News & Commentary

Gibbstown LNG Terminal: A Catastrophe Waiting to Happen

April 13, 2022 DispatchGibbstown, New Jersey, PennsylvaniaNicole Greenfield

Imagine hundreds of trucks and train cars filled with highly explosive fuel coming through your community every day. These Pennsylvanians and New Jerseyans are fighting to extinguish the project—for good.

Four Poets Honor Chicago’s Hazel M. Johnson, the Mother of Environmental Justice

April 1, 2022 PerspectivesChicago

This National Poetry Month, four writers champion the legendary local activist who launched a movement while they continue to grapple with the work left to be done.

One Year After Hunger Strike to Stop General Iron

February 8, 2022 Expert BlogChicagoGina Ramirez

This time last year, Chicago Southeast Siders vowed not to eat until the city denied a permit for General Iron. Now it’s time to deny the permit.

A Look Back on Another Year Fighting General Iron

December 21, 2021 Expert BlogChicago, IllinoisGina Ramirez

And where things stand today.

Illinois Shows Us What the Road to Clean Energy Should Look Like

December 2, 2021 NRDC in ActionUnited States, IllinoisCourtney Lindwall

Here’s how a formidable clean energy coalition helped pass the most equitable climate legislation in the country—and developed a blueprint for other states to follow.

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.

On Climate, Pittsburgh Puts Its Money Where Its Goals Are

November 19, 2021 Expert BlogPittsburgh, PennsylvaniaJay Orfield, Irene Nielson

Transforming city budgets to address climate change will be essential to meeting our climate goals, and Pittsburgh has taken a first step.

Pristine Prairie, Home to Endangered Bee, May Be Destroyed

October 14, 2021 Expert BlogIllinoisLucas Rhoads

An airport expansion threatens to wipe out a population of the once-common, now endangered, rusty patched bumble bee. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's failure to protect the bee's habitat is partly to blame.

Community Resilience for All

October 6, 2021 Expert BlogChicago, IllinoisMarissa Ramirez

Latinos Progresando is one of the first community organizations to go all-electric in the Chicago Area. With a small amount of funds to cover the energy assessment, upgrades not only reduced energy costs, but allowed the building to fully electrify…

What Southeast Siders Want from IL's Equitable Energy Bill

September 29, 2021 Expert BlogIllinois, ChicagoGina Ramirez, Kyler Sumter

Everything from clean energy jobs to the transformation of our contaminated fields

PennEast Gas Pipeline Cancelled by Developers

September 27, 2021 Expert BlogNew York, New Jersey, Delaware, PennsylvaniaSahana Rao

Development of the PennEast Pipeline has been put on hold! This fracked gas pipeline would be disastrous for the Delaware River Basin and would exacerbate the climate crisis—here’s how we can stop the pipeline permanently.

Maryland Workers Need Strong, Enforceable Heat Protections

September 23, 2021 Expert BlogMarylandTeniope Adewumi-Gunn

Heat-related health harms are entirely preventable, yet heat stress is a major occupational hazard in Maryland. Maryland workers urgently need a strong, enforceable occupational heat standard that protects their right to a safe and healthy working environment.

Illinois Passes Nation-Leading, Equitable Climate Bill

September 12, 2021 Expert BlogIllinoisJ.C. Kibbey

Illinois has passed the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (SB2408) into law, redefining the possible and positioning the state as a national leader on equitable climate action.

Fighting to Save a Piece of Our History

September 1, 2021 Expert BlogChicago, IllinoisGina Ramirez

Meet the Chicagoan Determined to Break Down Barriers to Outdoor Inclusion for Latino People Like Him

August 31, 2021 DispatchChicagoKyler Sumter

Southeast Sider Luis Cabrales is fighting to deconstruct colonial thinking about nature and empower other Latino youth to work in conservation.

One Year After Chicago EJ Civil Rights Complaint

August 18, 2021 Expert BlogChicago, IllinoisGina Ramirez

This month marks one year after Chicago Southeast Siders filed a civil rights complaint with HUD against General Iron. Here’s where we are now.

In Chicago, Safe Water Is Still No Guarantee

July 30, 2021 PerspectivesChicagoKeith Mulvihill

“There are so many lead service lines in Chicago, but people aren’t talking about it,” says advocate Cheryl Watson. Now she and other frontline residents are changing the conversation.

No, We Don’t Need a Mine on the Southeast Side

July 22, 2021 Expert BlogChicagoGina Ramirez

Yes, you read that right.

Nurses Wanted in a City Long Plagued by Coal Plant Pollution

June 29, 2021 DispatchPeoriaMaudlyne Ihejirika

Through efforts to train a more diverse pool of nurses and create family-sustaining careers, workforce leaders in Peoria, Illinois, are jump-starting their economy and addressing the inequities of the past.

PeoriaCorps Green Infrastructure Training Increases Stipend

June 7, 2021 Expert BlogPeoria, IllinoisAlyssa Brown, Jared Knicley

This is the fourth in a series of blogs celebrating the grant projects funded through our Clean Air Act settlement with the owners of the E.D. Edwards coal-fired power plant outside Peoria, Illinois. The settlement provides for the plant to…