Return of the Blue Marble Or: How I learned to stop worrying and embraced the Artemis II lunar mission

"Looking at the Artemis II photos felt like passing through the firmament’s looking glass, like being in the night sky itself and viewing the planet through a pair of binoculars turned backward. ... Earth ...is nothing more than a mote of stardust."
#EarthDay
www.earthisland.org/journal/inde...

Return of the Blue Marble Or: How I learned to stop worrying and embraced the Artemis II lunar mission

"If nothing else, [space exploration] provides a chance for every person on Earth to see ourselves... from an out-of-this-world vantage point that might renew an appreciation for this singular planet of ours," @jasondovemark.bsky.social writes in this #EarthDay special.

Japanese Artist Kiriken Masayo Cuts Natural Wonders Out of Paper Kiriken Masayo turns weird and wonderful creatures into elaborate paper-cut creations.

A single sheet of white paper. A pencil. A craft knife. Glue. Kiriken Masayo’s tools are simple, yet her intricate creations are anything but.

Goldman Environmental Prize Winner is Fighting for Future Generations South Korean activist Borim Kim wins the 2026 Goldman Environmental Prize for her role in a groundbreaking youth climate lawsuit.

In 2018, following a deadly heat wave in South Korea, Borim Kim founded Youth 4 Climate Action, which filed the first lawsuit in Asia against a government for failing to adequately act on the #climatecrisis.

Kim won the #GoldmanEnvironmentalPrize for her leadership along with five other winners.

Two North Atlantic Right Whales Have Already Died This Year We know how to prevent these deaths, yet the Trump administration is trying to weaken rules meant to protect these critically endangered marine mammals.

In a population of roughly 380 animals, every North Atlantic right whale is known, catalogued, watched over. Scientists track their health, their travels, and their family relationships.
And yet two whales slipped away earlier this year, one of them before she could even be introduced to the world.

Buried for Winter To get through harsh winters in Kashmir, locals dug underground pits to preserve food, long before refrigeration. What can we learn from this age-old practice?

Every winter, the remote Gurez Valley of Kashmir is cut off from healthcare, education, and fresh food — often for months at a time.

This has compelled locals to rely on the earth to naturally refrigerate vegetables through the frosty months.

What can we learn from this tradition today?

Flight Rituals What if murmuration isn’t a purely ecological function but also a spiritual practice?

Vaux’s swifts migrate thousands of miles each spring and autumn. They spend 99 percent of their life in motion, and researchers have long questioned the biological rhythms of these murmurations.

In this essay from our Spring 2026 issue, writer Astra Lincoln questions the spiritual rituals, too.

Local and sustainable flowers have been catching on in response to the environmental footprint of the global floral industry.

On the @kpfa.org program Terra Verde, co-host Zoe Loftus-Farren talks with two Bay Area business owners about the state of flowers and the path ahead.

tinyurl.com/f93h75au

How America’s Wastewater Systems Became Conduits for “Forever Chemicals” Under current federal regulations, industries are free to dump unlimited amounts of PFAS into public sewage systems that can’t remove them.

The Black River system in Sumter, South Carolina, is among the most PFAS-polluted waterways in the US.

But this isn’t just a Sumter problem, writes journalist Quentin Septer. Across the country, there are no federal regulations preventing industries from discharging these “forever chemicals.”

Chevron's CEO made $104 million while America bombed Iran America's oil executives have pocketed $1.4 billion selling stock during the Iran war, a new investigation shows.

America's oil execs have pocketed $1.4 billion selling stock during the Iran war, the WSJ reports

This cash windfall won’t go primarily toward yachts and private jets, but toward political campaigns and lobbying orgs dedicated to blocking climate policy and fueling authoritarianism

Newsom Promised California a Lithium Bonanza. It Still Hasn’t Arrived. Local officials blame environmentalists for long delays, but politics, technology, and markets are the real culprits.

California’s Imperial Valley is more like a valley of broken promises.

In this story from our friends at @capitalandmain.bsky.social, reporter @aaroncantu.bsky.social details how residents have been shortchanged amid the lithium pipe dream.

#lithium #cleanenergy #climatechange

Lonely Pursuit In Bosnia and Herzegovina, the task of filling a century-plus data gap on solitary bees rests on one young couple.

Wild bees have been in steep decline since the 1990s. Despite the odds stacked against them, a husband-wife research team in Bosnia is on a quest to bridge a century-plus data gap on solitary pollinators.

@garybugsyou.bsky.social traces the often lonely task of hunting for elusive species.

Putting Bosnia’s Wild Pollinator Diversity on the Map In Bosnia and Herzegovina, the task of filling a century-plus data gap on solitary bees rests on one young couple.

I'm really proud of this epic about Bosnian #bees and their indefatigable hunters I put together for @earthislandjournal.bsky.social

www.earthisland.org/journal/inde...

#bugsky #nature #Bosnia #conservation

The Battle for Greater Chaco The federal government seems poised to rubberstamp more fossil fuel development in northwestern New Mexico. Native communities are pushing back.

And for additional context on the importance of Chaco Canyon and the Native communities working to defend it, read this article from our Autumn 2020 issue. www.earthisland.org/journal/inde...

