News & Commentary

The Uinta Basin Railway Would Be a Bigger Carbon Bomb Than Willow

December 13, 2023 ExplainerUtah, Colorado, United StatesNicole Greenfield

The project could sabotage U.S. climate goals, send oil-filled trains along the Colorado River, and pollute the air from Utah to the Gulf Coast.

In Colorado, Oil and PFAS Shouldn’t Mix

January 12, 2023 DispatchColoradoNicole Greenfield

We can add PFAS contamination to the list of ways the oil and gas industry is threatening Coloradans’ health. Two new laws aim to stop it—but are they enough?

Colorado’s Religious Communities See Climate Action as a Moral Obligation

December 22, 2022 DispatchColoradoNicole Greenfield

Whether fighting for clean air or affordable housing, several of the state’s faith leaders are uniting around the notion of protecting “home.”

Colorado River Basin Tribes Address a Historic Drought—and Their Water Rights—Head-On

November 14, 2022 DispatchColoradoTim Vanderpool

Their growing inclusion in the region’s water management will likely prove priceless.

“Chemical Recycling” Isn’t Actually Recycling.

May 16, 2022 ExplainerGeorgia, United StatesNicole Greenfield

Companies are trying to sell communities on a toxic solution to the plastic pollution crisis. The people of Macon, Georgia, saw through it. Will others?

Sharing the Road: Safer Streets Means Safe for Everyone

June 25, 2021 ExplainerUnited States, California, Missouri, Atlanta, San Jose (California), St. Louis, GeorgiaDan Reed

As they incorporate equity into transportation planning, a number of U.S. cities are making room for bicyclists, pedestrians, scooters, and wheelchairs in every part of town.

For a Family in Mexico, a Mission to Protect Monarchs

February 9, 2021 DispatchMexicoNicole Greenfield

Siblings Joel, Anayeli, and Patricio Moreno see the future of their community and that of the butterflies that migrate annually to the local Cerro Pelón forest as being intimately connected.

COVID-19 Has Exposed the Gross Exploitation of Meatpacking Workers

October 30, 2020 DispatchColoradoNicole Greenfield

The ongoing health and safety failures at the JBS meat-processing plant in Greeley, Colorado, highlight an industry-wide truth: It’s production over people, even in a deadly pandemic.

Expand the DAPL? Only Illinois Stands in the Way

May 5, 2020 DispatchIllinois, North Dakota, South DakotaSusan Cosier

Environmental advocates are fighting a proposal to double the amount of crude oil flowing through the pipeline.

Agrivoltaics: Sheep (and Soil Scientists) Juice Up the Solar Farm

February 20, 2020 DispatchGeorgia, North Carolina, EastRobynne Boyd

Solar farmers get a hand from regenerative agriculture experts to feed the soil under their arrays—another powerful tool to help fight climate change.

Denver Wants to Zoom Past Its Car-Centric Street Design

February 6, 2020 DispatchDenverLucas High

City officials see dedicated bus corridors, scooter-share programs, and protected bike lanes as key to greening their transportation network.

Needing Water, Georgia Stirs Up a 200-Year-Old Dispute With Its Northern Neighbor

October 29, 2019 DispatchGeorgiaAustyn Gaffney

As droughts parch the Southeast, interstate squabbles heat up over the Tennessee River (and the Chattahoochee . . . and the Flint . . . and the Apalachicola).

In Colorado’s High Desert, the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe Goes Solar

September 26, 2019 DispatchColoradoStarre Vartan

The Ute Mountain Ute tribe is working to free itself from fossil fuel dependency—and preparing to help solarize the rest of the state, too.

How Long Does It Take to Get a FEMA Buyout for a Flooded Home?

September 12, 2019 ExplainerUnited States, KentuckyKeith Mulvihill

Millions of people in America could be displaced by rising sea levels and repeated flooding. Yet, as Kentucky resident Olga McKissic learned, it can take years to get the help needed to move to higher ground.

Are Kentucky Farms Under Attack from Flocks of Ravenous Vultures? Not Quite.

September 6, 2019 ExplainerUnited States, KentuckyJason Bittel

Scientists respond to an Associated Press article that paints black vultures and turkey vultures as “flying fiends.”

Showing Migrating Monarch Butterflies Some Southern Hospitality

August 26, 2019 DispatchMexico, Texas, HoustonRobynne Boyd

Non-native tropical milkweed fuels monarchs on their journey through southern states, but when cooler weather hits, the plant can bring parasites and starvation. Here’s what butterfly-loving southerners can do.

The Ohio River Defines the Borders of Five States—But Its Pollution Doesn’t Stop at State Lines

August 21, 2019 DispatchPennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, IllinoisSusan Cosier

In a move that could open the door to industrial waste and interstate squabbles, the Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission is making its water quality standards voluntary.

Denver Doesn’t Want Its Edible Bounty to Go to Waste

May 22, 2019 DispatchDenverLora Shinn

Food waste and food insecurity are two sides of the same coin. This creative initiative aims to tackle both.

These Farmers Are Sowing Seeds of Diversity in the U.S. Food System (and Have Been for Quite Some Time)

April 8, 2019 DispatchGeorgiaRobynne Boyd

A movement to preserve the cultural heritage and organic practices of African American farmers is growing in the Southeast.

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.