News & Commentary

Is Water a Human Right?

March 3, 2016 ExplainerUnited States, Flint, New York, Jackson, Michigan, MississippiBrian Palmer

A look at what U.S. and international laws have to say about our right to clean drinking water.

EJ: Getting Us (All of Us) to Environmentalism 4.0

March 2, 2016 ExplainerUnited States, Flint, Michigan, ChicagoBrian Palmer

“Environmental justice” isn’t only about what is put in whose backyard—it’s the future of the environmental movement.

Taste the Rainbow . . . Trout?

March 1, 2016 DispatchMidwestSusan Cosier

Farming non-native fish in the Great Lakes? It might not be such a bad idea.

Why NRDC Helped Develop LEED Ratings for Neighborhoods

February 25, 2016 NRDC in ActionSan Francisco, Nashville, Indianapolis, California, Tennessee, Indiana, MarylandRebecca Dalzell

Why settle for a green building when you can have an entire green neighborhood?

Seeking a Clean Bill of Health

February 18, 2016 DispatchMidwestSusan Cosier

What it takes to make the Great Lakes’ areas of concern less concerning.

Lead by the Numbers

February 18, 2016 ExplainerFlint, Michigan, United StatesNicole Greenfield

This Harper’s-inspired index on lead puts the Flint Water Crisis into new perspective.

Skinflints

February 17, 2016 Latest NewsFlintJeff Turrentine

The crisis in Flint reveals the dangerous downside of treating public safety as just another line item.

Go Easy on the Salt

February 11, 2016 ExplainerFlint, Michigan, United StatesBrian Palmer

Did road salt help cause the Flint water crisis?

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.

Raising the High-Water Mark

January 27, 2016 DispatchMidwestClara Chaisson

In the Midwest, “rare” floods are becoming the norm. Here’s why it’s high time we improve our flood risk estimates.

Watered Down

January 26, 2016 Latest NewsFlintBrian Palmer

Flint made many mistakes, but its haphazard lead monitoring system was the worst of them.

Soft in the Middle

January 12, 2016 DispatchMidwestSusan Cosier

What’s up with the Midwest’s warm and soggy winter weather?

‘Nowhere to Go but Up’

January 8, 2016 DispatchMidwestBarry Yeoman

Don’t blame the recent flooding along the Mississippi River on the rain. We created this mess.

Life on the Mississippi, Now

January 5, 2016 DispatchMissouri, Illinois, MidwestBarry Yeoman

We've spent billions of dollars on dikes, locks, and levees in a vain attempt to subdue what Mark Twain called "that lawless stream." Is it time to let the river have its way?

Our Man in Chicago

December 31, 2015 NRDC in ActionChicago, MidwestEmily Voigt

Henry Henderson knows that achieving energy independence and creating new jobs go hand-in-hand.

All’s Not Well

December 17, 2015 Latest NewsNorth DakotaSusan Cosier

North Dakota’s oil and gas boom is scaring away grassland birds.

Stop, Drop, and Roll

December 9, 2015 DispatchChicagoSusan Cosier

Every week, barrels upon barrels of volatile crude oil crisscross Chicago by rail, endangering tens of thousands of schoolkids.

Unleaded, Please

October 9, 2015 Latest NewsFlintSusan Cosier

Toxic tap water is just not acceptable in 2015 (in Flint, Michigan, or anywhere else).

Bird Men

October 6, 2015 DispatchMidwestSusan Cosier

Thanks to falconers, endangered peregrines are flourishing in Midwestern cities.

Keeping Tabs on the Church’s Power...and Water and Gas

September 22, 2015 DispatchChicagoSusan Cosier

The Archdiocese of Chicago is acting on the pope’s environmental message.