Stories by Mark Hertsgaard

Mark Hertsgaard, the environment correspondent for The Nation, is the author of six books, including "Earth Odyssey: Around the World In Search of Our Environmental Future" and, most recently, "HOT: Living Through the Next Fifty Years on Earth." subscribe to Mark Hertsgaard's feed

New Documentary Claims Nuclear Power Can Save the Planet -- Should We Buy in?

Posted on: Jun 10, 2013, Source: The Nation

A conversation about a new documentary "Pandora's Promise," its provocative claims—and the facts it leaves out.

Climate Activists Put the Heat on Obama

Posted on: Feb 4, 2013, Source: The Nation

Obama already has it in his power to slash greenhouse gas emissions and thereby limit the damage climate change inflicts in the years ahead. But will he exercise that power?

Can Sandy Help Jolt America Out of Climate Change Denial?

Posted on: Oct 31, 2012, Source: The Nation

For decades, scientists have been warning that global warming would bring a catastrophic increase in extreme weather. When will we start listening?

Deniers-in-Chief: How the Most Powerful Leaders in the World Just Guaranteed Us a Climate Disaster

Posted on: Dec 15, 2011, Source: The Nation

The Durban deal -- if left unchanged -- guarantees that we will fail to avoid catastrophic and potentially irreversible climate change.

Did Mitt Romney and Rick Perry Make an Illegal Million-Dollar Backroom Deal?

Posted on: Oct 3, 2011, Source: Salon

A new lawsuit reveals contradictory stories about an illicit $1 million campaign contribution from “Swift Boat” funder.

Rick Perry's Hellfire: The GOP Candidate Continues to Deny the Climate Change Linked to the Fires Consuming His State

Posted on: Sep 30, 2011, Source: Salon

The Global warming-denying governor and presidential candidate can't escape a major reckoning at home.

Obama to Thousands of Young Climate Activists: Push Me

Posted on: Apr 18, 2011, Source: The Nation

Obama met with young climate activists and they didn't let the president off easy on his environmental priorities.

Time to Fight Back: How We Can Take on Those Who Are Sabotaging Our Response to the Climate Crisis

Posted on: Jan 27, 2011, Source: The Nation

Here's a plan to confront the climate cranks face to face, on camera, and call them to account for the dangers they have set in motion.

Generation Hot: Meet the Kids Who Are Fated to Spend the Rest of Their Lives Confronting the Impacts of Climate Change

Posted on: Sep 29, 2010, Source: AlterNet

No matter how many solar panels, electric cars and other green technologies, the fact remains that more severe climate change is locked in for decades to come.

When the Numbers Lie: Despite What Pollsters Want You Think, Climate Change Remains an Important Issue for the Public

Posted on: May 3, 2010, Source: The Nation

But key parts of the media have reverted to their longstanding posture of scientific illiteracy and de facto complicity with the deniers' disinformation campaign.

Big News from Copenhagen: Radical Cuts Urged, Deal In Jeopardy

Posted on: Dec 12, 2009, Source: TheNation.com

The divide between big emitters and at-risk nations deepened, threatening the prospects of reaching a climate deal.

Without Drastic CO2 Cuts Immediately, the World Faces a Massive 'Oh Shit' Moment

Posted on: Oct 14, 2009, Source: The Nation

A frightening new climate change study says the United States must eliminate its enormous rate of carbon emission within ten years.

Obama Needs to Spark a Global Green Deal to Create a Sustainable Economy

Posted on: Mar 12, 2009, Source: The Nation

It would be a crash program to jump-start the transition to a global economy that is climate-friendly and climate-resilient.

Will the Tide on Capitol Hill Shift Enough on Global Warming to Ignite Real Change?

Posted on: Jun 5, 2008, Source: The Nation

The debate over the Climate Security Act shows how the next Congress, and the next President, will address the most urgent issue facing us.

We Must Imagine a Life Without Oil

Posted on: Apr 28, 2008, Source: The Nation

The era of cheap, abundant petroleum is just about over. How ready are we to change our habits?

Will Gore Get Arrested?

Posted on: Oct 25, 2007, Source: AlterNet

Mark Hertsgaard: Al Gore is apparently considering an invitation from a prominent environmental group to engage in civil disobedience against the construction of new coal-fired power plants.

Brave New Enviros

Posted on: Jul 24, 2006, Source: The Nation

For the first time, an African-American is at the helm of a major green group. Is environmentalism finally breaking free of its wealthy, white confines?

Kyoto Can't Save Us

Posted on: Feb 14, 2005, Source: AlterNet

Emissions have gone too far and global warming is unavoidable. What is needed is recognition and a willingness to confront the very real challenges ahead.

Silent Night, Deadly Night

Posted on: Nov 30, 2004, Source: Dragonfly Media

Twenty years later, the Dow/Union Carbide disaster in Bhopal continues to wreak havoc on the lives of thousands. And yet corporate officials have never answered for their actions.

Bhopal's Legacy

Posted on: May 10, 2004, Source: The Nation

20 years after the chemical spill killed over 20,000 in India, the CEO of Union Carbide remains a fugitive, DOW is planning a new factory, and two outspoken victims win a major award.

Weathering the Crisis

Posted on: Feb 23, 2004, Source: The Nation

A Pentagon report indicates that climate change looks much more imminent than previously thought. Will the cold, hard data galvanize the administration?

The Greening of the Beat-Bush Movement

Posted on: Oct 19, 2003, Source: Grist.org

After years of internal bickering and distance from other progressive groups, can environmentalists walk the walk of unity and cooperation?

Republicans Talk, But Don't Walk Green

Posted on: May 21, 2003, Source: AlterNet

With the supposedly moderate Whitman out, Bush will redefine his approach to the environment -- a critical battleground in 2004. Of course, Republicans aren't going to change their environmental policies -- just how they talk about them.

Trashing Kyoto Was Only Bush's First Mistake

Posted on: Jan 29, 2003, Source: The Nation

Bush's environmental record after two years is remarkably odious, considering his "achievements" have all been due to economic, military and energy policies.

Conflict of Interest for Christine Todd Whitman?

Posted on: Jan 13, 2002, Source: Salon

The EPA's ombudsman says Whitman muzzled him for criticizing a sweetheart Superfund settlement with a big investor in her husband's firm.

More Murders Make Montiel's Homecoming Bittersweet

Posted on: Nov 19, 2001, Source: AlterNet

Serious trouble is brewing in Mexico following President Vincente Fox's Nov. 8 release of the peasant environmentalists Rodolfo Montiel and Teodoro Cabrera.

The Real Price of Oil

Posted on: Oct 14, 2001, Source: MotherJones.com

Congressional Republicans are using terrorism fears to advance the Bush administration's energy policy, ignoring the plan's enormous long-term cost.

A New Green Deal

Posted on: Jun 24, 2001, Source: MotherJones.com

The government helped launch the digital revolution by investing in technology -- so why not do the same to create an energy-efficient economy?

A Global Green Deal

Posted on: Mar 31, 2000, Source: TomPaine.com

Thousands of environmental activists will converge on Washington to protest the World Bank this weekend, and with good reason. Instead of financing rainforest destruction and climate change, the Bank should support a Global Green Deal: a program to renovate human civilization environmentally from top to bottom while truly fighting poverty. Mark Hertsgaard explains how it could be done.