan for Alaska ignores the consequences of oil extraction.

The Understory Democracy

A still from the Optimist's Guide to the Planet series.

A still from the Optimist's Guide to the Planet series.

This ‘Game of Thrones’ Star Is Taking His Search for Climate Solutions Global An Optimist’s Guide to the Planet returns for a second season, spotlighting global innovations that prove optimism is a renewable resource.

Art & Culture Climate Solutions

A black cat sits in front of window showing a storm brewing outside.

A black cat sits in front of window showing a storm brewing outside.

101: How to Prep Your Pet for a Disaster Expert advice to protect you and your pets from the next climate disaster.

101 Science & Nature

A hand reaches down toward pool of liquid gold.

A hand reaches down toward pool of liquid gold.

Noble Materials and the Art of Alchemy How can we transform our pain into beauty, practicing the oldest alchemy of all?

The Overview Deep Ecology

Beekeepers observe bees on a sheet of honey.

Beekeepers observe bees on a sheet of honey.

‘Bugonia’ Turns Conspiracy Culture Into a Climate Horror Story In Yorgos Lanthimos’s latest film, paranoia, climate collapse, and corporate power collide in a darkly funny vision of a world coming apart.

Art & Culture

Protestors hold signs at NYC's No Kings protest rally.

Protestors hold signs at NYC's No Kings protest rally.

Climate Protestors Are Pivoting, but Not Backing Down Activists see authoritarianism as a climate issue.

Democracy The Understory

Achol wears Kennedy Mirema design

Achol wears Kennedy Mirema design

The World Sends Its Old Clothes to Africa. These Designers Are Sending a Message Back. Millions of unwanted garments are shipped to African markets every year. A new generation of designers is pushing back.

Ethical Fashion

A person wearing a yellow raincoat stands in front of the ocean.

A person wearing a yellow raincoat stands in front of the ocean.

Why We’re All Dressing For The End of the World The new season of Avery Trufelman’s podcast, Articles of Interest, traces how U.S. military innovations came to define luxury fashion.

Ethical Fashion

The underbelly of a whale swimming through the water.

The underbelly of a whale swimming through the water.

Tonga Could Soon Become the First Country to Recognize Whale Rights Ahead of Tonga’s election, whale and ocean advocates are preparing a bill to grant legal personhood to the island kingdom’s first ancestors.

Science & Nature Identity & Community

For Roma Pilgrims, a Journey of Faith and Belonging

For Roma Pilgrims, a Journey of Faith and Belonging

For Roma Pilgrims, a Journey of Faith and Belonging Photographer Sam Wright captures the vibrant gathering in southern France that honors Saint Sara, the patron saint of the Romani people.

Photography Identity & Community

Two yellow flowers on top of one another.

Two yellow flowers on top of one another.

The Healing Power of Herbs Reconnecting with plants’ healing properties is about more than treating ailments—it’s about reintegrating ourselves with nature.

The Overview Deep Ecology

‘Frankenstein’ Puts the Human Cost of Mastery Over Nature on Full Display

‘Frankenstein’ Puts the Human Cost of Mastery Over Nature on Full Display

‘Frankenstein’ Puts the Human Cost of Mastery Over Nature on Full Display In a world remade by man's ambition, Guillermo del Toro revives Mary Shelley’s classic as a modern parable of hubris.

Art & Culture Anthropocene

An electric vehicle is being charged as the sun sets.

An electric vehicle is being charged as the sun sets.

EV Tax Breaks Ended—But the Future of Electric Car Ownership Is Bright EVs may be popular enough that the end to the tax break doesn’t matter.

The Understory Democracy

An abandoned tractor in a field.

An abandoned tractor in a field.

The Global Food System Is Buckling Under War and Climate Pressure The war in Ukraine has revealed how conflict, climate shocks, and trade dependencies are converging to push millions closer to hunger.

Future of Food

How to Resist Buying So Much as a New Parent

How to Resist Buying So Much as a New Parent

How to Resist Buying So Much as a New Parent Achieving a better life—and planetary future—by teaching your child to consume less.

Climate Solutions Anthropocene

A black and white photo of a flower.

A black and white photo of a flower.

Daniel Shea’s Vision of an Interconnected Planet What began as an attempt to photograph a forest became a meditation on scale, structure, and the ties between nature and the built world.

Photography