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.

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 …

March 9, 2012

Friday Finds: Return Of The Pink Slime Meat!

By Jessica A. Knoblauch

U.S. schools buying McDonald’s pink slime rejects It’s baaaaack. Last month, burger enthusiasts rejoiced after McDonald’s announced that it would no longer be using ammonium hydroxide, an anti-microbrial agent that, when used on inedible scrap meat turns into a pink slime, as the basis for their burgers. But they may have sighed in relief a …

March 2, 2012

Friday Finds: Lorax Speaks for the SUVs

By Jessica A. Knoblauch

The Lorax peddles SUVs to elementary kids The main character from Dr. Seuss’ “The Lorax,” a book that has long been considered a timeless screed on the environmental perils of overconsumption, is now being used to hawk gas-guzzling SUVs to school children, reports the Washington Post. In the book, the Lorax speaks for the trees …

February 24, 2012

Friday Finds: War on Terra

By Jessica A. Knoblauch

Big business attack ads create fear conditions for environmental scientists.