Environment

20 Years After Katrina, New Orleans’ Levees Are Sinking and Short on Cash

Jake Bittle / Grist Aug 27, 2025 The city’s $14 billion flood system faces new threats from climate change, land subsidence and Trump budget cuts. Dig deeper ( 9 Min. Read )

Environment

Indigenous Nations Walk Away From Pipeline Talks in Michigan

Izzy Ross / Grist Mar 31, 2025 Tribes say they are being ignored as Trump fast tracks a project to tunnel an oil and gas pipeline under the continent's largest source of fresh water. Dig deeper ( 4 Min. Read )

Environment

Northwest Coastal Tribes Are Drowning in Paperwork Amid Sea-Level Rise

B. ‘Toastie’ Oaster / High Country News Aug 29, 2024 A new study shows how federal grant funding has become an obstacle to climate adaptation. Dig deeper ( 6 Min. Read )

Books

The Fraught History of the Mississippi River

Jake Bittle / Grist Jun 21, 2024 A new book tells the modern history of the "Big Muddy" as a tragedy wrought by colonial hubris. Dig deeper ( 6 Min. Read )

Environment

Florida Homeowners Want Government To Save Their Private Beaches

Jake Bittle / Grist Jun 5, 2024 The federal government is refusing to restore eroded beaches in Pinellas County unless homeowners agree to make beach access public. Dig deeper ( 7 Min. Read )

Homeland Security Waives Contracting Laws for Border Wall

ELLIOT SPAGAT / The Associated Press Feb 18, 2020 This marks the first time waivers have applied to federal procurement rules. Previously ones waived environmental impact reviews. Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

Midwest Flooding Closes Stretches of Major River, Interstate

MARGERY A. BECK and BLAKE NICHOLSON / The Associated Press Mar 15, 2019 Flooding still a big concern in the lower Missouri River area after a massive storm affects parts of Nebraska, South Dakota, Iowa and Minnesota. Dig deeper ( 4 Min. Read )

Island-Wide Blackout in Puerto Rico: ‘Like the First Day of Maria’

DANICA COTO / The Associated Press Apr 18, 2018 Officials say it could take 24 to 36 hours to fully restore power to the island, which was hit hard by Hurricane Maria last September. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

Saving What’s Left of Paradise

Eleanor Goldfield / Truthdig Apr 2, 2018 In Louisiana, misdeeds by the oil and gas pipeline industries have fired up people dedicated to monitoring the situation—and they could use some help. Dig deeper ( 7 Min. Read )

Over Three Months After Maria, Barely Half of Puerto Rico Has Power

DANICA COTO / The Associated Press Dec 29, 2017 Officials say 55 percent of the nearly 1.5 million customers have power, marking the first time the government has provided that statistic since the Category 4 storm hit on Sept. 20. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

Fight Against DAPL Continues Inside and Outside Federal Courthouse (Multimedia)

BLANK Jun 21, 2017 Indigenous activists rally on behalf of the Standing Rock Sioux and Cheyenne River Sioux tribes during a hearing in the tribes' case against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

Judge Orders Review of DAPL Permits in a Win for ‘Water Protectors’

By Jake Johnson / Common Dreams Jun 15, 2017 A federal judge deems safety evaluations of the Dakota Access pipeline insufficient and orders the Army Corps of Engineers to reconsider its analysis. Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )