The story of the island nation is one that gets told and re-told in the climate section of the newspaper, and for good reason: with warming water contributing to harsher and more frequent storms and rising seas threatening coastlines, islands are on the front lines of climate change.
It was one particular island nation, though—the Philippines—that sparked my own desire to work on climate stories, and one that has continued to serve as a north star in my reporting.
So it was a no-brainer to commission a story from the Philippines, about the Philippines, for my first issue as print editor at Atmos. This story by Nicola Sebastian is what resulted, and it’s quickly emerged as a favorite. “The Philippines is an archipelago, and for those who call any of its 7,641 islands home, every day is an encounter with a truth that shapes the history of this planet: that the world is more water than land,” Nicola writes. You can read more of her piece here.
Many more stories from that issue have rolled out online since I first shared that I’d be editing the magazine: check out this story wrestling with Black joy and pain on pilgrimage to Ghana by Jazmine Hughes, this piece by Daphne Chouliaraki Miller on how climate change is impacting ancient olive trees in Greece, and this conversation between religion scholars, led by Mary Evelyn Tucker, on spiritual ecology.
Here in New York, we’re just a few days out from Climate Week, which has become quite the convening over the last few years—the schedule is packed with everything from politics-laden summits to drag shows and dance parties. I’m looking forward to joining in the madness by participating in and moderating a handful of panels, most of which are open to the public. I’d love to see you at any of the below if you’re in town:
What: Beyond Food Fights & Myths: Using Journalism to Bridge the Divide, a panel of journalists who are going beyond the polarizing framing of ‘food fight’ coverage to report on the shift to plant-forward diets, what’s working and what barriers stand in the way.
When: Pier 60
Where: Tuesday, Sept 24, 3:30 pm
Hosted by: Sentient Media
Tickets: Here
What: AI, Adaptive Intelligence, and More-Than-Human Thinking, a conversation meant to help listeners understand the biases, ambiguities, and practices of these models, and how they can be used to build a better world.
When: Wednesday, Sept 25, 7:00 pm
Where: Farm.One
Hosted by: Symbiocene
Tickets: Here
What: Addressing Emergency Brake Solutions Today Through Partnerships, a panel on the importance of methane and other non-CO2 gases in the fight to prevent catastrophic climate change.
When: Thursday, Sept 26, 4:25 pm
Where: Javits Center
Hosted by: The Nest Climate Campus
Tickets: Here
I’ll leave you with the poem “Apophasis at the All-Night Rite Aid” by Catherine Barnett, because the golden harvest moon I saw hovering over Brooklyn on a bike ride home with a friend yesterday was undoubtedly the best thing I saw all day.
Don’t forget to look up,
Whitney