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Environment

The Tension Between Humans and Nature

406 stories published since 2009

Nike Pledged to Shrink Its Carbon Footprint. It Just Slashed the Staff Charged With Making That Happen.

The Federal Government Just Acknowledged the Harm Its Dams Have Caused Tribes. Here’s What It Left Out.

How America’s “Most Powerful Lobby” Is Stifling Efforts to Reform Oil Well Cleanup in State After State

The Delusion of “Advanced” Plastic Recycling

A Bottled Water Company in Michigan Is Still Extracting Millions of Gallons of Water for Free

Nine Takeaways From Our Investigation Into 3M’s Forever Chemicals

Toxic Gaslighting: How 3M Executives Convinced a Scientist the Forever Chemicals She Found in Human Blood Were Safe

Plastic, Plastic Everywhere — Even at the UN’s “Plastic Free” Conference

Oil Companies Contaminated a Family Farm. The Courts and Regulators Let the Drillers Walk Away.

Ten Years After the Flint Water Crisis, Distrust and Anger Linger

EPA Proposes Ban on Pesticide Widely Used on Fruits and Vegetables

10 Times as Much of This Toxic Pesticide Could End Up on Your Tomatoes and Celery Under a New EPA Proposal

Oil Companies Must Set Aside More Money to Plug Wells, a New Rule Says. But It Won’t Be Enough.

The Big Burnout: Life on the Front Lines of America’s Wildfires

EPA Finalizes New Standards for Cancer-Causing Chemicals

The EPA Has Done Nearly Everything It Can to Clean Up This Town. It Hasn’t Worked.

The Flooding Will Come “No Matter What”

Chevron Will Pay Record Fines for Oil Spills in California

An Oregon Bill to Cut Millions in Timber Taxes Is Dead, Despite Backing by the Industry, the Governor and a Top Lawmaker

“It Feels Impossible to Stay”: The U.S. Needs Wildland Firefighters More Than Ever, but the Federal Government Is Losing Them

New EPA Rule to Slash Cancer-Causing Emissions From Sterilization Facilities

Listen to the “Timber Wars Season 2: Salmon Wars” Podcast

The Oregon Timber Industry Won Huge Tax Cuts in the 1990s. Now It May Get Another Break Thanks to a Top Lawmaker.

Washington State Is Leaving Tribal Cultural Resources at the Mercy of Solar Developers

In a Major Shift, Northwest Tribes — not U.S. Officials — Will Control Salmon Recovery Funds

West Virginians Could Get Stuck Cleaning Up the Coal Industry’s Messes

The Future of the Colorado River Hinges on One Young Negotiator

9 Times the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Miscalculated Badly at the Expense of Taxpayers, Wildlife

The 20 Farming Families Who Use More Water From the Colorado River Than Some Western States

The Historic Claims That Put a Few California Farming Families First in Line for Colorado River Water

The EPA Has Found More Than a Dozen Contaminants in Drinking Water but Hasn’t Set Safety Limits on Them

This Billion-Dollar Plan to Save Salmon Depends on a Giant Fish Vacuum

California Oil Companies Face Tougher Enforcement Under New Law

Western States Opposed Tribes’ Access to the Colorado River 70 Years Ago. History Is Repeating Itself.

The Cleanup of Seattle’s Only River Could Cost Boeing and Taxpayers $1 Billion. Talks Over Who Will Pay Most Are Secret.

Biden Administration Commits $200 Million to Help Reintroduce Salmon in Columbia River

A Black Community in West Virginia Sues the EPA to Spur Action on Toxic Air Pollution

Do You Have Experience in or With the Plastics Industry? Tell Us About It.

United Nations Seems to Boost Plastics Industry Interests, Critics Say

The (Random) Forests for the Trees: How Our Spillover Model Works

EPA Approved a Fuel Ingredient Even Though It Could Cause Cancer in Virtually Every Person Exposed Over a Lifetime

In Arizona Water Ruling, the Hopi Tribe Sees Limits on Its Future

The U.S. Banned Farmers From Using a Brain-Harming Pesticide on Food. Why Has It Slowed a Global Ban?

The Colorado River Flooded Chemehuevi Land. Decades Later, the Tribe Still Struggles to Take Its Share of Water.

Supreme Court Keeps Navajo Nation Waiting for Water

Out of Balance

How Arizona Stands Between Tribes and Their Water

Las Vegas Needs to Save Water. It Won’t Find It in Lawns.

Climate Crisis Is on Track to Push One-Third of Humanity Out of Its Most Livable Environment

West Virginia Governor’s Coal Empire Sued by the Federal Government — Again

What We’re Watching

During Donald Trump’s second presidency, ProPublica will focus on the areas most in need of scrutiny. Here are some of the issues our reporters will be watching — and how to get in touch with them securely.

Learn more about our reporting team. We will continue to share our areas of interest as the news develops.

Photo of Sharon Lerner
Sharon Lerner

I cover health and the environment and the agencies that govern them, including the Environmental Protection Agency.

Photo of Andy Kroll
Andy Kroll

I cover justice and the rule of law, including the Justice Department, U.S. attorneys and the courts.

Photo of Melissa Sanchez
Melissa Sanchez

I report on immigration and labor, and I am based in Chicago.

Photo of Jesse Coburn
Jesse Coburn

I cover housing and transportation, including the companies working in those fields and the regulators overseeing them.

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    The Ugly Truth

    “Incalculable” Damage: How a “We Buy Ugly Houses” Franchise Left a Trail of Financial Wreckage Across Texas

    Charles Carrier is accused of orchestrating a yearslong Ponzi scheme, bilking tens of millions of dollars from both wealthy investors and older people with modest incomes. Despite signs of trouble, HomeVestors didn’t intervene.

    Broken Pathways

    He Became the Face of Georgia’s Medicaid Work Requirement. Now He’s Fed Up With It.

    A 54-year-old mechanic called Pathways to Coverage a “great program” at the governor’s press conference. But after getting kicked off the health insurance program for low-income Georgians twice, bureaucratic red tape has him at his wit’s end.

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    The Price of Remission

    When I was diagnosed with cancer, I set out to understand why a single pill of Revlimid cost the same as a new iPhone. I’ve covered high drug prices as a reporter for years. What I discovered shocked even me.

    The Department of Education Forced Idaho to Stop Denying Disabled Students an Education. Then Trump Gutted Its Staff.

    For years, the Education Department was the only agency that could ensure states would improve conditions for disabled children. Now, Trump’s cuts threaten to hamper its oversight.

    Broken Pathways

    The Firm Running Georgia’s Struggling Medicaid Experiment Was Also Paid Millions to Sell It to the Public

    Deloitte Consulting is taking in tens of millions in tax dollars to build, manage and market Georgia’s Medicaid work requirement program. Yet only 3% of eligible residents have enrolled.

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