News & Commentary

Industry Surrounds Newark’s Ironbound Neighborhood—But These Residents Won’t Let It Define Them

April 1, 2019 DispatchNewark, New JerseyCaroline Craig

The tireless efforts of locals are reshaping one of New Jersey’s most polluted areas.

A Fracking Boom Ransacks the Four Corners

March 20, 2019 DispatchNew MexicoTim Vanderpool

Native American activists in northwest New Mexico are putting up a firm resistance as the U.S. Bureau of Land Management hands over their homeland to allies in the oil and gas industry.

Overcoming an Industrial Legacy in L.A.’s Pacoima District

March 18, 2019 DispatchLos AngelesCorey Binns

Local environmental justice groups get a boost from the city’s Clean Up Green Up policy, which brings green zoning to three heavily polluted communities.

Portland Makes Strides to Cut Emissions and Move Beyond Four Wheels

March 4, 2019 DispatchPortland (Oregon)Becca Cudmore

The Rose City, a winner of the American Cities Climate Challenge, will reduce emissions as it revamps its transportation system—part of a new strategic plan called Central City in Motion.

The Fight to Save Plum Island

February 21, 2019 DispatchNew YorkNicole Greenfield

The federal government wants to sell off a wildlife-rich island in Long Island Sound to the highest bidder. No way, say advocates.

A Small Town’s Battle Against Radioactive Fracking Waste

January 9, 2019 DispatchKentuckyAustyn Gaffney

After an illegal dumping of close to 2,000 tons of dangerous sludge and contaminated materials across the street from two schools, a Kentucky community struggles with what to do next.

Minnesotans, It’s Your Turn to Stop the Flow of Tar Sands Oil

January 8, 2019 DispatchMinnesotaSusan Cosier

The Line 3 pipeline project has kept a low profile, but the stakes couldn’t be higher for the indigenous communities it threatens—and our climate.

Robby Astrove’s Vision for Atlanta Is Delicious

November 26, 2018 DispatchAtlantaRobynne Boyd

This visionary green thumb is bringing food justice, and heirloom fruit trees, to low-income communities in Atlanta where grocery stores are few and far between.

At Least 82 Percent of New York Public Schools Have a Lead Problem

November 15, 2018 DispatchNew York, New York CityNicole Greenfield

The state now requires its public schools to test their drinking water for lead. But few districts have made it clear how they’re addressing the troubles at their taps.

Laurie Goodrich Tracks Raptors by the Thousands From a Lookout in the Appalachians

November 13, 2018 DispatchPennsylvaniaKeith Mulvihill

This wildlife biologist has seen some surprising trends while counting birds of prey on Pennsylvania’s Hawk Mountain over the past 30 years.

In Long Beach, Touring a Toxic Neighborhood on Bike

October 24, 2018 DispatchLong Beach, CaliforniaCorey Binns

Residents who live near the country’s busiest ports are getting a new lens on the pollution in their backyards, and new tactics to help fight it.

New York City Is Finally Cleaning Up Its Commercial Garbage Industry

October 17, 2018 DispatchNew York CityNicole Greenfield

A new waste equity law aims to remedy a decades-long injustice that has turned certain outer-borough neighborhoods into de facto dumping grounds.

As Black Lung Strikes Younger Coal Miners, Kentucky Restricts Medical Benefits

September 24, 2018 DispatchKentuckyAustyn Gaffney

Coal is getting harder to get to—and that’s contributing to a respiratory epidemic among miners.

A New Approach to Oregon’s Growing Rat Problem

September 5, 2018 DispatchOregonBecca Cudmore

The city of Eugene is testing an unconventional solution to a serious issue, with a ban on feeding a slew of wild animals.

This Is Not Your Grandfather’s Birding Club

August 29, 2018 DispatchNew York, New York CityKeith Mulvihill

A passion for women’s and LGBTQ rights is required in Molly Adams’s Feminist Bird Club; birding expertise is not.

The Warning Lights Are Flashing for California’s Once-Glorious Salton Sea

August 6, 2018 DispatchCaliforniaStarre Vartan

Since this giant salty lake in the desert lost its water supply, its bird habitat has been shrinking and more toxic dust is wafting up from its dry lake bed. Can the Salton Sea be saved?

California Is Getting Tough on Wildlife Crime

August 1, 2018 DispatchCaliforniaCorey Binns

In a new forensics lab, state agents test samples of blood, saliva, tusks, and feathers in a quest to stem the illegal trade in exotic animal parts.

These New Jerseyans Want to Bring “Bomb Trains” to a Halt

July 23, 2018 DispatchNew JerseyNicole Greenfield

Trains carrying combustible crude oil barrel on rickety rails through the Garden State, threatening the safety of millions of people—and their drinking water—every single day.

In the Columbia–Snake River Basin, Salmon Are Losing Their Way

July 18, 2018 DispatchWest, Washington, OregonJodi Helmer

As the fish disappear, native peoples are looking for solutions lest they lose a way of life too.

California Hasn’t Come Clean About Its Water Use During the Drought

July 11, 2018 DispatchCaliforniaCorey Binns

Farms drink up a majority of the state’s water supply, but the details are murky. Most of the largest irrigation districts aren’t reporting how much water they delivered to farmers.