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."


ocean waves near city buildings during daytime

Hurricane season is over. Here's why the US never got hit

For the first time in a decade, the U.S. avoided landfall, thanks to an atmospheric anomaly. But this hurricane season was exceptional in other bad ways, too.

A pipeline stretching across a snowy landscape

A new oilsands pipeline? What politicians won’t admit

A revived plan to build a massive bitumen pipeline from Alberta to BC’s northwest coast faces stark warnings from veteran energy analyst David Hughes, who says the project defies physical limits, climate goals and basic economic sense.

An oil drilling pump jack at night against a starry sky

The unpaid bills of Alberta oil and gas companies, explained

From lease payments owed to landowners to mounting municipal tax bills and more, The Narwhal breaks down the ways Alberta oil and gas companies are shirking their bills.

A fracking tower flaring flames into the sky

Alberta oil regulator stopped enforcing gas flaring limits after government pressure, documents show

The regulator in charge of environmental enforcement in Canada's main oil-producing province bent to pressure from the provincial government and oil companies to eliminate a limit on natural gas flaring as Canadian oil production increased.

Woman holding sign that says There is no Planet B

How the UN’s language around climate change risks is ‘eroding’ public trust in science

Researchers warn that current climate change language can make it easier for misinformation to spread.
Former President of the United States Joe Biden with American flag backdrop
Credit: Photo by Gage Skidmore/Gage Skidmore/Creative Commons https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/

The quick and shameful death of Biden’s biggest policy

It was far too easy for Republicans to kill the Inflation Reduction Act. Where did those who crafted it go wrong?
Vintage photo of Appalachian coal miner

‘Deeply demoralizing’: how Trump derailed coal country’s clean-energy revival

Biden earmarked billions for former coal communities in Appalachia – and his successor came and took it away.

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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