Atmos Magazine

We had a packed New York Climate Week this year. Here is a snapshot of the events we attended—and hosted. Our Executive Director Theresa Perez told her story of reciprocity with Health In Harmony. We visited Seeing The South, a photography exhibition spotlighting communities in the southern US states by Southern Environmental Law Center. Ocean Frontier was an evening of talks and hands-on exhibits at Pioneer Works. The Green Jobs Pavillion was hosted by Kristy Drutman and featured three days of panels, speeches, and networking events from individuals and companies in the sector. We had a beautiful evening in the company of Overstories with Celina Chien and hopped on a boat with the Billion Oyster Project to see their incredible work. To end our week, we hosted Enchanted Forest, an evening of song, science, and spirit to honor one of Earth's most precious ecosystems. We were joined by musician Dianna Lopez, artist Elizaveta Porodina, Giuliana Furci, Maria Popova, Juma Xipaia, Richard Ladkani, Dax Dasilva, Alice Aedy, Robin Wall Kimmerer, and Dr Ticora Jones of Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).

Coming together to honor the trees. During this year's New York Climate Week, lovers of nature gathered at The New York Public Library in celebration of the planet’s forests. Hosted by Atmos Executive Director Theresa Perez, Enchanted Forest immersed guests in a sylvan exhibition by photographer Elizaveta Porodina. The program opened with a sonic journey through California’s Sequoia National Forest with musician Dianna Lopez after which Giuliana Furci and Maria Popova, took us deep into the wondrous world of funga. This was followed by a powerful conversation between the storytellers behind the new documentary Yanuni: Juma Xipaia and Dax Dasilva and director Richard Ladkani, moderated by Alice Aedy A talk between Robin Wall Kimmerer and Willow Defebaugh considered what reciprocity with forests might look like in a changing climate. And Ticora V. Jones, Ph.D. of Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) closed out the program by exploring the role of tangible, science-driven solutions in advancing environmental action. Thank you to everyone who came and made the night so special. The full program will be available on YouTube soon. Head here to see more from the evening: https://lnkd.in/eQ2vNhbM Photographs by Leandro Justen Special thanks to our event partners and sponsors Future Being, Davines Group | B Corp since 2016, Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), Textile Exchange, Another Tomorrow, Natural World Safaris, Superorganism, Plant Baby Plant, The Mother Tree Project, Sierra Club Foundation, Support+Feed, and Health In Harmony.

Why do we fight with those we love? In the latest episode of The Nature Of, Willow Defebaugh is joined by Priya Parker, conflict resolution specialist and author of “The Art of Fighting,” to explore how conflict can actually strengthen relationships and group dynamics. Together, they challenge the assumption that all fighting is dysfunctional and unpack how we can build deeper bonds by learning to engage with conflict rather than avoiding it or letting it divide us. Listen here now: https://lnkd.in/gmqhp-qj

Chasing the curve of the Earth. Arctic terns fly up to 60,000 miles each year from the Arctic to the Antarctic and back again—the longest annual migration of any animal. Eternally evading the harshness of polar winter, they chase the undying glow of summer when life is at its most abundant. In the latest edition of The Overview, Willow Defebaugh considers the unparalleled journey of the Arctic tern, and what it reveals about our own ways of navigating the world. Subscribe to our newletters here: atmos.earth/newsletter

A wolf’s howl is one of the most iconic sounds in nature. Wolves have always counted one another by sound, but wolf howl archivist Jeff Reed has been listening to and recording the vocalizations of wolves as a less invasive way to track populations in Yellowstone National Park. The project has so far yielded terabytes of sounds and images, creating "the most detailed acoustic study of wild wolves ever conducted." For Atmos, writer Alexandra Marvar explores how this growing archive could transform the way researchers count, study, and protect one of North America’s most contested predators. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/e3bsrPAs Photographs by Ami Vitale

A blueprint for climate resilience in conservative, rural America. Despite the hand-wringing that occurs over rural America’s hesitation to address climate change, many communities are extremely concerned about it. In the small, conservative town of Machias, Maine, historic flooding, economic pressures, and aging infrastructure have made preparing for a changing future an urgent necessity. In the first installment of Good Neighbors from Atmos, photographer Isabelle Zhao and writer Katie Hill-Schurg traveled to the coast of Maine to see how this town is building climate resilience by doing what people in rural America have always done when faced with a larger-than-life problem: rolling up their sleeves and getting to work. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/e782aYDV

This New York climate week, Atmos executive director Theresa Perez is telling her story of reciprocity at Home Studios Inc alongside a lineup of guest speakers. This one day event at Reciprocity House is a place to gather and receive—a celebration of partnership and collectivity. For more info and to register: https://luma.com/2exwi097

Mending the fashion industry one button at a time. Repairing clothes is not a new concept. For our ancestors and many people across the world today—including in the United States—mending is a routine part of clothing care. However, over the last decade, repair has re-emerged as a service offered by luxury department stores, high-street chains, and neighborhood cafés. For Atmos, Lauren Cochrane explores how brands can reckon extending the shelf life of their products with business models built on infinite growth. Photographs by David Baum Read more here: https://lnkd.in/er-Funat

Seventeen years ago, I moved from New York City to a tiny hamlet in Northern New York where the most recent population estimate was 371 people. The transition to rural life wasn't without challenges, to be sure; but like so many stories about taking leaps, moving here provided many life lessons and colorful characters in spades along the way—to say nothing of the unfettered access to the natural world. I’ve watched from this rural perch in equal parts disbelief and shame as our country devolved into chaotic culture wars. Communities like mine got painted with a broad brush as “Trump Country” and “anti-environmentalist,” even as my friends protected wetlands, cleaned up garbage along the St. Lawrence River, tracked water quality in lakes, or spent virtually every waking second of their day outdoors enjoying nature. To be clear, I’m not just talking about liberals. While North Country gatherings took on the tenor of a joke’s opening line—“A vegan, a Trump voter, and a libertarian walk into a bar—” elsewhere, people wrote each other off for their politics. None of this is to say everyone here agrees on all things or that everyone around here is some kind of saint; nothing could be further from the truth. But as our collective intolerance for one another seems to thrive in equal measure to our ignorance of one another, I’m proud to live in a place where I feel largely accepted by a constellation of strange and wonderful people who may vote or think differently from me, but who are tolerant of differences and share a reverence for, and reliance on, the natural world. So when I had the opportunity to pitch a new series for Atmos Magazine, I suggested a body of work highlighting rural communities coming together in defense of each other and the Earth. Areas like mine, where people stood up to development on shorelines that host fragile ecosystems hanging on by a thread; or cleaned up old dump sites; or revived a river after a devastating oil spill. We found two WONDERFUL journalists—writer Katie Hill-Schurg and photographer Isabelle Zhao—who spent this summer crisscrossing the country to talk to people in rural America who have come together to protect their corners of the planet. These are the kinds of stories playing out all around us if we will just pick up our heads and stop letting people tell us we’re more divided than ever; if we will talk to each other and work to find common ground; to listen to each other and accept that we’re different and also still find a way to come together and make things better. The first edition of the six-part "Good Neighbors" series comes out this Thursday—you can sign up at https://lnkd.in/dcraidN4 to get each edition in your inbox.

Lessons from a life shaped by solitude. From their translucent fur that appears white to their extraordinary sense of smell, polar bears are perfectly adapted to life on the remote Arctic sea ice. While considered solitary hunters, they are still bound up in a web of interdependence. In this week's edition of The Overview, Willow Defebaugh looks to the polar bear for lessons on finding connection within solitude. Subscribe today: atmos.earth/overview Photograph by Lena Emery