Pulitzer Center Update

This Week: Losing Earth

August 07, 2018 | Newsletter
Flooding in Texas following Hurricane Harvey. Image by George Steinmetz. United States, 2018.

Flooding in Texas following Hurricane Harvey. Image by George Steinmetz. United States, 2018.

Losing Earth
Nathaniel Rich and George Steinmetz

Since the Industrial Revolution, the Earth has already warmed more than one degree Celsius. If it warms two degrees, coral reefs will become extinct. Three-degree warming will lead to forests in the Arctic and the loss of most coastal cities. Five degree warming: perhaps the end of human civilization. Did it have to be this way? Nathaniel Rich examines a critical period—1979 to 1989—when we almost moved in another direction. His article, with photos by George Steinmetz, takes up the entire edition of the New York Times Magazine. Beyond funding the project, the Pulitzer Center produced curricular materials to foster vital classroom conversations about the fate of the Earth.

Coalition-backed fighters advance on Yemen’s Red Sea port town of Mocha in this Jan. 11 2017, photo. The coalition forces eventually captured the town from Shiite rebels known as Houthis. Some fighters in the unit were openly al-Qaida, wearing Afghan-style garb and carrying weapons with an al-Qaida logo, a sign of how closely the militants have been involved in the war against the Houthis, who are seen by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates as a proxy for Iranian influence. Image by AP. Yemen, 2017.

Coalition-backed fighters advance on Yemen’s Red Sea port town of Mocha in this Jan. 11 2017, photo. The coalition forces eventually captured the town from Shiite rebels known as Houthis. Some fighters in the unit were openly al-Qaida, wearing Afghan-style garb and carrying weapons with an al-Qaida logo, a sign of how closely the militants have been involved in the war against the Houthis, who are seen by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates as a proxy for Iranian influence. Image by AP. Yemen, 2017.

Secret Deals with AL-Qaeda Fighters
Maggie Michael, Trish Wilson, and Lee Keath

A military coalition in Yemen that is led by Saudi Arabia and backed by the United States has cut secret deals with al-Qaeda fighters, the Associated Press reports. The coalition paid al-Qaeda militants to withdraw from cities, and even recruited some fighters to join the coalition.

A Journey Through Contested Lands

A Journey Through Contested Lands

Contested Lands
Emin Özmen, Thomas Dworzak, Stuart Franklin, Jonas Bendiksen, Susan Meiselas, and Chien-Chi Chang

Six Magnum photographers journey through six countries where indigenous peoples—particularly women—are struggling to retain their rights to their lands and culture. The project fills the pages of Pacific Standard's 2018 photo issue and is available on a special website created by the magazine.