NERN – Midwest
Students and Faculty at Ohio State Respond to a Bill That Would Restrict College Discussions of Climate Policies
COLUMBUS, Ohio—Keely Fisher chose to pursue her Ph.D. at Ohio State University because she wanted to learn about climate change from a world-class faculty. Now one year into her program, she wonders if she belongs here. The problem has nothing to do with Ohio State and everything to do with the Ohio General Assembly and […]
Read MorePreserving the Cowboy Way of Life
Maycee Michaels grew up raising a wide array of animals on her family’s ranch in Wilcox, Arizona, and recognizes the severity of what climate change can do to ranchers and people living in rural areas of the American west. Statewide water cutoffs have made access to secure water sources significantly more uncertain, in addition to […]
Read MoreBracing for Climate Impacts on Lake Erie, the Walleye Capital of the World
Peg Van Vleet began fishing on Lake Erie when she was just 5 years old. A charter boat captain for more than two decades, and also the vice president for environmental issues for the Lake Erie Charter Boat Association, she’s looking forward to a great fishing season this year in its western basin. “The young […]
Read MoreVecinos de La Villita temen que empeore la contaminación ambiental por los planes de ampliación de la autopista I-55
Read this story in English. Tras haber pasado la mayor parte de su vida en La Villita, Sara Cortés se ha acostumbrado a convivir con un aire maloliente y una niebla de smog en el verano. Hace un año, le diagnosticaron una enfermedad pulmonar que no tiene tratamiento. La enfermedad la deja cansada y sin […]
Read MorePlans for I-55 Expansion in Chicago Raise Concerns Over Air Quality and Community Health
Having spent most of her life in Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood, Sara Cortes learned to live with bad-smelling air that created a haze in the summer. About a year ago, Cortes, 38, was diagnosed with an untreatable lung condition that makes her tired and leaves her short of breath. So she was shocked when she […]
Read MoreChicago, HUD Settle Environmental Racism Case as Lori Lightfoot Leaves Office
This article is published in partnership with the Chicago Sun-Times. In one of her last acts before leaving office, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot backed down from her previous tough stance and agreed to a deal Friday to settle an investigation by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development that found City Hall effectively has […]
Read MoreMourning, and Celebration: A Funeral for a Coal-Fired Power Plant
When Conesville Power Plant closed in 2020, it was like a death in this rural area in east-central Ohio, but there was no funeral. On Friday, the coal-fired plant that operated for more than half a century will get a proper goodbye in the form of a community theater and art project performed in Coshocton, […]
Read MoreIn the Crossroads State of Illinois, Nearly 2 Million People Live Near Warehouses Shrouded by Truck Pollution
CHICAGO—Illinois has been a freight hub since its earliest beginnings, from waterways to rails to interstate highways, to modern intermodal transportation centers, and more recently, to an unprecedented proliferation of warehouses to satisfy the demands of online shoppers. Increasingly, warehouses crop up beside neighborhoods, exposing residents to the exhaust fumes of starting, stopping and idling […]
Read MoreIllinois Launches Long-Awaited Job-Training Programs in the Clean Energy and Construction Sectors
Gov. J.B. Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity announced $16 million in funds last week toward clean energy workforce development programs and boosting diversity in the industry. The announcement builds on Illinois’ passage of the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act in 2021, which set ambitious plans for phasing out fossil fuels […]
Read MoreActivists Rally at Illinois Capitol, Urging Lawmakers to Pass 9 Climate and Environmental Bills
Hundreds of environmental activists rallied at the Illinois State Capitol, urging legislators to support bills that advance environmental justice and protection and that address climate change. Advocates also delivered a letter to the governor’s office demanding tighter vehicle emissions rules. Young activists, environmental organizations and community groups mobilized at the capitol six weeks before the […]
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