News & Commentary

The Battered Belugas of Cook Inlet

April 21, 2016 NRDC in ActionAlaskaNicole Greenfield

Only a few hundred beluga whales remain in Alaska’s Cook Inlet, and they’re facing threats from every direction.

His Ancestors Hunted Them—Now This Man Is on a Mission to Save Arctic Whales

April 13, 2016 DispatchArctic, AlaskaJason Bittel

As climate change and oil drilling threaten the northern seas, John Morrison is carving out biodiversity hot spots for conservation.

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.

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.

Watered Down

January 26, 2016 Latest NewsFlintBrian Palmer

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

The Woman Who Loves Orcas

January 20, 2016 DispatchAlaska, WestTed Genoways

Scientist, poet, and cancer survivor Eva Saulitis says that orcas saved her life. If only she could return the favor.

Burnin' Blubber

December 9, 2015 Latest NewsArcticJason Bittel

As warmer summers melt the Arctic, Pacific walruses have to work a lot harder to reach their seafloor feasts.

Unleaded, Please

October 9, 2015 Latest NewsFlintSusan Cosier

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

Hold the Applause

September 29, 2015 Latest NewsArcticBrian Palmer

Shell has left the Arctic for now, but the region isn’t safe from oil drills until the president locks the door.

Kotzebue Calling

August 31, 2015 DispatchAlaska, ArcticBruce Barcott

President Obama’s trip to the Arctic will reveal some cold, hard truths about the fossil-fuel industry’s impact on Alaskans.

Northward Ho!

August 27, 2015 Latest NewsArctic, AlaskaAlisa Opar

Obama is headed to the Arctic. Here are five things the president should put on his must-do-in-Alaska list.

Smoke Gets in Your Eyes (from Distant Flames)

August 7, 2015 ExplainerUnited States, Colorado, Alaska, CaliforniaAlisa Opar

Wildfires may be harming the health of people who live hundreds or thousands of miles from the flames.

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.

Don't Call it a Comeback

July 20, 2015 Latest NewsArcticAndrea Thompson

New satellite data show Arctic sea ice has rebounded—but that doesn't mean it's recovering. (Sorry, polar bears.)

Dead Bear Walking

July 17, 2015 Latest NewsArcticBrian Palmer

Will “walking hibernation” help polars bears survive climate change?

Bringing the Noise

July 13, 2015 Latest NewsArcticAlisa Opar

How will Shell’s Arctic drilling affect marine mammals in the Chukchi Sea?