News & Commentary

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Dispatch

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Congress Responds to the Biden Administration’s Commonsense LNG Decision

Expert BlogUnited States, International, Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, TexasAlexandra Adams

Not long after the administration’s pause on permits, the fossil fuel industry—and its supporters in Congress—pulled out all the stops to oppose the decision and spread misinformation. 

Why Do Water Bills Vary So Wildly?

Expert BlogUnited States, Arizona, Georgia, Wisconsin, New HampshireLarry Levine

A new study holds lessons for water affordability.

America’s Failing Drinking Water System

ExplainerUnited States, Buffalo, Houston, Puerto Rico, California, FlintNicole Greenfield

First, Flint, Michigan; then, Jackson, Mississippi. Communities around the country wonder if their water quality problems will lead to the next national crisis.

Rate Increases and Blackouts: Duke Energy’s Strategy for 2023

Expert BlogNorth Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, EastLuis Martinez
Duke failed to keep the lights on last December, but it is now pursuing enormous rate increases of more than 30 percent to help pay for fossil fuels and huge executive salary raises.

Defense Bill Compromise for Northern Nevada Lands and Tribes

Expert BlogNevadaBobby McEnaney, Katie Hobbs
This year's annual defense bill contained an expansion of the Fallon Naval Air Station in northern Nevada—a compromise that strives to resolve complex land use issues and protect the environment.

How to Stop a Highway

DispatchHouston, Texas, United StatesTim Vanderpool
Houston activists fuel a growing movement to increasingly center environmental justice in infrastructure and protect urban neighborhoods from endlessly expanding road projects.

Sharing the Road: Safer Streets Means Safe for Everyone

ExplainerUnited States, California, Missouri, Atlanta, San Jose (California), St. Louis, GeorgiaDan Reed
As they incorporate equity into transportation planning, a number of U.S. cities are making room for bicyclists, pedestrians, scooters, and wheelchairs in every part of town.

Latinx Leaders Paving the Way for Climate Action

Expert BlogLos Angeles, Chicago, New York City, San AntonioEloisa Portillo-Morales
Cities are leading the charge on climate action—reimagining how streets can be used, passing bold climate legislation, and creating green, equitable jobs. At the core of many of these efforts are Latinx leaders, whose activism has been instrumental in paving…

Defender of Energy Efficiency—and Equity

NRDC in ActionGeorgia, Detroit, Michigan, Baltimore, Maryland, Norfolk, VirginiaKeith Mulvihill
Dawone Robinson, regional director of NRDC’s Energy Efficiency for All Project, works to create opportunities for low-income communities of color to save energy and money.

Principles for Parks and Equitable Development

Expert BlogUnited States, Washington, D.C., Chicago, Atlanta, Los Angeles, MemphisSasha Forbes, AICP

Assets in our communities that offer us increased connectivity, shelter, and planned outdoor spaces can act as triggers that escalate land values which usually price out existing residents, often low-income and people of color, and more often renters. But communities…

Robby Astrove’s Vision for Atlanta Is Delicious

DispatchAtlantaRobynne Boyd
This visionary green thumb is bringing food justice, and heirloom fruit trees, to low-income communities in Atlanta where grocery stores are few and far between.

Climate Change Is Worsening Houston’s Housing Crisis

DispatchHouston, TexasTim Vanderpool
Since Hurricane Harvey, homelessness has gone up, some public housing residents are living in severely damaged homes, and others have been cast out to remote suburbs—to the detriment of local well-being and the economy.

Before Flint, Before East Chicago, There Was Smeltertown

DispatchFlint, Indiana, Texas, NewarkLauren Villagran
After a 1970s CDC study showed that the mostly Mexican-American population of this Texas town had dangerously high blood lead levels, its buildings were demolished and its residents were booted.