The Anthropocene is the idea that human activity is now so impactful and widespread, it shows up as a distinct phase in the geological record. This is a scary proposition in many ways, but it’s also an opportunity. True sustainability isn’t possible without humanity being able to understand and manage our interactions with the planet (and each other). Perhaps a new name for the modern era helps us get into that frame of mind.

In some parts of the world, natural resources are a given; in others, they’re a daily challenge. Our latest short film, Broken Landscape, examines the confrontation between those that rely on “rat-hole” coal mining for a living in northeast India and those affected by water pollution downstream.

The drivers of this year’s Ebola epidemic – the worst on record and the first to reach multiple continents – are structural and deep, wrote Laurie Mazur in one of this year’s most-read articles. Deforestation, persistent poverty, and perhaps most importantly, crumbling trust in public institutions all played critical roles in sparking a fire still smoldering in West Africa.

“We cannot ignore the new reality that climate change has become a major foreign policy issue in the 21^st century,” a new film by Hal and Marilyn Weiner concludes.

From the Roman poet Juvenal’s observations about bread and circuses to Marie Antoinette’s proclamation, “let them eat cake!” the link between food and political stability is well established in pop culture. In academic and policy circles, however, it’s a source of considerable debate.

The largest outbreak of Ebola on record has sparked intense second-guessing of authorities around the world, and lack of trust in public institutions was a major factor in its spread through West Africa, wrote Laurie Mazur last month.

What if it’s not increased scarcity that’s most disruptive about climate change, but variability? Cullen Hendrix explains how new research on water conflict suggests that’s the case in last month’s most popular story.