Climate Wars

Thirty years of Atlantic articles on climate change, clean tech, and Freeman Dyson.

Trouble in the Stratosphere (November 1982)
by Tracy Kidder
An early warning about the greenhouse effect from a Pulitzer Prize–winning author.

Can Selfishness Save the Environment? (September 1993)
by Matt Ridley and Bobbi S. Low
The best way to avert global ecological disaster is to make tap into self-interest rather than selflessness.

The Great Climate Flip-Flop (January 1998)
by William H. Calvin
Despite the phrase "global warming," unchecked greenhouse gases could lead to a new ice age.

A Special Moment in History (May 1998)
by Bill McKibben
The fate of our planet will be determined in the next few decades, through our technological, lifestyle, and population choices.

Breaking the Global Warming Gridlock (July 2000)
by Daniel Sarewitz and Roger Plelke Jr.
If we took practical steps to reduce our vulnerability to today's weather, we would go a long way toward solving the problem of tomorrow's climate.

Some Convenient Truths (September 2006)
by Gregg Easterbrook
Runaway global warming looks all but unstoppable. Maybe that’s because we haven’t really tried to stop it

Global Warming: Who Loses—And Who Wins (April 2007)
by Greg Easterbrook
Climate change in the next century could be enormously disruptive. It could also be a windfall for some people, businesses, and nations.

Waste Not (May 2008)
by Lisa Margonelli
By making use of its “junk energy,” an industrial plant can generate its own power and buy less from the grid.

Re-Engineering the Earth (July/August 2009)
by Graeme Wood
As the threat of global warming grows more urgent, a few scientists are considering radical—and possibly extremely dangerous—schemes for reengineering the climate by brute force.

Brave Thinkers: Freeman Dyson (November 2009)
The pioneering physicist hasn’t won many friends through his contrarian arguments.