environmental news stories
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Our 5 most read stories of 2023

Revisit the stories that most resonated with our readers this year.

It's always interesting to what stories touch people.


As with much of the internet, there often seems to be no real rhyme or reason. However, this year we found our audience remains engaged on PFAS chemicals in consumer products like oat milk and contact lenses. We also saw readers hungry for information on the East Palestine, Ohio, train spill and aftermath.

Check out what others have been reading. Below are our top five most read stories from the past year.

1. Testing finds glyphosate in two popular oat milks

glyphosate oat milk

Two out of 13 popular brands of oat milk had detectable levels of the controversial herbicide glyphosate, according to a report from Mamavation.

2. 800,000 tons of radioactive waste from Pennsylvania’s oil and gas industry has gone “missing”

fracking radioactive

Waste from the oil and gas industry contains toxic and radioactive substances. Disposal of this waste is supposed to be carefully tracked, but 800,000 tons of oil and gas waste from Pennsylvania oil and gas wells is unaccounted for, according to a study.

3. Are you putting PFAS on your eyeballs?

PFAS contacts lens

Eighteen kinds of soft contact lenses have detectable levels of organic fluorine, an indicator of the group of chemicals known as PFAS, according to a report from Mamavation.

4. After the eighth catastrophic train derailment in the greater Pittsburgh area in five years, advocates demand better protections

train derailment

In February, about 50 Norfolk Southern train cars derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, about an hour northwest of Pittsburgh, causing an explosion and subsequent fire that continued burning through Sunday night.

5. The EPA has disclosed additional, concerning chemicals released during the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio

Ohio train derailment

In February, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sent a letter to Norfolk Southern Railway Co. that cited additional chemicals released during the company’s Feb. 3 train derailment in Ohio that were not previously known to the public.

Closeup of the EPA website.

Volunteers scramble to rescue federal environmental data as Trump administration pulls it offline

The Trump administration has removed digital tools that made climate, environmental, and health data accessible to the public, prompting a surge of volunteer efforts to archive and restore key information.

Austyn Gaffney reports for The New York Times.

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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.
Icebergs on water with brown mountains in the background.

Melting glaciers put global food and water systems at risk

Retreating glaciers could disrupt food and water supplies for 2 billion people, as rapid ice loss reshapes ecosystems and agriculture across mountain regions worldwide.

Fiona Harvey reports for The Guardian.

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A steel factory with cables and a large piece of metal hanging from the ceiling.

Europe pushes green steel to protect industry and defense

The European Commission has unveiled a strategy to shield its steel and metals industries from foreign competition and rising energy costs while linking industrial strength to military readiness.

Koen Verhelst and Marianne Gros report for POLITICO.

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A blue water source with trees along the edge and polluted orange water on the other side of the trees.

EPA considers expanding oilfield wastewater discharge in eastern states

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is weighing changes that would allow treated fracking wastewater to be discharged into rivers and reused for industrial and agricultural purposes, raising alarm among environmental health experts.

Martha Pskowski and Kiley Bense report for Inside Climate News.

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The Magdalena River in Colombia with a small tour boat on its banks and a sunset and trees in background.

Colombia’s largest oil company accused of hiding environmental damage

A whistleblower report reveals that Ecopetrol, Colombia’s state-controlled oil giant, concealed hundreds of pollution incidents, maintained secret surveillance on environmental activists, and wielded undue influence over regulators.

Mie Hoejris Dahl reports for Mongabay.

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Illuminated bridge at dusk in Alexandria Egypt

Alexandria's fishing families stay put as seas rise around them

As rising sea levels and coastal erosion threaten the Egyptian city of Alexandria, many residents of the fishing village El Max refuse to leave, rooted by livelihoods and deep emotional ties to the sea.

Alexander Durie and Heba Khamis report for The Guardian.

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Two Indigenous South American children.

Ecuador must expand protections for isolated Indigenous groups after court ruling

A top human rights court found Ecuador violated the rights of uncontacted Indigenous peoples in the Amazon and ordered stronger protections for their land and safety.

Maxwell Radwin reports for Mongabay.

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From our Newsroom
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.

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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