News & Commentary

Toxin Avenger

January 18, 2016 DispatchUnited StatesSarah Engler

By following hundreds of children from the womb through adolescence, Dr. Frederica Perera has become a public-health superhero.

Growing Green Awards

January 18, 2016 DispatchUnited StatesMelissa Denchak

Celebrating America’s most influential leaders in the sustainable food movement

Il Primo Piatto

January 14, 2016 DispatchAfricaClara Chaisson

As the bushmeat trade drives the Bioko drill monkey toward extinction, some West Africans are realizing these animals are worth more in the woods than on the plate.

Soft in the Middle

January 12, 2016 DispatchMidwestSusan Cosier

What’s up with the Midwest’s warm and soggy winter weather?

‘Nowhere to Go but Up’

January 8, 2016 DispatchMidwestBarry Yeoman

Don’t blame the recent flooding along the Mississippi River on the rain. We created this mess.

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?

Stop, Drop, and Roll

December 9, 2015 DispatchChicagoSusan Cosier

Every week, barrels upon barrels of volatile crude oil crisscross Chicago by rail, endangering tens of thousands of schoolkids.

Frog vs. Fish

December 8, 2015 DispatchCaliforniaAlisa Opar

How cutting-edge technology may save endangered amphibians from hungry trout in Yosemite’s alpine lakes.

If Bhutan Can, You Can

December 2, 2015 DispatchInternationalBrian Palmer

The tiny South Asian kingdom absorbs three times as much carbon as it emits.

No Photos, Please

October 23, 2015 DispatchWyomingAlisa Opar

New Wyoming laws stifle freedom of speech and make citizen science illegal.

The Soil Savior

October 15, 2015 DispatchTexasJeff Turrentine

A Texas farmer is bucking tradition by putting soil health above all else. The result? Water-retaining, nutrient-rich pay dirt.

Locking Horns

October 8, 2015 DispatchAfricaAustin Merrill

As poaching pushes the rhino toward extinction, South Africa considers a radical solution: Legalize the very thing that is killing them. It'd make some people very rich. But would it doom the species?

Bird Men

October 6, 2015 DispatchMidwestSusan Cosier

Thanks to falconers, endangered peregrines are flourishing in Midwestern cities.

Man, on the Move

September 28, 2015 DispatchInternationalMelissa Denchak

Experts say climate change will be a growing driver of global migration like the Syrian exodus into Europe.

Keeping Tabs on the Church’s Power...and Water and Gas

September 22, 2015 DispatchChicagoSusan Cosier

The Archdiocese of Chicago is acting on the pope’s environmental message.

No Island Is an Island

September 2, 2015 DispatchInternationalDoug Struck

As an old embargo lifts, a new vacation spot emerges—but can Cuba’s ecosystems weather a flood of Americans?

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.

Not-So-Vacant Lots

August 28, 2015 DispatchNew Orleans, LouisianaAlisa Opar

From birds to trees to rats, post-Katrina New Orleans is a study in “disaster ecology.”

The Great Oyster Crash

August 26, 2015 DispatchOregon, WestEric Scigliano

Ocean acidification hits the Pacific shellfish industry.

Who Should Pay to Restore the Louisiana Coastline?

August 26, 2015 DispatchLouisianaBrian Palmer

The oil and gas industry says, “not it.”