Serena Renner
@serenarenner.com
Journalist and editor with an eye on climate, science, Indigenous sovereignty, and the coast. Associate Editor @earthislandjournal.bsky.social. Opinions are my own.
What if the quickest, cheapest path to decarbonization isn’t electrification but reducing the need for electricity in the first place, asks climate and technology journalist @sambutler.us. That starts with ours buildings and neighborhoods. Originally published in @jacobinmagazin.bsky.social.
To Decarbonize Quickly, Think Beyond Electrification
Alternative technologies and interventions can cut emissions faster, cheaper, and without mineral bottlenecks.
earthisland.org
The western US is on fire, and the Trump administration is pushing an aggressive “forest-thinning” agenda that could make fire seasons much worse. In the second story of a three-part investigation, Paul Koberstein (@canopyoftitans.bsky.social) shares what's wrong with the Fix Our Forests Act.
Fix Our Forests Act: A Faulty Solution to Wildfire
The Trump administration seems to believe we need to cut down forests to save them from burning.
earthisland.org
France is facing another record wildfire season. Just a year ago, a record fire blazed through the historic Corbières wine region in the southeast. Journalist Christopher Clark visited Corbières last October to investigate the existential threat to the region as well as solutions from the past.
After the Fire
Rethinking the future of France’s historic Corbières wine region.
earthisland.org
Thanks Paul Koberstein (@canopyoftitans.bsky.social) for the important background and science surrounding pyrocumulonimbus ("fire clouds") like the one we just saw in France, and the forest-thinning operations (read: slash piles) that could make matters worse. Edited by @jasondovemark.bsky.social.
Earth Island Journal@earthislandjournal.bsky.social · last wk.“Fire clouds” are in the news as wildfires rage across Canada and Europe — a pyrocumulonimbus storm cloud was just recorded in France for the first time. But our understanding of this phenomenon — and what makes it worse — traces back to California's 2013 Rim Fire. By @canopyoftitans.bsky.social.
For our Summer 2026 issue, Zain Azhar — a dentist and journalist based in Okara, Pakistan — wrote about a surprising impact of extreme heat on the human body: It breaks down human teeth. Azhar's reporting was just featured on @livingonearthradio.bsky.social by @prx.org. Have a listen!
Living on Earth: Extreme Heat and Tooth Decay
The extreme heat that’s becoming far more common in a warming world is now being linked to dental problems. As the body prioritizes sweat for cooling over saliva production, the resulting dry mouth ca...
loe.org
“The new normal: It seems the most apt way of describing a planet ... permanently out of whack." But there’s a real danger in this thinking: acceptance, “the gateway to indifference and inaction.” Today, @jasondovemark.bsky.social takes on "shifting baseline syndrome," the premise of his new book.
Are We At Least as Smart as a Frog in Hot Water?
As the aberrant becomes the ordinary, we can’t let our instinct for adapting lead to climate change acceptance.
earthisland.org
“They’re blatantly breaking the law,” says Michael Garrity, director of the Alliance for the Wild Rockies, referring to Trump’s Forest Service. “But they can get away with it if no one sues.” Meet the two “combat biologists” who keep suing — and who keep winning — to delay logging on public lands.
The Combat Biologists
As the Trump administration opens millions of acres of public land to logging, two aging conservationists are fighting back — and winning.
earthisland.org
An uprising is underway in Albania, triggered by plans for a massive luxury resort project backed by Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner in an ecologically delicate protected area of the country’s southern coast called Vjosa-Narta. It's the first serious threat to Prime Minister Edi Rama’s power.
How a Trump Family-Tied Luxury Resort Sparked Albania’s “Flamingo Revolution”
What started as a fight to protect an ecologically sensitive coastal area has turned into the largest civil protest in the country’s recent history.
earthisland.org
🧵 Dear Republican lawmakers, Canada has the largest intact boreal forest on the planet. An increasingly hotter world due to #ClimateChange makes longer dry seasons, far larger wildfires & yes, more smoke. No amount of "raking" fixes it. The scientists warned of exactly this for a very long time /1
Canada's National Observer@nationalobserver.com · 12mo ago"If Canada can't get these wildfires under control, they need to face real consequences," said Wisconsin state Rep. Calvin Callahan in a news release Wednesday. "We won't sit back while our air becomes a health hazard."
