obituaries
TEDxCanberra/Flickr
Will Steffen, climate scientist who warned of a ‘Hothouse Earth,’ dies at 75
The scientist had advocated for official recognition of the Anthropocene epoch and warned of a "Hothouse Earth" of devastating, unstoppable climate change.
Herman Daly, professor who introduced ecology to economics, dies at 84
He envisioned a new practice of economics, one in which the environmental impact of commerce matters as much as the flow of money.
United Nations Photo/Flickr
Prolonged drought brings famine, death and fear to Somalia
A man in a donkey cart comes wheeling through the dust, carrying two small, silent boys. The sky is overcast. It could rain. It won’t. It hasn’t for a very long time. Mohamed Ahmed Diriye is 60 years old, and he’s completing the grimmest journey of his life.
Patrick Michaels, climate change contrarian, dies at 72
The former Virginia state climatologist became a lightning rod in debates around climate change, reviled by activists and revered among skeptics.
Edward O. Wilson, the Harvard naturalist often cited as heir to Darwin, dies at 92
By deciphering the secrets of ants, he learned how to study social behavior across organisms and became one of the greatest naturalists of his generation. He received two Pulitzer Prizes for nonfiction.
Cornelia Hahn Oberlander, landscape architect and environmental champion, dies at 99
Based in Canada, she was an advocate of sustainability and had close partnerships with architects.
Christopher Stone, environmental scholar who championed fundamental rights of nature, dies at 83
His seminal 1972 article “Should Trees Have Standing?” won notice at the U.S. Supreme Court and entered the bedrock of the modern environmental movement.
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