For background on this 10-mile area for no new oil and gas leasing for 20 years, check out this article from 2023.
www.earthisland.org/journal/inde...

We know it's hard to focus right now amid such devastation, but today is the last day in a short public comment period about the government's proposal to revoke a 10-mile buffer around New Mexico's Chaco Culture National Historical Park.

If you care about this living cultural site, send a comment.

Rapid Snow Melt-Off in American West Stuns Scientists Experts say brutal March heat has left critical snowpack at record-low levels – and key basins in uncharted territory.

The American West is facing historic levels of snowmelt following a warm winter and then a sweltering March heat wave — alarming scientists.

In this @theguardian.com repost, senior reporter @gabriellecanon.bsky.social shares the grim realities of what the melt-off means for California and beyond.

Trump’s ‘God Squad’ blocks endangered species protections in the Gulf of Mexico Citing the Iran war, the administration let oil companies take actions that are likely to threaten an endangered whale.

Trump’s ‘God Squad’ blocks endangered species protections in the Gulf of Mexico

Rewilding the Banks Peninsula How one “dreamer” is helping bring a slice of New Zealand’s South Island back to life through natural regeneration.

In the 1980s, Hugh Wilson had a wild idea: to let non-native gorse on New Zealand’s Banks Peninsula grow alongside native plants without human intervention.

Years later, the “dreamer” is doing just that, transforming a slice of the South Island at Hinewai Reserve back into a natural ecosystem.

How Indigenous Fire Restores Resiliency and Relationships Transforming our relationship with the land and ourselves.

Kyle Trefny of Fire Generation Collaborative is helping to recenter Indigenous leadership in land management and help build a fire-resilient future that’s inclusive of people of all identities.

Read his spring column and see him speak at @bioneers.org tomorrow, Friday March 27, in Berkeley, CA.

Ukrainians Risk Landmines to Forage for Wild Foods The Russian invasion has left forests booby-trapped with landmines, yet Ukrainians continue to venture there in search of wild foods.

"The Russian invasion has left forests booby-trapped with landmines, yet Ukrainians continue to venture there in search of wild foods." Uprooter Kang-Chun Cheng for @earthislandjournal.bsky.social www.earthisland.org/journal/inde...

5.5 Million Tons of CO2 Emitted in Just 14 Days of US War on Iran The war in the Middle East is draining the global carbon budget faster than 84 countries combined.

The US-Israel war on Iran has drained the global carbon budget faster than the 84 lowest-emitting countries combined.

“Burning up the annual emissions of Iceland in two weeks is something we really cannot afford,” Frederick Otu-Larbi tells @damiengayle.bsky.social for @theguardian.com.

Foraging on the Frontlines The Russian invasion has left forests booby-trapped with landmines, yet Ukrainians continue to venture there in search of wild foods.

More than four years since Russia invaded Ukraine, the country’s forests are littered with landmines and other weapons. But locals continue foraging for wild foods.

In our Spring 2026 cover story, Kang-Chun Cheng explores what it takes to keep Ukraine’s foraging tradition alive in the face of war.

On Terra Verde, editor @maureennandinimtra.bsky.social discusses the fallout of the Trump admin allowing a controversial oil pipeline along the Santa Barbara County coast to restart with Talia Nimmer of @biologicaldiversity.org & @collinrees.bsky.social of @oilchange.bsky.social
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Healing with the Land Leah Penniman talks about invoking ancestral Black wisdom and forging a deeper relationship with land.

Leah Penniman, a Black Kreyol farmer, says many of the techniques that organic farmers use have roots in African and Indigenous wisdom.

Today, she’s helping Black farmers regain sovereignty over their food production and heal their relationship with land, writes @pragathiravi.bsky.social.

How “Fire Fungi” Help Put Burnt Landscapes Back Together Before plants and animals recolonize after a wildfire, fungi get to work.

After wildfires raze forests and ecosystems, fungi are the first to appear on the scene of charred earth.

In this story from our friends at biographic.bsky.social, writer @hannahthomasy.bsky.social breaks down new research on how fungi are influencing post-fire landscapes.

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: Earth Island Journal is seeking pitches for an upcoming special edition on education and the environment.

Know of an incubation of environmental innovation? Censoring content that's threatening the climate movement? Surprising impact of global heating on learning? Message us!

The current administration is filled with people whose parents never took them outside . . .

The National Park System Is Not a Hot Dog Stand Trump’s nominee for National Park Service director reveals the White House's jaundiced view of government.

In his latest Lookout column, @jasondovemark.bsky.social traces how the nomination of businessman Scott Socha — the director of a private National Park Service concessionaire — to become the next NPS director, further reveals the Trump administration’s warped view of what national parks are for.

India’s Jenu Kuruba Peoples’ Long Fight to Reclaim Their Forest The Indigenous group set up camp in a tiger reserve last year to reclaim their ancestral lands. Despite state opposition, they are still standing strong.

Decades ago, the Indigenous Jenu Kuruba people were evicted from their ancestral lands in southern India to create a coffee plantation and a tiger reserve.

Now they’re reclaiming their territory — home to India’s second-highest concentration of tigers — reports @neelanjana18499.bsky.social.