News & Commentary

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.

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.

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.

Expand the DAPL? Only Illinois Stands in the Way

May 5, 2020 DispatchIllinois, North Dakota, South DakotaSusan Cosier

Environmental advocates are fighting a proposal to double the amount of crude oil flowing through the pipeline.

These Prehistoric Fish Are Making a Slow Comeback in the Midwest

January 23, 2020 DispatchWisconsin, MichiganSusan Cosier

Conservationists, fishers, and fans of the iconic lake sturgeon have seen some success in their efforts to revive the population, including through hand-rearing and releasing the babies—and yes, spearing the big ones.

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.

Is the Home of Big Auto Going Electric?

July 15, 2019 DispatchMichiganSusan Cosier

With its incoming network of charging stations and incentive programs for consumers, Michigan may have the most forward-looking EV infrastructure plan in the Midwest.

The Festering Sanitation Crisis at Our Border

December 3, 2018 DispatchArizona, Mexico, CaliforniaTim Vanderpool

As the Trump administration ratchets up its rhetoric demanding billions for a wall, American communities along the Mexico border are in need of basic services, like reliable sewage treatment.

Another Huge Drinking Water Fail Surfaces in Michigan

August 24, 2018 DispatchMichiganSteve Friess

For years the state has ignored its foamy rivers and water supplies contaminated with chemicals called PFASs.

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.

Wolves Get a Second Chance on a Great Lakes Island

June 27, 2018 DispatchMichiganSusan Cosier

In Isle Royale National Park, the Park Service makes a rare move to reverse a consequence of climate change.

Nestlé’s Ice Mountain Bottled Water Leaves Nothing for Michigan’s Trout

June 1, 2018 DispatchMichiganSusan Cosier

The company wants to increase its groundwater withdrawals to 400 gallons a minute—but the community’s citizen scientists say enough is enough.

Stopping a Dakota Access Pipeline Leak in Under 10 Minutes? A Fairy Tale, Say the Standing Rock Sioux

May 21, 2018 DispatchNorth Dakota, South DakotaSusan Cosier

In a recent report, the tribe picks apart the pipeline company’s emergency response plan.

The Dakota Access Pipeline Fight Fuels Battles Across the Country

March 27, 2017 DispatchNorth Dakota, South DakotaSusan Cosier

DAPL may be underway, but the water protectors at Standing Rock taught us a lot about going up against the fossil fuel industry.

Kill the Renewable Energy Industry? The Midwest Says “NO!”

January 17, 2017 DispatchIllinois, Chicago, MichiganSusan Cosier

Since the election, Illinois, Michigan, and Ohio have been keeping their clean power progress strong.

Before Flint, Before East Chicago, There Was Smeltertown

November 29, 2016 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.

One of the Worst Places for a Pipeline? Under the Great Lakes

May 19, 2016 DispatchCanada, Michigan, WisconsinSusan Cosier

The strong, erratic currents of the Straits of Mackinac could make an oil spill disastrous for two lakes and a whole lot of coastline.

Drinking In the Heavy Metal

February 8, 2016 DispatchFlint, MichiganSusan Cosier

Thanks to the Flint water crisis, the city’s kids could experience terrible, long-lasting consequences from lead exposure.

Remember the Kalamazoo

July 21, 2015 DispatchMichiganBrian Palmer

Five years ago, a pipeline spilled a million gallons of tar sands crude into a Michigan river—and we’re still cleaning it up.