One coal town seeks to transition after its power plant closes

Aug 16, 2024
As coal plants around the country are retired, communities have to fund ways to rebuild.
Many cities historically dependent on coal-fueled power plants have to plan for a more renewable future.
Brandon Bell/Getty Images

The EPA will dole out $4.3 billion to cut greenhouse gas emissions over the next six years

Jul 29, 2024
Hundreds of local municipalities, states and tribes applied to get a share of the money; 25 made the cut.
Roughly $1.2 billion from the Inflation Reduction Act's funds earmarked for pollution reduction will go toward transportation, like Austin's light rail system.
Courtesy Austin Transit Partnership

Why is there so much plastic in the produce aisle?

Apr 4, 2024
Plastic packaging helps food be transported and extends its freshness. But it contributes to climate change and clogs our waterways.
Bagged salads contribute to the plastic waste stream. Americans bought $4.3 billion worth of them in 2023, says Kim Severson of The New York Times.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Space industry pollution above could have serious consequences for the environment below

Feb 5, 2024
Damage to the ozone layer could raise the risk of skin cancer, cataracts and immune disorders, says science reporter Shannon Hall.
Decommissioned satellites are designed to burn up in Earth's atmosphere, but they leave behind pollutants in their wake.
Chadan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images

Midwest's pollution is spurring a reverse Great Migration

Dec 28, 2023
Thousands of Black families have left industrial cities like Detroit and Chicago due to environmental conditions. Many head to the South.
Adam Mahoney traveled through the Midwest visiting cities where blight and pollution are driving Black families away from the region.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Who will clean "thousands of tiny toxic waste sites all over our cities"?

Jul 19, 2023
Leaking gasoline storage tanks pose an environmental — and financial — risk to fueling stations across the country.
Photo Illustration by Miguel Villagran/Getty Images

Lead smelters provide a crucial service, but what of the health effects?

Mar 29, 2023
A secondary lead smelter near Los Angeles is planning to expand, distressing residents concerned about potential illness.
The Quemetco secondary lead smelter, one of the last remaining facilities in the country, is planning to expand. People living nearby aren't happy. Above, a lead and silver smelting plant in operation.
Aizar Raldes/AFP via Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

Will “deprinting” reduce the paper industry’s carbon footprint?

Aug 17, 2022
A new device will allow the same sheet of paper to be erased and reprinted 10 times, cutting waste and carbon emissions.
The cycle of felling trees, transporting them and using fossil fuel-based processes to turn them into pulp for paper is highly polluting.
rustycanuck/Getty Images

Port slowdowns worsen air pollution in neighboring communities

Dec 1, 2021
Portside communities in California have suffered from polluted air for years.
A ferry passes the Port of Los Angeles. Neighborhoods surrounding the port have suffered from pollution linked to transporting massive volumes of goods.
Mario Tama via Getty Images

Stimulus could fund ventilation improvements in classrooms

Mar 15, 2021
Run-down public schools made air quality a problem before COVID.
Charly Triballeau/AFP/Getty Images