News & Commentary

The Uinta Basin Railway Would Be a Bigger Carbon Bomb Than Willow

December 13, 2023 ExplainerUtah, Colorado, United StatesNicole Greenfield

The project could sabotage U.S. climate goals, send oil-filled trains along the Colorado River, and pollute the air from Utah to the Gulf Coast.

America’s Failing Drinking Water System

October 5, 2023 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.

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.

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.

In Colorado, Oil and PFAS Shouldn’t Mix

January 12, 2023 DispatchColoradoNicole Greenfield

We can add PFAS contamination to the list of ways the oil and gas industry is threatening Coloradans’ health. Two new laws aim to stop it—but are they enough?

Colorado’s Religious Communities See Climate Action as a Moral Obligation

December 22, 2022 DispatchColoradoNicole Greenfield

Whether fighting for clean air or affordable housing, several of the state’s faith leaders are uniting around the notion of protecting “home.”

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.

Addressing Benton Harbor’s Lead Water Crisis Took a Village—and Years

August 9, 2022 DispatchBenton HarborKyler Sumter

As in Flint, Michigan, severe lead contamination in Benton Harbor illustrates the obstacles environmental justice communities face, and why the fight for stronger federal protections continues.

Ghost Pipelines: How Landowners Suffer, Long After a Project Gets Canceled

June 21, 2022 ExplainerUnited States, Virginia, Pennsylvania, NebraskaNicole Greenfield

The pipeline threat is gone, but the damage to their property and lives is already done.

Meeting the Moment for Asian Americans and the Environment

May 2, 2022 DispatchChicagoAnn Lien

Chicago activist Andrea Chu is helping to bridge the gap between Asian American advocacy and environmental justice.

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.

From Memphis to the White House, This Advocate Is Confronting Redlining and Environmental Injustice

October 25, 2021 DispatchMemphis, FlintShelia Hu

LaTricea Adams, who founded Black Millennials for Flint, is now pushing the Biden administration to remediate the impacts of our country’s historically racist policies.

Meet the Chicagoan Determined to Break Down Barriers to Outdoor Inclusion for Latino People Like Him

August 31, 2021 DispatchChicagoKyler Sumter

Southeast Sider Luis Cabrales is fighting to deconstruct colonial thinking about nature and empower other Latino youth to work in conservation.

Nurses Wanted in a City Long Plagued by Coal Plant Pollution

June 29, 2021 DispatchPeoriaMaudlyne Ihejirika

Through efforts to train a more diverse pool of nurses and create family-sustaining careers, workforce leaders in Peoria, Illinois, are jump-starting their economy and addressing the inequities of the past.

Sharing the Road: Safer Streets Means Safe for Everyone

June 25, 2021 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.

The Electric Car Revolution Shouldn’t Leave Anyone Behind

May 27, 2021 DispatchUnited States, Missouri, St. LouisSusan Cosier

A new program in St. Louis, Missouri, is bringing EVs and charging stations to low-income neighborhoods—and turning senior and disabled residents into early adopters, one ride at a time.

Fighting Inequity with Solar Power

March 30, 2021 DispatchMinneapolis, St. PaulSusan Cosier

Minneapolis’s 4d program to boost energy efficiency and affordable housing in the city is kicking it up a notch.

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.

COVID-19 Has Exposed the Gross Exploitation of Meatpacking Workers

October 30, 2020 DispatchColoradoNicole Greenfield

The ongoing health and safety failures at the JBS meat-processing plant in Greeley, Colorado, highlight an industry-wide truth: It’s production over people, even in a deadly pandemic.