journalism

Our top 5 long reads of 2021

Check out must-read, in-depth reporting from the past year.

In a world of quick clips and soundbites, long-form journalism can be a tough sell. But some stories just deserve the space and attention.


Here are five long reads that rise to that level. Grab a coffee or tea, close your Twitter tab, and support the kind of reporting that can spark change.

1. Fractured: The body burden of living near fracking

fracking children health

In this 4-part investigative series, EHN finds western Pennsylvania families near fracking are exposed to harmful chemicals, and regulations fail to protect communities' mental, physical, and social health.

2. Why Indigenous women are risking arrest to fight Enbridge’s Line 3 pipeline through Minnesota

enbridge line 3 indigenous

Enbridge's Line 3 pipeline construction is running into tribal resistance over fears of water pollution, wild rice impacts, climate change, and exploitation of Native women.

3. We’re dumping loads of retardant chemicals to fight wildfires. What does it mean for wildlife?

wildfires climate change

As western wildfires become bigger and more intense, state and federal fire agencies are using more and more aerial fire retardant, prompting concerns over fish kills, aquatic life, and water quality.

4. Pollution’s mental toll: How air, water and climate pollution shape our mental health

environmental justice

A collaboration between Environmental Health News and The Allegheny Front found alarming evidence that residents throughout the western Pennsylvania region are likely suffering changes to their brains due to pollution in the surrounding environment.

A lithium cell battery with wires attached to it

Old but full of energy: Giving EV batteries a second life

A B.C.-based startup is giving worn-out electric vehicle batteries a second life, repurposing them into modular energy storage systems that cut emissions, reduce waste and help communities shift away from fossil-fuel power.

A reservoir with a dam with green mountains in the background

Reservoir hogs

In France, new reservoirs are destroying ancient riparian systems. What form should resistance take?
a glass of wine with smoke coming out of it

Can we save wine from wildfires?

The wine industry has lost billions of dollars, largely because smoke makes the drink taste like licking an ashtray. Now a team of scientists is chasing a solution.

A tractor putting fertilizer on a farm field

France, Italy push to exempt fertilizers from EU carbon border levy

France and Italy are seeking to exclude fertilizers from the European Union's carbon border levy, at least temporarily, saying an exemption is needed to protect struggling European farmers.

A worker installing electronics in a large industrial cabinet

South Carolina’s AI and data center push exposes a racial divide

Four million Americans live within 1 mile of a data center. The communities closest to them are “overwhelmingly” non-white.
President Donald Trump speaking into a microphone
Credit: Gage Skidmore/https://www.flickr.com/photos/gageskidmore/https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

Trump taking ‘drill, baby, drill’ plan to Venezuela ‘terrible’ for climate, experts warn

‘Everybody loses’ if production is supercharged in a country with the largest known oil reserves, critics say.

A refinery at night in front of a water source

What Trump’s Venezuela strategy means for Black communities

Environmental justice advocates warn that refining Venezuelan oil will concentrate more pollution and cancer risk in majority-Black communities along the Texas and Louisiana Gulf Coast.

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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