Abraham Jacob/Flickr
25 August 2018
India's devastating rains match climate change forecasts
Once-a-century rains that have pounded the Indian state of Kerala and displaced 1.3 million people are in line with the predictions of climate change.
Once-a-century rains that have pounded the Indian state of Kerala and displaced 1.3 million people are in line with the predictions of climate change.
Meet the senior fellows that will hone their communication and public engagement skills.
The Agents of Change program, a partnership between EHN and Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, is excited to announce the Agents of Change Fellows in Residence Program.
During this past year we have been reflecting on our accomplishments with the five Agents of Change cohorts. After five years of training the next generation of impactful environmental health researchers, we decided it was time to deepen our work and reinvest in our existing community. The unprecedented changes in the fields of public health, environmental protection and climate science we’ve seen this year – which directly impacts the careers and livelihoods of many Agents of Change fellows – has underscored the importance of providing our community with the knowledge, skills, networks, and social capital necessary to navigate this complex landscape.
As a result, we are launching the Fellows in Residence program.
Our reimagined fellowship is an effort to deepen our impact on decision-making and provide additional support to six senior Agents of Change fellows in their path towards creating more impactful research.
This new initiative will build and strengthen alliances and collaborations with other programs, institutions and media organizations, provide support and network to help fellows navigate opportunities where they and their research can lead conversations in their respective fields, amplify our fellows’ expertise and help them develop community and policy products that will be incorporated into decision-making.
The Fellows in Residence program gathers Senior Agents of Change fellows who will participate in key networking opportunities through webinars, personalized mentorship opportunities, and more.
They will also have the opportunity to work on an individualized communication campaign to broaden the impact of their research. In this new era, fellows in residence will pick and choose different deliverables such as op-eds, fact sheets, policy briefs, science snippet videos, or more, that align with their current work and interests.
Meet our fellows in residence in the slideshow below. Click on right or left side of each photo to move forward or backwards.
Founded in 2020 by Dr. Ami Zota of Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, Agents of Change has become one of the premiere national fellowships focused on increasing science communication and public engagement among early career scientists from backgrounds that haven’t been prioritized in science and academia.
Our fellows have published 62 essays, which are freely available in English and Spanish, and have reached 1.7 million readers (around 200,000 readers in Spanish). Our podcast — where we dive into the career paths and big ideas from fellows and other leaders in the field — has reached more than 80,000 listeners annually on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and SoundCloud.
Want to keep on top of the program and the fellows' work? Subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on BlueSky, Instagram and LinkedIn. Learn more about current and senior fellows at agentsofchangeinej.org.
U.S. trade policy is fueling instability across the energy sector, with tariffs threatening to stall clean energy projects and drive up costs across oil, gas, and renewables alike.
In short:
Key quote:
“We’ve already kind of penalized solar with the tariffs that we have in place.”
— Chris Seiple, vice chairman for power and renewables, Wood Mackenzie
Why this matters:
The reach of tariffs into the energy sector is vast and disruptive. By inflating the cost of materials and creating uncertainty for long-term investment, these trade policies are dragging down the momentum of the renewable energy transition just as global demand for clean power accelerates. U.S. solar and battery storage companies, which rely heavily on imports for key components, are particularly exposed—importing over 90% of battery tech alone. Meanwhile, nations like China and those in the European Union are not only advancing rapidly in renewable deployment but are doing so at significantly lower costs. This disparity risks locking the U.S. into outdated infrastructure, raising costs for consumers and utilities alike. Worse, the murky motives behind the tariffs—ranging from protectionism to foreign policy posturing—make it nearly impossible for energy developers to plan.
Read more:
The U.S. Supreme Court has unanimously ruled that federal agencies don’t need to evaluate the broader environmental effects of Utah’s proposed oil railway, reversing a lower court decision that had blocked the project.
In short:
Key quote:
“The Board did not need to evaluate potential environmental impacts of the separate upstream and downstream projects. The environmental consequences of future oil drilling in the Basin are distinct from construction and operation of the railroad line.”
— Justice Brett Kavanaugh
Why this matters:
The Uinta Basin Railway ruling may reshape how major infrastructure projects are reviewed under NEPA, one of the nation's cornerstone environmental laws. For decades, NEPA has required that federal agencies consider not just the immediate impacts of projects like pipelines and railroads, but also how they contribute to broader harm — such as climate change, water contamination, or habitat destruction. This new interpretation gives agencies more leeway to sidestep those extended impacts, even when the consequences are foreseeable. That shift could speed up projects backed by fossil fuel interests while weakening a key tool used by environmental groups and communities to challenge pollution and public health threats. In this case, the crude oil trains would travel through sensitive terrain near the Colorado River and populated areas, raising concerns about spills, fire risks, and downstream air and water pollution.
