Some Articles

When Climate Adaptation Backfires (Discover Magazine, in print)

Around the world, people are building levees, shoring up dams, digging canals and constructing infrastructure to confront the impacts of climate change. Most of these investments will likely save countless lives and protect property, but some will inadvertently add to the problems they are trying to address.

“White Gold”: Why Shrimp Aquaculture is a Solution That Caused a Huge Problem (The Guardian)

It seemed like a good idea at the time: If farmers in coastal Bangladesh couldn’t stop rising seas from poisoning their crops, they could use the brackish water to grow something else — shrimp. But what started as an inventive solution has become an environmental disaster fueling violent conflict.

The battle to control America’s ‘most destructive’ species: feral pigs (National Geographic)

“People hate hogs. But they love their guns, and they love having something to shoot.” The chance of bagging the next Hogzilla draws eager sportsmen to hundreds of hunting plantations across the South and funds a simmering culture war between plantation owners and neighboring farmers who suffer enormous losses from invasive swine.

Can Nature Reclaim Iowa? (Sierra Magazine, in print)

In one of the most used and abused states in the nation, locals have advanced a radical theory: Iowa is ripe for rewilding. For this Sierra Magazine cover story, I travel from the Loess Hills to the Meskwaki tribal community to see if rewilding this agriculture-dominated state is anything but a pipe dream.

What Should Farmers Grow in the Desert? (Mother Jones)

This is what adaptation to climate change looks like in Arizona: desert farmers searching for a crop that can survive 114-degree days on less than four inches of rain a year and still throw off enough cash to run their air conditioning. And if this crop wasn’t it, well, then understanding exactly why might still help thousands of farmers—and the agriculture industry as a whole—carve a path toward sustainability in the desert.

Extreme drought creates unlikely farming allies in the Arizona desert (National Geographic)

Jace Miller has always known exactly what he wanted to do. “For me, it’s bankruptcy or death. I’m a farmer.” That commitment was put to the test in 2021 when Miller found out he was going to lose the Colorado River water that sustains his thirsty hay farm in Pinal County. To survive, he’s working for the Gila River Indian Community, which has emerged from a century of colonization to become a dominant player in Western water. Together, can these unlikely allies keep agriculture alive in Central Arizona?

Canadian Mine Waste Is Crossing Borders and Facing International Backlash (Discover Magazine, in print)

For decades, Canadian waterways have carried toxic mine waste through natural ecosystems, into tribal lands and across the U.S. border. A coalition of indigenous leaders and scientists are now calling for international protection.

When the Fever Doesn’t Break: Dengue Fever Is on the Rise — a Ticking Time Bomb in Many Places Around the World (Discover Magazine, in print)

I landed in Dhaka in the middle of the most severe outbreak of dengue fever Bangladesh could recall. More than 91,000 people were infected between January and October 2019 — nearly twice the cumulative total for the previous 19 years. By the time my plane left the tarmac to return home, two things were clear: Climate change is driving the severity of dengue outbreaks, and the most vulnerable countries are the least prepared.

Arizona’s Water Supplies are Drying Up. How Will its Farmers Survive? (National Geographic)

As the mighty Colorado River dwindles and cropland dries out, farming families face a grim choice: give up or somehow adapt.

Why is a big oil company investing huge amounts of money in Wyoming wind? (The Guardian)

The Battle To Protect One Of America’s Last Wild Landscapes (Huffington Post)

Threatened Species Rely On Ecotourism To Survive. So What Happens When The Tourists Stop Coming? (Huffington Post)

American anxiety drives a crystal boom: ‘People are looking for healing’ (The Guardian)

‘This season is off the charts’: Colorado fights the worst wildfires in its recent history (The Guardian)

The David And Goliath Story Playing Out In Alaska’s Fisheries (Huffington Post)

How We Got Conned Into Drinking Bottled Water — and How We Can Stop (Huffington Post)

For Grief-Stricken West Louisville, Hope Looks Like A Grocery Store (Huffington Post)

Park + Town: Trinidad Finds New Economic Opportunity in Outdoor Recreation Thanks to Colorado’s Newest State Park (The Nature Conservancy Magazine, in print)

The Coronavirus Could Change the Way We Eat Meat (Huffington Post)