Trees
Cover Story
R. Kikuo Johnson’s “Perennial”
The artist discusses nature in New England, and mourning the old while celebrating the new.
Annals of Nature
Swamps Can Protect Against Climate Change, If We Only Let Them
Wetlands absorb carbon dioxide and buffer the excesses of drought and flood, yet we’ve drained much of this land. Can we learn to love our swamps?
Annals of Inquiry
How I Started to See Trees as Smart
First, I took an acid trip. Then I asked scientists about the power of altered states.
Elements
Making New Climate Data from Old Timber
When an old building is demolished, its construction materials can reveal the secrets of the past.
Onward and Upward with the Arts
Transforming Trees Into Skyscrapers
In Scandinavia, ecologically minded architects are building towers with pillars of pine and spruce.
Annals of a Warming Planet
The Millions of Tons of Carbon Emissions That Don’t Officially Exist
How a blind spot in the Kyoto Protocol helped create the biomass industry.
Daily Comment
More Tree Canopy Can Stop Climate Change from Killing Vulnerable Americans
A small, willfully misunderstood earmark in the Build Back Better Act is in fact a response to a mortal threat.
Under Review
The German Forester Who Wants the World to Idolize Trees
Peter Wohlleben’s “The Hidden Life of Trees” became an unlikely best-seller, and now has a sequel. Does it matter if the books are full of questionable science?
Ars Longa
Burnt Banksy’s Inflammatory N.F.T. Not-Art
The maybe-artist who bought a ninety-five-thousand-dollar Banksy print and set it aflame has big plans, including an art gallery and an outer-space-based “non-fungible token.”
Culture Desk
Looking at a Tree
Painting trees has always been very difficult. But these past few years some of the fear has vanished, and I have been able to approach them.
Annals of Nature
The Past and the Future of the Earth’s Oldest Trees
Bristlecone pines have survived various catastrophes over the millennia, and they may survive humanity.
This Week in Fiction
John Jeremiah Sullivan on Writing Unconsciously
The author discusses his novella “Mother Nut.”
Novellas
“Mother Nut”
“I told her about how there were these special trees in secret places, and no one knew how they could survive. And I tried not to make a thing out of saying—but did say—‘I’ve seen one, but I can’t tell you where it is.’ ”
Shouts & Murmurs
Some Other Trees in the Garden of Eden
The Peach Tree of False Confidence, the Persimmon Tree of Ironic Detachment, and other arboreal varieties.
Elements
A Day in the Life of a Tree
Using new technology, researchers can watch as trees grow, shrink, drink, and breathe.
Daily Comment
Don’t Burn Trees to Fight Climate Change—Let Them Grow
Countries and public utilities around the world are trying to reduce carbon emissions by burning wood pellets for fuel instead of coal, but recent studies have shown that the practice will have disastrous effects.
Fiction