Ideas

A new book offers insight into how our public lands were created — and what that means as we fight to protect them today and in the future.

Growing palm oil for use in food is already destroying habitats and causing extinctions. Using it for biofuel will make things even worse.

A Republican bill threatens to open up federal wilderness areas to mountain biking — and in the process threatens the 1964 Wilderness Act.

We need all the tools we can get to address the environmental and economic inequality felt by many across the globe.

Learning how to communicate the issues in a way that people can understand and feel is the key to positive change.

BP’s mistakes, rooted in regulator failures, revealed “such systematic failures in risk management that they place in doubt the safety culture of the entire industry.”

Panda habitats remain heavily fractured, while new research shows breeding centers expose the endangered animals to a hidden yet potentially deadly threat.

Drilling in the refuge was tucked into in last month’s Republican tax bill, defying decades of attempts to protect this pristine wildnerness.

Stories about Bears Ears, sharks, vaquitas, an extinct bat and the Endangered Species Act resonated with our readers this year.

The year of Trump brought challenges, but it also inspired us to seek the truth and find solutions.