Society
video
Technology and the self
In the town once named Asbestos, locals ponder the voids industry left in its wake
16 minutes
essay
Ecology and environmental sciences
Dominion
To take care of the Earth, humans must recognise that we are both a part of the animal kingdom and its dominant power
Hugh Desmond
essay
The environment
Decoupling
We need to find a way for human societies to prosper while the planet heals. So far we can’t even think clearly about it
Ville Lähde
essay
The environment
Emergency action
Could civil disobedience be morally obligatory in a society on a collision course with climate catastrophe?
Rupert Read
essay
The future
Prehistory in the atomic age
To understand the terrifying futures unleashed by nuclear weapons, we urgently need to return to the deep past
Maria Stavrinaki
video
Architecture
‘I listen to the land’ – poetry and greenery intertwine in Emilio Ambasz’s architecture
9 minutes
essay
Architecture
The new architecture wars
Traditionalist and modernist architecture are both mass-produced, industrial and international. Is there an alternative?
Owen Hatherley
video
Ecology and environmental sciences
The ancient Hawaiian myth that sparked a modern ecological breakthrough
10 minutes
essay
Anthropology
A glimpse of the world’s heart
I wanted to visit Colombia’s sacred mountains. But there are some places we cannot go – and some things we cannot know
Nick Hunt
essay
Nations and empires
Dream of the Russian tropics
Imperial Russia had little access to the bountiful tropics that other empires enjoyed. So it created its own in the Caucasus
Oleksandr Polianichev
essay
Thinkers and theories
Why seek self-realisation?
In the face of climate crisis it might seem myopic but philosophers from Spinoza to Næss argue it is the only way forward
Helen De Cruz
video
The environment
Tree-sit with activists as they fight industrial logging from 100 feet above the ground
25 minutes
essay
Oceans and water
Here’s to blue foods
With care for the social and ecological consequences, foods from the ocean should provide sustainable protein to billions
Madhura Rao
essay
Anthropology
How to mourn a forest
The Marind people of West Papua deploy mourning not only to grieve their animal and plant kin but as political resistance
Sophie Chao
essay
Animals and humans
The free dogs of India
These canines have independent, peaceful, happy lives without a pet’s constraints. Why are they being persecuted and culled?
Krithika Srinivasan & Chris Pearson
essay
History of ideas
Self-satisfaction
The ancient Cynics taught that masturbation is about more than pleasure: it suggests how to live simply and autonomously
M D Usher
essay
Earth science and climate
The return of silvopasture
This ancient practice, nurturing animals and trees in an ecological system, fights climate change and restores the land
Liz Carlisle & Niki Mazaroli
video
Animals and humans
Laura fights to protect the magnificence of wild horses running free
6 minutes
essay
The environment
Our contaminated future
In Fukushima, communities are adapting to life in a time of permanent pollution: a glimpse of what’s to come for us all
Maxime Polleri
essay
War and peace
Trenches in Chernobyl
Disturbing and inhaling radioactive dust, in their haste Russian soldiers unburied the wrecked, undead Earth itself
Michael Marder
essay
The environment
Here’s to the aquapolis
Unkempt, beguiling and lacking conventional geometry, wetlands bring a roguish, raffish wildness to the city
Tom Blass
essay
Cities
Living closer together
Urban density was once seen as a sign of unhealthiness and poverty. But today it is necessary to make cities sustainable
Max Holleran
essay
Environmental history
Dancing with water
As storms, droughts and floods become more intense, what can the world learn from Japan’s profoundly wet history?
Giulio Boccaletti
essay
Anthropology
Keeping our options open
Frantic human activity has reduced both cultural and biological diversity. Now we must protect the dwindling alternatives
Thomas Hylland Eriksen