environment - The Atlantic

environment

A Photo Appreciation of America’s National Wildlife Refuges

November 26, 2025

A bison walks through a grassy field with the Denver skyline and distant mountains visible in the background.

So, DOGE, What Would You Say You Did Here?

Alexandra Petri

November 24, 2025

A box with DOGE written on it, with a chainsaw inside

Who’s Ready to Think About Blocking Out the Sun?

Alexander C. Kaufman

November 24, 2025

a plane streaks something across the sky

Our Almost-Apocalyptic Climate Future

November 23, 2025

a group of people are silhouetted by the light at the entrance of a pavilion at COP30 in Brasil

Photos of the Week: Christmas Market, Mountain Frost, Penguin Outing

November 21, 2025

A giraffe rears on its hind legs, puling against ropes as a group of rangers try to guide it into a crate for transport.

Photos: When the Polar Bears Move In

November 19, 2025

A polar bear sits on grassy ground in front of an abandoned house-sized research station.

Photos: India’s Polluted Skies

November 17, 2025

Silhouettes of people and monkeys, seen against a very smoggy sky and a monument gate in the hazy distance

Trump’s Animal-Research Plan Has a Missing Step

Melanie D.G. Kaplan

November 13, 2025

Illustration of a bald eagle in a red room behind a door with biohazard stickers

What a Cranky New Book About Progress Gets Right

Tyler Austin Harper

November 11, 2025

An illustration of a woman holding a colorful caterpillar made of circular symbols—such as a recycling sign, a globe, and power and atomic icons—between her fingers.

What Climate Change Will Do to America by Mid-Century

Vann R. Newkirk II

December 2025 Issue

Color photo of debris from a house completely destroyed by wildfire except its fireplace chimney.

Love Song Set to a Tune of Gathering

Carson Colenbaugh

November 9, 2025

A photograph of two sets of legs in the grass, knees facing one another

Edward Burtynsky’s Warning

December 2025 Issue

photo of enormous pile of discarded tires parted down the middle by dirt path with green hill just visible beyond

When Scarcity Blurs the Line Between Right and Wrong

November 8, 2025

a red planet against an orange background

Coyote

Carol Muske-Dukes

December 2025 Issue

illustration with drawing of brown coyote at lower right on red background

Photos: The Colors of October

October 27, 2025

Fall colors cover trees along a curvy road in Wisconsin.

The Unexpected Profundity of a Movie About Bird-Watching

Tyler Austin Harper

October 20, 2025

Illustration of a bird, binoculars, and a gold star

Why Concord?

Robert A. Gross and Robert M. Thorson

November 2025 Issue

photo of forest trees with green grass and pine needles and blue sky in background

The Wonder Reader

The Wonder of a Nature Photo

October 4, 2025

A goat peers over a gate; hands are on the gate on either side of its head, giving the appearance that the goat has human hands.

There Is No Green Transition Without Consequences

October 2, 2025

A colorful collage of various landscape with ripped paper and black ink

The Machines Finding Life That Humans Can’t See

September 29, 2025

butterfly specimen against a swirly background

Trump Is Setting the National Parks Up to Fail

September 26, 2025

Photorealistic collage of a National Parks ranger figurine holding a yellow flag and standing in a patch of grass encircled by flames

Winners of Ocean Photographer of the Year 2025

September 18, 2025

Two humpback whales, seen underwater, swimming side-by-side in very similar postures, surrounded by many rays of sunlight reaching into the darker water beyond.

The 2025 Audubon Photography Awards

September 17, 2025

A tight view of two ravens standing close together

RFK Jr. Is Neglecting a Legitimate Autism Concern

September 16, 2025

A graphic illustration of a pesticide container behind a picket fence.

Summertime

October 2025 Issue

illustration with outlines of bluish flowers and tan winged insects on black background

Are Humans Watching Animals Too Closely?

September 7, 2025

A dalmatian seen through a keyhole

Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2025: Highly Commended

August 26, 2025

A red deer stag lifts its head up and gives a bellow.

How Close Are Manatees to Extinction?

August 25, 2025

manatees underwater

The Meadowlands Ideal

August 22, 2025

a color photograph of the New York skyline in the distance with green grasses and overgrowth in the foreground

Ocean Photographer of the Year 2025 Finalists

August 18, 2025

An orca breaches near a beach in Puget Sound, as people photograph it from shore.

The Clean-Energy Equation No One Can Solve Yet

Alexander C. Kaufman

August 11, 2025

missing minerals

Literature’s Enduring Obsession With Strange Sisters

August 10, 2025

A black and white photograph of a large spider web surrounded by women's hands, all with long shiny nails

America Is Living in a Climate-Denial Fantasy

August 8, 2025

Graphic illustration of a globe showing the United States on a planet by itself.

The National-Park Tours of Trump’s Dreams

Alexandra Petri

August 3, 2025

A woman in a park with speech bubbles around her

Faith

September 2025 Issue

woodcut-style illustration with black birdlike forms on yellow background

Floodlines Part IX: Rebirth

Vann R. Newkirk II

August 1, 2025

A photo shows a cream-colored one-story home with a green lawn. An old TV screen is by the front door. The photo is framed in white and stuck on a background that is a greenish-yellow color that fades into deep turquoise color.