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.

Canoeing the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in Northern Minnesota.
September 7, 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.

Puget Sound orcas live in three pods named J, K, and L. Members of L pod, Admiralty Inlet, Oct. 10, 2009.
June 29, 2023

Puget Sound Orcas are Dying — Latest Sign of Nature’s Decline

By Jessica A. Knoblauch  /  Northwest Office

The world’s top scientists warn that biodiversity is in a free fall. Puget Sound’s endangered resident orcas are just the latest victims of short-sighted human actions that are causing an ecological crisis.

An offshore wind farm like this one in Rhode Island will soon help power New York City, replacing the need for new fossil fuel projects.
March 31, 2023

How We Helped an NYC Community Say No to a Dirty Gas Plant and Get Wind Power Instead

By Jessica A. Knoblauch  /  Northeast Office

A clean energy win in Queens shows what’s possible when fossil fuels are swept off the table.

Adrian Martinez, photographed in Los Angeles, California.
March 31, 2023

Meet the Environmental Attorney Who Wants to Electrify Everything on Wheels

By Jessica A. Knoblauch  /  California Office

Adrian Martinez says incremental steps to tackle air pollution and climate change aren’t enough.

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 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.

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.

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.