Our 2021 Annual Report: Environment, health, science & impact

An update from the front lines of climate change and environmental health

What a time of change and growth!

We are pleased to share Environmental Health Sciences' 2021 Annual Report, highlighting the many activities we undertook last year that set EHS up for a strong 2022.


Download our annual report here:

EHS-2021-Annual-Report.pdf

Environmental impact

Agriculture and environmental health

2021 was a year of excitement and challenge for our small nonprofit.

  1. We launched EHN en Español,
  2. Doubled down on our commitment to the groundbreaking early career science program Agents of Change, and
  3. Saw significant gains on both the toxics and climate fronts.

And we watched readers – like you! – get engaged in ways that continually surprised us.

Our work continues

PFAS in cosmetics

In just the first three months this year EHS staff has been a hive of activity:

  • Partnered with wellness community Mamavation.com to investigate PFAS contamination in sports bras, cosmetics and other products.
  • Driven a global campaign around groundbreaking BPA limits in Europe – and why the same scientific standards should be applied in the U.S.
  • Published 10 Agents of Change essays & podcasts exploring everything from new pathways into science to workplace chemical exposures.

Take a look at the work EHS did last year and be proud that you, as a reader, are moving it forward.

We certainly are grateful to you!

PS: Just today we published a look at impacts one year after publishing "Fractured," our groundbreaking investigation into spillover pollution from fracking fields in Southwestern Pennsylvania. Check it out!

Banner photo art by David Ryder for EHN.org

A view of solar panels against a cloudy day

‘We’re hardly producing any power’: Can Europe’s solar boom survive a cloudy winter?

A prolonged period of cloudy and windless weather can throttle Europe's solar and wind generations, often causing the grid to rely on polluting back-up sources.
A view of a row of solar panels extending over the water

Solar above, fish below: Double-decker farm's vast energy potential

Floating solar panels over the world’s fish and shrimp ponds could generate 4,100 terawatt-hours of electricity, avoiding up to 2.5 billion tons of emissions.
A view of wind turbines silhouetted against a darkening sky

Democrats plan to push clean energy in Congress as Trump backs fossil fuels

Some Democrats are promising to push for more clean energy to help tackle rising energy costs when they take control of Congress in January.
A small Nepalese girl carrying her younger sibling on her back

Climate change is bringing dengue fever to the high Himalayas

As Nepal’s mountains warm, mosquitoes are spreading dengue, once strictly a lowland disease, to higher-elevation, densely-populated areas.
A closeup of a human hand with a large mosquito on it

Drought driven by climate change is redefining how disease spreads, study finds

As climate change intensifies, drought is widening globally, causing alterations in water-dependent pathogen patterns, leaving scientists scrambling to understand how infectious disease transmission is evolving.

Aerial view of several rows of solar panels in a green field

COP31 host Türkiye is home to one of Europe's largest solar farms. Why can’t it kick coal?

As Türkiye prepares to host the UN climate summit, one critic describes the country's climate targets and policies as “critically insufficient”.
A yellow skid-steer loader in front of destroyed homes on January 13, 2013 in Lavallette, New Jersey in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy
Credit: Glynnis Jones/BigStock Photo ID: 41233060

Disaster-prone communities face cuts and slowdowns in federal help

The Trump administration is scaling back or stalling investments that help vulnerable places harden themselves to rising flood and fire threats.
From our Newsroom
Multiple Houston-area oil and gas facilities that have violated pollution laws are seeking permit renewals

Multiple Houston-area oil and gas facilities that have violated pollution laws are seeking permit renewals

One facility has emitted cancer-causing chemicals into waterways at levels up to 520% higher than legal limits.

Regulators are underestimating health impacts from air pollution: Study

Regulators are underestimating health impacts from air pollution: Study

"The reality is, we are not exposed to one chemical at a time.”

Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro speaks with the state flag and American flag behind him.

Two years into his term, has Gov. Shapiro kept his promises to regulate Pennsylvania’s fracking industry?

A new report assesses the administration’s progress and makes new recommendations

silhouette of people holding hands by a lake at sunset

An open letter from EPA staff to the American public

“We cannot stand by and allow this to happen. We need to hold this administration accountable.”

wildfire retardants being sprayed by plane

New evidence links heavy metal pollution with wildfire retardants

“The chemical black box” that blankets wildfire-impacted areas is increasingly under scrutiny.

Stay informed: sign up for The Daily Climate newsletter
Top news on climate impacts, solutions, politics, drivers. Delivered to your inbox week days.