Coming Up Kudzu
Employed as a symbol of the American South or used as shorthand for unchecked growth, kudzu has demonstrated a tenacity beyond all imagination.
Cinchona: A Legacy of Extraction and Extirpation
The source of quinine, cinchona tells a story about the value placed on parts of plants and how that value can be extracted and distorted in support of empire.
Ancient Black Hole Challenges Our Understanding of the Early Universe
The Big Bang theory is not threatened, but astrophysicists have some explaining to do.
Half Past Dementia
Drawing a clock has become a standard test of cognitive impairment, but there’s no consensus on who should do it or how.
Why the Worst Weather on Earth Is in New Hampshire
A combination of factors makes the weather at New Hampshire’s Mount Washington arguably the most brutal in the world.
Climate Justice as Climate Reparations
Climate justice activists want countries of the Global North to make up for centuries of uneven industrialization, deforestation, extraction, and consumption.
I Hope This Finds You Well, or, Dude, You Good?
Are formulaic hoping and wishing statements in correspondence evidence of magical thinking?
What Is Greenwashing?
The disreputable and deceitful approach many companies have taken to demonstrate decarbonization remains a persistent, global challenge.
How Earthquakes Helped Us Map the Interior of the Sun
Temperatures in the Sun's core exceed 10 million degrees Celsius. But how on Earth did we actually come to know that?