Environment
Archive
Former reality-show skipper Chris Fischer has revolutionized shark science—with a daring system for catching the beasts alive and a radical new research-funding model. During an expedition off the coast of Chile that was interrupted by an undersea earthquake, our man wonders if this guy is the next Cousteau or a corporate-sponsored hype machine.
Return of the River is a feature documentary that tells the story of the largest dam removal and river restoration project in history, currently taking place on the Elwha River in Wahsington State. The film explores an extraordinary community effort to set the river…
Research continues to reinforce long-standing claims that tapping Canada’s tar sands will push global temperatures to scary heights
Putting pipelines through sensitive ecosystems has led to catastrophic oil leaks before. The threat from Keystone is no different.
Canada has the potential to lead the world in renewable energy—if only the government will listen
This month, a bill was introduced that would limit presidential authority to protect the natural wonders of the U.S.—and it is far more likely to pass than its predecessors. Here's why that's a very bad idea.
After 6 years mired in political turmoil, the controversial pipeline proposal could be concluded this year.
For people who live on the wild edges of wolf country, the animal’s presence can be magical and maddening at once. Twenty years after their reintroduction to Yellowstone National Park, the Gray Wolf remains the most polarizing animal in the American West. …
Twenty years after wolves were reintroduced in the Northern Rockies, many politicians would still love to see them eradicated, and hunters and ranchers are allowed to kill them by the hundreds. But the animals are not only surviving—they're expanding their range at a steady clip. For the people who live on the wild edges of wolf country, their presence can be magical and maddening at once.
Filmmaker and wildlife adventurer Donnie Vincent has a passion for hunting. He admits it’s a controversial pursuit these days, but he has his reasons. For Vincent, hunting isn’t a sport, it’s a way of life. He says, “Unless you’re a small time rancher, small time farmer, a…
The Director of Programs at the Natural Resources Defense Council on the fights she faces in 2015, and how to get involved.
Wilderness Collective recently took a pack horse trip through the John Muir Wilderness in California, and after watching this, it's pretty clear why they went. The entire voice over of this short film is comprised of quotes from Muir's seminal book, “My First Summer in the Sierra,”…
The bold move ostensibly protects one of the world’s most productive fisheries. But the bay’s most pressing threat remains: the Pebble Mine.
California’s Central Valley, the largest agricultural sector in the nation, sustained the highest water loss it’s ever recorded in 2014. Without water, wildflowers struggled to grow, and honeybees lost their source of food. Honeybees are linked to $15 billion in US crop pollination, and California’s small business beekeepers have now…
When Senior Editor Grayson Schaffer reported on delisting Grizzlies for the January Issue of Outside, he spent several days with Casey Anderson in the Tom Miner Basin, north of Yellowstone National Park. A rancher had put down an old horse, and local bears were making regular visits to the…
Shane Davis is data-mining the oil and gas industry to win hearts, minds, and legislative battles
Bob Windsor keeps Churchill, Manitoba, free of a different kind of perp
The crude that would feed the XL pipeline comes from a once pristine part of Alberta that now resembles mining operations on a sci-fi planet. At places like Fort McKay, home to First Nations people who've lived there for centuries, the money is great but the environmental and health impacts are exceedingly grim.
The large canine wandering Arizona's Kaibab Plateau appears to be a gray wolf from Yellowstone. Which means its future is grim.
The World Health Organization says noise is now second only to air pollution as an environmental cause of ill health. In Pursuit of Silence is a meditative film from Transcendental Media that will explore our relationship with sound and the impact of noise on our lives. …
For many of us, the mountains are a magical place. Mountains of Dreams from Watching Eye Productions pays tribute to the landscape so many cherish with spectular footage of mountains from all over the planet. …
Earlier this summer, filmmakers from Pixel Bokeh flew from Homer, Alaska, to the McNeil River to test cameras and film some Alaskan Brown Bears. The footage they got was pretty spectacular. …
A film from O.A.R.S. and filmmaker Pete McBride, River of Eden is a journey into the Fijian Highlands to discover why the locals said “no” to easy money from resource extraction, and how they turned to tourism to fund a conservation area that protects one…
Last week, a judge ordered homeowners to remove their controversial hut from a Washington ridge. Why? To protect the view.
The first short film from More Than Just Parks, this video is an incredibly stunning journey through Olympic National Park. The culmination of a month of backpacking, 500 miles traveled, and 50,000 photos and videos taken, this short film showcases the park’s glacial mountain…
There are many threats to the 50-year-old Wilderness Act. But the most dangerous, Kenneth Brower says, comes from those who are chipping away at the very idea of wilderness itself.
