You should be able to love your pet without participating in a wasteful pet economy. The animal care industry has been marked by excessive packaging, novelty toys, and single-use plastic. What’s an eco-conscious pet owner to do? Here are some pet brands that will help you walk the circular pet talk.

In an ideal world, living sustainably wouldn’t be at odds with owning cats and dogs. Unfortunately, more than 300 million pounds of plastic waste is produced by Big Pet annually. The good news? Consumer demand for a circular economy is driving better alternatives.

Although a year has passed since Hurricane Helene devastated western North Carolina, the region is still grappling with much of the wreckage left behind. With state funding, this local nonprofit launched a new initiative to restore local rivers, streams, and creeks.

"Farmworking communities face a long struggle to overcome mental and emotional impacts" of wildfires. Uprooter Elham Shirin for @sierramagazine.bsky.social www.sierraclub.org/sierra/wildf...

To illustrate what the rapid buildout of Gulf Coast LNG export terminals looks like, this beautifully written @sierramagazine.bsky.social story from @delaneynolan.bsky.social cleverly likens the development to an aggressive disease that advances in stages. www.sierraclub.org/sierra/2024-...

As displaced residents navigate the costs and concerns that come with recovery following the LA fires, the streets are often silent. For many survivors, the quiet in Altadena is deceptive, failing to convey the often all-consuming experience of moving forward from the disaster.

Scientific researcher are constantly looking at big problems in new ways. Nikki Lindt uses her artist skills to unveil new findings about where and how the Arctic is thawing. Her findings are offering scientists a window into a previously unknown way of understanding climate change—through sound.

Despite the overwhelming consensus that nations need to ramp down fossil fuel use, just three countries (the US, China, and Russia) are boosting dirty energy use at alarming rates, finds a new report by the Stockholm Environment Institute.

When Courtney Williams moved to Peekskill, New York, she had no idea that one of the country’s largest fracked-gas pipelines, the Algonquin, ran just 400 feet from her new home. The movement to prevent the pipeline’s expansion sparked a sense of environmental activism that continues to this day.

Years of fire suppression and drier conditions are leading to rare and new fire phenomena. Cyclones and even storms fueled by hotter fires are leveling forests beyond repair. Here's what researchers are saying about how fire changes in an increasingly warmer and drier world.

With federal protections for grizzlies under threat, grizzly bears in the Intermountain West will need more local support. In Montana, a growing cohort of residents is doing just that—helping communities in bear country coexist while making it easier for bears to traverse the landscape. 🌎

The Florida wildlife commission has approved a bear hunt despite the objections of Floridians. Even the state agency has debunked one of the primary justifications for the hunt, which is that bears will run out of habitat. Now, advocates are mounting a novel way to save the state’s bears. 🌎

Sarah Fox wants residents of her Oregon community to expand their horizons when it comes to environmental protection to consider something unexpected: sewers. Without a functioning sewer system, Hood River's watershed would be poisoned with pollution and its residents plagued with disease.

It might seem like renewables are doomed, but in reality, clean energy is advancing with or without the current administration. Solar is still growing faster than ever. On September 21, thousands of people across the US will gather to spread the message that the clean energy revolution is here.

Data centers are an essential part of boosting AI. The Trump administration loves them, but they don't bring jobs or tax revenue, and they can be terrible for the environment. Now, local communities are starting to question whether these huge drains on society are needed in their backyards.

@resistancerangers.bsky.social is a group of 1,000 off-duty and former Park Service employees who are pushing back against the Trump administration's mass firings. The group plans actions, shares info about cuts to programs and public lands, and preserves disappearing park web pages.

With the Bureau of Land Management ramping up oil and gas leasing across millions of acres, recreation and conservation take a back seat. Ride along with this mother as she revels in the beauty of Wyoming's Red Desert while contemplating the fate of lands that may never be the same.

Just out from Sierra's fall 2025 issue: a critical look at how the Trump administration and lawmakers are trying to take public lands away from people and turn them over to private corporations.

For the first time since Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast, the region now has a dedicated passenger train service. Along with providing a sustainable alternative to driving, the new Mardi Gras Service was built with today’s Gulf South in mind.

The deadly toll of wildfire is widely known. The lasting psychological effect? Less so. Here’s how farmworkers are grappling with the costs of doing business in the age of accelerating wildfires.

As Americans enter hurricane season, recovery efforts—or the lack of them—highlight what could be the future for the nation’s largest disaster recovery organization. Disaster funding seems to be at the mercy of leaders who use it as a tool for influence rather than a means to help those in need.

Most shoppers know about floating islands of trash. What they may not realize is that most of the items we return do not return to the website’s inventory. Here’s a closer look at the impact and causes of waste accumulation and how we can find a proactive way to create positive change.

The Revolution Wind offshore wind project was expected to provide reliable and affordable power at a time of rising electricity demand. That didn't stop the Trump administration from trying to cancel the project.

