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."


trees beside ocean under cloudy sky during sunset

Quatsino leads the charge on renewable energy

On Vancouver Island, Quatsino First Nation is completing a 150-kW solar project, piloting tidal power and partnering with a wind farm in its push for renewable energy.

Blue-green sea water with a mediterranean village on the hills above the water

‘We're tired of counting damages’: Call for climate funds after landslide devastates Sicilian town

Environmental groups are warning that Italy’s lack of investment in climate mitigation is leaving communities dangerously exposed, after a cyclone forced more than 1,500 people from their homes in southern Sicily.

Two firemen sitting in a vehicle

More than 87m people impacted by climate-related disasters in 2025

In 2025, more than 200 climate-related disasters affected more than 87.8 million people worldwide, according to preliminary figures from the International Disaster Database.

fire danger moderate today signage

Climate news is written in a language most people can't understand

A new report argues that English-only climate science and disaster alerts are excluding most of the world, and putting Indigenous communities at greater risk.
Terraced farm fields in a tropical location

Worries grow for Sulawesi farmers as nickel mining company plans expansion

Farmers around Indonesia’s Lake Towuti say plans to expand nickel mining for electric vehicle batteries threaten their ancestral lands, livelihoods and some of Sulawesi’s richest biodiversity.

Ilulissat, Greenland - coastal village with icebergs floating in bay

Arctic scientists 'feel pretty uncomfortable' on Greenland

Science in the Arctic — and Greenland — is on the frontline of pressing challenges facing humanity, like climate change and genetics. Some researchers worry international collaboration is at risk.
Donald Trump speaking at the 2013 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in National Harbor, Maryland.
Credit: Gage Skidmore/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/gageskidmore/8566717881/ https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/

Trump’s biggest climate rollback stalls over fears it will lose in court

Trump officials have delayed finalizing the repeal of the agency’s “endangerment finding” over concerns the proposal is too weak to withstand a court challenge.
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.

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