Jonathan Field is a Canadian Cowboy who takes an “ancient approach” to raising the animals he loves. Watch Field describe his methods in this short clip from the Red Bull-sponsored documentary Harmony with Horses. A short from Salazar Film. …
In honor of the 50th Anniversary of the Wilderness Act, Pete McBride and Vital Films put together this stunning visual tribute to some of the most treasured areas in the U.S. …
Explorer Daniel Fox has paddled some of the world's wildest places in search of images that can reconnect us with nature—but not humanize it. His startling Wild Image Project brings wildlife up close and personal, asking viewers to reconsider their relationship with the environment. "Nature is raw, rough, cruel, pretty, beautiful, inspiring, but above all, a humble experience," Fox says. And that's a great thing.
The hours are long, and the work can be dangerous. But animal care workers, the unsung heroes devoted to the health of mammals at SeaWorld and other marine parks, have unrivaled access to the animals—and the challenges of captivity. Here, three former employees go on the record about their experiences.
Ernest Moniz talks to Outside about radioactive waste, SuperTrucks, dazzling solar arrays, southwestern breakfasts, and a trout stream that has to remain top secret.
More than four years in the making, Mission Blue is legendary oceanograpgher Dr. Sylvia Earle’s eye-opening wake-up call to save the ocean. Directed by Fisher Stevens (“The Cove”) and Robert Nixon (“Gorillas in the Mist”), the film follows Dr. Earle on her global quest…
North Carolina State University wants to sell off Hofmann Forest for $150 million. Is that such a bad thing?
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Wilderness Act. Signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson on September 3, 1964, the federal law is a milestone in conservation and has been used to preserve over 100 million acres of wilderness. This special segment of…
In the half-century since the Wilderness Act was passed, almost everything has changed. All the more reason to go wild.
Artist Cory Trepanier’s journey to the Yukon’s Kluane National Park and Reserve was a month of awe and wonder in 22,000 sq kilometers of raw Canadian wilderness. The first chapter of his TrueWild project, he skied and camped in part of the largest non-polar ice field on earth, canoed on remote lakes…
Namibia's desert elephant population is dwindling—so why are they handing out hunting permits?
A down-and-out polar bear in Argentina could use a change of scenery. Is it too late?
Wind power may have faded as an energy alternative, but a Google-backed startup is poised to revive the industry.
The true, tragic, and improbable love story between a handful of Navy scientists and the small cetaceans they believed held the keys to mastery of the oceans.
Three plane fuselages in a Montana river might seem like a problem, but there’s more to the accident than meets the eye.
Pet-friendly American suburbs make ideal habitats for skunks, and populations of the bushy-tailed moochers have exploded in recent years. Time to investigate an outbreak that's bringing the wrong kind of funk to summer nights.
Footage from Mark James’ original encounter with Bam Bam the Bighorn Sheep. These clips made Bam Bam YouTube famous and certainly the most well-known Bighorn on the Internet. Read the full story here. …
Public land isn’t always protected. Common Ground, a RED REEL film and an official selection of Mountainfilm in Telluride 2014, examines what happens when a community battles with the idea of proposing more wilderness while protecting heritage, tradition, and a way of life. …
It's not easy to swim with sperm whales: they're hard to find, hard to reach without adequate diving experience, and they just might swallow you up if you get too close. But how else are we going to crack their complicated language system? A group of rogue freedivers takes the plunge.
The Navy showed us it's possible, but is our most abundant natural resource a practical energy solution?
Activists have brought down five proposed dam projects on two Patagonian rivers. What does this mean for one of the world's wildest and most iconic regions?
On March 28th, 2014, the Morelos Dam on the Arizona/Mexico border was opened, and a "pulse flow" released—an experiment in ecological restoration. It worked: For the first time in 16 years, the Colorado River ran free all the way to the Sea of Cortez. Intending to paddle the river to its natural terminus, writer Rowan Jacobsen and photographer Pete McBride assembled a crew they dubbed "Team Delta Force." Their goal was to complete the first ever standup paddleboard (SUP) descent of the Colorado. This gallery highlights their historic journey, and you can read about the entire journey in Outside's July issue.