Researchers tried in vain to restore an ecosystem ravaged by wildfire. After several attempts, the team decided to enlist the help of some of the most skilled construction workers of the animal kingdom: beavers. 🌎

The Trump administration wants coal and gas plants to stay open after their operators already agreed to shut them down due to the rising costs of keeping them open. Forcing them to remain in business will mean increasing the electricity bills for millions of ratepayers.

As we approach the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, experts warn new FEMA changes could set the stage for history to repeat itself. Experts say that federal cuts, the loss of expertise, and the slowing of recovery funds are re-creating the exact same problems New Orleans experienced in 2005.

Mexican tetras are a most peculiar fish species. They live in caves. And there, in the absence of light, they look dramatically different: They’re pale and, remarkably, they lack eyes. These adaptations could help researchers develop treatments for human conditions.

Scientists consider the historic decline in the Mid-Atlantic’s blue crab populations. As this value species fades away, so too does a source of pride for a region and sustenance for the region.

This weekend marks the 109th anniversary of the National Park Service. As the agency marks this milestone, it faces an onslaught of threats from within. Both current and former staff are now wondering whether America’s most beloved lands can survive the next four years.

As orca struggle to find peace in an increasingly louder Salish Sea, ships are asked to slow their roll to dim the drum on engines and motors. So far, the volunteer program seems to be working, with underwater noises in the quiet zone cut in half. 🌎

Baltimore has used a trash incinerator to generate electricity for decades, despite the objections of residents who say it’s detrimental to the environment and their health. New efforts are underway to compel the city to cancel its contract with the infamous polluter.

The Trump administration assembled a group of climate deniers to put together a report used to justify revoking a 2009 finding that gave the EPA the authority to regulate carbon dioxide. Now, conservation groups are suing to prevent this flawed report from further undermining climate action.

This region of Mexico was losing residents fast to neighboring cities with more economic opportunities. To help keep residents in the town, they created a booming outdoor recreation business that showcases their culture and historic way of life.

That tension between extraction and environmental protections is especially sharp in northern MN, where a long mining history runs alongside one of the nation’s most visited wilderness areas. Now, the Trump admin wants to lift a mining ban on 225,504 acres within the Boundary Waters’ watershed.

The Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation bought 500 acres to reclaim possession of their ancestral lands. Their plans for restoring it—which include removing invasive species and replanting native ones—could have far-reaching positive impacts on the local environment.

Roof-top solar and battery storage helped New England get through one of the hottest periods this summer. As people cranked up the air conditioners, these systems helped reduce energy load on the system and save ratepayers money.

The Charles River, in Boston, like many urban waterways, has a long history of neglect and pollution. The city has made some progress by separating the sewer and stormwater systems. But new problems are emerging as heavy storms funnel excess nutrients into the region’s waterways.

The violent weather at the top of New Hampshire’s Mount Washington is pleading to novel innovations to track weather. In the process, weather observers are learning more about atmospheric changes that could portend a turbulent future.

A new law mandates the Forest Service to ramp up logging to levels not seen in decades. Former FS employees and other forest experts warn that this may not be possible. Reduced staff, budgets, and supplies mean that federal lands can't compete with private or state operations.

Hurricane Helene was a disaster for wildlife. Its cleanup might be worse. A mismanaged federal cleanup has destroyed river habitats, ripped up trees, and crushed endangered species.

While the true cost of fewer staff and less funding will take years to fully tally, visitors are already starting to feel the impacts of these Trump administration actions at our national parks. Here’s how this situation is creating a perfect storm for land managers and what they are doing about it.

The clothes that you donate don’t just disappear when you drop them off. It turns out that a lot of that ends up on the shores of Africa. Here’s how local designers are creating solutions to problems born thousands of miles away.

More than a thousand cargo ships slowed down last year as they neared the California coast in areas where endangered whales migrate and feed, part of a voluntary effort to avoid deadly whale strikes. The reason? A sculpted award shaped like a whale’s tail, and kudos for environmental stewardship. 🌎

These migratory birds were leaving New York and never returning. Their disappearance stumped the researchers who banded them. However, their discovery led to an unlikely partnership between a coastal Brazilian community and an ornithologist in the US.

The EPA under President Donald Trump is following through on a plan that will revoke its primary authority to control the greenhouse gas emissions that endanger human health and welfare. The move represents a major blow to the global effort to act on runaway climate change.

The five-foot radius around a home­—known in California as “zone zero”—has become a political flashpoint. Now, groups and individuals are trying to persuade their neighbors to adopt this crucial defense against wildfire.

For centuries, researchers believed that these tiny foxes could only survive in one type of habitat. Today, the cute critters are proving Western scientists wrong in surprising ways. 🌎

The National Environmental Policy Act was written with accountability in mind. A series of federal decisions is now eroding this statute. When it's gone, we'll lose one of the most effective ways to promote transparency surrounding the environmental impacts of major projects, policies, and laws.

Trump's EPA announced today that it's revoking its own authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. Here's how we got here.

The effects of wildfires last for years after the blaze has been extinguished. The ongoing problems in New Mexico highlight how local, state, and federal systems aren’t equipped to handle the prolonged recovery times associated with increasingly large and destructive wildfires.