Sand dunes and ocean at Padre Island's North Beach, Texas

The Shifting Sands of Hurricane Resilience

Sand dunes act as shock absorbers during hurricanes, both when the storms hit and while reestablishing roots (literally) in the aftermath.
Hurricane Rita

Controlling a Hurricane

In the mid-20th century, the United States government invested in two major projects designed to control hurricanes by seeding the storm clouds.
Enhanced infrared imagery of Hurricane Hugo

How Audre Lorde Weathered the Storm

When Audre Lorde wrote from St. Croix that Hurricane Hugo would not be the last natural disaster of its scale, she was pointing to human failures.
Virgin Islands hurricane damage

After the Hurricanes, Who Cleans Up The Caribbean?

The Caribbean islands' plights have been reminders that despite their small size, overseas territories can be a big responsibility for governments abroad.
San Juan Puerto Rico

What the US Owes Puerto Rico

As historian Déborah Berman Santana writes, the US is very much responsible for molding Puerto Rico’s economy to begin with.
India Campbell and Child

The New Victims of Climate Change: Plants, Parasites, and Pregnant Women

The recent series of hurricanes has demonstrated, climate change is no longer a nebulous futuristic menace, but an existential threat.
Smokestacks with pollution

Plastic in Your Beer, Toxins in Your Air, and Heavy Metals on Your Doorsteps

From household plastic to industrial waste, anthropogenic activity has created compounds that poison ecosystems from water to air.
Drained Tampa Bay

When the Sea Recedes

When caused by storms, receding oceans are result of an inverted storm surge, a “negative surge.” Storm surges have a few causes.
Satellite view of Hurricane Irma.

Hurricanes May be Getting More Severe: Do We Need a Whole New Cateogry to Describe Them?

There’s been a devastating trail of destruction and flooding along the east Atlantic coast in the last few ...
Hurricane/Tropical Storm Harvey in Houston - August 27 2017

How To Recycle Half A Million Flooded Cars

Although a car seems like a long-term capital investment, it is only a crash or disaster away from becoming two tons of mass-consumer junk.