Good timing for a thoughtful Canadian wildfire story. Thank you @toughcitywriter.bsky.social for this investigation into the 2024 Jasper fire and what lessons it holds for Banff as well as other communities in Canada and beyond. Spoiler alert: Prescribed and cultural fire can help.
Adrienne Mason@toughcitywriter.bsky.social · last mo.I've been thinking about the role of wildfire since 1989 when I was in Jasper doing programs on fire ecology and explaining to confused/angry tourists why Parks Canada was purposely lighting fires. Last fall I went to Banff to see how things were going there. albertaviews.ca/wildfire-in-...
Drill, baby, drill! = Burn, baby, burn! #wildfires
Dr. Jeff Masters@drjeffmasters.bsky.social · 3w agoNOAA's AQI model for 8 am Thu shows Brown ("Hazardous") AQI from smoke in the NYC, Detroit, Milwaukee, and Cleveland metro areas. These conditions (if they verify, remember forecasting smoke is HARD!) will likely last only for a few hours, but you don't want to be outside without an N95 mask! (7/8)
OMG, it's happening! Today is the official publication date of my new book, The Earth Said Remember Me: How to Revive Our Memories and Restore the Planet
My comments on the new @nationalacademies.org report on climate change & extreme weather attribution. The TLDR statement: If anything, the academy understates the strength of the science linking increasingly extreme weather events to climate change: michaelmann.net/comments-on-...
Comments on National Academy of Sciences Report on Climate Change & Extreme Weather Event Attribution | Michael E. Mann
The National Academy of Sciences has put out a new report assessing the state of understanding of the science of extreme weather attribution, an area of […]
michaelmann.net
Transport yourself to Lake Manchar in southern Pakistan through this striking visual @earthislandjournal.bsky.social story by photographer Guillaume Petermann. The Mohana people have lived in the region for some 4,000 years. Today, they're adapting to rising pollution and dwindling resources.
Earth Island Journal@earthislandjournal.bsky.social · 3w agoThe Indigenous Mohana fishing community has spent centuries living on the waters of Lake Manchar in southern Pakistan. But in just a few decades, the lake’s fragile ecosystem has collapsed. And with that, an entire way of life is slipping away. Guillaume Petermann brings us this visual journey.
830 wildfires burning across Canada right now. And you know what’s going to make it worse in the future? More oil pipelines. This is why our voice and our vote matters.
Hard to describe the sorrow I feel watching the boreal forest burn, summer after summer. I was paddling on a lake yesterday when the smoke came in, and knew what was happening despite not having cell reception. Climate change is a heartbreaker.
Luke LeBrun@lukelebrun.ca · 3w agoThese images of First Nations community members evacuating Collins, Ontario on motorboats are absolutely surreal www.facebook.com/reel/1548244...
Nothing dissolves the ego more easily or more quickly than #darkness, a precious and increasingly rare source of #humility. Grateful to Big Sky Journal for reprinting this #essay, first published @earthislandjournal.bsky.social @earthisland.bsky.social & selected as top-5 pick by @longreads.com.
Outside: Dark Matter - Big Sky Journal
Montanans pride themselves on protecting natural wonders, but very few have considered protecting the dark. The dark, after all, scares us. Not the darkness of a room, perhaps, or even a house. But th...
bigskyjournal.com
“Hearts are forever bound to smaller, more intimate corners of Earth,” writes Michael Engelhard in this ode to the Grand Canyon Lodge, which burned down a year ago. On the eve of the fire’s anniversary, Engelhard reflects on a special place and what’s left when nature breaks the things we build.
The Dragon’s Breath: Lament for a Grand Canyon Icon
Our hearts are forever bound to smaller, more intimate corners of Earth. Their demise can bring home the reality of climate chaos.
earthisland.org
My latest column for @earthislandjournal.bsky.social: "As a deep ecologist who believes in the intrinsic rights of all species, I should probably value insects in and of themselves. But I should be honest — I love the bugs because they feed the birds." www.earthisland.org/journal/inde...
