February 5, 2019 — Back in 2012, our team asked, “What if we launched a bold new site where stories focused on solutions to our biggest environmental challenges rather than only on doom-and-gloom reporting?”

From that question Ensia.com was born, and we went live to the world six years ago today!

Since then we’ve published hundreds of original feature stories, articles, commentaries and multimedia pieces. We’ve cultivated a network of more than 50 leading global media partners — including The Guardian, Business Insider, Scientific American, Public Radio International, Vox and Quartz — that republish Ensia’s content, increasing our reach and impact. Some of those partners have even translated our stories into more than a dozen languages, furthering our reach even more.

All told, Ensia stories influence millions of people annually and have been promoted by thought leaders across sectors, shared during legislative briefings, included in college courses and cited in publications around the world.

None of this would be possible without you — our readers.

As we celebrate our sixth anniversary, we thought it would be fun to look back at the six most-read stories at Ensia.com since we launched:

6) In this opinion piece from 2013, global environmental scientist Jon Foley argues the dominant story about the future of the world food supply is logical, well known and wrong.

5) CRISPR has gotten a lot of attention lately, but back in 2016 our fifth most-read story by food systems researcher Maywa Montenegro was one of the first articles to dive deep into the technology’s potential impact on the environment.

4) “Roads? Where we’re going we don’t need … roads.” Our fourth most-read piece kicks off with a quote from the 1985 classic Back to the Future as it looks to the future of sustainability.

3) Author and photojournalist Michael Kodas takes readers on a tour of the tropics as he explores the burning question, “How did palm oil become such a global problem?”

2) In our second most-read feature, the late, great Elizabeth Grossman (who we still miss) asks why are some chemicals banned in the EU but not the U.S.? (You can read Lizzie’s many stories for Ensia here.)

1) Published in partnership with the Food & Environment Reporting Network, our most-read story of all-time is by journalist Elizabeth Royte, who explores the role urban farming will — or won’t — play in ensuring global food security.

Bonus: Our most-viewed video of all-time merges 132 years of global average temperatures with notes on a cello to create a haunting composition that traces the warming of our planet year by year since the late 19th century.

As we look ahead, we’re excited about what’s next!

We recently launched a new initiative — Ensia Answers — that allows readers like you to suggest and vote on future content.

And we have new series and partnerships in the works, exploring our most pressing environmental challenges.

Finally, as a nonprofit, we rely on the support of our readers to publish award-winning journalism, so if you’d like to help propel Ensia into the future, please consider donating today.

On behalf of our entire team, thank you for an incredible six years. Here’s to the next six and beyond!