The Uncharted Issue

Featured
Oh, Deer: Chronic Wasting Disease
Oh, Deer: Chronic Wasting Disease
Sea You Never
Sea You Never
En Route To Expansion
En Route To Expansion
Portage Pollution Creates Unsavory Shellfish
Portage Pollution Creates Unsavory Shellfish
No Goats, No Glory
No Goats, No Glory
The Skagit Opens Up For Fish
The Skagit Opens Up For Fish
Snow Wrigglers
Snow Wrigglers
Who Gives A Dam?
Who Gives A Dam?
Featured
Permitting Pitfalls
Permitting Pitfalls

It’s been nine years since a gravel mine was proposed in Skagit County. After multiple appeals and a lawsuit, the application is at a standstill.

Kelp Needs Your Help
Kelp Needs Your Help

Scientists and community members are working to monitor and restore bull kelp within the Salish Sea.

Sovereignty at Sandy Point
Sovereignty at Sandy Point

Proposed dredging and active home development at Sandy Point on the Lummi Nation Reservation threatens more than the beaches and the animals who call them home.

Yəhaw̓
Yəhaw̓

The Tulalip Tribes are working to build a solar-powered microgrid on their reservation to combat power outages and increase community resilience.

Imagining Tomorrow by Writing Today
Imagining Tomorrow by Writing Today

The emerging genre of solarpunk has readers and writers alike working towards a better future.

A Tiny Invader
A Tiny Invader

Japanese mud snails are taking over Padilla Bay but no action has been taken to remove them.

A Red Letter Day
A Red Letter Day

Construction is set to begin on a Coast Salish-style longhouse located in the Sehome Hill Arboretum. This will be the first of its kind for the City of Bellingham and at Western Washington University.

Breaching Human Boundaries
Breaching Human Boundaries

Resident orca pod populations in the Salish Sea have diminished due to human activities. Varying regulations across state and national borders haven’t helped.

Featured
Envisioning the Science of Tomorrow
Envisioning the Science of Tomorrow

Current and future Indigenous educators are looking to carve a path for Native students in STEM fields.

Fact or Fiction
Fact or Fiction

Creative environmental nonfiction may be a better way to communicate with readers about complex issues. Step aside, environmental journalism?

All Eyes on Glacier
All Eyes on Glacier

Locals in Glacier, Washington have their eyes on new luxury development plans amid a housing crisis.

A Muddy Future for Herons
A Muddy Future for Herons

The City of Bellingham is considering a proposed 38-home subdivision on the cliffs above Mud Bay, a wetland site at the northern tip of Chuckanut Bay. The area provides feeding grounds for local heron.

Prescribed Outside
Prescribed Outside

The impacts of mental health are taking a toll on Whatcom County community members and Western students alike. Ecotherapy might provide the solution.

Rubber in the Runoff
Rubber in the Runoff

The toxic chemical 6PPD-Q has leached into our waterways and impacted marine life. One scientist might have a solution.

Pink Snow
Pink Snow

Colorful patches of snow are a common find in alpine environments, and they hold a secret: they’re full of life. Researchers at Western Washington University are getting help from citizen scientists to find out more.

Losing Steam
Losing Steam

A dragon under Western’s campus may soon breathe its last breath, all in the name of carbon neutrality.

Featured
A Balancing Act: Tradition and Change
A Balancing Act: Tradition and Change

Young Coast Salish artists are putting their own spin on traditional story pole carving

Orcas and Humans Mourn Alike
Orcas and Humans Mourn Alike

An orca’s death created a wave of grief for those who called her family and fought for her release from captivity.

Hoping for a Hopping Success
Hoping for a Hopping Success

The issues facing Oregon spotted frogs are leading local scientists' efforts to conserve and protect the endangered species in Skagit and Whatcom County

The Unlikely Protectors of Washington’s Forests
The Unlikely Protectors of Washington’s Forests

The so-called ‘enemies’ of Washington state’s forests may be the heroes.

