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 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.

Marines use firefighting foam during a live fire training exercise aboard Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point in North Carolina in August 2013. PFAS chemicals in firefighting foam have contaminated hundreds of military bases across the country.
July 23, 2021

In a Win for Healthy Air, Washington Won't Burn Toxic PFAS Chemicals

By Jessica A. Knoblauch  /  Toxic Exposure & Health Program

The U.S. government has a dangerous plan to get rid of hazardous “forever chemicals.” Earthjustice is on the case to stop them.

The e-commerce warehouses clustered in the Inland Empire inflict "slow violence" on surrounding communities, says Anthony Victoria-Midence, communications director at the Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice.
May 24, 2021

What It’s Like to Be Boxed In By Amazon

By Jessica A. Knoblauch  /  California Office

As online shopping booms, warehouse workers and communities near internet retail logistics centers are demanding solutions to protect their health and environment.

Coal ash ponds sit next to the decomissioned Wood River Power Station in East Alton, Ill. in 2018.
April 16, 2021

What Schoolhouse Rock Didn’t Tell You About Lawmaking

By Jessica A. Knoblauch  /  Clean Energy Program

Why a bill becoming a law is just the beginning, as explained through the case of Illinois’ landmark coal ash law.

Un trabajador distribuye jugo de naranja en un estante de alimentos en Brooklyn el 14 de abril de 2020. La crisis del coronavirus está aumentando la inseguridad alimentaria.
February 10, 2021

Justice During COVID and Climate Change

By Keith Rushing & Jessica A. Knoblauch

As the impacts worsen from the coronavirus pandemic and climate change, longstanding injustices continue to put corporate profits over the benefit of all people. There is a more just path forward.

An aquarium collector takes fish from a reef in Hawai`i.
December 22, 2020

Hawaiʻi Scores Another Big Win in Stopping Harmful Aquarium Fishing, Protecting Reefs and Native Hawaiians

By Jessica A. Knoblauch  /  Mid-Pacific Office

Court closes loophole that allowed industry to illegally extract over half a million marine animals from Hawai‘i reefs in the last two years.

Emigrant Peak rises above the Paradise Valley and the Yellowstone River.
December 9, 2020

Montana Supreme Court Deals Final Blow to Mining Plan Near Yellowstone

By Jessica A. Knoblauch  /  Northern Rockies Office

A giant gold mining project proposal near Yellowstone National Park is officially dead, and Montanans’ right to stop such unlawful projects is upheld, with far-reaching impacts.