Our Stories

The Latest by Alison Cagle

Writer

Alison Cagle is a writer at Earthjustice. She is based in San Francisco. Alison tells the stories of the earth: the systems that govern it, the ripple effects of those systems, and the people who are fighting to change them — to protect our planet and all its inhabitants.

February 14, 2024

Carbon Capture Is Giving a Second Life to Fossil Fuels – But It Doesn’t Have To

By Alison Cagle

As carbon capture booms, communities in Louisiana are worried it will prolong the use of dirty fossil fuel plants.

Linda stands in her home office looking at the camera with her arms crossed. A poster in the background says "Environmental Justice Task Force Meeting"
February 9, 2024

Her Family Moved to Escape This Deadly Chemical – But It Followed

By Alison Cagle  /  Toxic Exposure & Health Program

The Biden administration may soon be finalizing a ban on trichloroethylene. Here’s what it is, who is at risk, and one family’s story after being exposed

Black plume rises over East Palestine, Ohio, as a result of a controlled detonation of a portion of the derailed Norfolk Southern train, Feb. 6, 2023.
February 2, 2024

Putting a Lid on Plastics Production in the Ohio River Valley

By Alison Cagle  /  Fossil Fuels Program

Residents are challenging industry’s petrochemicals push into the region, and Earthjustice’s legal strategy has helped them notch an early win.

November 29, 2023

Wolverines Gain Legal Protections to Ward off Extinction

By Alison Cagle  /  Biodiversity Defense Program

The announcement comes after decades of litigation and public calls to save wolverines from development and climate change.

Catherine_Flowers_looking_down_at_sewage_hole
May 8, 2023

Alabama Residents Win Sewage Settlement Under Civil Rights Law

By Alison Cagle  /  Washington, D.C. Office

This is a landmark success in applying federal civil rights laws to environmental racism.

March 16, 2023

There’s a Biodiversity Crisis, and Oil and Gas Are Making It Worse

By Alison Cagle

The web of life is in danger of collapsing, due in large part to climate change, pollution, and habitat destruction caused by the fossil fuel industry. We’re working to protect species from these threats.

An oil drilling ship sits anchored in the Gulf of Mexico. The Inflation Reduction Act reinstates a sale of 80 million offshore acres in the Gulf of Mexico to oil and gas drilling.
November 30, 2022

Millions of Acres of Ocean Are About to Go on Sale to Oil and Gas Companies—But We Have Legal Tools to Fight Back

By Alison Cagle  /  Fossil Fuels Program

Congress made some ugly compromises that will harm the planet and vulnerable communities, but it’s not all bad news.

The proposed Rosemont Mine threatened Cienega Creek, where these children are playing.
November 7, 2022

Tribes Halt Major Copper Mine on Ancestral Lands in Arizona

By Alison Cagle  /  Rocky Mountain Office

A mining company won’t stop trying to bend the rules to construct a massive mine on sacred lands – even after Tribes beat it in court.

This house stood on the St. Rosalie Plantation grounds until it was torn down in the 1940s.
October 14, 2022

An Oil Company Planned to Bulldoze Black History. This Community Fought Back.

By Alison Cagle  /  Fossil Fuels Program

A sprawling oil complex could have desecrated the remains of Ironton’s founders and poisoned their living descendants with toxic emissions.

Oil on the surface of the Gulf of Mexico, before an underwater containment system was put in place at the site of the Taylor Energy spill in 2019.
July 15, 2022

Victory – Finally – Against the Longest Oil Spill in U.S. History

By Alison Cagle  /  Oceans Program

After trying various scorched-earth tactics to avoid accountability, Taylor Energy is now liquidating to pay over $400 million in cleanup costs.