Jessica Reilly, Author at Institute of Current World Affairs

Jessica Reilly-Moman is the director of the Island Institute's Center for Climate and Community, a non-profit based in Rockland, Maine. She has also assisted the Maine Climate Council. Her ICWA fellowship (Seafaring, 2015-2017) based on a sailing boat, explored adaption to climate change in coastal communities along Mexico's Pacific coast, Central America and the Caribbean. Jessica holds a doctorate in ecology and environmental sciences from the University of Maine and an MS in energy and resources from UC Berkeley.

ICWA Dispatches by Jessica Reilly

Hidden battles in the fight against Zika
PANAMA CITY—I stare at my doctor in disbelief. He’s supposed to provide the best prenatal care in all of Panama. And he’s telling me, at eleven weeks pregnant...
Panama Canal, Part II: Waiting for Disaster
PANAMA CANAL—Our boat floats 85 feet above the Caribbean Sea. Waiting at the top of the Panama Canal locks on the Atlantic side, we stare from Gatun Lake...
Vulnerable, Together: the Ocean and the Sailor
On the ocean, the horizon can feel crushingly wide. From the cockpit, we can only react to what the expanse reveals—and what it doesn’t, with frustratingly vague clues....
Rich Country, Poor People: Life on the Rural Panamanian Coast
“Panama is NOT a developing country.” The young sailor leans back in her chair in the tranquil courtyard of the marina. “They’ve got all the money from the...
Do Whales Like it Hot?
I’m at the bottom of the ocean, and I hear singing. I can’t see them, but their voices are clear, like a bird calling in the night. I...

Publications by Jessica Reilly

A Coast with No Water
All I can see are breaking waves. I stand up on the lazarette and lean onto the dodger to steady the binoculars. There is supposed to be a...
Honduras and the Hurricane
Under full sail, we enter the only bay in the world shared by three countries. It’s first light, and a stiff breeze disperses the overnight storms. A thunderstorm...
Protected: Going Home: Perspective on Climate and Culture from a Trip to the US
No one makes eye contact. I’m taking the long hallways through the Atlanta airport, and there are only a few others who opt to walk instead of taking...
Jessica Reilly: Live from the Panama Canal
Sailing Fellow Jessica Reilly and her husband Josh Moman will be passing through the Panama Canal this morning on their sailboat, the Oleada. Follow her live through the...
The Brewing Storm: Coffee Steeped in Climate Change
I walk into the cabin and have to suppress a gasp. My friend Jon sits on the bed, his entire body covered in lumpy, bright red hives. “My...