News & Commentary

Seafood Watch "Red Lists" American Lobster and Snow Crab

September 6, 2022 Expert BlogEast, CanadaDr. Francine Kershaw

Cleaning Up Michigan’s Grid

August 29, 2022 Expert BlogMichiganDerrell E. Slaughter

Addressing Benton Harbor’s Lead Water Crisis Took a Village—and Years

August 9, 2022 DispatchBenton HarborKyler Sumter

As in Flint, Michigan, severe lead contamination in Benton Harbor illustrates the obstacles environmental justice communities face, and why the fight for stronger federal protections continues.

Solar Helps Keep the ACs Humming in Texas

July 21, 2022 Expert BlogTexasJohn Moore

In a month that has seen Texas sizzle under record-breaking heat, solar, and wind power have been key to helping keeping the lights on—and air conditioners humming.

Court Finds Port of L.A. in Violation of California Environmental Law

July 8, 2022 Expert BlogLos Angeles, ChinaDavid Pettit

A judge has decided that the port put the profits of its tenant, China Shipping, above of the health of harbor workers and local residents.

A Mississippi Tribe Is Growing Its Own Organic Movement

May 16, 2022 DispatchMississippiNicole Greenfield

With programs for schools, elders, and diabetics across 10 counties, Choctaw Fresh Produce is making sure its tribal members have access to fresh, healthy food.

Canada Rewards Ontario’s Failure to Protect Caribou

April 28, 2022 Expert BlogCanadaCourtenay Lewis

Canada needs to course correct if it wants a global reputation as a steward of forests and threatened species. This means using its authority to protect species, not greenlighting more habitat destruction.

Kalamazoo's Affordable All-Electric New Homes Pilot

April 27, 2022 Expert BlogMichigan, MidwestValeria Rincon

Kalamazoo's Affordable All-Electric New Homes Pilot showcases how new homes in Michigan and the Midwest can be built to be clean, healthy, and affordable.

The Texas Storm That Proved the Need for Grid Investments

February 9, 2022 Expert BlogTexas, United StatesChristy Walsh

It has been a year since Winter Storm Uri left millions of people without power. The United States cannot wait any longer to invest in its aging transmission system.

MI’s Climate Plan Must Deliver Affordable, Efficient Homes

February 3, 2022 Expert BlogMichiganValeria Rincon, Sam Whillans, Laura Goldberg

The Michigan Healthy Climate Plan includes notable recommendations to reduce emissions but it simply does not go far enough in focus and ambition.

Stopping Pebble Mine: A Test of Our Democracy

February 2, 2022 Expert BlogAlaska, United States, CanadaJoel Reynolds

Isolation grows for Canadian owner of widely condemned Bristol Bay mine, faced with broad-based opposition at all levels and intensifying calls for permanent protection of the region.

A Turning Point in the Fight to Protect New Mexico’s Greater Chaco Region

February 1, 2022 DispatchNew MexicoKeith Mulvihill

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

Michigan's Climate Plan

January 31, 2022 Expert BlogMichiganDerrell E. Slaughter

It is going to take all of us to engage in solving the climate crisis. We here in Michigan now have a great opportunity to be part of the solution. Don’t wait: Weigh in on MI Healthy Climate Plan today!

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.

How to Stop a Highway

November 19, 2021 DispatchHouston, Texas, United StatesTim Vanderpool

Houston activists fuel a growing movement to increasingly center environmental justice in infrastructure and protect urban neighborhoods from endlessly expanding road projects.

Despite Climate Dangers, Offshore Leasing Continues in Gulf

November 17, 2021 Expert BlogUnited States, Louisiana, Florida, Texas, Mississippi, AlabamaValerie Cleland, Lauren Kubiak

This morning, the Biden administration held the largest offshore oil and gas lease sale in U.S. history. Though the Biden administration has been bold on climate in other ways, this latest action is profoundly disappointing.

Haaland Takes Important Step to Protect Sacred Chaco Canyon from Fossil Fuel Extraction

November 15, 2021 Expert BlogNew MexicoNRDC

The move is a major win in the larger fight to safeguard the Greater Chaco region, but permanent protection is still needed.

From Memphis to the White House, This Advocate Is Confronting Redlining and Environmental Injustice

October 25, 2021 DispatchMemphis, FlintShelia Hu

LaTricea Adams, who founded Black Millennials for Flint, is now pushing the Biden administration to remediate the impacts of our country’s historically racist policies.

Biden Team Moves to Save the Boundary Waters

October 20, 2021 Expert BlogMinnesotaDavid Doniger

The Biden administration’s very welcome decision to block sulfide-ore copper mining on the edges of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness is personal to me and my family. My in-laws have roots there going back more than a century, and…

Through a Solar Transformation, a Former Landfill Is Poised to Become a Community Lifeline

September 28, 2021 DispatchHoustonMaudlyne Ihejirika

In Sunnyside, Houston—a neighborhood that recently registered the city’s highest unemployment rate—residents are preparing for an influx of jobs to come from the Sunnyside Energy Community Solar project.