News & Commentary

A Mentor for Diversity in the Environmental Movement

August 10, 2020 DispatchChicagoStephanie Valera

Through his work with the RAY Clean Energy Diversity Fellows, Charlie Espedido is helping to change the face of the movement and create pathways for young environmental leaders of color.

Meet the Sunshine State’s New Clean Energy Darling—Community Solar

August 6, 2020 DispatchOrlandoCourtney Lindwall

As part of the American Cities Climate Challenge, Orlando, Florida’s solar strategies are helping make the clean energy revolution more accessible for all.

New York State Assembly Passes Ban on Toxic Teflon Chemicals in Food Packaging

July 23, 2020 Latest NewsNew YorkCourtney Lindwall

Most Americans already have detectable levels of PFAS in their blood. Prevention through protections like these are key.

Extinction Threatens More than Half of the World’s Turtles and Tortoises

July 21, 2020 Latest NewsInternationalJason Bittel

They’ve outlived the dinosaurs, but these ancient reptiles are currently in danger of disappearing from just about everywhere.

Air Quality Is Worsening for Half of the World’s People

July 2, 2020 Latest NewsUnited StatesBrian Palmer

A new study shows that most of us humans are likely inhaling more air pollution each year.

Alabama’s Waterways, Wildlife, and Recreation Are Up a Creek with Trump’s “Dirty Water Rule”

June 29, 2020 DispatchAlabamaRobynne Boyd

The rollback jeopardizes the streams that flow into the state’s rivers, lakes, and bays, millions of acres of wetlands across the country, and the drinking water supply.

April Showers Bring May Flowers. So Do Bumblebee Bites.

June 11, 2020 Latest NewsUnited StatesBrian Palmer

New research shows that bumblebees have the power to make plants bloom.

These Tiny, Treetop-Living, Ewok-Looking Creatures May Be Getting Socially Distanced to Extinction

June 8, 2020 DispatchOregonJason Bittel

Red tree voles spend their whole lives in Oregon’s treetops, but deforestation has cut them off from the rest of their kind.

Climate Change Is Drying Out the American West

June 4, 2020 Latest NewsUnited StatesBrian Palmer

A new study shows that drought is no longer a periodic crisis, but a harbinger of things to come.

Experts Urge People All Over the World to Stop Killing Bats Out of Fears of Coronavirus

June 2, 2020 Latest NewsInternationalJason Bittel

Attacking bats does nothing to protect people from COVID-19 and sometimes, it can make things worse.

The Humble Beaver: Troublemaker or Climate Superhero?

May 27, 2020 DispatchMontana, WestAlisa Opar

Beavers create rich habitats and act as buffers against the effects of drought and wildfire—spurring efforts to pinpoint new ways to help us coexist with North America’s largest rodent.

Murder Hornets Are Scary. But Pesticides Are Scarier.

May 21, 2020 Latest NewsUnited StatesJason Bittel

While everyone is freaking out about invasive hornets, the largest threats to America’s pollinators remain unchanged.

By 2070, More Than 3 Billion People May Live Outside the “Human Climate Niche”

May 14, 2020 Latest NewsUnited StatesBrian Palmer

If we don’t act now to curb climate change, we may be faced with the migration of a third of the world’s future population.

New Water Worries in Climate-Stressed New Mexico

May 13, 2020 DispatchNew Mexico, Santa FeLora Shinn

Federal rollbacks could leave New Mexico’s limited water dirtier by excluding up to 90 percent of the state’s waterways from protection.

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.

We Can’t Go “Back to Normal.” We Have to Get to Someplace Better.

May 1, 2020 Latest NewsUnited StatesJeff Turrentine

As the world slows down in response to COVID-19, we’re being given the chance to recalibrate our systems toward justice, equity, and planetary health.

Goodbye, Ski Resort. Hello, Grizzly Bear Corridor!

April 20, 2020 DispatchCanadaJason Bittel

After three decades of legal battles, the Ktunaxa Nation tapped into Canada’s newest conservation tool to protect Indigenous lands.

As Sea Level Rise Threatens Their Ancestral Village, a Louisiana Tribe Fights to Stay Put

April 13, 2020 DispatchLouisianaBarry Yeoman

They survived the BP oil disaster, Hurricane Katrina, and decades of industry spoiling their wetlands. Whatever their future holds, the people of Grand Bayou want to decide it for themselves.

Trump’s Anti-Environment Agenda for 2020: When Opportunism Knocks

April 10, 2020 Latest NewsUnited StatesJeff Turrentine

As the country focuses on fighting a pandemic and mourning its victims, the Trump administration sees a perfect time for showering the fossil fuel industry with gifts.

The Mother Who Became a Voice for the Gulf

April 6, 2020 DispatchLouisianaNicole Greenfield

After the Deepwater Horizon disaster, Kindra Arnesen went to the mat to help heal and protect her southeastern Louisiana community and the fishery it relies on. Ten years later, she’s still fighting.