To save a dying forest, this town dug in

Years ago, construction of a road cut off the flow of water to a mangrove forest in Mexico, depriving these coast-hugging trees of what they need to thrive and proving deadly for wildlife. But look closely today, and signs of life are beginning to reappear.

June 12, 2025

News spotlight: Study buoys hope for rare axolotls

Axolotls — the cute and charismatic creatures made famous by the video game “Minecraft” — are in a free fall. But a new study is offering a glimmer of hope.

May 1, 2025

News spotlight: A quarter of freshwater species face extinction, study finds

A new study is ringing alarm bells for freshwater species, finding nearly a quarter are at risk of extinction.

January 14, 2025

How a fearsome predator helped bring this community back to life

Shrimp powered a small Mexican community’s economy for years — until deforestation nearly wiped them out. To bring them back, the community enlisted an unexpected, and misunderstood, ally.

September 5, 2024

To save the axolotl, Mexico looks to the past

A Mexico City lake and its canals are the only place on Earth where the axolotl lives. But over the years, it has been drained, polluted and crowded with predatory invasive species — severely endangering the salamander. A new effort aims to change that.

December 6, 2023

What on Earth is the ‘blue economy’?

On the first day of the Economist World Ocean Summit, we break down the “blue economy.”

March 7, 2018

What on Earth is ‘sustainable’ coffee?

What makes coffee “sustainable,” and why it even matters.

September 29, 2016