For the Love of Fish
For the Love of Fish

Native Skagit River steelhead have advocates in the least likely of places, even if they disagree on how to save the dwindling fish population.

Attack of the Wasting Disease
Attack of the Wasting Disease

Something is killing sea stars by the billions, and researchers have yet to understand why.

Single-Stream Recycling Won’t Fix Upstream Issues
Single-Stream Recycling Won’t Fix Upstream Issues

The city of Bellingham will transition to single-stream recycling to combat rising recycling costs. With both affordability and environmental concerns involved in the decision, some city residents wonder if a solution can be found further up the production line.

Reintroduction: Bear with Us
Reintroduction: Bear with Us

Grizzly bear reintroduction in the North Cascades has been in the works since 1997. For the first time in 30 years, action is being taken.

Featured
Returning Tokitae Home
Returning Tokitae Home

Tokitae the orca whale was abducted from her pod in Puget Sound as an adolescent and was sold to a marine park in Florida. There, she was forced to spend the rest of her life in captivity until years of advocacy prompted her return home. Plans for her return were officially announced in March 2023. While some are optimistic about her future, others have expressed concerns.

A Line in the Sand
A Line in the Sand

Years of unregulated shoreline armor construction on the San Juan Islands has damaged crucial ecosystems and put human properties in danger. There are plans to remove these structures for the safety of habitats and island residents.

For the Love of the Lake
For the Love of the Lake

A contaminated shoreline property on Lake Washington faces an uncertain future as the slow process to rid the soil and water of toxic chemicals lurches on.

Creating Cordata Park
Creating Cordata Park

Development centers wetland preservation while creating a community space.

Cross-Border Policies Flood with Complications
Cross-Border Policies Flood with Complications

The Nooksack River flooded into Abbotsford, Canada in November of 2021. Canadians who were impacted had little to no control, as the U.S. controls the policies around the river.

Past Pollution to Future Park
Past Pollution to Future Park

Over a century after the Cornwall Avenue Landfill was opened, a site cleanup has been initiated. This will help the City of Bellingham step away from the pollution from its industrial past and look towards a brighter future.

Treading Lightly
Treading Lightly

Mapping the road to sustainable tourism.

Investing in a Green Future
Investing in a Green Future

Can Western Washington University invest in a sustainable future despite uncertainties?

Winter ‘23 - Layers

Featured
South Park Residents – Underwater and Underserved
South Park Residents – Underwater and Underserved
 An Oasis in a Food Desert
 An Oasis in a Food Desert
Mount Baker’s Renewable Dilemma
Mount Baker’s Renewable Dilemma
Shedding Daylight on Padden Creek
Shedding Daylight on Padden Creek
A Nation Underwater
A Nation Underwater
Women on the Water
Women on the Water
Forest Initiative sets New Precedent in Nooksack River Basin
Forest Initiative sets New Precedent in Nooksack River Basin
Forgotten Histories and the Renewal of Skagit’s North Fork
Forgotten Histories and the Renewal of Skagit’s North Fork

Get to Know Us

Stories change everything. 

Every step toward progress that we’ve ever made as human beings has started with a story – a story of who you and I are as individuals, of who we are together, a story of what we’re all trying to achieve, or all of the above.

The Planet is a student-funded, student-run publication that tells important stories. Students write, edit, photograph and create social content for everything you’ll see throughout its pages. Focused on environmental journalism of the highest quality, our young journalists have been seeking truth and reporting it since 1979. 

The stories we seek to tell are rooted in environmental justice. Whether you’re interested in the cutting-edge science indigenous people are using to save wildlife, the way luxury development plans can wreak havoc on local wetlands and housing markets, or inspiring stories about how art and creative writing can break through barriers to progress, there’s something in The Planet for you.

The Planet is the first undergraduate environmental publication in America. We’re proud of the stories these students have been telling since 1979, and we know that the need for these transformative stories has never been greater. 

Thanks for being here. Your support for the young writers, editors, photographers and media professionals matters. And I bet you find something here that’ll change your life.

Planet Advisor, Jeff Shaw