The Legacy of Tatiana Schlossberg: A Voice for the Planet and a Final Lesson in Courage

The world lost a vital voice for the environment yesterday. Tatiana Schlossberg, the granddaughter of late President John F. Kennedy and a celebrated journalist in her own right, passed away at 35. While the "Kennedy" name often brings to mind a certain political weight, Tatiana spent her career building a different kind of influence: one rooted in science, climate change, and the urgent need for global environmental stewardship.

In Canada, Tatiana was particularly known for her deep dives into how our everyday actions impact the planet. Her award-winning book, Inconspicuous Consumption, stripped away the complexity of climate change and made it personal. She had a unique gift for explaining how something as simple as a piece of clothing or a streaming service contributes to the wildfires and warming oceans that have increasingly defined Canadian summers.

Her final year was her most difficult, yet perhaps her most courageous. Diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) shortly after the birth of her daughter in 2024, she chose to use her platform to highlight the intersections of healthcare, science, and policy. In her final essay for The New Yorker, "A Battle With My Blood," she didn't just share her personal tragedy; she used it to critique the scaling back of medical research—reminding us that the health of the individual is inseparable from the health of our institutions.

Tatiana’s death is being felt deeply across the journalism community. She was a writer who refused to look away from the uncomfortable truths of our time, whether that was a melting glacier or her own terminal diagnosis.

As we enter 2026, we honor her by carrying forward her mission: to be "inconspicuous" no more. To look at the systems we inhabit, to care for the vulnerable, and to understand that the "wonderful life" she spoke of is something we must all fight to protect for the next generation.