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.

June 15, 2012

Friday Finds: Australia Plans World's Largest Marine Reserve

By Jessica A. Knoblauch

Australia announces world’s largest marine reserve Just in time for this week’s Rio+20 Earth Summit, Australia has announced its plans to create the world’s largest marine reserve, reports the BBC. The protected zone will cover more than a third of Australia’s waters (about 3 million square kilometers) and will include restrictions on fishing as well …

June 8, 2012

Friday Finds: Big Win for Great Barrier Reef

By Jessica A. Knoblauch

Coal project kept out of Great Barrier Reef This week, Australian environment minister Tony Burke put a stop to a billion dollar coal project that could have negatively impacted the Great Barrier Reef, reports CorpWatch. The world’s largest coral ecosystem, the Great Barrier Reef contains an abundance of marine life, is one of the seven …

June 1, 2012

Friday Finds: Backpacking Brain Boost

By Jessica A. Knoblauch

Taking a hike may boost your brainpower Spending time outside doesn’t just make you happier and calm your frazzled nerves, reports the Wall Street Journal. It can also improve creativity. According to a yet-to-be-published paper by University of Kansas researchers, a group of hikers that spent four days in the woods outperformed another set of …

May 25, 2012

Friday Finds: Fracked Beer’s Killer Buzz

By Jessica A. Knoblauch

Breweries worry that extreme gas drilling will frack their beer It turns out that hydraulic gas drilling or fracking doesn’t just contaminate the air and water; it could also mess up your favorite brew, reports Mother Jones. Brewmasters like Brooklyn Brewery and upstate New York’s Ommegang Brewery are raising the alarm about toxic fracking chemicals …

May 11, 2012

Friday Finds: Flame Retardant Flameout

By Jessica A. Knoblauch

Investigation sets flame to chemical retardant claims Flame retardants have long been heralded as life-saving chemicals that slow fires, but a recent investigative series by the Chicago Tribune has found that the toxic chemicals, which are found in American babies at the highest recorded levels among infants in the world, both may not be safe …

April 16, 2012

Friday Finds: The Government's Toxic Love Affair

By Jessica A. Knoblauch

EPA disses green chemistry program.

April 6, 2012

Friday Finds: Maple Syrup Mayhem

By Jessica A. Knoblauch

Climate change ruins breakfast for everyone This year’s early arrival of spring is devastating maple production, which generate the most sap when freezing nights follow cool days, reports the Washington Post. Typically a month-long season, maple syrup producers who rely on traditional taps and buckets saw their maple season cut dramatically this year, which means …

March 30, 2012

Friday Finds: It’s (Almost) End of the World As We Know It

By Jessica A. Knoblauch

Climate scientists warn that Earth’s tipping points are at the tipping point Recently, climate scientists announced that this is the last decade to cut carbon emissions significantly or there’s no going back on global warming, reports Reuters. And they’re not just talking about freak heat waves and threats to Cherry Blossom festivals. Though estimates differ, …

March 22, 2012

Friday Finds: The Clean Air Diet

By Jessica A. Knoblauch

Forget Fritos: Air pollution may be making people fat Sure, it’s got nothing on the much-hyped “Paleo Diet,” but a new theory that air pollution may be making us fat could provide one more bullet in the never-ending arsenal of dieting ticks and trips that people can use to lose weight. According to Discovery News, just …

March 15, 2012

Friday Finds: Death by a Thousand Doses

By Jessica A. Knoblauch

Low chemical doses may have big health effects A recent finding that tiny doses of certain hormone-altering chemicals can lead to harmful health effects could lead to a paradigm shift in the way that regulators evaluate a chemical’s harmfulness, reports Environmental Health News. Traditionally, toxicologists and regulators have evaluated the toxicity of a chemical by …