Learn more:
A group of 22 young Americans is suing the Trump administration, claiming its fossil fuel expansion policies violate their constitutional rights to life and liberty.
In short:
Key quote:
“Trump’s fossil fuel orders are a death sentence for my generation.”
— Eva Lighthiser, youth plaintiff
Why this matters:
Legal efforts like this one are part of a growing trend of youth-led climate litigation aimed at holding governments accountable for environmental degradation. While fossil fuel development has long powered the U.S. economy, its emissions are a key driver of global warming, which scientists warn is intensifying storms, flooding, wildfires, and droughts across the country. Children and young adults are particularly vulnerable to these impacts, both physically and psychologically, and they face a future shaped by decisions made today. The plaintiffs live in states already experiencing climate-related harm, such as sea-level rise, heatwaves, and infrastructure collapse. Many also report chronic anxiety about the future. Lawsuits like this aim to challenge not just policy outcomes but the premise that economic growth must come at the expense of public health and environmental integrity.
Related:
A Washington woman has filed the first wrongful death lawsuit blaming fossil fuel companies for a loved one’s death during a climate-driven heat event.
In short:
Key quote:
“I never would have in a million years guessed that a heat dome and climate change would be what killed my mother and what took her from me.”
— Misti Leon, plaintiff
Why this matters:
Extreme heat is becoming one of the most lethal consequences of climate change. In the U.S., heat-related deaths have doubled over recent decades, often affecting the elderly, outdoor workers, and people without access to air conditioning. The scientific community overwhelmingly agrees that the burning of fossil fuels has driven global temperatures upward, intensifying weather events like heat waves. These events can overwhelm the human body, disable infrastructure, and trigger wildfires. While most lawsuits over climate harm have come from cities and states, this case signals a growing willingness to connect individual human loss to corporate actions. The implications for public health, particularly among vulnerable populations, are profound.
Learn more: Climate disaster survivors demand legal action against Big Oil
A federal appeals court has reinstated a tribal lawsuit against the Interior Department over a massive transmission line project, saying the agency may have failed its legal duty to protect culturally significant sites in Arizona’s San Pedro Valley.
In short:
Key quote:
“The Tohono O’odham Nation supports clean, renewable energy — when it is done the right way. With the SunZia project, the federal government failed to work with tribes to protect our cultural resources as required by law.”
— Verlon Jose, chairman of the Tohono O’odham Nation
Why this matters:
Energy infrastructure projects are surging to meet rising electricity demand, but they often clash with environmental protections and tribal sovereignty. The SunZia project slices through a region long regarded as sacred by multiple Indigenous groups. While renewable energy is vital for decarbonizing the power grid, the push for “green” infrastructure is exposing a persistent blind spot: the failure to meaningfully include Native voices in federal planning. The law requires consultation, not just notification.
Related: U.S. Supreme Court allows Arizona copper mine on Apache sacred land to move forward
Despite pledges of sustainable production, European chemical giants Yara and BASF are using fracked shale gas from Texas to make ammonia-based fertilizer, a new investigation reveals.
In short:
Key quote:
“The Freeport facility is making ammonia out of hydrogen derived from fossil gas – plain and simple.”
— Taylor Hodge, agrochemicals campaigner, Center for International Environmental Law
Why this matters:
The global fertilizer industry is a massive but under-scrutinized driver of climate change. Fertilizer production, especially ammonia synthesis, consumes immense energy and produces significant emissions — more than aviation and shipping combined. While companies increasingly tout “green” technologies and lower-carbon innovations, many still rely on fossil fuel infrastructure. This creates a façade of sustainability while deepening dependence on polluting energy sources. Fracked gas, central to the Freeport plant’s process, emits high levels of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, and pollutes air and water near extraction sites. Communities in the U.S. Gulf South disproportionately bear these harms, while the end products fuel industrial agriculture thousands of miles away.
Read more: Soils reveal a hidden cost of farming, and fertilizers
One facility has emitted cancer-causing chemicals into waterways at levels up to 520% higher than legal limits.
“They're terrorizing these scientists because they want to keep them silent.”
"The reality is, we are not exposed to one chemical at a time.”
A new report assesses the administration’s progress and makes new recommendations
“We cannot stand by and allow this to happen. We need to hold this administration accountable.”
“The chemical black box” that blankets wildfire-impacted areas is increasingly under scrutiny.