Atmos

Climate and Culture

The Overview

The Overview

The Overview

Welcome to The Overview newsletter, a weekly meditation on nature from Editor-in-Chief Willow Defebaugh. From the reciprocity of trees to the long view of volcanoes to the patience of spiders, discover the wisdom of Earth’s many teachers.

The Overview Book

An anthology of meditative essays from Atmos Editor-in-Chief Willow Defebaugh alongside immersive photography of ecosystems around the world, The Overview: Meditations on Nature for a World in Transition is a pathway for reconnecting with nature through reverence, balance, evolution, and healing.

The Overview Book: An anthology of meditative essays from Atmos Editor-in-Chief Willow Defebaugh alongside immersive photography of ecosystems around the world, it’s a pathway for reconnecting with nature through reverence, balance, evolution, and healing.

The Overview Book: An anthology of meditative essays from Atmos Editor-in-Chief Willow Defebaugh alongside immersive photography of ecosystems around the world, it’s a pathway for reconnecting with nature through reverence, balance, evolution, and healing.

The Overview Book: An anthology of meditative essays from Atmos Editor-in-Chief Willow Defebaugh alongside immersive photography of ecosystems around the world, it’s a pathway for reconnecting with nature through reverence, balance, evolution, and healing.

The Overview Book: An anthology of meditative essays from Atmos Editor-in-Chief Willow Defebaugh alongside immersive photography of ecosystems around the world, it’s a pathway for reconnecting with nature through reverence, balance, evolution, and healing.

Close-up photo of brown human eye

Close-up photo of brown human eye

Unpacking the Science and Mysticism of Intuition Whether a link to the unconscious or knowing of the body, a connection to the divine or nature, intuition can take many forms.

The Overview Deep Ecology

A star being born in NASA photograph.

A star being born in NASA photograph.

A Star Is Born Humanity has always searched the stars for answers, whether through navigation, prophecy, or clues to our wider universe.

The Overview Deep Ecology

A brown leaf shaped as a heart.

A brown leaf shaped as a heart.

Everything Is Romantic: Embracing an Ecology of Love Romanticism is, at its heart, an invitation to recognize love as a force much bigger than us—a force of nature.

The Overview Deep Ecology

A shelter made from stacked rocks sits on a plain with snow capped mountains in the distance.

A shelter made from stacked rocks sits on a plain with snow capped mountains in the distance.

A Home at the End of the World The natural world reminds us that home is more than shelter—it’s community and belonging.

Deep Ecology The Overview

Two hands play a string game.

Two hands play a string game.

How We Can Re-Strategize for a Thriving Future To build lasting change, we need more than conviction—like nature, we need to embrace the necessity of strategy.

The Overview Democracy

A white and yellow flower

A white and yellow flower

Reflecting on the Words and Legacy of Eco-Luminary Joanna Macy The eco-philosopher taught us to see the Earth as sacred and our lives as deeply intertwined with its fate.

The Overview Deep Ecology

Photo of white horse lit up at night with different colors of pink and yellow

Photo of white horse lit up at night with different colors of pink and yellow

Ride With Me: On Horseback, and Friendship Humans have long shared a unique companionship with horses, which—humans aside—may have altered history more than any other animal.

The Overview

Fireflies twinkle under a moonlit night sky.

Fireflies twinkle under a moonlit night sky.

Nature Speaks: Decoding the Fascinating and Diverse Ways Organisms Communicate Whether through light, electricity, vibration, dance, or chemicals, our world is always speaking. Will we pause to listen?

The Overview Deep Ecology

An illustration of an eagle flying above a woman laying down.

An illustration of an eagle flying above a woman laying down.

We the People: A Call for Unity on Independence Day This Fourth of July, freedom means acknowledging our shared humanity.

Deep Ecology The Overview

A red fox stares straight ahead in the dark of night.

A red fox stares straight ahead in the dark of night.

Following in the Creative Footsteps of Foxes Curious and trusting of the unknown, foxes offer many lessons on how to live a creative life.

The Overview Deep Ecology

Rays of sunlight shine through the canopy leaves of a large tree.

Rays of sunlight shine through the canopy leaves of a large tree.

Armed With Hope, We Will Rise Like the Sun In the vast darkness of the universe, the sun is our greatest proof that light—and life—persists.

The Overview Deep Ecology

A migration of monarch butterflies in a tree.

A migration of monarch butterflies in a tree.

Across the Natural World, Migration Is Sacred—and Critical Migration is not a crisis, but a rhythm—sacred, inherited, and shared amongst all life.

The Overview Deep Ecology

The Microbial Garden Within

The Microbial Garden Within

The Microbial Garden Within Inside you, a hidden garden teems with ancient life—invisible microbes pulling the invisible strings of all living beings on this planet.

The Overview Deep Ecology

Palestine sunbird

Palestine sunbird

The Palestine Sunbird: A Symbol of Freedom The Palestine sunbird moves freely between borders in stark contrast to the people it flies among.

The Overview Deep Ecology

An aerial view of the Pantanal River.

An aerial view of the Pantanal River.

The Wisdom of Rivers Rivers serve as a reminder of the sagacity of surrender: of moving with life, not against it.

The Overview Deep Ecology

A vibrant yellow flower grows on the side of a cactus.

A vibrant yellow flower grows on the side of a cactus.

Growing Pains: Why and How Flowers Return in Spring Each spring, the Earth makes rebirth look easy; all we see on the surface is her becoming, never betraying the unseen effort it requires.

The Overview Deep Ecology