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

Roads and Kingdoms 

Mar 7, 2015

EGYPTIAN RUINS

A year after its destruction, Cairo's Museum of Islamic Art is still a blown-out shell

National Geographic 

Feb 19, 2015

Surrounded by Conflict, an Ancient Synagogue Crumbles in Iraq

Corruption and war threaten the site where biblical prophet Nahum is said to rest.

Quartz 

Jan 19, 2015

ISIL has forced the price of eggs in Syria up by 1,000%

AMUDA, SYRIA—Even in territory it doesn’t control, the Islamic State group, or ISIL, is making an awful nuisance of itself.

Not content with cutting a swath of terror through tracts of Syria…

Le Monde Diplomatique 

Jan 19, 2015

The writing’s off the wall

The Arab Spring revitalised Egypt’s cultural scene. But now everyone is weary, broke and scared.

Le Monde Diplomatique 

Jan 6, 2015

In support of Syria’s Kurds

Syrian Kurds are superb hosts. Between the frequent offers of steaming, overly sugared tea, to the feasts cobbled together at short notice, most will stop at nothing to smooth the stay of foreign guests.…

National Geographic 

Jan 5, 2015

Winter's Cold Brings New Misery for Millions of Middle East Refugees

Refugees from the violence in Syria and Iraq are hunkered down in camps and half-finished buildings in hilly, windswept terrain.

The Daily Beast 

Dec 25, 2014

In One Corner of Syria, Christmas Spirit Somehow Manages to Survive

Divided and drained by war, Syrian Christians are determined to celebrate for the first time in four years.

National Geographic 

Dec 23, 2014

Plunging Oil Prices Hurt Iraqi Kurds' Bid for Independence

As oil prices fall, so do Kurdish hopes for an independent state in northern Iraq.

National Geographic 

Dec 19, 2014

For Leopards in Iran and Iraq, Land Mines Are a Surprising Refuge

Land mines keep people out of the Persian leopard's last habitats, creating a conundrum—removing the hazards leaves the cats more vulnerable.