Illustration by Tia Magallon

Any hope that the Deepwater Horizon would mark a turning point in the fight for a climate bill quickly evaporated. But the spill still offers us a "teachable moment" on many critical issues -- from our reckless consumption patterns and our infatuation with new technologies to the political strategies we will need to confront our two national disaster areas: the one in the Gulf and the other in Congress.

In a series of essays in our Fall 2010 issue and online, some of the nation's leading environmental writers and thinkers -- including three OnEarth contributing editors -- reflect on the disaster's aftermath.