Portland alley advocates estimate there are 76 miles of alleys in their city—all potential green public spaces. This northeast Portland neighborhood is one of many projects reclaiming forgotten concrete pathways for nature and people. Derek Dauphin
By Lynn Freehill-Maye
Rachel Schutz hated watching the kids play outside, and not because she was a curmudgeon. As director of an after-school program in a Latino neighborhood near Portland, Oregon, she likes the outdoors, the piney tang that hangs in the damp air.
U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Democrat of New York, and U.S. Senator Ed Markey (R), Democrat of Massachusetts, speak during a press conference to announce Green New Deal legislation to promote clean energy programs outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC, Feb. 7. SAUL LOEB / AFP / Getty Images
By Bill McKibben
Myron Ebell of the conservative Competitive Enterprise Institute, the man who led the drive to pull America out of the Paris climate accords, said the other day that the Green New Deal was a "back-to-the-dark-ages manifesto." That's language worth thinking about, coming from perhaps the Right's most influential spokesman on climate change.
For nearly 10 years, the Unistoten camp has occupied hereditary lands directly in the path of the pipeline. Photo by Stephen Miller / YES! Magazine
By Zoë Ducklow
1. Where Is the Unist'ot'en blockade, and What's It About?
The gated checkpoint is on a forest service road about 120 kilometers southwest of Smithers in Unist'ot'en territory at the Morice River Bridge. Two natural gas pipelines are to cross the bridge to serve LNG terminals in Kitimat. Unist'ot'en is a clan within the Wet'suwet'en Nation.
Wet'suwet'en hereditary chiefs claim title to the land, based on their pre-Confederation occupation and the fact that they've never signed a treaty. Their claim has not been proven in court.
Matt Remle, far left, and the organization Mazaska Talks led months of protests at Seattle's pipeline- and tar-sands-funding banks: Chase, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, TD Bank and US Bank. Alex Garland
By Deonna Anderson
In February 2017, Seattle became the first city to pass legislation to divest from a financial institution because of its role in funding the Dakota Access pipeline.
When we gather around the table with friends and family this holiday season, many of us will look down at platefuls of climate change. It won't be our intention, of course, but one aftermath of our holiday cheer is food waste, which is increasingly cited as one of the world's biggest sources of carbon pollution. Fortunately, awareness around the issue is growing, and new resources—from simple household apps to major industry and government initiatives—are emerging to help us tighten the belt on food waste.
"Given the right circumstances of inclusion and support, people can't resist expressing their love and concern for this greatest of all relatives, our Earth." YES! Illustration / Fran Murphy
By Mary Annette Pember
Resistance to the North Dakota Access Pipeline at Standing Rock brought greater media and public attention to Native peoples and our struggles with environmental injustice. It also provided a means for the public to express fears over the environmental threats posed to the Earth by unchecked corporate and governmental exploitation of fossil fuels.
A Honduran migrant caravan heading to the U.S., as it is stopped at a border barrier on the Guatemala-Mexico international bridge in Ciudad Hidalgo, Chiapas state, Mexico, on Oct. 19. PEDRO PARDO / AFP / Getty Images
By Todd Miller
Less than a mile south of the U.S.-Mexico border, in Sasabe, Mexico, a Guatemalan man named Giovanni (whose first name is used to protect his undocumented status) propped up his feet while an EMT applied antibiotic ointment to his feet in the shade of a cottonwood. Giovanni left his home country because of a catastrophic drought and was attempting to unite with his brothers who were already in Dallas. After trying to cross the border into the Arizona desert, his feet were ravaged: discolored, covered in gashes and tender red blisters. One toenail had been ripped off. Across the arroyo or dry wash, were about 30 more prospective border crossers, primarily Guatemalan, some awaiting a similar medical checkup, others stocking up on water and food.
Eating is a reciprocity that we experience multiple times each day. Being mindful of it opens us to a greater understanding of our place in this complex world.YES! Illustration by Enkhbayar Munkh-Erdene
By Kathryn Lafond
During the holidays, talk is often of feasting. Even as a former chef with decades of experience raising plants and animals, I choose not to get into conversations about dietary choices—vegan, carnivore and everything in between. I prefer to ask: What fed you today, and were you thankful?
During World War I, Americans were encouraged to do their part in the war effort by planting, fertilizing, harvesting and storing their own fruits and vegetables. The food would go to allies in Europe, where there was a food crisis. These so-called "victory gardens" declined when WWI ended but resurged during World War II. By 1944, nearly 20 million victory gardens produced about 8 million tons of food.
