The Latest by Jessica A. Knoblauch

Senior Staff Writer

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

Doug Peacock stands on the edge of the Yellowstone River in Emigrant, Montana.
July 8, 2020

Grizzlies ‘Saved His Life’ and Now He Fights To Save Theirs

Naturalist and author Doug Peacock talks about why we need to “fight like hell” to save the endangered and iconic Yellowstone grizzlies.

Earthjustice attorney David Henkin went to the Supreme Court to argue Hawaiʻi Wildlife Fund v. County of Maui.
April 23, 2020

Our Lawyer Just Got a Big Win for Clean Water at the Supreme Court

Earthjustice attorney David Henkin went to the Supreme Court to protect the right to clean water for his clients – and for all Americans. The court’s decision upholds those protections and rejects the Trump administration’s effort to blow a big hole in the Clean Water Act.