Our Stories

The Latest by Jessica A. Knoblauch

Senior Staff Writer

Jessica is a former award-winning journalist. She enjoys wild places and dispensing justice, so she considers her job here to be a pretty amazing fit.

Two men install a solar panel system on the roof of a home. Solar energy is one way we can transition to a 100% clean energy economy.
March 23, 2023

Creating a Sustainable and Just Clean Energy Transition

By Jessica A. Knoblauch  /  Clean Energy Program

Transitioning to 100% clean energy is a huge opportunity to power our economy and create good jobs without sacrificing our communities or the climate. Here’s how we do it.

Canoeing the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in Northern Minnesota.
January 26, 2023

We Just Protected a Pristine Midwest Wilderness from Mining

By Jessica A. Knoblauch  /  Midwest Office & Policy and Legislation Team

Dangerous mining plans threatened to ruin a pristine wilderness and a town’s thriving economy. Until we stepped in.

Monaeka Flores, photographed on Inapsan Beach on Guam, where her family had ranched the land for generations.
January 11, 2023

Indigenous Islanders in Guam Take on the Military

By Jessica A. Knoblauch  /  Mid-Pacific Office

Activist Monaeka Flores talks about fighting to stop the Air Force from blowing up leftover munitions on Guam’s beaches.

A photograph of a drilling site in the Western Arctic. The now paused Peregrine oil drilling project would have been in this region, releasing a carbon bomb.
December 15, 2022

Oil Project in Arctic Put on Pause, But Other Fights Remain

By Jessica A. Knoblauch  /  Alaska Office

The oil drilling project Peregrine is on pause, but another carbon bomb — the Willow Project — could get the go-ahead.

Kirti Datla, Earthjustice’s Director of Strategic Legal Advocacy, photographed in Washington, D.C.
September 27, 2022

The Supreme Court’s Rightward Turn Won’t Stop Us From Using the Law for Progress

By Kirti Datla & Jessica A. Knoblauch  /  Washington, D.C. Office

Earthjustice’s director of strategic legal advocacy reflects on the courts’ conservative shift and what’s really at stake in Sackett v. EPA.

Wolverines, says journalist and wildlife biologist Douglas H. Chadwick, are "not afraid of anything. They climb peaks that human climbers turn back from. So they're just fearless, and they're tireless, and they got no end of attitude."
May 31, 2022

Keeping the Wolverine Wild in a Climate Crisis

By Jessica A. Knoblauch  /  Northern Rockies Office

Wolverines are among the fiercest creatures on the planet, yet even they are fighting to survive in a warming world.

A Conoco-Phillips drill site in the Western Arctic.
March 10, 2022

Court Ices Dangerous Arctic Drilling Plan

By Jessica A. Knoblauch  /  Alaska Office

Our court victory in the Arctic underscores that the law is a powerful tool in stopping climate-wrecking projects.

The aftermath of a raid by Federal Reserve officials on moonshiners in Florida on Nov. 24, 1950, where a small still with six barrels of mash was concealed in a forest.
February 17, 2022

The Surprising Connection Between Gin and Food Safety

By Jessica A. Knoblauch  /  Sustainable Food & Farming Program

A spirited Florida court case threatened the rights of states to enact stricter food laws, so Earthjustice stepped in.

Andrew Rehn looks at toxic coal ash waste seepage on the shore of the Middle Fork of the Vermilion River.
August 10, 2021

Court Victories Signal Hope for Communities Threatened by Coal Ash

By Jessica A. Knoblauch  /  Clean Energy Program

Win after win in the courts and on the ground show the ‘possibility for change’ when community members’ voices are heard.

Dennis Chestnut teaches his grandson, Horus Plaza, how to test the water quality of the Watts Branch of the Anacostia River in Marvin Gaye Park in Washington, D.C. in May 2021.
August 9, 2021

An Infamously Dirty River Is Coming Back to Life Thanks to Community Activism

By Jessica A. Knoblauch  /  Washington, D.C. Office

Due to sustained community pressure and Earthjustice litigation, D.C.’s Anacostia River is finally recovering from decades of pollution.