On Birds and Bugs
If we hope to save our feathered friends, we have to give a thought to insects too.
earthisland.org
From lawsuits against the US government to major corporations such as Coca-Cola, Earth Island Advocates — the legal program of Earth Island Institute (@earthisland.bsky.social) — is known for advancing cases in defense of the planet. Learn more in this summer project report by @serenarenner.com.
Advocates for Earth
Reflecting on the successes and lessons of Earth Island’s legal program.
earthisland.org
Meet Gerhard Schwab, aka “the Beaver God,” who advocates for beavers across Germany’s southeastern state of Bavaria. The furry ecosystem engineers bring broad benefits, but they’re multiplying and butting up against human populations. So what does Schwab do? Export them. By Yannic Rack.
The Beaver God of Bavaria
One man has done more than anyone else to bring beavers back to Europe. Some might find his tactics unorthodox.
earthisland.org
In this episode of Terra Verde @kpfa.org, Earth Island Journal Editor-in-Chief @maureennandinimtra.bsky.social interviews @anniemleonard.bsky.social and @acarothers.bsky.social about why we must continue exercising our fundamental right to peaceful protest, even when it might feel unsafe to do so.
“Being Active in Community Is the Greatest Antidote to Despair”
Annie Leonard and André Carothers on why we need to protect our right to dissent.
earthisland.org
Canada’s first ever #WorldCup win. And holy cow, WHAT a win! 6-0 including an own goal, thanks to CONSTANT pressure. Well done men, the roar in #Vancouver is huge, and the whole country’s celebrating! But a brutal looking injury to Kone, hoping for the best. Keep winning for Kone… #GoCanadaGo
@robertmoor.com's new book In Trees isn’t about tree biology or ecology,” writes @jasondovemark.bsky.social in this book review. It’s “pursuing something harder to wrap one’s arms around: the idea of trees.” This sets Moor on a globe-spanning tour of adventures, misadventures and hard-won wisdom.
Thinking Like a Tree
In Review: In Trees: An Exploration
earthisland.org
In this interview with EIJ Editor in Chief @maureennandinimtra.bsky.social, veteran activists @anniemleonard.bsky.social and @acarothers.bsky.social discuss the power of protest, and why we need to exercise and defend this democratic right — now more than ever. Read our Summer 2026 "Conversation."
Resistance is a Relay Race
Annie Leonard and André Carothers on why we must continue to resist even when the odds are against us.
earthisland.org
During her first pregnancy, writer Helena "Ellie" Huizenga knew she should pay attention to Salt Lake City’s air, which is often brown with smog, smoke, and dust. But ozone, a colorless gas, had never crossed her mind. Now pregnant for the second time, she sees ozone as a clear threat. Here's why.
A Pregnant Threat
It’s not until her second pregnancy that one mother sees ozone as a clear danger to her developing baby.
earthisland.org
From the “God Squad” making Endangered Species Act exemptions to new research on ocean currents, wildlife, and sea level rise, here are our Summer 2026 “Talking Points.” Plus: balcony solar comes to the US, Syngenta quits paraquat, and 5 countries that should brace for a possible “super El Niño.”
Environmental News in Brief: Summer 2026
earthisland.org
Our Summer 2026 print magazine will hit newsstands and mailboxes soon! In it, you’ll find stories on some surprising ways that heat affects the body; a feature on the return of wildlife to Mount St. Helens, a wild ride with the “Beaver God of Bavaria,” and more! www.earthisland.org/journal/inde...
June 2026 marks the 5-year anniversary of the deadly Pacific Northwest “heat home.” At the time, Associate Editor @serenarenner.com was living in BC, where more than 600 people died. It was a wake-up call to the health impacts of extreme heat — which our Summer 2026 print issue sheds light on.
The Hidden Toll of Heat
Climate change is having some unexpected impacts on our health.
earthisland.org
