Environment
How Some Communities are Monitoring Their Own Air Quality
In Ohio, local advocacy groups are using low-cost sensors to gather information.
Are West Chicago’s Radiation Worries Over?
A local factory in West Chicago, Illinois was once the largest producer of thorium in the world. This fall the “radioactive capital of the Midwest” is doing one last cleanup.
Uncovering America’s First Oil Landscape
In Pennsylvania’s Oil Creek Valley, the messy legacy of the country’s first petroleum boom.
The Death and Life of the Great Black Swamp
Draining Ohio’s Great Black Swamp was a feat of human effort and engineering. Restoring it will be even harder.
In the ‘Rubber Capital of the World,’ Health Consequences Linger
In Akron, Ohio, toxic exposures to benzene and asbestos made people sick and cut lives short.
A New Fertilizer Mine has Michigan Residents Worried
The largest potash mine in the country is coming to Central Michigan. But at what cost?
The Growing Fight Over a Trash Station in West Chicago
Concerns over transparency and environmental racism are fueling backlash in majority Latino West Chicago.
Welcome to ReCreation Land
Strip-mining destroyed the landscape of central Ohio--and the lungs of many workers. What will it take to build a healthier future?
America’s Largest Inland Port is Running Out of Water
The proposed solution — a thirty-one-mile-long pipeline draining Lake Michigan — is dividing residents of Joliet, Illinois.
The Englewood Line–Not Just the Anti-606
The elevated rails-to-trails project will bring green space to Chicago's South Side.
Midwest environment
Get the latest stories from around the region sent straight to your inbox.
Get the latest stories from around the region sent straight to your inbox.
Support independent, context-driven regional writing.