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."


A meeting room filled with lots of wooden desks.

U.S. scientists push forward with climate research despite government withdrawal

Five American scientists joined an international climate panel meeting in Japan, continuing their work despite the Trump administration's efforts to distance the U.S. from global climate initiatives.

Bob Berwyn reports for Inside Climate News.

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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.
White windmills under blue sky during daytime.

Trump’s pick to lead clean energy office has deep oil industry ties

President Donald Trump has nominated Audrey Robertson, an oil and gas executive with no prior experience in clean energy, to lead the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, sparking criticism from environmental advocates.

Brian Dabbs reports for E&E News.

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The facade of the environmental protection agency in Washington, DC.

EPA defends freezing $20 billion in climate grants without new evidence

A federal judge ordered the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to justify its decision to freeze $20 billion in climate and clean energy grants, but the agency has yet to present direct evidence of waste, fraud, or abuse.

Claire Brown reports for The New York Times.

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View of soldiers' legs in camouflage and boots marching in formation.

COP30 coordinator: Climate action must be a priority, not a casualty, of defense spending

Countries ramping up military budgets must also strengthen climate efforts or risk more conflict in the future, warns Ana Toni, Brazil’s chief executive of the Cop30 summit.

Fiona Harvey reports for The Guardian.

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Pump jack silhouetted against a red sunset.

Texas oil boom brings wealth, but pollution leaves communities struggling

For many Texans living near the Permian Basin’s expanding oil and gas industry, economic growth has come at the cost of contaminated water, toxic air, and abandoned wells leaking hazardous waste.

Saul Elbein reports for The Hill and the Pulitzer Center. Part three of a four-part series.

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high school students sitting on chairs, viewed from behind.

Wildfires in Los Angeles disrupted school for thousands of vulnerable students

More than 750,000 students in Los Angeles missed school due to January’s devastating wildfires, with low-income, Latino, and English-language learners facing the greatest hardships, a new analysis finds.

Liza Gross reports for Inside Climate News.

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Two HVAC workers on a roof on a sunny day.

Rising temperatures could sharply increase heart disease risks by 2050

Extreme heat is already responsible for a significant share of heart disease cases in Australia, and new research predicts that without emissions reductions, the burden could double or even triple by mid-century.

Annika Burgess reports for ABC News.

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From our Newsroom
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.

People  sitting in an outdoors table working on a big sign.

Op-ed: Why funding for the environmental justice movement must be anti-racist

We must prioritize minority-serving institutions, BIPOC-led organizations and researchers to lead environmental justice efforts.

joe biden

Biden finalizes long-awaited hydrogen tax credits ahead of Trump presidency

Responses to the new rules have been mixed, and environmental advocates worry that Trump could undermine them.

Op-ed: Toxic prisons teach us that environmental justice needs abolition

Op-ed: Toxic prisons teach us that environmental justice needs abolition

Prisons, jails and detention centers are placed in locations where environmental hazards such as toxic landfills, floods and extreme heat are the norm.

Agents of Change in Environmental Justice logo

LISTEN: Reflections on the first five years of the Agents of Change program

The leadership team talks about what they’ve learned — and what lies ahead.

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