Is Water a Fundamental Human Right?
On a search to find our right to clean drinking water in U.S. and international law.
Brian Palmer
Brian Palmer covers daily environmental news for Earthwire. His science writing has appeared in Slate, the Washington Post, the New York Times, and many other publications.
Officials Covering Up Drinking Water Scandals
Vague regulations let government officials hide drinking water contamination from the public.
The Future of Environmental Justice
"Environmental justice" isn't only about what is put in whose backyard—it's the future of the environmental movement.
India Could Decide the Future of Our Climate
How India builds its energy grid could decide the fate of humanity. Maybe we should help the country out.
Led Astray
Flint made many mistakes, but its haphazard lead monitoring system was the worst of them.
The End of the Beginning of the End for Coal
The government has suspended new coal leases on federal land. The coal industry may never recover.
Saving the Climate Requires Saving Forests
Forest conservation is crucial to climate change mitigation. But do we have any idea how to do it?
Promises, Promises
Cities, states, and businesses—not just those world leaders in Paris—will save us from climate change. Here’s what they’re going to do.
The Most Significant Energy Efficiency Rule Ever
And it's one that even big businesses can get behind.
Can Congress Stop the Climate Change Deal?
Here are the Senate’s options for trying to muck up the international agreement made in Paris.
Women Should Lead the Way Against Climate Change
They tend to invest significantly more in the future of our children.
What Does Putin Think About Climate Change?
How to decipher the Russian president’s mystifying statements on global warming.
Meet the Country That’s Making Carbon Reduction Look Easy
The tiny South Asian kingdom of Bhutan absorbs three times as much carbon as it emits.
What Would Success—and Failure—Look Like at COP21?
Here are the best- and worst-case outcomes for the Paris climate talks.
Sorry, Senators: Your Opinion on Climate Change Does Not Matter
President Obama has cut the Senate out of the Paris climate change agreement. Cue the tantrums.
There Is No Legal Protection for Climate Change Refugees—and That's Inexcusable
Solutions are available. We just need the political will to pursue them.
Could Climate Change Trigger Another Genocide?
Historian and author Timothy Snyder discusses climate change, genocide, and the ideology of Hitler.
What's Next for Tar Sands, Landowners, and All That Unused Pipe?
It's the end of the line for the Keystone pipeline (probably), but not for battles over tar sands and climate.
The Odd History of Opposition to America's National Parks
You like parks? These people beg to differ.
Would You Really Die Without Bees to Pollinate Your Food?
What a bee-free diet might look like.
The House Anti-Science Committee
By harassing climatologists, a notorious group of congressmen renews its war against scientists.
INDC: The Acronym Standing Between Us and Disaster
What’s an intended nationally determined contribution?
What Does Justin Trudeau Really Think About Tar Sands and Climate Change?
The complicated environmental policies of Canada’s new prime minister.
Should Developed Countries Help Pay for India's Transition to Green Energy?
India says it can’t meet its carbon-reduction pledge without help. Any takers?
Why Are We Allowing Uranium Miners to Pollute Groundwater in Drought Zones?
Uranium mining threatens aquifers that could provide the drought-stricken West with emergency water supplies.
Weatherization Is Not a Government Conspiracy to Steal Your Money
A researcher accuses the government of extreme bias in assessing the value of weatherization.
What Can India Teach Us About Dealing With Climate Change?
An Indian public-health official thinks the United States could learn a thing or two from her country about dealing with climate change (and vice versa).
Please Silence Your Sonar
The U.S. Navy agrees to give marine mammals off California and Hawaii a break from deafening noise.
Has Development Turned Nairobi National Park Into a Glorified Zoo?
As fences spring up on all sides, a great wildlife reserve morphs into something much less great.
Lawmakers: You Don't Have to Choose Between Cleaning the Air and Stabilizing the Climate
A new study tells us how we can have both.
Particulate Matters
New research suggests even small amounts of air pollution can make you sick.
Who Should Pay to Restore the Louisiana Coastline?
The oil and gas industry says, “not it.”
Congress Is as Much to Blame for the Gold King Mine Spill as the EPA
This was a systemic failure, not an individual failure.
PCBs Were Banned Three Decades Ago, but They’re Still Hurting Marine Mammals
Don't drink the porpoise milk—it's contaminated.
Five Years on, We’ve Learned Nothing From the Largest Onshore Oil Spill in U.S. History
Five years ago, a pipeline spilled a million gallons of tar sands crude into a Michigan river—and we’re still cleaning it up.
Bumblebees Are Climate Change Deniers
Bumblebees risk extinction by failing to react to climate change.
A Blue-Ribbon Panel Issues a Warning on Climate Change and Public Health
A prestigious medical journal warns of the dangers climate change poses to public health in one of the most convincing and most frightening papers on the subject yet.
Do Energy-Efficiency Programs Pay for Themselves?
Taking a deeper look at a recent study that many misread the results of.
All Chimpanzees Are Now Classified as Endangered—40 Years Too Late
The U.S. government classifies all chimpanzees as endangered, after decades of stalling.
Is Breeding Endangered Species in Captivity the Right Way to Go?
A new study says captive breeding programs often do endangered species more harm than good.
Why Aren’t Ethics and Morality Considered Relevant in Debates Over Wildlife Culls?
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is in the process of killing thousands of cormorants without even considering the ethics.
Habitat Destruction Is Exposing Us to a Dangerous New Form of Malaria
Habitat destruction isn’t just killing wildlife—it’s killing us.
Why Does the Coal Industry Treat Old, Dirty Power Plants Like National Treasures?
Dear coal industry, stop reminiscing over outdated power plants. They’re holding you—and us—back.
The Accident at Indian Point
Is it safe to operate a nuclear reactor 34 miles from 8.4 million people?
When's the Last Time Our CO2 Levels Were This High?
Global atmospheric CO2 is now above 400 ppm. That's uncharted territory for humans—but not for Earth.