News & Commentary

Mapping Urban Heat Islands Is Helping These Neighborhoods Adapt

August 1, 2023 DispatchRaleigh, North Carolina, United StatesCourtney Lindwall

The Urban Heat Island mapping campaign is the largest national effort of its kind to identify why one section of a city can feel so different from another on any given summer day.

Shared Knowledge Is Power in the Northern Mariana Islands

May 22, 2023 DispatchInternationalShelia Hu

As Indigenous groups seek to comanage the Marianas Trench Marine National Monument, elders help the next generation find opportunity on the islands in science and conservation. 

Under “Food Apartheid,” Urban Farms Are More Important Than Ever

April 28, 2023 DispatchUnited States, Indiana, IndianapolisJeff Turrentine

But BIPOC urban farmers continue to face unique challenges—including inequitable access to land and loans.

Colorado River Basin Tribes Address a Historic Drought—and Their Water Rights—Head-On

November 14, 2022 DispatchColoradoTim Vanderpool

Their growing inclusion in the region’s water management will likely prove priceless.

Midwest Heat Waves May Cook Crops—and Fry Harvests

September 12, 2022 DispatchMidwestSusan Cosier

Climate change–induced temperature extremes could wilt corn and soybean yields, potentially causing ripples to food supplies across the world.

A Mississippi Tribe Is Growing Its Own Organic Movement

May 16, 2022 DispatchMississippiNicole Greenfield

With programs for schools, elders, and diabetics across 10 counties, Choctaw Fresh Produce is making sure its tribal members have access to fresh, healthy food.

A World Without Bees? Here’s What Happens If Bees Go Extinct

May 2, 2022 Latest NewsUnited StatesBrian Palmer

Assessing our chances of survival without the prodigious pollinator.

IPCC: We Cannot Look Away—Climate Risks Are Cascading

February 28, 2022 Latest NewsUnited StatesJeff Turrentine

The U.N. panel’s latest report paints a picture of the grim effects of global warming—and underscores the need for urgent, transformative adaptation.

For Thousands of Years, Indigenous Tribes Have Been Planting for the Future

November 30, 2021 DispatchIowa, Canada, Pennsylvania, OklahomaSusan Cosier

With yields of biodiversity and a more climate-resilient food supply, a movement is sprouting in BIPOC communities across North America to save heirloom seeds and preserve culture.

How to Stop a Highway

November 19, 2021 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.

When Extreme Heat Hits India’s Slums, These Women Cool Things Down—and Save Lives

November 16, 2021 DispatchIndiaNicole Greenfield

Whether facing heat waves, water scarcity, or COVID-19, women-led networks in Ahmedabad are working together to keep their families and neighbors safe.

Here’s What’s Happening at COP26

November 13, 2021 Latest NewsInternational

We’re keeping track of the latest news from Glasgow as government and climate leaders hash out how to rein in runaway warming.

Latina Farmworkers Speak Out about the Hazards of Life in California’s Fields

October 4, 2021 DispatchCaliforniaNicole Greenfield

From farms to public hearings, the women of Líderes Campesinas are standing up against the pesticide exposure, COVID-19 risk, and other threats disproportionately impacting their community.

Fighting Climate Change and Heatstroke One Home at a Time

October 4, 2021 DispatchVirginiaJodi Helmer

With their state’s joining of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, Virginians are reaping the benefits of upgrades to their homes and quality of life.

Through a Solar Transformation, a Former Landfill Is Poised to Become a Community Lifeline

September 28, 2021 DispatchHoustonMaudlyne Ihejirika

In Sunnyside, Houston—a neighborhood that recently registered the city’s highest unemployment rate—residents are preparing for an influx of jobs to come from the Sunnyside Energy Community Solar project.

Washington State Adds Emergency Rules to Protect Workers from Heat and Wildfire Smoke

August 13, 2021 DispatchWashingtonLora Shinn

But many advocates point out that to fully address our new climate reality, we also need national solutions.

Fighting Climate Change Through Farming

August 12, 2021 DispatchCaliforniaAlisa Opar

In Central California, small ranches and farms are growing their connections—to the land, to the past, and to each other.

IPCC: We’ve Already Warmed the Planet to Catastrophic Effect, but the Level of That Catastrophe Is Up to Us

August 9, 2021 Latest NewsUnited StatesJeff Turrentine

There’s no going back, but there is a way forward: Act now and go big.

Blackfeet Nation Is Taking Back the Food System

June 21, 2021 DispatchMontanaNicole Greenfield

A tribal-led plan to build a meat-processing facility on the Blackfeet Nation reservation in Montana will help invigorate the local economy, safeguard cultural traditions, and protect community health and the environment.

Biden’s American Jobs Plan Is Also a Climate Plan

June 4, 2021 Latest NewsUnited StatesJeff Turrentine

The $2 trillion it would invest in the country’s infrastructure and workforce will help the United States recover from the past while preparing for the future.