News & Commentary

Closing the Gap to Protect Illinois Wetlands

April 15, 2024 Expert BlogIllinoisBecky Hammer

A bill to protect Illinois’ remaining wetlands is moving forward in the state legislature, seeking to close a regulatory gap created by the Supreme Court.

Water Is Life—from Standing Rock to Oaxaca’s Mixtecan Highlands

September 18, 2023 PerspectivesMexico, West, South DakotaElybeth Sofia Alcantar

A geographer sees a familiar pattern of government-backed energy projects devastating Indigenous communities and violating tribal sovereignty.  

The Proposed Colorado River Deal: A Short-Term Band-Aid for a Long-Term Problem

May 23, 2023 Expert BlogWest, California, Arizona, Nevada, MexicoDr. Mark Gold

The Colorado River conservation proposal from Arizona, California, and Nevada reduces diversions by 1 million acre feet a year. Is this enough to make river management sustainable?

Unprecedented Rain Highlights Deep Inequities in Centreville

July 28, 2022 Expert BlogIllinoisNatalia Ospina, Meleah Geertsma

Immediate and comprehensive action must be taken by government at all levels to address the flooding and sewage crises.

One Year Later and Still Waiting for Change

June 2, 2022 Expert BlogIllinoisNatalia Ospina, Meleah Geertsma

In Centreville, Illinois, a majority-Black community has been left waiting for change.

Pristine Prairie, Home to Endangered Bee, May Be Destroyed

October 14, 2021 Expert BlogIllinoisLucas Rhoads

An airport expansion threatens to wipe out a population of the once-common, now endangered, rusty patched bumble bee. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's failure to protect the bee's habitat is partly to blame.

NRDC Sets Region Specific Water Targets for Each Office

August 10, 2021 Expert BlogUnited States, New York City, Washington, D.C., Chicago, Bozeman, Beijing, San Francisco, Santa MonicaMaria McCain

NRDC has seen a steady decline in total water usage institution-wide and has taken steps to advance water stewardship.

PeoriaCorps Green Infrastructure Training Increases Stipend

June 7, 2021 Expert BlogPeoria, IllinoisAlyssa Brown, Jared Knicley

This is the fourth in a series of blogs 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. The settlement provides for the plant to…

Holding Mexico Accountable for Vaquita Extinction

March 31, 2021 Expert BlogMexicoZak Smith

Mexico has a choice. It can save the vaquita by enforcing its laws and regulations or it can let the vaquita go extinct. It has already shown that it is inclined to choose extinction. The United States and others, like…

Chicago, a “Sweet Home” for an Endangered Bee?

March 29, 2021 Expert BlogChicago, IllinoisDaniel Raichel

The rusty patched bumblebee's appearance in Chicago underscores how one patch of native habitat can be meaningful, but what’s most needed is a network of interconnected habitat so that the bee’s populations can recover and once again thrive.

For a Family in Mexico, a Mission to Protect Monarchs

February 9, 2021 DispatchMexicoNicole Greenfield

Siblings Joel, Anayeli, and Patricio Moreno see the future of their community and that of the butterflies that migrate annually to the local Cerro Pelón forest as being intimately connected.

The Big Muddy River’s Long, Turbulent Relationship with Coal

August 14, 2020 DispatchIllinoisSusan Cosier

As a proposal threatens to dump mining waste into a Mississippi River tributary, an Illinois community reassesses its coal industry ties.

Showing Migrating Monarch Butterflies Some Southern Hospitality

August 26, 2019 DispatchMexico, Texas, HoustonRobynne Boyd

Non-native tropical milkweed fuels monarchs on their journey through southern states, but when cooler weather hits, the plant can bring parasites and starvation. Here’s what butterfly-loving southerners can do.

The Ohio River Defines the Borders of Five States—But Its Pollution Doesn’t Stop at State Lines

August 21, 2019 DispatchPennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, IllinoisSusan Cosier

In a move that could open the door to industrial waste and interstate squabbles, the Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission is making its water quality standards voluntary.

World Wildlife Conference: Last Chance for Vaquita

August 14, 2019 Expert BlogWest, California, MexicoZak Smith

The smallest porpoise species, found only in the northern Gulf of California, Mexico, has only around ten individuals left, making it the most critically endangered marine mammal on the planet.

After a Century of Being Dammed Up, Illinois Rivers Get to Go With the Flow

July 24, 2019 DispatchIllinoisSusan Cosier

Dam removals are setting rapids and fish populations free and keeping swimmers and boaters safer.

Midwest Floods May Lead Illinois to New Solutions

July 18, 2019 Expert BlogUnited States, IllinoisRob Moore

The Midwest floods of 2019 have caused hardship and loss but, Illinois has not seen much in the way of damages. Part of the reason is because Illinois has strong floodplain management regulations, something Governor Pritzker is expected to keep…

Chicago’s Buildings Need to Help Protect Its River. That Means You Too, Trump Tower.

September 20, 2018 DispatchChicagoSusan Cosier

The president’s hotel uses more river water than any other building and has been chronically out of compliance with the Clean Water Act.

Illinois Has One Wild and Scenic River—and It’s Contaminated With Coal Ash

August 22, 2018 DispatchIllinoisSusan Cosier

Canoers, kayakers, and other citizens have had enough of the purple and orange pollution oozing into the Vermilion from Vistra’s waste pits.

Can We Save the Midwest’s Only Rattlesnake?

July 16, 2018 DispatchMidwest, Michigan, IllinoisSusan Cosier

As the region’s wetlands disappear, so may the swamp rattler.