popular stories 2022

Our 5 most popular reads from 2022

A corpse, woodworking dangers, plastic titans ... revisit the stories that stuck with our readers this past year.

The totals are in — here are the five most viewed stories from our newsroom in 2022.


1. A corpse in a barrel in a drying reservoir

corpse in a barrel in a drying reservoir

Our weekend columnist Peter Dykstra is always on the lookout for the weird and wacky in the environmental realm.

With this column, he found it.

2. The hidden, potential cancer-causing, danger in woodworking and art supplies

BADGE BPA chemical

Reporter Meg Wilcox did a deep dive on a scary chemical that's common in woodworking and art supplies. Might want to check this one out before your next craft night.

3. The Titans of Plastic

petrochemical shell pennsylvania plastic

In collaboration with the excellent Sierra Magazine, reporter Kristina Marusic gives readers a clear-eyed look at the multi-faceted impacts of plastics production.

4. For clean beauty brands, getting PFAS out of makeup might be easier said than done

PFAS in makeup

We spent a good part of the beginning of 2022 examining PFAS chemicals in everyday products. This investigation into makeup caught the eye of readers.

5. Chemicals in everyday products are spurring obesity, warns a new review

chemicals obesity

Our weight depends on more than diet and exercise. Reporter Grace van Deelen reported on the latest research examining a concerning class of chemicals called "obesogens."


Yellow and white wind turbine towers waiting to be installed
Credit: Engineered Solutions/Unsplash

Trump leaves wind industry reeling — at a perilous moment for his party

Republican worries about energy affordability didn’t deter the administration from halting five major projects that had already begun construction.
US President Donald Trump with American & Ukrainian flags behind
Credit: Copyright: palinchak/ BigStock Photo ID: 205623106

Opinion: Trump’s shuttering of the National Center for Atmospheric Research is Stalinist: Michael Mann and Bob Ward

This is the latest in the relentless purge of climate researchers who refuse to be co-opted by the fossil fuel industry.

aerial photography of tanker ship.

Oil, gold and rare earth elements: the backdrop to US political tension with Venezuela

The country’s enormous energy and mineral resources are consolidating as a key factor in the geopolitical dispute and in Venezuela’s institutional collapse.

an aerial view of a data center flanked by trees, roads and green fields.
Credit: Geoffrey Moffett/Unsplash

The Pentagon and A.I. giants have a weakness. Both need China’s batteries, badly.

As warfare is reinvented in Ukraine, and Silicon Valley races to maintain its A.I. lead, China’s battery dominance is raising alarms far beyond the auto industry.
A row of diesel-powered generators outside of an industrial building
Photo by Abhijeet Gaikwad on Unsplash

Electrifying these factories could cut a gigaton of CO2 pollution

The U.S. industrial sector relies on gas-fired boilers to make heat. A new report shows how manufacturers can electrify and decarbonize, starting now.
off shore wind farm against setting sun
Credit: Alexander MilsFor Unsplash+

‘Bonkers’: DOI letter halts all five in-progress offshore wind farms

Construction will be paused for 90 days as Trump's Department of War and Interior Department coordinate to evaluate supposed "national security" risks.
Overhead view of Thwaites Glacier, Antarctica
Image Credit: NASA/James Yungel/ Creative Commons: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/

The Doomsday Glacier is getting closer and closer to irreversible collapse

An analysis of the expansion of cracks in the Thwaites Glacier over the past 20 years suggests that a total collapse could be only a matter of time.
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.