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A blurry image of a line of people wading through floodwaters from Tropical Storm Harvey in Beaumont Place, Houston, Texas, 2017

1.5 Degrees of Global Warming—Are We There Yet?

November 2, 2026 ExplainerUnited States, InternationalMolly Bergen

Here’s where the world stands in its fight against climate change. The end goal remains the same.

Jane Martin with the nebulizer and medications she uses at her home in Gloster, Mississippi, on September 20, 2025.

A Small Town in Mississippi Battles the International Biomass Industry

November 2, 2026 DispatchMississippi, United KingdomClara Chaisson

When the Drax wood pellet plant came to Gloster, reports of lung disease soon followed.

A woman prepares homemade spaghetti in a kitchen using bamboo tongs.

Is Bamboo Always Sustainable?

October 26, 2026 ExplainerUnited StatesShelia Hu

This versatile plant is popping up in more and more consumer products, but when it comes to eco-friendly shopping, the details matter.

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Why Redistricting Could Lead to More Pollution, Sickness, and Death

July 9, 2026 ExplainerUnited States, Louisiana, Texas, Virginia, North Carolina, TennesseeJeffrey Michaels

The new wave of racial gerrymandering ushered in by Louisiana v. Callais threatens the ongoing struggle for environmental justice.

Rural America Is Already on Board with Clean Energy

January 16, 2025 ExplainerOhio, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, IowaShelia Hu

Gutting it wouldn’t just jeopardize our climate goals but also the growing workforce in the heartland and beyond.

Ghost Pipelines: How Landowners Suffer, Long After a Project Gets Canceled

June 21, 2022 ExplainerUnited States, Virginia, Pennsylvania, NebraskaNicole Greenfield

The pipeline threat is gone, but the damage to their property and lives is already done.

For Thousands of Years, Indigenous Tribes Have Been Planting for the Future

November 30, 2021 DispatchIowa, Canada, Pennsylvania, OklahomaSusan Cosier

With yields of biodiversity and a more climate-resilient food supply, a movement is sprouting in BIPOC communities across North America to save heirloom seeds and preserve culture.

Fighting Climate Change and Heatstroke One Home at a Time

October 4, 2021 DispatchVirginiaJodi Helmer

With their state’s joining of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, Virginians are reaping the benefits of upgrades to their homes and quality of life.

Defenders of Homes, Hills, and Heritage Unite Against the Mountain Valley Pipeline

August 13, 2021 DispatchVirginia, West Virginia, North CarolinaNicole Greenfield

Meet five people who are fighting on the ground—from Virginia, West Virginia, and North Carolina—to stop the destructive fossil fuel project before it’s too late.

Defender of Energy Efficiency—and Equity

February 3, 2020 NRDC in ActionGeorgia, Detroit, Michigan, Baltimore, Maryland, Norfolk, VirginiaKeith Mulvihill

Dawone Robinson, regional director of NRDC’s Energy Efficiency for All Project, works to create opportunities for low-income communities of color to save energy and money.

Justice Warrior on the Affordable Energy Front

June 12, 2019 NRDC in ActionVirginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New YorkKaren L. Smith-Janssen

Dawone Robinson is righting the inequities that low-income communities of color face in accessing the benefits of energy efficiency—like more comfortable homes and lower energy bills, for starters.

Could These Country Roads Be Toxic to Kids?

April 9, 2019 DispatchIowaSusan Cosier

A county in eastern Iowa has been replacing gravel with slag, a steel industry byproduct. It’s hard, sharp, and potentially a public health concern.

Virginians Fly Flags of Resistance in the Fight Against Two Pipelines

August 17, 2018 PerspectivesVirginiaPatrick Rogers

Armed with 1,000 blue pennants—one for each waterway put at risk by the Mountain Valley and Atlantic Coast Pipelines—communities are taking up their battle stations.

6 Ways the Mountain Valley and Atlantic Coast Pipelines Would Be Bad for Virginia

February 28, 2018 Latest NewsVirginiaCourtney Lindwall

A new report outlines exactly how the two proposed gas pipelines would threaten the state's waterways and reservoirs.

Controversial New Pipelines May Slice Through the Southeast

January 16, 2018 DispatchVirginia, West Virginia, North CarolinaRobynne Boyd

The Atlantic Coast Pipeline—and the Mountain Valley Pipeline, with a similar path—could tear up land and negatively impact people throughout Virginia, West Virginia, and North Carolina.

Farms on the Fringe: New Takes on America’s Farming Tradition

August 1, 2017 DispatchCalifornia, Colorado, Iowa, New York, Kentucky, New MexicoTracie McMillan

These six farmers have found innovative ways to grow plants in today’s climate, whether in corn country or coal country, with fish tanks or smartphones.

Offshore Drilling in the Atlantic? “That’s Not Who We Are.”

July 24, 2017 DispatchEast, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, GeorgiaRobynne Boyd

Southern communities prefer their coastlines sandy, beautiful, and bountiful—not filled with rigs and air guns blasting ships or covered in oil.

State Legislators Say Iowa Has Achieved Sustainable Farming (It Hasn’t) and Doesn’t Need More Research (It Does)

July 17, 2017 DispatchIowaSusan Cosier

The state’s lawmakers have cut funding for the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture, leaving rural farmers in the lurch.

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.