Last Call at the Disaster Department
Trump has signaled an end date for FEMA.
Zoë Schlanger
Zoë Schlanger is a staff writer at The Atlantic. She is the author of The Light Eaters, about the world of plant-behavior-and-intelligence research. She previously covered the environment at Quartz and Newsweek. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, Time, NPR, and elsewhere. She was the recipient of a 2017 National Association of Science Writers reporting award for coverage of air pollution in Detroit, and a finalist for the 2019 Livingston Award for a series on water politics at the Texas-Mexico border. At The Atlantic, she covers climate change.
Latest
Illustration by Akshita Chandra / The Atlantic. Source: Greg Mathieson / Mai / Getty. America Is Backsliding Toward Its Most Polluted Era
A third of Americans still breathe unhealthy air after decades of improvements—which the Trump administration wants to roll back.
Illustration by Jonelle Afurong / The Atlantic. Sources: Thanasis / Getty; FOTOFORCE / Getty. The Trump Administration’s Environmental Pile-On
Environmental justice was patching over gaps in federal law that allowed for zones of concentrated harms.
Illustration by The Atlantic. Source: Getty. The American Weather Forecast Is in Trouble
Layoffs at NOAA will only make weather reports less reliable.
Illustration by The Atlantic. Source: Getty. Trump Could Start a New Pipeline Fight
A tax credit for carbon capture has fans in the oil industry.
Illustration by The Atlantic. Source: Getty. Trump Is Inheriting an Environmental Disaster
PFAS could be the rare environmental issue that gets addressed this term.
Illustration by The Atlantic. Sources: Getty; Bill Clark / Getty; Patrick Guenette / Alamy. The End of L.A.’s Magical Thinking
The fires around Los Angeles are getting under control. But, inevitably, another fire will start.
Illustration by Paul Spella / The Atlantic; Sources: Getty. What Happens When a Plastic City Burns
Most modern couches are basically blocks of gasoline.
Ariel Fisher The Unfightable Fire
The many fires burning around Los Angeles are pressing the limits of firefighting.
David Swanson / AFP / Getty The Palisades Were Waiting to Burn
Fire becomes a year-round danger when Southern California is this dry.
Justin Sullivan / Getty
