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Bill McKibben head shot - The New Yorker

Bill McKibben

Bill McKibben, a contributing writer to The New Yorker, is the founder of Third Act, which organizes people over the age of sixty for progressive change, and the Schumann Distinguished Scholar in environmental studies at Middlebury College. His latest book is “The Flag, the Cross, and the Station Wagon: A Graying American Looks Back at His Suburban Boyhood and Wonders What the Hell Happened.”

The Biden Administration’s Plan to Make American Homes More Efficient

New building codes from the Department of Housing and Urban Development are the latest addition to a long list of Earth Week environmental wins for the White House.

Is the Fight Against Climate Change Losing Momentum?

Some financial institutions are backing away from emission pledges.

John Kerry Thinks We’re at a Critical Moment on Climate Change

As he steps down from office, the first Presidential envoy on the climate says that we have made progress, but we’re not moving fast enough.

A Skiing World Cup Comes to the United States

Despite a record-breaking warm winter in Minneapolis, American Nordic skiers come into their own—and hope that their sport can survive.

The U.N. Announces the Hottest Year

The climate heated up, but clean energy did, too.

At Least We Can Give Thanks for a Tree

Visiting the largest known white pine.

The Next Power Plant Is on the Roof and in the Basement

A Department of Energy report promotes a new system that could remake the energy grid.

A Smoking Gun for Biden’s Big Climate Decision?

A new analysis suggests that L.N.G. exports may well be worse for the environment than burning coal.

The Biden Administration’s Next Big Climate Decision

The liquefied-natural-gas buildout—and fossil-fuel exports—challenge progress on global warming.

The Fight Against Climate Change Returns to the Streets

But this movement clearly needs to expand again.

Hurricane Idalia’s Explosive Power Comes from Abnormally Hot Oceans

By burning fossil fuels, humans force the oceans to soak up the heat equivalent of a Hiroshima-size bomb, over and over again.

A Music Podcast Unlike Any Other

Andrew Hickey has embarked on a heroic and wild effort to tell the history of rock music in five hundred songs.

Heat Waves and the Sweep of History

This burning summer is taking us out of human time.

The Transcendent Thrill of Watching the Tour de France

The hours of coverage a day provide a pleasurable distraction from flooding rains, air-quality alerts, and climate dread.

Big Heat and Big Oil

A rapid end to burning fossil fuel would arrest the heating that has caused extreme damage in recent weeks; and that rapid end is possible.

Is It Hot Enough Yet for Politicians to Take Real Action?

The latest record temperatures are driving, again precisely as scientists have predicted, a cascading series of disasters around the world.

To Save the Planet, Should We Really Be Moving Slower?

The degrowth movement makes a comeback.

Looking at the White House Through Wildfire Smoke

This week, elected officials can see for themselves why they must get serious about climate change.

A Supreme Court Ruling the Fossil-Fuel Industry Doesn’t Like

Communities can now sue in state courts for compensation for the costs of climate change—something oil companies have fought against for years.

A Case for Climate Optimism, and Pragmatism, from John Podesta

The veteran political operative now has one of the nation’s top climate jobs. He speaks about the Willow oil-drilling project, the Inflation Reduction Act, and the Biden White House.

The Biden Administration’s Plan to Make American Homes More Efficient

New building codes from the Department of Housing and Urban Development are the latest addition to a long list of Earth Week environmental wins for the White House.

Is the Fight Against Climate Change Losing Momentum?

Some financial institutions are backing away from emission pledges.

John Kerry Thinks We’re at a Critical Moment on Climate Change

As he steps down from office, the first Presidential envoy on the climate says that we have made progress, but we’re not moving fast enough.

A Skiing World Cup Comes to the United States

Despite a record-breaking warm winter in Minneapolis, American Nordic skiers come into their own—and hope that their sport can survive.

The U.N. Announces the Hottest Year

The climate heated up, but clean energy did, too.

At Least We Can Give Thanks for a Tree

Visiting the largest known white pine.

The Next Power Plant Is on the Roof and in the Basement

A Department of Energy report promotes a new system that could remake the energy grid.

A Smoking Gun for Biden’s Big Climate Decision?

A new analysis suggests that L.N.G. exports may well be worse for the environment than burning coal.

The Biden Administration’s Next Big Climate Decision

The liquefied-natural-gas buildout—and fossil-fuel exports—challenge progress on global warming.

The Fight Against Climate Change Returns to the Streets

But this movement clearly needs to expand again.

Hurricane Idalia’s Explosive Power Comes from Abnormally Hot Oceans

By burning fossil fuels, humans force the oceans to soak up the heat equivalent of a Hiroshima-size bomb, over and over again.

A Music Podcast Unlike Any Other

Andrew Hickey has embarked on a heroic and wild effort to tell the history of rock music in five hundred songs.

Heat Waves and the Sweep of History

This burning summer is taking us out of human time.

The Transcendent Thrill of Watching the Tour de France

The hours of coverage a day provide a pleasurable distraction from flooding rains, air-quality alerts, and climate dread.

Big Heat and Big Oil

A rapid end to burning fossil fuel would arrest the heating that has caused extreme damage in recent weeks; and that rapid end is possible.

Is It Hot Enough Yet for Politicians to Take Real Action?

The latest record temperatures are driving, again precisely as scientists have predicted, a cascading series of disasters around the world.

To Save the Planet, Should We Really Be Moving Slower?

The degrowth movement makes a comeback.

Looking at the White House Through Wildfire Smoke

This week, elected officials can see for themselves why they must get serious about climate change.

A Supreme Court Ruling the Fossil-Fuel Industry Doesn’t Like

Communities can now sue in state courts for compensation for the costs of climate change—something oil companies have fought against for years.

A Case for Climate Optimism, and Pragmatism, from John Podesta

The veteran political operative now has one of the nation’s top climate jobs. He speaks about the Willow oil-drilling project, the Inflation Reduction Act, and the Biden White House.