In the wake of last week’s devastating floods in Central Texas, and with the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina on the horizon, new data underscores a sobering trend: extreme weather events are becoming even more intense, more severe, and more frequent. At the same time, the very institutions and experts responsible for predicting and preparing for these rising threats are under threat themselves.

The Trump administration has significantly reduced or eliminated programs — like my former home, the Environmental Change and Security Program (ECSP) at the Wilson Center — that worked to address and communicate the climate challenges we face. Today, however, I’m pleased to announce that ECSP’s work, including the New Security Beat, has found a new home.

From New Orleans to the Stimson Center 

As a volunteer with the Peace Corps and FEMA in New Orleans, I witnessed Katrina’s immense devastation first-hand — mounds of debris, animal carcasses hanging from tree branches, emergency markings where bodies had been found. But I also saw the community’s resilience, with neighbors, volunteers and public servants working around the clock to get assistance to those who needed it most.

My service in New Orleans inspired me to seek a degree in environmental security — the relationship between environmental change, natural resources, and national and human security — which was still an emerging field at the time.

After graduation, I found a home at the Wilson Center, initially working with the urban program and later joining the ECSP, which had been shaping the field since 1994.

Under Geoff Dabelko’s leadership, ECSP launched New Security Beat in 2007 — the early days of blogging — to be a more concise and accessible platform for sharing news and insights on the links between environment, population, health, and security. Under the editorial direction of Meaghan Parker, and then Schuyler Null, the blog thrived.

Over the last 18 years, more than 2.5 million readers have turned to New Security Beat for fresh ideas and credible analysis on complex challenges. Over 1,000 guest contributors from around the world — like Thomas Lovejoy, Janani Vivekananda, Vince Beiser, Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka, and Juan Dumas — have shared their expertise and their stories. Their posts shine a light on the drivers behind the headlines, including many issues that fall in the gap between sectors and silos:

• The rise of climate security as a foreign policy priority,
• how age structure impacts governance challenges in sub-Saharan Africa,
• the relevance of women’s health to political stability and economic prosperity,
• the “chokepoint” of water, energy, and food systems, and
• the implications of China’s rare earth dominance. 

And importantly, New Security Beat serves as a living record of the hurdles, successes, and lessons learned in foreign policy, development, and security over the last 18 years.

Today, the landscape that gave rise to New Security Beat is under significant strain. The Trump administration’s funding cuts — like those at NSF, NIH, NOAA, and NASA — and the dismantling of USAID, key offices at the State Department, and elsewhere in the government are upending many of the resilience-building efforts and expert communities spotlighted on the blog.

The closure of the Wilson Center’s programs, including ECSP, is a profound loss. But the work we do, and the challenges we seek to address, are far from over.

In fact, they are more urgent than ever. That’s why I am so grateful to share that New Security Beat has found a new home at the Stimson Center, where I am honored to direct the Environmental Security Program. With its reputation for nonpartisan, solutions-focused research, Stimson is a fitting place for NSB to grow and evolve.

We remain committed to our core mission: providing clear, compelling analysis at the intersections of environmental change, population, health, and security. Under Stimson’s banner, we’ll continue amplifying the work of contributors around the world who are tackling the new security challenges on this important and too-often overlooked beat. 

To everyone who has been part of this journey — readers, writers, collaborators, friends — thank you. We invite you to stay with us as we turn the page and begin this new chapter.

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