Mark Hertsgaard

@markhertsgaard

Mark Hertsgaard is the environment correspondent of The Nation and the executive director of the global media collaboration Covering Climate Now. His new book is Big Red’s Mercy:  The Shooting of Deborah Cotton and A Story of Race in America.

Passengers watch as unseen health personnel assists patients onto a boat from the cruise ship MV Hondius, while stationary off the port of Praia, the capital of Cape Verde, on May 6, 2026. Evacuations were taking place because of a deadly outbreak of hantavirus.

The Hantavirus Is Also a Climate Warning The Hantavirus Is Also a Climate Warning

Higher temperatures, like this coming summer’s, bring more infectious diseases.

May 14, 2026 / Mark Hertsgaard

Santa Marta May Be a Game-Changing Moment for the Climate

Santa Marta May Be a Game-Changing Moment for the Climate Santa Marta May Be a Game-Changing Moment for the Climate

At a crucial climate conference, a critical mass of countries begins mapping a fossil fuel phaseout.

Apr 30, 2026 / Mark Hertsgaard

A press conference from the First International Conference on the Transitioning Away From Fossil Fuels.

Wait, Could This Be a Climate Conference That Actually Works? Wait, Could This Be a Climate Conference That Actually Works?

As the Iran war highlights fossil fuel risks, a coalition of the willing pursues a global phaseout.

Apr 27, 2026 / Mark Hertsgaard

A gas mask is held aloft at the inaugural Earth Day protest in New York City, New York, on April 22, 1970.

Earth Day Was Born in Protest Earth Day Was Born in Protest

Now protest may have put Greenpeace USA on the brink of extinction.

Apr 23, 2026 / Mark Hertsgaard

An Indigenous man performs, lying on the ground while holding a globe in his hand during the Indigenous People Global March at the COP30 UN Climate Change Conference in Belém, Brazil, on November 17, 2025.

A New Economic Superpower Could Spark a Retreat From Fossil Fuels A New Economic Superpower Could Spark a Retreat From Fossil Fuels

A little-noticed ray of hope may be peeking over the horizon. A climate conference in Colombia later this month could begin to draw up the roadmap blocked at COP30.

Apr 7, 2026 / Mark Hertsgaard and Kyle Pope

A Google data center in Henderson, Nevada, on July 24, 2025.

The AI Boom Is a Climate Bust The AI Boom Is a Climate Bust

It’s not just the massive amounts of water and energy data centers require—AI is also spreading climate misinformation across the Internet.

Apr 3, 2026 / Mark Hertsgaard

Are Plastics Poisoning Us?

Are Plastics Poisoning Us? Are Plastics Poisoning Us?

A Netflix documentary exposes plastic’s health harms but misses its climate connection.

Mar 26, 2026 / Mark Hertsgaard

A BP company logo sits on display on the forecourt of a gas station.

The Silencing Power of Big Oil’s Climate Lies The Silencing Power of Big Oil’s Climate Lies

A new report suggests that the majority of people think new economic rules are required to curb climate change. The issue is that those majorities think they are a minority.

Mar 19, 2026 / Mark Hertsgaard

Men watch from a hillside as a plume of smoke rises after an explosion on March 2, 2026, in Tehran, Iran.

The Iran War Is Also a Climate War The Iran War Is Also a Climate War

Climate change is not a peripheral part of what we’re seeing in Iran—it’s structurally embedded in modern warfare.

Mar 5, 2026 / Mark Hertsgaard and Giles Trendle

Donald Trump looks over Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi as she speaks to US Navy personnel aboard the USS George Washington aircraft carrier at Yokosuka naval base on October 28, 2025.

Japan’s New Climate Bomb—in the US Japan’s New Climate Bomb—in the US

Bloomberg Green reveals the climate costs of the US-Japan trade deal.

Feb 26, 2026 / Mark Hertsgaard

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