Zach Theiler

Alaska residents fear rising energy costs as Trump seeks to drill | Context by TRF Plans to cut federal funding and tax breaks undermine green projects in Alaska and threaten higher costs for residents

I report on how the natural gas shortage in Alaska has made energy costs exorbitant. Wind and solar power plants were expected to lower the cost, but those plans have been dashed by the Trump administration.

www.context.news/just-transit...

Why Is Tetepare the South Pacific’s Largest Uninhabited Island? Descendants of the island’s former inhabitants struggle to balance environmental conservation with sustaining their community’s livelihoods

In my latest for @smithsonianmag.bsky.social, I visit the largest uninhabited island in the South Pacific and tell the story of how its descendants have fought to keep it mostly untouched.

Big thanks to @joespring.bsky.social for the collaboration and edits!

bit.ly/4n9r0uV

Will the Traditional Chinese Medicine Industry End the Pangolin? The creature is being trafficked across Africa and Asia to fuel a steady demand for their scales, an ingredient in unproven remedies

In my @smithsonianmag.bsky.social debut, I investigate how traditional Chinese medicine has driven pangolins to the edge of extinction.

Pharmaceutical companies mass produce pangolin-scale products & sell them online, despite bans on pangolin trade & condemnation from TCM leaders.

bit.ly/3EJAxI6