rancho seco

Peter Dykstra: The green bucket list

Sites across the U.S. where environmental challenges have been met.

When you’re immersed in environmental science and environmental politics, it’s sometimes hard to step back and measure progress.

Here are a few gains and victories to charge your batteries.


Rancho Seco, California 

In 1975, the City of Sacramento cut the ribbon on its own nuclear power plant. After years of substandard performance and at least one unnerving emergency shutdown, city voters narrowly chose to deactivate the plant in 1989.

Today, Rancho Seco is a sprawling park, 25 miles from downtown, with a sizable solar farm, a gas-fired power plant, and cooling towers unlike those in any other city park in the nation—and a reservoir designed as an emergency source of coolant water is now one bodacious fishing hole.

Greensburg, Kansas

environmental good news

Banner photo credit: Lauren Ayres/flickr

In May 2007, a tornado wiped this Kansas prairie town off the map. With so little left to lose, town leaders accepted a challenge: Rebuild Greensburg all-green, with 100% clean energy.

A decade and a half later, it’s mission accomplished for Greensburg. Its municipal wind farm sells power back to the grid.

Hubbard Brook, New Hampshire 

A research forest in North Woodstock, New Hampshire, where Gene Likens and a team of scientists were among the first to study the causes, sources, and potential solutions to acid rain.

Warren County, North Carolina

environmental justice

Credit: Jimmy Emerson, DVM/flickr

When plans were disclosed to landfill carcinogenic PCB waste in a predominantly poor Black county, national civil rights organizations joined local groups in a series of protests and blockades.

More than 500 arrests later, the environmental justice movement was born.

Storm King Mountain, New York 

Con Edison, the utility giant that powers New York City, was on the lookout for new generating capacity. Storm King rises 1,400 feet above a particularly lovely stretch of the Hudson River. In 1962, Con Ed sought permission to convert Storm King into a giant pump-storage facility – hollowing out the mountain to create a vertical reservoir, releasing the water to power electrical turbines during peak demand periods.

Swift opposition came from hikers, fishermen, ambitious lawyers and Manhattan millionaires. Seventeen years of court cases and public hearings later, Con Ed dropped its plans for Storm King. But the battle is considered the birthplace of American environmental law.

Baraboo, Wisconsin 

There are two reasons to enshrine this town of 12,000: It’s home to the Aldo Leopold Foundation, dedicated to one of America’s greatest environmental authors; and also to the International Crane Foundation, the leading NGO in protecting crane species worldwide.

These are sites where problems yielded inspired solutions. Next week, we’ll look at American sites with unresolved problems we can learn from.

Peter Dykstra is our weekend editor and columnist and can be reached at pdykstra@ehn.org or @pdykstra.

His views do not necessarily represent those of Environmental Health News, The Daily Climate, or publisher Environmental Health Sciences.

Banner photo: Canoeing in Rancho Seco. (Credit: Robert Couse-Baker/flickr)

A sign on a concrete building reading "United States Environmental Protection Agency."
Credit: marcnorman/BigStock Photo ID: 21123533

New EPA reorganization may quietly dismantle chemical health watchdog

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is moving to gut its independent chemical risk program, potentially stalling regulation of dangerous substances and handing a long-sought victory to the chemical industry.

Molly Taft reports for Wired.

Keep reading...Show less
Solar panels and wind turbones in a grassy field with mountains in background.
Credit: Fahroni/BigStock Photo ID: 462747775

Republican divide over green energy tax credits could shake up party megabill

A group of House Republicans is clashing with party leaders over plans to gut clean energy tax credits, raising the possibility of a GOP showdown.

Kelsey Brugger, Andres Picon, Nico Portuondo and Manuel Quiñones report for Politico.

Keep reading...Show less
Brown wooden gavel on a bed of $100 dollar bills.

Trump moves to shield oil companies from climate lawsuits as states push back

Over 30 states and cities suing oil giants for climate damages now face direct legal opposition from the Trump administration, which has begun suing states to block their cases.

Karen Zraick reports for The New York Times.

Keep reading...Show less
The U.S. Congress building in Washington DC with a fountain in the foreground during daytime.

EPA freezes environmental justice grants as Zeldin defends budget cuts before Congress

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency drew bipartisan criticism in a contentious Senate hearing over whether the agency defied federal law by halting billions in climate and environmental justice grants.

Matthew Daly reports for The Associated Press.

Keep reading...Show less
Solar panels in a green field under partly cloudy skies.

Trump administration moves to raise fees for solar and wind projects on federal land

The U.S. Interior Department plans to revoke a Biden-era rule that slashed costs for renewable energy developers using federal lands, a step back toward fossil fuel-friendly policies.

Nichola Groom reports for Reuters.

Keep reading...Show less
Flattened plastic bottles ready for recycling.

Plastic pollution may be accelerating global warming by disrupting Earth's carbon cycles

Plastic production emits about 5% of global greenhouse gases, but scientists warn that microplastics may also hinder the planet's natural ability to store carbon, amplifying climate change beyond current estimates.

Nicolás Rivero reports for The Washington Post.

Keep reading...Show less
Damaged beach house with erosion visible at base and metal stilts supporting part of the structure.

Staff shortages at National Weather Service raise safety concerns ahead of hurricane season

A wave of retirements and layoffs has left the National Weather Service scrambling to fill critical roles as the Atlantic hurricane season approaches, raising bipartisan fears about the nation’s storm readiness.

Zack Colman reports for POLITICO.

Keep reading...Show less
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.