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The hit documentary Fed Up is the latest in a litany of articles and documentaries to portray sugar as dietary villain number one. But what if sugar isn't the enemy—and by focusing on its effects, we've ignored the biggest causes of our health crisis and even subverted athletic performance?
Amid the worst drought in California’s history, does the fate of the state’s salmon rest on weeding out the illegal marijuana farms?
When 24-year-old David Sneddon disappeared hiking around western China, officials chalked it up to a drowning. Only a decade later did another scenario emerge: maybe David had been kidnapped and taken to North Korea.
Green biz expert and author of The Big Pivot Andrew Winston says that how much we buy and consume may not be the root of our environmental woes.
Last September, a trekking company's guided trip through the wilds of Papua New Guinea was shattered when machete-wielding men attacked the native porters, killing two on the spot and injuring many more. The motive appeared to be robbery, but Carl Hoffman knew something else was at work—ancient tribal patterns of violence that, he knew, would inevitably be avenged
A showdown at a Utah canyon pits ATV users against the BLM. But the real operators in public-land disputes are out of view—and out to use sportsmen to advance their cause.
The border between Afghanistan and Pakistan is a lawless no-man's-land where violence and suffering rage, and no one has it harder than the region's 21 million Pashtun women. Their mode of rebellion? Short-verse poems called landays.
The most hated man in bike racing wants a second chance with the public. Here's why that's not a sign of the apocalypse.
South African Johnny Olivier was just looking for an easy job to pay the bills. But after agreeing to help a buddy collect lion bones for an international wildlife-trafficking kingpin, he found himself in the middle of an unprecedented poaching scheme that involved imported sex workers, heavy gambling, bags of cash, and the slaughter of more than 30 rhinos.
Conservations want the iconic animals to roam free once again. But many ranchers believe rewilding is a really bad idea.
How the high price of down is changing the insulation market
Frustrated with complacent city officials, some bicyclists are painting their own lanes, installing signs, and making mischief intended to send a loud message to motorists: it's time to take cycling safety way more seriously.
A popular performing orca may get listed under the Endangered Species Act. Her freedom rests on the decision.
Can anything slow down Phil Robertson, the most controversial name in reality TV?
Shortsighted marketers are riding snowboarding into the ground, but there may still be hope to keep the sport alive.
The country's national parks aren't bastions of wild serenity. After all, there were more than 3,700 violent crimes in 2013 alone. But how much protection is too much?
Each spring on Costa Rica’s desolate Caribbean coast, endangered leatherback sea turtles come ashore at night to lay and hide their eggs. Poachers steal them for cash, and as Matthew Power reports, they’re willing to kill anyone who gets in their way.
The new Interior Secretary has an impressive résumé. Oil geologist, banker, president of REI. But today's Washington is a landscape without maps, and in this age of climate change and keystone, the major battles are taking place over at the EPA and State. Is greatness still possible at Interior?
Determined that Russia will put on the most lavish Winter Games in history, Vladimir Putin has spent $51 billion, quashed environmental critics, and turned one of Europe’s most beautiful natural regions into a construction zone.
The former trainer's controversial study says he can
Each summer 20,000 shining paragons of American boyhood march into the wilderness of Philmont Scout Ranch to confront an age-old question: Can the anarchy of adolescence be tamed?
New Jersey’s post-Sandy strategy: massive resistance to rising seas
The billions in federal Sandy relief will mainly be used to rebuild what was there before
With programs like the Biological Passport, the sport has made admirable progress. But more still needs to happen, including some bold new steps.
Dams removed from Western rivers get the lion share of attention, but nearly 100 dams have been removed from waterways in Northeast since 1991.
The big surprise about the return of great whites to the birthplace of Jaws? No one’s freaking out.
What would summer be without access to clean water for swimming, fishing, surfing and paddling? It would probably be about as fun as summer without access to good beer.
He's loud, he's proud, and—advisably or not—the Nuge always speaks his mind. We caught up with the 64-year-old rocker ahead of the return of his TV show, Spirit of the Wild, to talk about why he still spends his downtime hanging out in the woods.
What made this former legislative aide ditch Capitol Hill for the life of a wandering fly fisherman? The fish, of course.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife agency is making its long-awaited move to lift federal protections for the gray wolf while focusing more resources on Mexican wolf recovery. But the fate of the species remains unclear.
Environmentalists gain an unlikely ally
The paragliding community is spitting mad about a video that purports to show a paramotor provocateur chasing and assaulting an owl for nearly seven minutes. But how do you identify the guy?
What do rock-climbing heart transplant patients, Somali pirate hunters, and arctic cowboys have in common? All could be found on the big screen at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival. Of this year’s 217 films, these seven outdoor-focused picks were a cut above.
The climate activist was released yesterday after being incarcerated for 21 months
Mined, dammed, and sucked dry: The annual list of of the country's most endangered waterways is out—and it isn't pretty.
The new country of South Sudan is blessed with oil, water, and a safari bonanza: one of the largest, most stunning animal migrations on earth. But without roads, laws, or infrastructure, can Africa’s youngest state turn potential into stabilizing profit? Patrick Symmes joins the adventure.
