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.

polling station sign

Presidential candidates' policies on climate offer starkly different paths

Voters in the upcoming Harris-Trump election face a clear choice on climate policy, with Vice President Kamala Harris focusing on climate action and former President Donald Trump advocating fossil fuel expansion.

Gautama Mehta reports for Grist.

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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.
aerial view of central park
Credit: Daria/Pixabay

Green spaces can help reduce heat-related deaths and illness in cities, study finds

A new review highlights that adding parks, trees and greenery to urban areas can mitigate heat-related health risks and improve mental well-being, especially among vulnerable populations.

Andrew Gregory reports for The Guardian.

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dessert table
Credit: Pexels/Pixabay

Restaurants struggle to engage diners in climate conversations without losing their appetite

Diners are often hesitant to engage with restaurants' climate-conscious efforts, even as chefs and owners find creative ways to communicate environmental practices.

Jaya Saxena reports for Civil Eats.

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California approves project to store carbon dioxide underground

California approves project to store carbon dioxide underground

Kern County supervisors approved California’s first carbon capture and storage project, aiming to inject millions of tons of CO2 underground, despite concerns about its environmental impact and connection to the fossil fuel industry.

Alejandro Lazo reports for CalMatters.

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evacuation route sign

A conspiracy-driven group exploits disaster relief in a hurricane-hit town

After Hurricane Helene devastated Lake Lure, North Carolina, a group with ties to conspiracy theories arrived, offering help but spreading misinformation and distrust of federal relief efforts.

Brianna Sacks, Scott Dance, Will Oremus, Samuel Oakford, and Jeremy B. Merrill report for The Washington Post.

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home with brick facade

People in Colorado rebuild homes destroyed by fire using earth bricks

After losing her house to a wildfire in 2021, a Colorado woman is rebuilding with fire-resistant earth blocks, joining a growing number of people in the region looking to better protect their homes.

Nick Aspinwall reports for BBC.

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coal plant

Wyoming continues legal battle against coal regulations despite Supreme Court decision

The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to block new EPA regulations forcing coal plants to reduce emissions or shut down, leaving Wyoming and other coal-reliant states to fight the rules in lower courts.

Dustin Bleizeffer reports for WyoFile.

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From our Newsroom
U.S. Steel Pennsylvania pollution

Coal-based steelmaking in Pennsylvania causes up to 92 premature deaths and $1.4 billion in health costs every year: Report

Just three facilities near Pittsburgh cost the state $16 million in lost economic activity annually, according to a new report.

COP16 UN biodiversity

Pollution is one of the top drivers of biodiversity loss. Why is no one talking about it at COP16?

“Chemicals are really at the center of this triple planetary crisis of pollution, biodiversity and climate change.”

COP16 UN biodiversity

La contaminación es una de las principales amenazas de la biodiversidad. ¿Por qué nadie habla de ella en la COP16?

“Las sustancias químicas están realmente en el centro de esta triple crisis planetaria de contaminación, biodiversidad y cambio climático”.

clean energy transition

Op-ed: Labor and environmental groups can both win in the clean energy transition. Here’s how.

Groups are choosing to repair broken lines of communication and visualize the transition for its true potential to mitigate climate change – the common enemy.

environmental defenders

‘Living under this constant threat’: Environmental defenders face a mounting mental health crisis

Environmental activists are struggling with paranoia, panic attacks, and depression. Now, a growing network of mental health shelters in South America hopes to fill a void in care.

fracking opposition

Opposing fracking cost one Colombian activist her mental health. She’s fighting to win it back.

"At some point, they will kill you and kill all of us," environmental leader Yuvelis Natalia Morales Blanco was told.

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