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.

Airborne dolphin leaping against ocean backdrop
Photo by Pagie Page on Unsplash

‘We’ve done it before’: how not to lose hope in the fight against ecological disaster

Some days it can feel as if climate catastrophe is inevitable. But history is full of cases – such as the banning of whaling and CFCs – that show humanity can come together to avert disaster.

Pair of rubber boots sitting in between rows of crops in a field

As farm flooding increases, federal climate support evaporates

Federal staffing cuts, rescinded climate-focused conservation funds, and misaligned crop insurance are undermining farmers as extreme rainfall and flooding worsen across farm country. The shift is delaying on-the-ground help, sidelining resilience practices, and squeezing especially small, diversified operations.

Coal plant emitting smokestack pollution
Credit: Faux Toe/BigStock Photo ID: 1366970

Study links heat waves to climate change and fossil fuel producers

A new study has determined that 55 heat waves over the past quarter-century would not have happened without human-caused climate change.
Big Ben and Parliament in London

The Trump-aligned climate skeptics advising Britain’s Nigel Farage

The U.K. boss of the Heartland Institute said she had been influencing Reform UK “at the highest level.”
flags of Department of Energy and USA painted on cracked wall
Copyright: budastock/BigStock Photo ID: 329095531

An Energy Department climate change report ‘completely ignored’ adaptation, Rutgers professor says

Pamela McElwee joined a group of 85 climate scientists who refuted DOE’s faulty science last week. Trump’s climate denialism, she believes, is designed to sow confusion—and inaction.
satellite  photo of algal bloom in Lake Erie
Photo by USGS on Unsplash

'Bubble curtain' ready to protect cuttlefish as algal bloom persists in Southern Australia

A "bubble curtain" is set for activation as part of South Australia's fight against the ongoing algal bloom, as the state government defends its handling of health advice.
A two lane highway winding between dry hills

More than half of Northwest in severe, extreme drought, Oregon in historic dry period

Nearly 80% of the Northwest is experiencing drought this summer, with Oregon recording its fourth driest spring-to-summer period since 1895, raising concerns for farms, rivers, and wildfire risk. State officials have declared multiple county emergencies as streamflows hit record lows.

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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