Peter
Schwartzstein

Enviro journalist & researcher, think tanker @ The Wilson Center & @ Center for Climate & Security, Author of 'The Heat and the Fury: On the Frontlines of Climate Violence'

@pschwartzstein

Latest Stories

National Geographic 

Jul 9, 2015

Iraq's Famed Marshes Are Disappearing—Again

A decade after the restoration of their once fruitful wetlands, the Marsh Arabs are struggling to cope with the country's water shortage.

Foreign Policy 

Jul 1, 2015

Welcome to Basrastan

Iraq’s oil-rich southern province is pulling away from Baghdad's central government. And it's not alone.

The Guardian 

Jun 19, 2015

Iraq policy of sending students abroad begins to bear fruit at home

Higher Committee for Education Development scheme helps to create new professional class capable of rebuilding public sector and challenging Islamic State

National Geographic 

Jun 2, 2015

Baghdad's Reopened Museum Battles Bombs, Sparse Attendance

Iraq's flagship museum welcomes visitors for the first time in 12 years as jihadists continue to destroy the country's cultural heritage.

Roads and Kingdoms 

Jun 2, 2015

Dam Fury

In Lebanon, not even dams are immune from sectarian disputes

Quartz 

Jun 1, 2015

Iraqis say ISIL’s impact on Baghdad food prices is even worse than its car bombs

BAGHDAD—Four years after US troops pulled out of the Iraqi capital, local merchants are once more cursing America.

“Look at these prices,” Abu Mustafa said, as he gestured at the mounds…

The Guardian 

May 26, 2015

Syrian refugees in Lebanon camp reliant on 'hell water' that reduces metal to rust

Poor management of resources, political stalemate and an influx of Syrians fleeing war to settlements like Shatila have exacerbated Lebanon’s water crisis

Quartz 

May 21, 2015

Iraq enlisted 100,000 militiamen to fight ISIL and now it can barely control them

BAGHDAD—With traffic on the Republic Bridge snarled up for half a mile and lunchtime fast approaching, the two pickup trucks chock full of armed men in desert camouflage decided they could stand the…

Quartz 

Apr 15, 2015

The Arab Spring’s best legacy: Egyptians are now reading once-banned books

In his 25 years manning a stall at Cairo’s storied Ezbekiya book market, Ali El Shaer has often had to revise his stock. When local students favored socialist treatises, he bought Karl Marx by the…