Take a page out of new books from Pollan, William McDonough, and Michael Braungart
Desertification is out of control, but there may be a way to stop it
In short: they clean up a lot of poop
Until all is perfect on the Yucatan front, tourists must do their part to be a responsible addition to the ecotourism equation. How?
Ken Chase created a company that provides luxury tours for American conservatives. It's—this is important—not a place for angry Cambridge democrats. Also: "angry Cambridge democrat" is really redundant.
Dan Baum, author of Gun Guys: A Road Trip, talks to Jason Fagone about the appeal of the AR-15 rifle, the link between gun love and social class, and how carrying a firearm changes the way you look at the world
As rising waters lap at endangered species' heels, the most effective responses are likely found outside the scope of that landmark legislation
Though its funding ends next year, the Transit in Parks program is seeking solutions to congested parks and opening federal lands to non-motorized travel
In 1900, Chicagoans remade their city’s namesake river. Then they let it go to hell.
Hollywood sticks it to the energy establishment with the new Matt Damon and John Krasinski film
Fauja Singh is giving up marathons later this month. We spoke to him about what it's like to run at his age and why he's still doing it.
Will a pilot program meant to find a second life for pre-owned apparel and footwear get off the ground?
Travis Winn, a 29-year-old river guide based in Kunming, is working to bring people from China’s growing cities out to see the last remaining wild river in the country and, in doing so, martial their support for protecting it from a series of proposed dams
With Jewell, the CEO and president of REI, at the helm of the Department of the Interior, could the industry finally find its green mojo?
If it takes off, crowdfunded science could create a platform for more nimble, fast-paced research that isn't bogged down by bureaucracy
Eric Nusbaum went to a bullfight in Mexico City, and, among other things, he realized Ernest Hemingway was totally wrong
Pipeline protest. Photo: Dogwood Initiative Amid an increasingly conservative Canadian government focused on exploiting the land’s resources, the country’s indigenous people have risen up through a grassroots protest movement called Idle No More. The Idle No More protest movement was…
Have you ever watched a three-year-old curling match while you had the flu?
Photo: Flickr/Boklm Earlier this month, a federal judge ruled that an expansion plan for Homewood Mountain Resort on the shores of Lake Tahoe would not be allowed to move forward without further considering a scaled-back alternative with less environmental impact. The Sierra…
Axie Navas takes a look at the controversy behind California's recent ban
A proposal to link seven mountains and 17,000 acres in one European-style network in Utah’s Wasatch Range has created a lot of controversy. While Peter Metcalf, the CEO of Black Diamond Inc., thinks it’s a terrible idea (rea
A proposal to link seven mountains and 17,000 acres in one European-style network in Utah’s Wasatch Range has created a lot of controversy. While Ski Utah’s president, Nathan Rafferty, is a big proponent (read his take here), P
In a place built on selective ignorance, a storm forced everyone to stop and think
Utah resort managers are working to link seven mountains and 17,000 acres in one European-style network. Here's what it would look like.
Three months after protesting the clear-cutting of forest and the use of sewage-effluent snow, Klee Benally and three other activists suddenly face half a year in prison. Leslie MacMillan tries to figure out why.
Giant mining companies are tearing up some of the wildest places on earth to feed our hunger for gold. But do we even need it?
Brian Blickenstaff spent a day without his clothes on, taking baths with complete strangers
New research done for Protect Our Winters and the Natural Resources Defense Council puts dollar signs on something we already know: climate change is killing the snow sports industries. yuriy kulik/Shutterstock Jeremy Jones and Chris Steinkamp, founder and executive director, respectively,…
What's the best way to get to know a new city? Put on your sneakers and move.
Mexico City has a very real stray dog problem. Eric Nusbaum investigates all the ways—from the humane to the horrific—it's being addressed.
Bags of oysters. Photo: Orin Zebest It's been a year of important milestones in Marin County, California. The Golden Gate National Recreation Area, which includes the Marin Headlands, turned 40. The Golden Gate Bridge hit 75 years. Further north, the…
If she's approved for the job, one of Rice's first tasks will be considering—and potentially approving—the controversial Keystone XL pipeline mega-project that would expand the tar sands industry
A brief guide to the biggest environmental issue of the 2012 election
The FBI used an 18-year-old woman called “Anna” to infiltrate an alleged ecoterrorism cell. Did she stop a bomb plot before it came off? Or did she launch one?
Ken Burns talks about his latest documentary and why a 1930s disaster means so much in the present day
Leslie MacMillan investigates the questionable destruction of a Crow Indian religious site in Montana
The leader of the Free Burma Rangers keeps his identity secret. But he’s real, and he’s definitely hardcore. A former U.S. Special Forces operative—and an ordained minister, climber, and triathlete—he trains rebels and refugees in the fine art of outwitting one of the world’s most oppressive regimes to deliver humanitarian aid. Adam Skolnick hits the trail with a soldier on a mission from God.
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA Kate Rawles on her Mexico-to-Canada tour. Photo: Chris Loynes Kate Rawles is an outdoor philosopher. That is a title she coined herself, and it is accurate in more than one way. She spends her professional life thinking about, talking about,…
NYC, Avenue C at East 6th Street, Oct. 29, 2012. Photo: David Shankbone/Flickr The loss of life and property damage from Superstorm Sandy is still being tallied, but the catastrophe is pointing a spotlight on the need for cities to adapt…