Peter
Schwartzstein

Environmental journalist @NatGeo, @NYT, @bbc etc. Global Fellow @ The Wilson Center, Fellow @ Center for Climate & Security

@pschwartzstein

Latest Stories

National Geographic 

Nov 12, 2020

How Iran is destroying its once thriving environmental movement

Iran once boasted one of the greenest governments. But persecution, paranoia, and war have sunk the Middle East’s most vital conservation programs.

Center for Climate & Security 

Jul 16, 2020

Why the Nile Constitutes a New Kind of Water Dispute – and Why That’s Dangerous

​Ever since workers first broke ground on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) in 2011, international commenters have fixated on the Nile as a possible harbinger of future

The Century Foundation 

Jul 7, 2020

The Authoritarian War on Environmental Journalism

In recent years, journalists in Egypt have fallen afoul of the state while covering almost every environmental issue imaginable. One reporter was

Smithsonian 

Jun 29, 2020

How Urban Design Can Make or Break Protests

Cities’ geography can aid, underscore or discourage a protest movement’s success

Scientific American 

May 22, 2020

Coronavirus Pandemic Threatens to Derail Polio Eradication—but There’s a Silver Lining

COVID-19 has stifled the world’s largest immunization program. Yet polio’s vast workforce is also helping in the fight against the new disease

National Geographic 

May 6, 2020

World’s rarest seal finds refuge on notorious prison island

After decades of hunting, Mediterranean monk seals now have a sanctuary on the “Alcatraz of Greece.” But will it be enough to prevent their extinction?

New York Times 

Jan 11, 2020

The Merchants of Thirst

In Nepal and many other countries, private tanker operators profit from growing water scarcity.

The Atlantic 

Dec 14, 2019

History’s Greatest Sea Is Dying

The failure of countries bordering the eastern Mediterranean helps explain the difficulty of carrying out successful climate-change negotiations.

Scientific American 

Nov 14, 2019

Climate Change May Be Blowing Up Arms Depots

More intense heat waves can destabilize the components of munitions, particularly where explosives are not properly stored