The Best American Science And Nature Writing 2022

Explore thirty-three essential essays spanning the wonders of biodiversity, cosmic mysteries, and practical solutions to our planetary crisis.

A collection of the best science and nature articles written in 2021, selected by guest editor renowned marine biologist Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson and series editor Jaime Green. 

The volume gathers thirty-three distinct pieces across five thematic sections, moving from the cellular intelligence of slime molds and the cardiovascular adaptations of giraffes to massive distant protoclusters.

Journalists and scientists investigate the strains placed on coastal groundwater and western aquifers, alongside forward-looking interventions including agrivoltaic farming and natural organic reduction.

Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, renowned marine biologist and co-founder of the All We Can Save climate initiative, compiles the best science and nature writing of the year. 

• Environmental Science: Lisa Song and James Temple examine how simplified regional averages in California’s forest carbon offsets create millions of questionable credits without capturing real-world emissions reductions.
• Animal Migration: Sonia Shah reports on the International Space Station’s ICARUS antenna, detailing how miniature solar transmitters track tagged species including yellow-billed cuckoos and fruit bats across continuous continental pathways.
• Marine Biology: Sabrina Imbler documents how industrial shipping corridors and seismic surveys drown out coral reef soundscapes, disorienting clownfish larvae navigating back toward their home habitats.
• Ecological Restoration: Jessica Plumb chronicles the return of adult Chinook salmon and shoreline-stabilizing sediments to Washington’s Olympic Peninsula following the takedown of two century-old dams on the Elwha River.

Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson is a marine biologist, policy expert, writer, and Brooklyn native. She co-edited the bestselling climate anthology All We Can Save and co-founded The All We Can Save Project. She publishes widely, including in The New York Times, Washington Post, and Scientific American. She is on the 2021 Time 100 Next List, was named one of Elle’s 27 Women Leading on Climate, and Outside magazine called her “the climate leader we need.”

Jaime Green, series editor, is a science writer and essayist. Her work has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, The Atlantic, Aeon, Slate, The Nation, The New York Times Book Review, Astrobites, and elsewhere. She is the author of The Possibility of Life: Science, Imagination, and Our Quest for Kinship in the Cosmos.