Best longreads 2020

Our top 5 long reads of 2020

In-depth reporting that you may have missed.

We've made it to the final week of 2020—a big accomplishment in a year that felt never-ending.

With the holidays here, you may have a little more time to relax. Wondering what to do with that time? We've got you covered.


Kick up your feet, grab a mug of your favorite hot drink and settle in to catch up on our top five long reads of the year. From the ocean floor to the forests of North Carolina to the blustery North, below are our top investigations and features.

1. Unplugged: Abandoned oil and gas wells leave the ocean floor spewing methane

Gulf of Mexico oil and gas drilling

The Gulf of Mexico is littered with tens of thousands of abandoned oil and gas wells, and toothless regulation leaves climate warming gas emissions unchecked.

2. How Europe’s wood pellet appetite worsens environmental racism in the US South

An expanding wood pellet market in the Southeast has fallen short of climate and job goals—instead bringing air pollution, noise and reduced biodiversity in majority Black communities.

3. ‘Them plants are killing us’: Inside a cross-border battle against cancer and pollution

Air pollution Sault Ste. Marie Ontario

Two communities — one in Canada, one in the U.S. — share both a border along the St. Marys River and a toxic legacy that has contributed to high rates of cancer. Now the towns are banding together to fight a ferrochrome plant.

4. Microplastics in farm soils: A growing concern

Researchers say that more microplastics pollution is getting into farm soil than oceans—and these tiny bits are showing up in our fruits, veggies, and bodies.

5. Exempt from inspection: States ignore lead-contaminated meat in food banks

Hunter-donated meat provides crucial protein to US food banks. But an EHN investigation found a lack of oversight that could result in potentially hundreds of thousands of lead-contaminated meals this year.

Banner photo: The Algoma steel plant after sunset, in Sault Ste., Marie, Ont., on Friday, Jan., 17, 2020. (Credit: Christopher Katsarov Luna/EHN)

Fracking billionaire aims to rewrite Constitution to advance far-right agenda

Fracking billionaire aims to rewrite Constitution to advance far-right agenda

Tim Dunn, a Texas pastor and fracking billionaire, is funding efforts to rewrite the U.S. Constitution to promote climate denial and conservative Christian values, surpassing the goals of Project 2025.

Geoff Dembicki reports for DeSmog.

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Senator Whitehouse & climate change

Senator Whitehouse puts climate change on budget committee’s agenda

For more than a decade, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse gave daily warnings about the mounting threat of climate change. Now he has a powerful new perch.
Biodiversity in protected areas is shrinking faster than in unprotected regions

Biodiversity in protected areas is shrinking faster than in unprotected regions

A new study shows biodiversity is declining more rapidly within key protected areas than outside them, challenging the effectiveness of global conservation targets discussed at the UN's Cop16 summit in Colombia.

Phoebe Weston reports for The Guardian.

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polar bear

Polar bears are increasingly exposed to diseases due to warming Arctic

As the Arctic warms rapidly, polar bears are encountering new pathogens, posing health risks to these animals and potentially altering the ecosystem.

Kasha Patel reports for The Washington Post.

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Java stingaree declared extinct
Credit: Richard Ling/Flickr

Java stingaree declared extinct after 160 years out of sight

The Java stingaree has become the first marine fish declared extinct due to human activity, raising concerns about the future of vulnerable species in our oceans.

Chris Baraniuk reports for the BBC.

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Cuba's slow solar energy expansion contributes to widespread blackouts

Cuba's slow solar energy expansion contributes to widespread blackouts

Cuba’s recent large-scale blackouts highlight the country’s failure to expand its solar power infrastructure, despite its commitments under the Paris Agreement and ongoing energy shortages.

Alexa St. John, Ingrid Lobet, and Andrea Rodriguez report for The Associated Press.

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electric usage meter

Electricity bills expected to rise as renewable energy projects face delays

Residents of the Chesapeake Bay area may see electricity bills jump by as much as 24% due to delays in incorporating renewable energy sources into the regional power grid.

Ad Crable reports for Bay Journal.

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home with storm shutters on windows

Americans share how they are retrofitting their homes to adapt to extreme weather

Facing increasingly severe weather, Americans are modifying their homes to cope with heat, wildfires and hurricanes, but many worry that personal efforts alone won’t solve the crisis.

Jem Bartholomew reports for The Guardian.

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From our Newsroom
U.S. Steel Pennsylvania pollution

Coal-based steelmaking in Pennsylvania causes up to 92 premature deaths and $1.4 billion in health costs every year: Report

Just three facilities near Pittsburgh cost the state $16 million in lost economic activity annually, according to a new report.

COP16 UN biodiversity

Pollution is one of the top drivers of biodiversity loss. Why is no one talking about it at COP16?

“Chemicals are really at the center of this triple planetary crisis of pollution, biodiversity and climate change.”

COP16 UN biodiversity

La contaminación es una de las principales amenazas de la biodiversidad. ¿Por qué nadie habla de ella en la COP16?

“Las sustancias químicas están realmente en el centro de esta triple crisis planetaria de contaminación, biodiversidad y cambio climático”.

clean energy transition

Op-ed: Labor and environmental groups can both win in the clean energy transition. Here’s how.

Groups are choosing to repair broken lines of communication and visualize the transition for its true potential to mitigate climate change – the common enemy.

environmental defenders

‘Living under this constant threat’: Environmental defenders face a mounting mental health crisis

Environmental activists are struggling with paranoia, panic attacks, and depression. Now, a growing network of mental health shelters in South America hopes to fill a void in care.

fracking opposition

Opposing fracking cost one Colombian activist her mental health. She’s fighting to win it back.

"At some point, they will kill you and kill all of us," environmental leader Yuvelis Natalia Morales Blanco was told.

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