News & Commentary

The Biden Administration Cancels Its Offshore Drilling Plan for Alaska’s Cook Inlet—Let’s Keep It Off the Books

May 13, 2022 DispatchAlaskaSusan Cosier

The lease sale would have endangered Indigenous communities, threatened rare whales, added to the Far North’s climate crisis, and gambled with a 20 percent chance for a large oil spill.

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.

Defenders of Homes, Hills, and Heritage Unite Against the Mountain Valley Pipeline

August 13, 2021 DispatchVirginia, West Virginia, North CarolinaNicole Greenfield

Meet five people who are fighting on the ground—from Virginia, West Virginia, and North Carolina—to stop the destructive fossil fuel project before it’s too late.

The Electric Car Revolution Shouldn’t Leave Anyone Behind

May 27, 2021 DispatchUnited States, Missouri, St. LouisSusan Cosier

A new program in St. Louis, Missouri, is bringing EVs and charging stations to low-income neighborhoods—and turning senior and disabled residents into early adopters, one ride at a time.

Alaska Natives Lead a Unified Resistance to the Pebble Mine

April 20, 2021 DispatchAlaskaNicole Greenfield

The effort to stop a massive mine project in Bristol Bay, Alaska, has been a decades-long fight for the region’s Indigenous People. Five tribal leaders share their experiences.

"We Are the Same as the Salmon": A Story of Suffering and Perseverance

December 17, 2020 DispatchWyoming, Idaho, Oregon, WashingtonNicole Greenfield

Thirty years ago, the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes led the effort to save Snake River sockeye salmon from extinction. Today, they’re still fighting for the fish’s survival—along with their own.

Missoula, Montana, Proves That Tackling Car Culture Isn’t Just for Big-City Slickers

November 5, 2019 DispatchMontanaAlisa Opar

The streets are hardly choked with traffic, but this Northern Rockies locale sees plenty of other good reasons to get more of its commuters out from behind the wheel.

That Summer When Climate Change Baked Alaska

August 9, 2019 DispatchAlaskaJeff Turrentine

An Anchorage-based wildlife biologist describes what life is like in our northernmost state—one that’s been dramatically altered by rising temperatures.

Is the Home of Big Auto Going Electric?

July 15, 2019 DispatchMichiganSusan Cosier

With its incoming network of charging stations and incentive programs for consumers, Michigan may have the most forward-looking EV infrastructure plan in the Midwest.

A Journey Through the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

March 22, 2019 DispatchArctic, AlaskaClara Chaisson

One of the world’s last pristine wild places is on the front lines of climate change—and threatened by fossil fuel development. These photos speak to why we must fight both.

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.

Controversial New Pipelines May Slice Through the Southeast

January 16, 2018 DispatchVirginia, West Virginia, North CarolinaRobynne Boyd

The Atlantic Coast Pipeline—and the Mountain Valley Pipeline, with a similar path—could tear up land and negatively impact people throughout Virginia, West Virginia, and North Carolina.

Offshore Drilling in the Atlantic? “That’s Not Who We Are.”

July 24, 2017 DispatchEast, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, GeorgiaRobynne Boyd

Southern communities prefer their coastlines sandy, beautiful, and bountiful—not filled with rigs and air guns blasting ships or covered in oil.

The South Is Keeping a Closer Eye on Coal Ash

November 30, 2016 DispatchSouth Carolina, North CarolinaRobynne Boyd

Thanks to concerned citizens, the coal industry is making progress on how it handles its combustion wastes, but the toxic slurry is still a threat to groundwater.

Who Pays for Mine Cleanup After Big Coal Goes Bankrupt?

June 22, 2016 DispatchIllinois, Indiana, Kentucky, TennesseeSusan Cosier

Peabody Energy’s recent filing could change how the country funds mining messes.

One of the Worst Places for a Pipeline? Under the Great Lakes

May 19, 2016 DispatchCanada, Michigan, WisconsinSusan Cosier

The strong, erratic currents of the Straits of Mackinac could make an oil spill disastrous for two lakes and a whole lot of coastline.

His Ancestors Hunted Them—Now This Man Is on a Mission to Save Arctic Whales

April 13, 2016 DispatchArctic, AlaskaJason Bittel

As climate change and oil drilling threaten the northern seas, John Morrison is carving out biodiversity hot spots for conservation.

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.

Remember the Kalamazoo

July 21, 2015 DispatchMichiganBrian Palmer

Five years ago, a pipeline spilled a million gallons of tar sands crude into a Michigan river—and we’re still cleaning it up.

Roam, Roam on the Range

June 24, 2015 DispatchMontanaAlisa Opar

This Montana cattle ranch is trying to ensure its operations benefit wildlife—and yes, that means wolves, too.