Kate Wheeling is a staff writer at Pacific Standard, where she specializes in criminal justice and the environment. She was previously an associate editor and editorial fellow at Pacific Standard. Wheeling has a bachelor's degree in behavioral neuroscience and a master's in science journalism. She has also written for Outside, Science, and Discover magazine.
After a circuit court ordered the removal of a citizenship question from the census, the Trump administration asked the Supreme Court to weigh in on the case. On Friday, the high court agreed.
More than two years after Valley Water Management Company settled with environmental groups to halt discharges at two facilities where wastewater seeped into groundwater, Race Track Hill and Fee 34 are finally closed.
While a national debate about whether or not to arm teachers rages on, hundreds of school districts across the country have been allowing staff to carry weapons on school property for years.
Trump is citing the polar vortex descending on the Midwest as evidence against climate change. Why is this faulty logic so common?
A series of recent studies and reports suggest that, without immediate and drastic action, the worst-case climate scenario will become the rule rather than the exception.
Accurate weather forecasts can provide strong economic benefits to Americans and save lives—but only if weather data remains accessible.
Pacific Standard asked civil rights experts to share their picks of the most essential literature on the movement.
The WHO has named vaccine hesitancy as one of the top 10 public-health threats of 2019. Here's how the anti-vaccination movement came about, and what to do about it.
Already the largest oil and gas producer in the world, the United States is expected to ramp up oil production more than any other nation in the coming decades.
The former coal lobbyist, who has been a champion of Trump's deregulatory agenda without any of the ethical scandals of his predecessor, is all but guaranteed a confirmation.
A new study finds that people who watch body camera footage attribute less blame to police officers involved in incidents than if those same officers were caught on dash cams.
The Trump administration has been systematically rolling back environmental regulations, and now carbon emissions are up across every sector in America.
In his inaugural address, Governor Gavin Newsom vowed to tackle homelessness, criminal justice reform, and inequality.
In his first speech as governor of California, Gavin Newsom reiterated all of his ambitious campaign promises.
A new study finds that installing solar panels on snow-covered mountains could help close the gap between demand and production during the winter months.
Showers, now a mainstay of our daily routines, were once a cure for insanity and criminality.
In the final hours of COP24, human rights activists lament that nations still consider human rights a bargaining chip in climate negotiations.
Environmentalists are concerned that Poland's declaration could be used as an excuse to continue burning coal.
Climate advocates respond to a Shell executive's claim that the oil giant influenced the text of the Paris Agreement.
For the second year in a row, climate advocates disrupted the U.S. government's attempts to promote coal and other fossil fuels at the United Nations climate conference.
Civil society says the Polish government is violating human rights and undermining the global climate negotiations by denying entry or deporting climate advocates.
The world's population is expected to balloon to nearly 10 billion by midcentury.
Highlights from the first week of the 2018 United Nations climate summit in Poland.
Left out of the Paris Agreement in 2015, the shipping industry is finally joining the rest of the world on the path to decarbonization.
A veteran climate finance expert explains the funding questions that could make or break the Paris rulebook.
Corporations with large carbon footprints tend to undermine global efforts to solve the climate crisis, according to climate advocates.
While climate negotiators meet behind closed doors, climate activists have put out their own set of demands.
Replacing gas-guzzling planes with electric ones could put a real dent in global emissions—if we can get them in the sky fast enough.
American climate action might be stymied at the federal level, but there's one place you can still make a major difference: on your plate.
A news digest from day two of the United Nations climate conference, in quotes.
The global climate summit kicked off in Poland over the weekend, with climate leaders stressing the need for urgent action.
This year's climate negotiations have been billed as the most important COP since Paris. Here's what that will look like—and why you should care.
Airlines are pushing for a global carbon market, but environmentalists say it won't be enough to prevent uncontrolled growth in aviation emissions.
The latest report from the IPCC finds that climate action is both urgent and possible. Political will might be in shorter supply.
Major countries are still whiffing on their Paris Agreement pledges.
The latest assessment paints a bleak picture of the future.
Here's how Sessions, who resigned Wednesday at Trump's request, will be remembered.
Oil companies have contributed $8 million to fight against Measure G, a ballot measure in San Luis Obispo County that would block the expansion of local oil operations.
With Roe v. Wade under threat, the stakes are high for abortion protections in states across the country.
The embattled Oregon governor talks to Pacific Standard about offshore oil, sexism in politics, and her neck-and-neck race against political newcomer Knute Buehler.
A quick guide to Proposition 3, among the more confusing measures on which Californians will vote on November 6th.
Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke on Tuesday announced the approval of the first offshore oil production facility in federal waters off the coast of Alaska.
News and notes from Pacific Standard staff and contributors.
No, the state does not really have plenty of water.
Oregon Governor Kate Brown announced a plan to block offshore drilling off the state's coast on Monday.
The Trump administration is asking the United States Supreme Court to block a lawsuit filed by young Americans seeking to force more federal action on climate change.
Though this hurricane will likely only hit the oil industry with a glancing blow, the industry won't always be able to weather the storm.
As temperatures rise, mental health often declines, but researchers still don't know why.
The conservative judge's confirmation was nearly derailed by allegations of sexual misconduct and partisanship. His confirmation highlights the limits of the #MeToo movement.