Surviving the Race to Alaska

This motor-free ocean race—with vessels ranging from paddleboards to pedal-assist sailboats—is less about how fast you can go and more about whether you get there at all.

May 10, 2022 | 3,400 words, about 17 minutes

Using a Board Game to Plan for a Changing Planet

For one Māori community, a board game sparked serious discussions about flood risk.

May 9, 2022 | 1,000 words, about 5 minutes

The Prickly Case of a Cross-Border Garbage Chute

The Motagua River whisks Guatemala’s mounds of trash to Honduras’s shores, polluting waters, evicting locals, and causing diplomatic conflict along the way.

May 5, 2022 | 2,800 words, about 14 minutes

The Surprising Scale of the Seagrass Sanitation Service

Millions of cases of potentially deadly gastroenteritis are prevented each year because of the pathogen-reducing powers of seagrasses.

May 4, 2022 | 500 words, about 2 minutes

How the Shipping Industry Sails through Legal Loopholes

A murky world of shell companies, flags of convenience, and end-of-life flags allows companies to dodge accountability and dispose of ships cheaply.

May 3, 2022 | 3,500 words, about 18 minutes

Choosing Winners and Losers in Alaska’s Crab Fishery

A quota system implemented in 2005 has meant economic and social trade-offs.

May 2, 2022 | 950 words, about 4 minutes

Coastal Job: Mudflat Guide

Veteran guide Heiko Campen helps visitors to the Wadden Sea safely explore a vast muddy landscape.

Apr 28, 2022 | 700 words, about 3 minutes

Snails’ Scars Offer a 100,000-Year Record of Crab Populations

A surprisingly simple technique for studying scars on snails’ shells shows how California’s crab population has changed over millennia.

Apr 27, 2022 | 550 words, about 2 minutes