good news

Peter Dykstra: We could all use some good news right now

Environmental headlines can be bleak, but good news is out there, too.

The environmental beat can be a real downer and we often focus on the problems—but there are signs of progress in our fight against climate change and pollution.


From renewable projects to plastic treaties, here are some dashes of hope for our planet.

Changing energy winds 

More than a decade ago the North American environmental movement threw much of its limited clout against a single project. The Keystone XL pipeline would expedite delivery of oil from Canada’s tarsands to U.S. refineries along the Gulf Coast and make Canada a petro-state.

Enter an army of writers, hellraisers, tribes, farmers, and lawyers who objected to the path, if not the very idea, of Keystone XL. President Biden finally stuck a fork in the project by revoking a crucial permit on his first day in office

Other oil and gas pipeline projects saw similar citizen uprisings. Expansion of the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) from North Dakota’s shale fields to southern Illinois prompted massive protests and allegations of violence perpetrated by police and DAPL-hired security guards. Plans for a pipeline from Alberta to Canada’s east coast were abandoned. Fuel pipeline proposals fell in Pennsylvania, Virginia, and elsewhere.

The nonprofit Investigate West recently looked at the billion-dollar potential for wind and solar jobs on tribal lands throughout the Western U.S.

In March, a U.S. government lease sale for offshore wind rights shattered records and expectations, drawing $4.37 billion in winning bids. Two major oil companies, European-based Total and Shell, were among the top bidders. U.S.-based oil giants were much less enthusiastic.

The Yellowstone's of the sea

Last year Australia added to a global trend by declaring two massive new marine parks in the Indian Ocean. Surrounding the Cocos and Christmas Islands, the parks curtail commercial activities from other nations. Previous parks and reserves have been set by multiple nations in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans as well as the Southern Ocean encircling Antarctica.

Beacon of hope

The Empire State Building now runs completely on windpower (Not exactly. The realty trust that owns the building still buys its juice from the conventional grid, but it then buys the same amount from Green Mountain Energy’s clean energy program.)

Solar ... in West Virginia?

Of course, the decline of Big Coal in the U.S. is at best a mixed bag without some economic hope in coal country. Last week in West Virginia, developers unveiled plans for the largest solar farm in the state in a sprawling former coalfield.

Ocean plastics

It’s an issue where despair prevails, but even here we can see a glimmer. In March, a United Nations conference mandated the creation of a global treaty on plastics pollution.

And more glimmers of hope

There are more issues—both problems and solutions—identified by scientists, activists, and others and brought to light by journalists like my colleagues here at EHN. Political challenges like environmental justice dot the global landscape, while environmental health phenomena break out of the lab and into our lives.

Discoveries on the impacts of endocrine disruptors, “forever” chemicals like PFAS, and herbicides once thought benign like glyphosate may not be classic “good news” stories, but there’s plenty of good in these problems being brought to light.

Had enough? I doubt it. EHN and Daily Climate have a free weekly Good News newsletter. Subscribe here. You’re welcome.

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 credit: Andre Hunter/Unsplash

plastic PVC pipes
Credit: PD LUJAN/Flickr

Plastic water pipes leach dangerous chemicals when damaged in wildfires

A new study published in Journal of Hazardous Materials demonstrates how plastic drinking water pipes break down when subjected to high temperatures.

Keep reading...Show less
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.
A large white sign reading "unite behind the science" hangs from a balcony.

Standing up for science: Around the world, scientists protest Trump threats to their work

Thousands of scientists worldwide are uniting against the Trump administration’s attacks on science, with major protests planned today to defend research funding, diversity initiatives, and academic freedom.

Bob Berwyn reports for Inside Climate News.

Keep reading...Show less
Black smoke rises and spreads from a chemical disaster site in a city.
Credit: Joshua Green/Flickr

Trump’s EPA moves to roll back chemical safety rules

The Trump administration is pulling back on Biden-era rules that required chemical facilities to adopt stronger safety measures against disasters.

Hiroko Tabuchi reports for The New York Times.

Keep reading...Show less
Smoke coming out from industrial towers at dusk.

U.S. pulls out of international effort to shift major polluters from coal

The United States is withdrawing from the Just Energy Transition Partnership, a global initiative designed to help developing nations move away from coal, according to sources in key participating countries.

Tim Cocks, Francesco Guarascio, and Fransiska Nangoy report for Reuters.

Keep reading...Show less
Wind turbines viewed from above with squres of green and fallow fields below.

Congress hears warnings that cutting renewable energy incentives could drive up costs

Energy experts told lawmakers that rolling back Biden-era tax credits for renewables could slow grid expansion, raise electricity costs, and make it harder to meet surging energy demand.

Katie Surma reports for Inside Climate News.

Keep reading...Show less
grey wooden pathway surrounded by trees.

Trump administration moves to end Army Corps’ Florida headquarters lease

The Trump administration plans to terminate the lease for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Jacksonville headquarters, which plays a key role in Everglades restoration and hurricane response, leaving employees uncertain about their future.

Amy Green reports for Inside Climate News.

Keep reading...Show less
Green backhoe digging hole in the middle of a massive pile of black coal.

China urged to halt coal power expansion as approvals surge

The European Union’s ambassador to China has called on Beijing to stop approving new coal-fired power plants, warning that the country’s rapid expansion of coal projects contradicts its renewable energy leadership.

Amy Hawkins reports for The Guardian.

Keep reading...Show less
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.

Stay informed: sign up for The Daily Climate newsletter
Top news on climate impacts, solutions, politics, drivers. Delivered to your inbox week days.