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Two adults and a child walk along a sandy shoreline

“Forever Chemicals” Called PFAS Show Up in Your Food, Clothes, and Home

April 10, 2024 ExplainerUnited StatesMolly M. Ginty, Courtney Lindwall

These toxic chemicals are so common in consumer products and manufacturing that they’re everywhere—including inside our bodies.

A river with green trees on either side, with yellow hills in the background

In Planning for Climate Change, Native Americans Draw on the Past

March 11, 2024 ExplainerUnited States, CanadaTim Vanderpool

Across North America, Indigenous tribes and nations are consulting their traditional ecological knowledge to help prepare for a warming world.

Homes lined on a street with large power plants right behind them, spewing out pollution

In a Win for Health, the EPA Toughens Limits on Soot Air Pollution

February 7, 2024 Expert BlogUnited StatesDr. Vijay Limaye, John Walke, Emily Davis

Today's agency action will deliver life-saving protections from dangerous air pollution.

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How Fish Autopsies Help in the Fight Against the Invasive Asian Carp

October 11, 2017 DispatchIllinois, MidwestSusan Cosier

Dead fish tell many tales—but can they persuade authorities to strengthen Lake Michigan’s defenses against these ecological saboteurs?

Witness the Larsen C Ice Shelf’s Breakup—in Downtown Chicago?

August 16, 2017 PerspectivesChicagoClara Chaisson

A public art installation by Luftwerk puts Antarctica’s climate change woes at the center of urban life.

After a Century, Chicago-Area Otters Are Back—but They Aren’t the Same

August 7, 2017 DispatchChicago, IllinoisSusan Cosier

These wetland predators are showing scientists a whole new side to otter behavior.

What a Gutted EPA Could Mean for Chicago’s “Toxic Doughnut”

April 17, 2017 DispatchChicagoSusan Cosier

This Southeast Side community has helped give a voice to the environmental justice movement. Now Trump’s budget cuts threaten to silence it.

Played on Ivory Keys, This Is What Elephant Extinction Sounds Like

February 1, 2017 PerspectivesChicagoClara Chaisson

“Music for Elephants” translates poaching data into a song of mourning.

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.

Illinois Holds Its First Bobcat Hunt in 40 Years—and Biologists Are Paying Close Attention

December 29, 2016 DispatchIllinoisSusan Cosier

Scientists may soon have a better grasp of how many of these elusive wild cats are out there.

The Petcoke Problem: Where to Store the Risky Tar Sands Refining By-Product

November 1, 2016 ExplainerUnited States, Canada, Chicago, Detroit, Wisconsin, Kentucky, Virginia

Petroleum coke, typically stored outdoors in big open piles, can blow right into nearby homes and cause serious health problems. Unsurprisingly, communities are fighting Big Oil to keep this noxious material out of their backyards.

Let’s Go Swimming in the Chicago River! Save the Date: 2030

October 5, 2016 DispatchChicagoSusan Cosier

Within 15 years, the waters flowing through the midwestern metropolis could be clean enough for a dip.

This Origami Elephant Is as Fragile as the Real Ones

September 14, 2016 PerspectivesChicagoSusan Cosier

At this month’s Expo Chicago, one artist uses paper to convey how the African elephant’s future is unfolding.

Sometimes Art Has to Get Gritty—Especially When Big Oil Provides the Muse

August 10, 2016 PerspectivesChicagoSusan Cosier

A new exhibit displays the many forms of petcoke and the Chicagoans determined to rid it from their communities.

Who Pays for Mine Cleanup After Big Coal Goes Bankrupt?

June 22, 2016 DispatchIllinois, Indiana, Kentucky, TennesseeSusan Cosier

Peabody Energy’s recent filing could change how the country funds mining messes.

In This Forest, a Clean Bill of Health Comes with Blue Polka-Dot Salamanders

May 4, 2016 PerspectivesIllinoisSusan Cosier

To keep an invasive plant from poisoning amphibians, Illinois conservationists are cutting and burning the dreaded buckthorn.

NRDC's Commitment to Green Starts with Its Offices

April 29, 2016 NRDC in ActionNew York City, Chicago, Santa Monica, Washington, D.C., San Francisco, BeijingMelissa Denchak

Each one of our six workplaces in the United States and China is a model of earth-friendly design.

This Former Meatpacking Facility Is Now an Experiment in Sustainable Urban Ag

March 8, 2016 DispatchChicagoSusan Cosier

Come take a tour of "The Plant."

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.

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?