Planet A Magazine

Water, Waste, Health, Wildlife—16 climate stories of our time

  • “We Need Help”

    “We Need Help”

    The Manhattan Bridge, viewed from East River Park. The park is undergoing a significant rebuild as part of New York City’s efforts to protect its communities from the effects of climate change. Ben Moore As storms intensify, an activist fears the Bronx will be left behind. Ben Moore Christian Murphy never thought he would become…

  • Beat The Heat 

    Beat The Heat 

    As concerns over a rapidly warming climate spread nationwide, New York legislators seek a solution to the heat and cold stress that has plagued workers for decades.

  • Familiar Ways

    Familiar Ways

    As one of the largest infrastructure plans in New York City history threatens to overlook the South Bronx, one father is making sure his daughter won’t be.

  • No Room to Breathe

    No Room to Breathe

    A worker pauses for a coffee break next to rush hour traffic piling onto the Major Deegan Expressway in Mott Haven. Ani Freedman The South Bronx has suffered through decades of air pollution and high asthma rates‭. ‬Locals‭, ‬activists‭, ‬and scientists are fed up‭.‬ Ani Freedman Maritza Franklin talks about the South Bronx like she…

  • Expanding the Canopy

    Expanding the Canopy

    As climate change accelerates, New York City is turning to an ancient technology to beat the heat: trees.

  • Channeling the Flow of Nature

    Channeling the Flow of Nature

    Madam Brett Dam in Beacon, New York. Luwa Elena Yin The hard work of removing obsolete dams from Hudson River tributaries. By Luwa Elena Yin George Jackman often goes into the hills in the Hudson Valley to walk on the trails that stretch along the slopes. Some are particularly rough, covered with tree branches sticking…

  • Gardens in the Sky

    Gardens in the Sky

    Green Roof on Javits Center. Miho Ouyou Green roofs could help manage stormwater in New York City. But will anyone install them? Miho Ouyou Nature Girl was Inger Yancey’s nickname. Growing up, she and her friends would each point their fingers at different parts of trees, calling them their “offices” under the bright sunlight in…

  • Hot In Here

    Hot In Here

    As hip hop turns 50, a museum rising in the Bronx offers a window into the genre’s mostly hidden—and deeply complex—history with climate change.