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.

Wolf pup in California's Lassen National Forest in 2017. A remote camera operated by the U.S. Forest Service snapped this photo. A recent court ruling upheld protections for gray wolves as they return to the Golden State.

February 13, 2019

Court Ruling Aids Wolves’ Return to California

By Jessica A. Knoblauch / California Office

A judge’s decision to uphold California’s protections for wolves is a step in the right direction, but one lone wolf’s epic journey across state lines shows that federal protections are necessary to ensure the species’ continued survival.

December 11, 2018

The FDA Dumps Its Recipe for Disaster

By Jessica A. Knoblauch / Sustainable Food & Farming Program

The agency finally nixed its approval of several cancer-causing food additives after years of advocacy and an Earthjustice lawsuit.

Walter Echo-Hawk, a member of the Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma, discovered in 2015 that government agencies had approved oil and gas leases on Pawnee land without telling the tribe.

December 7, 2018

Ignored and Infuriated, Pawnee Stop Illegal Fracking Plans on Tribal Lands

By Jessica A. Knoblauch / Rocky Mountain Office

The government admits it failed to follow its own rules when approving new oil and gas leases on Pawnee land, part of a broader pattern of agency misconduct.

Coal ash spilled by Hurricane Florence coats a turtle in Cape Fear River, North Carolina.

September 21, 2018

Along With Flooding, Hurricane Florence Unleashes Toxic Coal Ash

By Jessica A. Knoblauch / Clean Energy Program

The coal industry dumped its toxic waste in the cheapest way possible. Now coal ash pits are leaking and spilling amid flooding from Hurricane Florence.

Image of North Carolina coal power plants and coal ash storage pits that were flooded during Hurricane Matthew in 2016.

September 17, 2018

Why Hurricane Florence Could Become a Public Health Crisis

By Jessica A. Knoblauch / Clean Energy Program

In the path of the storm are giant pits filled with coal ash, lagoons swirling with hog manure, Superfund sites and industrial facilities stocked with toxic chemicals.

Barbara Deardorff saca agua de su grifo en Wheatfield, Indiana. Productos químicos peligrosos de un depósito para cenizas de carbón se han filtrado en el agua subterránea local.

August 17, 2018

Todos los depositarios de ceniza de carbón en Indiana tienen fugas, aseguran nuevos estudios

By Jessica A. Knoblauch / Clean Energy Program

Mientras nuevas investigaciones evidencian una contaminación generalizada, industrias pro-carbón quieren debilitar la actual normativa federal y cederle a estados como Indiana, con una triste historia regulando desechos tóxicos, la capacidad de hacer sus propias leyes.

Barbara Deardorff draws water from her tap in Wheatfield, Indiana. A coal ash plant has contaminated Wheatfield's groundwater with dangerous chemicals.

August 17, 2018

New Tests Reveal 15 out of 15 of Indiana’s Coal Ash Sites Are Leaking

By Jessica A. Knoblauch / Clean Energy Program

As new research reveals widespread contamination, pro-coal industries are pushing to weaken federal rules on coal ash and give regulatory authority back to states like Indiana, which has a dismal record on regulating this toxic waste.