Genesis and Chaos

The cover of the latest issue of Sierra magazine features the work of Sebastião Salgado, the great Brazilian photographer who made his name as a chronicler of the human struggle. Now, in what he calls his final project, he strives to create a picture of "the pure and virginal face of nature and of humanity."

Salgado calls the project Genesis. "In the planet's beginnings," writes the magazine's Jennifer Hattam, "he believes he will find a key to its future."

You'll find more of Salgado's stunning images in the pages of Sierra, but only on the newsstand. You can, however, read Bill Mckibben's essay, "Year One," in which he designates Katrina as the genesis, if you will, of something very ominous: the new age of climate chaos.