It's been more than 50 years since the Colorado River regularly reached the sea. But this spring, the U.S. and Mexico let the water storm through its natural delta for a grand experiment in ecological restoration. As the dam gates opened, a small band of river rats caught a once-in-a-lifetime ride.
A story about an American icon, environmental displacement, and slob behavior by the human race
Newly prescribed pollution limits are sure to push coal further out of the U.S. energy mix—but overseas demand might help keep coal cranking stateside.
Wolf Carr is a beekeeper from Portland Oregon, and the owner of Wolf Honey. A short profile piece from Juliet Zulu about the importance of following your passion and doing things you love. Read the full story here. …
The first county in the United States to outlaw fracking has an idea that could give environmentalists the upper hand—and deliver a major setback to big oil.
Chelsea and Hillary Clinton have teamed up to confront a new challenge—protecting the heavily poached African elephant.
Last year, a lone wolf became the first to enter California in nearly a century. Now, with his own Twitter feed and a new mate, he's kind of a big deal.
Amid the worst drought in California’s history, does the fate of the state’s salmon rest on weeding out the illegal marijuana farms?
Green biz expert and author of The Big Pivot Andrew Winston says that how much we buy and consume may not be the root of our environmental woes.
The Little Things is a non-profit snowboard movie/documentary project based on environmentally-conscious riders who are inspirational through their riding, as well as their sustainable ways of living and thinking. The film is an initiative taken on by professional snowboarder Marie-France Roy and directed by Filmmaker Darcy Turenne in which…
In the Sundarbans region of India and Bangladesh, some of the world's last wild tigers roam free and ravenous. An expedition to film these elusive predators is tricky business. You may not see them, but they almost certainly are watching you.
Felt Soul Media and Patagonia’s most recent project will premiere in March at SXSW. Dam removal is no longer the work of a fictional Monkey Wrench Gang. It’s real, upon us, a cornerstone of the modern environmental and cultural movements.
A showdown at a Utah canyon pits ATV users against the BLM. But the real operators in public-land disputes are out of view—and out to use sportsmen to advance their cause.
Asgeir Helgestad is a photographer from Norway whose wildlife imagery seems to step inside the world of the animal. In this profile video from Red Digital Cinema, Asgeir explains why he chose to become a wildlife photographer and what he hopes to convey through his work. …
Some climate scientists argue that it's getting warmer faster at high altitude. And that could spell disaster for mountaineers.
That fancy exfoliating wash cream you just dropped a bundle on? It may be full of "microbeads" and mucking up some major waterways.
Some in congress want to change a bill that allows presidents to designate national monuments. Should we care?
America’s Most Endangered Rivers, the 2014 list from American Rivers.
Harrison Ford, Jessica Alba, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mark Bittman and other mega-celebs lend a hand to the new Showtime series, Years of Living Dangerously—where Hollywood meets wake-up call.
For the first time in years, water is returning to the parched Colorado River delta. Peter McBride prepares to launch.
Bites from lone star ticks have been blamed for causing red-meat allergies.
South African Johnny Olivier was just looking for an easy job to pay the bills. But after agreeing to help a buddy collect lion bones for an international wildlife-trafficking kingpin, he found himself in the middle of an unprecedented poaching scheme that involved imported sex workers, heavy gambling, bags of cash, and the slaughter of more than 30 rhinos.
Here's the good news and the bad news: You won't have to worry about sunscreen or getting pitched into the river.
Conservations want the iconic animals to roam free once again. But many ranchers believe rewilding is a really bad idea.
A new study indicates that climate change will bring the disease, and the bugs that carry it, previously uninfected areas.
Rumbling tankers, military ops, oil and gas exploration—the ocean's turning into a noisy mosh pit and it's having a devastating effect on precious marine habitat
Portland, OR is known for its abundance of massive trees, and this is the story of some of the adventure-loving arborists who care for those trees. Get to know Jim Meyers and his team at Hedgehog Tree Care In this profile film from Juliet Zulu. …
Doomsday preppers have been working themselves into a frenzy way (way!) ahead of the Yellowstone supervolcano's next eruption
When wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park after being absent for almost 70 years, their presence had an astounding effect on nearly everything in the park. Writer and Environmentalist George Monbiot explains the impact they had in this video from Sustainable Man. …
Every couple of months, 68-year-old Ed Zevely rides into the Colorado high country to camp for weeks at a time—and he does it completely alone. Through thunderstorms, open meadows and treacherous passes, he finds his own patch of serenity. Far from the modern world, it’s a place where the only…