Author: Andrew Revkin

Andrew Revkin is the founding director of the new Initiative on Communication and Sustainability at Columbia University’s Earth Institute. There he is building programs, courses, tools and collaborations aimed at bridging gaps between science and society to cut climate risk and spread social and ecological resilience. Revkin has written on climate change for more than 30 years, reporting from the North Pole to the White House, the Amazon rain forest to the Vatican – mostly for The New York Times. He has won the top awards in science journalism multiple times and has written acclaimed books on the history of humanity’s relationship with weather, the changing Arctic, global warming and the assault on the Amazon rain forest, as well as three book chapters on science communication. His 1992 proposition that we’ve entered a “geological age of our own making” got him invited onto the Anthropocene Working Group, the expert team assessing evidence that Earth’s fate is being markedly reshaped by humans. The Golden-Globe-winning HBO film “The Burning Season” was based on Revkin’s biography of slain rain forest defender Chico Mendes. A lifelong musician, he was a frequent accompanist of Pete Seeger and is a performing songwriter. He lives in the Hudson River Valley.

How to Defeat the Climate Change Complexity Monster

Use key questions to cut amorphous slogans like “climate emergency” into addressable pieces.
A Plastics Treaty Will Be Grand, but this Recycling Innovator in Indonesia Isn’t Waiting

A pop-up Sustain What conversation with a sustainability-focused entrepreneur building a plastic trash-to-resource business across eastern Indonesia.
Simplifying the Language of the Climate Crisis

Climate and clean-energy communication is filled with numbing jargon and complexity. But clarity is needed to connect and empower. A simple writing tool might help.
Gauging Losses and Lessons in Turkey’s Unfolding Earthquake Tragedy

As earthquake engineers stress, most of the time, buildings kill people, not the shaking itself. It’s exceedingly hard to unbuild, move back, or retrofit buildings at scale.
California’s Atmospheric Rivers Warn of Future Climatic Calamity

Atmospheric rivers continue to hit California. What do these events mean for flooding and other potential disasters in California’s future?
As the Human Population Tops 8 Billion, a Look Beyond Bomb and Crash Panic Proclamations

After a two-century spike, huge demographic shifts are under way. Pay less attention to debates about explosions and collapse, and more to fostering girls’ rights and mobility.
Catastrophe Looms as Surge From Hurricane Ian Meets Fast-Growing Florida

This is a worst-case clash between an explosive storm and communities that grew explosively in a hurricane hiatus.
It’s Essential to Act on Climate Emergencies, But a Mistake for Biden to Declare One

It’s important to clarify what a “climate emergency” means and then pursue actions.
As Global Warming Fuels Record-Smashing Heat Emergencies, Cut Vulnerability Now and CO2 Always

Don’t let the heat, or the size of the climate problem, paralyze you. There are cool solution paths cutting climate risk down the block or around the world.

How to Defeat the Climate Change Complexity Monster

Use key questions to cut amorphous slogans like “climate emergency” into addressable pieces.
A Plastics Treaty Will Be Grand, but this Recycling Innovator in Indonesia Isn’t Waiting

A pop-up Sustain What conversation with a sustainability-focused entrepreneur building a plastic trash-to-resource business across eastern Indonesia.
Simplifying the Language of the Climate Crisis

Climate and clean-energy communication is filled with numbing jargon and complexity. But clarity is needed to connect and empower. A simple writing tool might help.
Gauging Losses and Lessons in Turkey’s Unfolding Earthquake Tragedy

As earthquake engineers stress, most of the time, buildings kill people, not the shaking itself. It’s exceedingly hard to unbuild, move back, or retrofit buildings at scale.
California’s Atmospheric Rivers Warn of Future Climatic Calamity

Atmospheric rivers continue to hit California. What do these events mean for flooding and other potential disasters in California’s future?
As the Human Population Tops 8 Billion, a Look Beyond Bomb and Crash Panic Proclamations

After a two-century spike, huge demographic shifts are under way. Pay less attention to debates about explosions and collapse, and more to fostering girls’ rights and mobility.
Catastrophe Looms as Surge From Hurricane Ian Meets Fast-Growing Florida

This is a worst-case clash between an explosive storm and communities that grew explosively in a hurricane hiatus.
It’s Essential to Act on Climate Emergencies, But a Mistake for Biden to Declare One

It’s important to clarify what a “climate emergency” means and then pursue actions.
As Global Warming Fuels Record-Smashing Heat Emergencies, Cut Vulnerability Now and CO2 Always

Don’t let the heat, or the size of the climate problem, paralyze you. There are cool solution paths cutting climate risk down the block or around the world.