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.

A spider has made this dry faucet home.
July 9, 2015

3 Things That Won’t Solve California’s Drought

By Jessica A. Knoblauch  /  Headquarters Office

A handful of new products purport to help ease the drought, but do their claims hold water?

The Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP, it’s been cast as “NAFTA on steroids.”
June 11, 2015

Will Obama’s Trans-Pacific Partnership Trade Away American Progress?

By Jessica A. Knoblauch  /  Headquarters Office

The President’s request to fast-track the Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP, faces its final hurdle Friday, as members of both parties gear up for a contentious vote.

Recently, the federal government added a captive orca called Lolita to the endangered species list
March 16, 2015

Captive Orca Swims Closer to Freedom

By Jessica A. Knoblauch  /  Headquarters Office

The federal government will finally put a captive orca named Lolita on the endangered species list, a move that may open doors to her eventual return home to the Puget Sound in Washington state.

On the eve of the first day of COP20, the UN climate talks in Lima, a Vigil for the Climate was held near the Pentagonito where the UN talks are to be held.
December 4, 2014

Six Things You Need to Know About the UN Climate Talks in Lima, Peru

By Jessica A. Knoblauch  /  International Program

Here’s everything you need to know about the most important conference you’ve never heard of.

The 2010 explosion and fire at the 'Pick Your Part' junkyard in Wilmington, CA took more than 30 hours to extinguish, releasing particulate matter, dioxins and heavy metals across neighboring communities.
October 21, 2014

Scrapping the Recycling Industry’s Green Image

By Jessica A. Knoblauch  /  California Office

Not all recycling is as green as it may seem.

Plastic found in the ocean.
July 10, 2014

Friday Finds: The Case of the Missing Plastic

By Jessica A. Knoblauch  /  California Office, Florida Office & Mid-Pacific Office

Researchers have found that 99 percent of the plastic that should be in the ocean is missing.

The Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument is home to some of the most vibrant, healthy coral reefs in the world, such as Kingman Reef.
June 18, 2014

Friday Finds: Obama Combats Climate Change by Land, Air and Sea

By Jessica A. Knoblauch  /  International Program & Mid-Pacific Office

Obama proposes a vast expansion of a Pacific Ocean marine sanctuary.

Satellite image of a hurricane.
June 6, 2014

Friday Finds: Girly-Named Hurricanes Less Feared

By Jessica A. Knoblauch  /  Headquarters Office

People don’t take female-named hurricanes as seriously—and suffer the consequences.

The Statue of Liberty.
May 22, 2014

Friday Finds: Lady Liberty Takes a Dive

By Jessica A. Knoblauch  /  California Office

The Statue of Liberty’s torch-bearing arm may become a distress signal as sea levels rise.

May 20, 2014

New Name, Same Game

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

The men behind the poisoning of West Virginia’s drinking water begin anew.