News & Commentary

Our Public Lands Are on the Chopping Block Again

August 21, 2026 ExplainerUnited States, Utah, AlaskaTim Vanderpool

Another assault on America’s natural heritage puts cultures, wildlife, tourism, and our climate at risk.

Why Are the Feds Leasing Public Lands to Big Oil for So Cheap?

August 3, 2026 ExplainerNevada, United StatesShelia Hu

In the sunny Southwest, oil and gas companies can get an acre for as low as $10, while solar companies can barely get a scrap.

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.

My Quest for Energy Affordability and Housing Justice Is Both Personal and Professional

May 4, 2026 PerspectivesCaliforniaJasmine  Valdovinos

Accessing basic energy needs and a comfortable home shouldn’t be a luxury. But for families like mine, the barriers are built in.

The Fight to Protect New Mexico’s Chaco Canyon Continues

November 18, 2025 DispatchNew MexicoKeith Mulvihill, Jenny Shalant

The Trump administration’s proposal to allow new oil and gas leasing and drilling in the area comes after years of nearby exploitation that’s had devastating health and cultural impacts on Indigenous communities.

A Mammoth Biomass Project Withers in California 

September 3, 2025 NRDC in ActionCaliforniaShelia Hu

Here’s how NRDC and partners worked to keep a stretch of forests out of industry hands.

The Uinta Basin Railway Would Be a Bigger Carbon Bomb Than Willow

August 6, 2025 DispatchUtah, Colorado, United StatesNicole Greenfield

The project could sabotage U.S. climate goals, send oil-filled trains along the Colorado River, and pollute the air from Utah to the Gulf Coast.

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. 

What Will It Take to Tackle Water Scarcity on the Navajo Nation?

September 26, 2024 DispatchArizona, New Mexico, UtahBill Donahue

With contaminated wells, climate-fueled drought, and limited access to safe water sources, a study seeks solutions—and perspective—from the reservation’s residents. 

When You Poison Our Lands, You Poison Us

October 25, 2023 PerspectivesArizona, South DakotaHannah Throssell

The granddaughter of a Navajo uranium miner stands with the Standing Rock Sioux against DAPL.

Looking for Climate Connections (and Berries) Through Traditional Indigenous Knowledge

October 5, 2023 PerspectivesMontanaDominique Nault

When trying to protect lands from the onslaught of climate change, start by asking the people who know those places and their wild inhabitants the best. 

America’s Failing Drinking Water System

October 5, 2023 ExplainerUnited States, Buffalo, Houston, Puerto Rico, California, FlintNicole Greenfield

First, Flint, Michigan; then, Jackson, Mississippi. Communities around the country wonder if their water quality problems will lead to the next national crisis.

Water Is Life—from Standing Rock to Oaxaca’s Mixtecan Highlands

September 18, 2023 PerspectivesMexico, West, South DakotaElybeth Sofia Alcantar

A geographer sees a familiar pattern of government-backed energy projects devastating Indigenous communities and violating tribal sovereignty.  

Community Science Is Changing How People Can Fight Pollution

May 23, 2023 PerspectivesHouston, Texas, St. Louis, Missouri, Chicago, IllinoisCourtney Lindwall

Grassroots groups are collecting their own pollution data to increase accountability and demand environmental justice.

California’s Climate Whiplash

April 17, 2023 ExplainerCaliforniaNicole Greenfield

The state broke snowfall records after three of its driest years ever. Now floods wreak havoc. These swings are the new normal—and they’re very hard to manage.

The Lower Klamath River Will Soon Flow Freely Again

March 21, 2023 DispatchCalifornia, WestNicole Greenfield

Sparking hope for the West’s rivers and beyond, a decades-long battle leads to the world’s biggest dam removal project.

A Once-Thriving Black-Owned Beach Is Returned to Its Rightful Owners

February 10, 2023 DispatchLos AngelesCourtney Lindwall

The victory at California’s Bruce’s Beach, improperly seized 100 years ago, has reignited the conversation around land restitution for Black Americans.

In Colorado, Oil and PFAS Shouldn’t Mix

January 12, 2023 DispatchColoradoNicole Greenfield

We can add PFAS contamination to the list of ways the oil and gas industry is threatening Coloradans’ health. Two new laws aim to stop it—but are they enough?

Colorado’s Religious Communities See Climate Action as a Moral Obligation

December 22, 2022 DispatchColoradoNicole Greenfield

Whether fighting for clean air or affordable housing, several of the state’s faith leaders are uniting around the notion of protecting “home.”

Colorado River Basin Tribes Address a Historic Drought—and Their Water Rights—Head-On

November 14, 2022 DispatchColorado, Arizona, New MexicoTim Vanderpool

Their growing inclusion in the region’s water management will likely prove priceless.