Protecting the Planet at All Costs: 5 Stories Of Renegade Eco-Warriors

For Earth Day, five stories of inspiring activists going above and beyond to fight for the environment before it's too late.

Happy Earth Day! Or actually it’s probably time to stop saying “happy” there, isn’t it? What was once a day to celebrate nourishing our environment is now mostly another chance to worry about whether we’re ever going to do anything to fend off planetary catastrophe. But while the world’s leaders are hemming and hawing, there are inspiring stories from all over the globe of activists who are trying. Take a few minutes this Earth Day to dive into these five stories of eco-activism.

The Buffalo Brigade Protecting Yellowstone’s Noble Beasts

They’re one of the last wild buffalo herds in the U.S. but every year hundreds are shot or slaughtered. A group of camera-toting activists wants to make sure the world sees.

The Fearless Eco-Vigilante of Cambodia’s Troubled Waters

The government can’t — or won’t — stop the illegal fishing devastating Kep Bay’s marine ecosystem, so one unstoppable British expat risks life and limb to do it himself.

My Wild Escape Into the Parrot Protection Program

She was the only woman on a volunteer crew sent into the jungle to defend a dwindling bird population from pet-trade poachers. And she saved her sense of self in the process.

The Al Gore of Polynesia

On a tiny South Pacific isle, a small-town mayor uses ancient fishing techniques to provide sustainability for his family — and a detailed PowerPoint to ensure his traditions never die.

The Man Who’s Building Homes From Plastic Bottles

In only a few decades there will be more pieces of plastic in the sea than fish. Robert Bezeau made it his mission to do something good with all that trash.

One more thing! The Editors Challenging the Way We Think About Desire

Margot Kahn and Kelly McMasters’s new book about the complexity of female desire deftly covers topics ranging from addiction and queer sex to shoplifting and motherhood. In our latest Storyteller Spotlight, we talk to Margot and Kelly about this eye-opening new essay collection.