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 firefly lights up at dusk.
July 12, 2019

Fireflies’ Glow Could Soon Be Extinguished by Human Actions

By Jessica A. Knoblauch

Species’ extinction rates are accelerating on a global scale. We need solutions that match the severity of the problem.

Las olas le dan vuelta a una ballena muerta en Ocean Beach de San Francisco. Docenas de ballenas grises del pacífico norte encalladas a lo largo de la costa oeste en el segundo trimestre del año.
June 12, 2019

¿Por Qué Siguen Muriendo Las Ballenas Grises?

By Jessica A. Knoblauch  /  Oceans Program

Las ballenas grises están encallando a lo largo de la costa oeste de Norteamérica en números alarmantes, comprobando una vez más que los humanos están causando un desastre ecológico.

Waves roll over a dead whale on San Francisco's Ocean Beach. Dozens of Northern Pacific gray whales washed up along the West Coast this spring.
June 12, 2019

Why Do Gray Whales Keep Dying?

By Jessica A. Knoblauch  /  Oceans Program

Gray whales are washing up all along the West Coast in disturbing numbers, adding further evidence that humans are causing ecological disaster.

The dusky shark is one of the largest U.S. Atlantic shark species, and it is also one of the most imperiled.
April 10, 2019

Dusky Sharks Snatch Victory as Courts Tire of Trump Antics

By Jessica A. Knoblauch  /  Oceans Program

Recent court rulings are the latest sign that Trump’s efforts to weaken critical environmental regulations are no match for the law.

The Trump administration has authorized seismic surveying that will harm North Atlantic right whales like the ones shown here. Only about 400 whales of this species remain.
March 12, 2019

Trump Regulators Gave Oil Industry a Pass to Injure Whales, and We’re Fighting Back

By Jessica A. Knoblauch  /  Oceans Program

In its attempt to open up U.S. waters to the fossil fuel industry, the Trump administration gave a green light to conduct harmful seismic surveys. We’re taking them to court.

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.

A child drinks a soda.
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.