Environment
Rendering
A poem by Caleb Gill.
The Phosphorus Paradox
Harmful algal blooms are a growing concern in the Great Lakes. The toxins they produce can close beaches, and even poison drinking water. What’s fueling these blooms? Phosphorus, a key ingredient in agricultural fertilizers. But the way it’s being used comes at a cost.
East Palestine – A Portrait
To Breathe Again: Living Along Sulphur Run
On Woolly Bear Caterpillars and Michiganders
It takes a lot of work to survive winter. It takes a lot of gear, a lot of preparations. Buying salt for the driveway, buying kitty litter for our trunks. Making sure there’s blankets and flashlights and bottled water in the car in case we’re stuck in a drift or the car won’t start when it’s below freezing.
An Auto Plant Becomes a State Park
“Green space is an equity issue... Part of environmental justice is making sure that everyone has access to the outdoors. It's important for physical health, it's important for mental health, and it's not a luxury—it's a human right.”
What Has Seeped into the Animals, the Plants, the Soil?
Toxins are not constrained by fences, boundary lines, or ownership deeds. Toxins don't care whether [...]
Fire and Brimstone in Southeast Chicago
Low-quality air has things in it that will get inside you and kill you slowly.
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.
Midwest environment

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