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November 1, 2022
A Dispatch from China
Charlene Wang
From mid-June through the end of August, China experienced its worst heat wave in more than 60 years. Hardly anyone was invulnerable: even while working indoors, several of my friends, all in their twenties, experienced heat stroke. On social media, other effects were on display, from eggs boiling on car dashboards and shrimp cooking in the outdoor heat to wildfires in Chongqing and severe drought across southern cities. In August,...
November 1, 2022
A Dispatch from France
Annie Crabill
When school children in Lyon, France, returned to classes this fall, they had a critical decision to make: are they a vegetarian Jeune Pousse, or an omnivorous Petit Bouchon? According to a sample menu, the former, which translates to “Young Sprout,” will enjoy a tandoori-spiced stew with chickpeas, lentils, and vegetables. The latter, named with a nod to traditional Lyonnais restaurants, will be served veal in a tomato-mushroom sauce. Radishes...
November 1, 2022
A Dispatch from Kenya
April Zhu
In his inauguration speech on September 13, President William Samoei Ruto reaffirmed Kenya’s pledge to transition fully to renewable energy by 2030. The country isn’t far from that goal. Unlike the United States, where only about a fifth of domestic electricity currently comes from solar, geothermal, or wind power, Kenya is already at 92 percent. It hosts the largest solar project in East and Central Africa, as well as the...
November 1, 2022
A Dispatch from the American West
Emma Hager
Back in the stiff heat of August, I sat with family and friends, on the porch of an old lodge in southwestern New Mexico, where we broached our habitual subjects of fire and water in the American West. Since the rains had arrived mid-June, we ceded our reunion plans to the Gila River — whose channels, by then, were too deep for even jacked-up trucks to cross — but decided...
November 1, 2022
A Dispatch from the United Kingdom
Hannah Hunt
On July 4, around 2 p.m., I stood staring at Velázquez’s “The Rokeby Venus” in the National Gallery in London. It’s barely noticeable, but if you look closely, you can see that tiny stitches bind five cuts slashed into the painting’s canvas — an act of civil disobedience performed by the Canadian suffragette Mary Richardson 108 years ago as part of the campaign that won women the right to vote....
November 1, 2022
A Dispatch from Turkey
Erin O’Brien
Yakup Şekip Okumuşoğlu has dedicated his life to a cause bound to fail. He is the primary counsel for the protest movement fighting to protect the İskencedere valley in the northern Turkish province of Rize. Every day since March 2021, he and dozens of fellow İkizdere activists have thrown everything they can — lawsuits, vocal pleas, and even their bodies — in front of the heavy machinery brought in by...
November 1, 2022
A Dispatch from Patagonia
Chanelle Adams
Earth is now “the largest shareholder” of outdoor clothing retailer Patagonia, per the company’s homepage. Fall gear is 50 percent off in advance of the change, which will of course outlast the season. Rather than going public like competitor North Face, Patagonia rebranded as “going purpose.” In an unprecedented stroke of generosity, or otherwise a creative retirement plan, the billionaire Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard donated the entire company to the...
November 1, 2022
A Dispatch from New Zealand
India Logan-Riley
Whether for gun control quickly passed after the Christchurch mosque attacks, or for far-reaching lockdowns and border closures to keep Covid out and prevent thousands of deaths, the government of New Zealand is admired around the world. That’s partly because the government’s many mistakes don’t reach the international stage. The supposedly sterling Covid response is a prime example: those who lost their jobs after the pandemic began were given twice...
November 1, 2022
A Dispatch from the Arctic Circle
Vince Cooper
The ship rose up onto the ice, balanced there for a moment, and then lurched back onto its side. We were stuck. The open water had frozen, shutting us in place against a pressure ridge, a thick wall on the ocean’s surface formed by the convergence of sea ice. Our vessel was called the Sikuliaq, and we were some 375 miles due north of Alaska, on a 30-day, 29-person research...
November 1, 2022
A Dispatch from Pakistan
Zoya Rehman
Even though Pakistan emits less than one percent of the world’s greenhouse gasses, our country is among those hardest-hit by climate change. This summer, monsoon rains and melting glaciers have combined to displace some 35 million people, while over 1,500 are already reported dead. It is estimated that Pakistan will lose around $30 billion as a result of the widespread destruction caused by the floods. Farms have been devastated and...
