Chris Mooney

Washington, D.C.

Reporter covering climate change, energy and the environment.

Education: Yale University, BA in English

Chris Mooney writes about energy and the environment at The Washington Post. He previously worked at Mother Jones, where he wrote about science and the environment and hosted a weekly podcast. Mooney spent a decade before that as a freelance writer, podcaster and speaker, with his work appearing in Wired, Harper’s, Slate, the Los Angeles Times and the Boston Globe, to name a few. He also has published four books about science, politics and climate change.
Latest from Chris Mooney

Seas have drastically risen along southern U.S. coast in past decade

Multiple studies raise new questions about whether New Orleans, Miami, Houston and other coastal communities might be even more at risk from rising seas than once predicted.

April 10, 2023

‘Scary’ new data on the last ice age raises concerns about future sea levels

The Eurasian Ice Sheet retreated by 2,000 feet a day during the last ice age, a study finds. It may show how fast ice and glaciers in Greenland and Antarctica could melt and raise sea levels today.

April 5, 2023

Warming seas are carving into glacier that could trigger sea level rise

New research provides a startling look at how warmer oceans, driven by climate change, are tearing apart the Thwaites Glacier.

February 15, 2023

Floating ice around Antarctica just hit a record low

The record is a sign that one of the most remote and mysterious facets of the climate system may, at last, be responding to the overall planetary warming trend.

February 14, 2023

When scientists tagged a curious seal, he led them to signs of a potential climate disaster

Scientists found a climate change disaster waiting to happen in one of the most mysterious regions on Earth.

January 21, 2023

Parts of Greenland now hotter than at any time in the past 1,000 years, scientists say

New research in the northern part of Greenland finds temperatures are already 2.7 degrees warmer than they were in the 20th century.

January 18, 2023

Oceans surged to another record-high temperature in 2022

Ocean heat, a strong marker of climate change, reached a record high in 2022, helping to explain the ever-escalating pattern of extreme weather events of late.

January 11, 2023

Half of Earth’s glaciers could melt even if key warming goal is met, study says

New research suggests that the Earth will lose about half of its glaciers, even at 1.5 degrees Celsius of warming — the world's global warming goal.

January 5, 2023

We looked at 1,200 possibilities for the planet’s future. These are our best hope.

These scenarios help show us what needs to be done — and what we can still do.

December 1, 2022

On the edge of retreat

An island community moved to the mainland. Now the fast-rising sea is following — a warning for the rest of the East Coast.

November 28, 2022