News & Commentary

Glasgow Forests Declaration Success Hinges on Northern Accountability

July 11, 2023 Expert BlogCanadaJennifer Skene

In the absence of accountability from the Global North, there are warning signs the Glasgow Leaders' Declaration on Forests and Land Use is set up for failure.

The Disinvestment in Centreville Continues

July 7, 2023 Expert BlogIllinoisNatalia Ospina, Ihab Mikati

Despite years of community-led advocacy, a thorough and equitable plan to solve the flooding and sewage problems in Centreville has not yet been developed, which has led to a piecemeal approach and continued disinvestment.

Illinois Must Invest in Transportation Options for All

June 28, 2023 Expert BlogUnited States, IllinoisSamantha Henningson, J.C. Kibbey

The infusion of $10 billion in federal funds presents an opportunity to either double down on a dirty, unfair status quo—or choose a new transportation future.

Canada’s Caribou Protection Delays Bring More Forest Degradation

June 19, 2023 Expert BlogOntario, CanadaDr. Julee Boan

Canada gives Ontario another year to degrade at-risk caribou habitat, taking it further away from international promises to halt and reverse biodiversity loss.

Idaho Approves Statewide Wolf Reduction Plan

May 24, 2023 Expert BlogIdaho, United StatesDr. Jennifer Sherry

Idaho advances sweeping wolf reduction plan that is out of synch with modern science, the views of the public, and the complex reality of the environment.

Sentenced to Sickness: Dirty Water Persists in Vienna Prison

May 17, 2023 Expert BlogIllinoisSahana Rao, Ihab Mikati, Meleah Geertsma

Indigenous-led Collaborations Are Transforming Conservation

May 17, 2023 Expert BlogCanadaDr. Julee Boan

The pressure is immense and the clock is ticking to ensure the course correction needed to stave off the worst climate and biodiversity impacts predicted for our industrialized world. A new collective, called the Restore, Assert, Defend (or RAD) Network…

Illinois Needs to Address Transportation Pollution—Not Widen I-55

May 15, 2023 Expert BlogIllinois, ChicagoMeghan Hassett, J.C. Kibbey

Illinois has a transportation pollution problem. Expanding I-55 would only worsen it, putting vulnerable communities at risk.

Public Land Grab: Senate Bill Gifts Miners Pass to Pollute

April 28, 2023 Expert BlogWest, Nevada, Idaho, United StatesJosh Axelrod

Senators Catherine Cortez-Masto (D-NV) and Jim Risch (R-ID) have introduced legislation that makes it easier for mining companies and others to acquire rights to federal land and to be able to use them as dumping grounds and worse. The legislation…

Earth Day Should Be Every Day!

April 21, 2023 Expert BlogChicago, United StatesChakena D. Perry

Four Chicago students share why clean water and air are human rights.

Canada Must Intervene to Protect Caribou in Ontario

April 21, 2023 Expert BlogCanadaDr. Julee Boan

In 2022, environmental groups called out the caribou conservation agreement between Canada and Ontario as being the weakest in the country - with no measurable targets to protect critical habitat. Now, a year later, the federal Environment Minister has stated his…

Auditor Calls for Canada’s Transparency on Logging Emissions

April 20, 2023 Expert BlogOttawaJennifer Skene

Canada's Environment Commissioner found that the Government of Canada has failed to transparently report on the climate impact of industrial logging, with potentially sweeping ramifications for its forest policymaking. 

Canada Rejects Transparency on Logging’s Climate Toll

April 18, 2023 Expert BlogOttawa, CanadaJennifer Skene

Canada has again failed to transparently report on the logging industry's climate impacts, giving the sector a free pass for more than 70 megatonnes of carbon emissions annually, and perpetuating a "climate blind" forest policy framework. 

Elevate and METEC Collaborate on Peoria Home Updates

April 17, 2023 Expert BlogPeoriaAlyssa Brown, Selena Kyle

This is the ninth blog in a series celebrating the grant projects funded through our Clean Air Act settlement with the owners of the E.D. Edwards coal-fired power plant outside Peoria, Illinois.

Communities First: Equity and Justice in the Just Transition

March 29, 2023 Expert BlogPeoria, United StatesClaudia Blanco Nuñez, Josh Axelrod

Without actions promoting equity and justice throughout the process, the renewable energy transition will fail to earn the trust of frontline communities.

IPCC Report Leaves No More Room for Climate Denial in Logging

March 21, 2023 Expert BlogCanada, United States, InternationalJennifer Skene

Industrial logging is a significant driver of global climate change. Ignoring its emissions is a dangerous new form of climate denial.

On International Day of Forests, the Global North Must Show Leadership

March 21, 2023 Expert BlogInternational, Canada, United States, AlaskaElly Pepper, Carolyn Ramírez

On International Day of Forests, the Global North must show leadership on forest protection and acknowledge its own role in forest loss.

Mining for Limestone on Chicago’s Southeast Side? Residents Gear Up for a Fight (Again).

February 17, 2023 DispatchIllinois, ChicagoSusan Cosier

A proposal to build an underground facility on a contaminated lot is yet another reason the city needs to address the cumulative impacts of industry on communities.

Paper Excellence Expands Control into Canada’s Logging

February 17, 2023 Expert BlogCanadaCourtenay Lewis

With Paper Excellence’s planned purchase of one of Canada’s largest logging companies, the country's forestry industry is increasingly falling under the sway of the controversial Sinar Mas family empire.

Four Years in, P&G Still Flunks Out on Tissue Sustainability

February 16, 2023 Expert BlogCanadaAshley Jordan

Procter & Gamble’s stubborn failure to make its tissue products more sustainable lands its flagship brands Charmin, Bounty, and Puffs with straight “F” grades.