Good News

Our top 5 good news stories of 2020

Because we could all use a little more cheer.

We can all agree that 2020 was a challenging year.


Good news feels hard to come by lately. And when you work in environmental news, it can seem even more rare.

Yet, the year was not without progress (yes, seriously!). Check out five good news stories from our newsroom that you may have missed below.

1. A Northeast US climate initiative has had a major side benefit—healthier children

Researchers estimate a climate effort in the Northeast U.S. helped the region reduce toxic air pollution and avoid hundreds of asthma and autism cases, preterm births, and low birth weights.

2. Roadmap points Europe toward safer, sustainable chemicals

EU Commission releases ambitious strategy for getting hormone-disrupting chemicals out of food, products, and packaging.

3. Solar power on the rise at US schools

Report finds an 81% increase in K-12 schools using solar power over the last 5 years.

4. Pittsburgh’s Black farmers work to grow a new future

A small group of new farmers have seeded a movement to change the local food industry.

5. Derrick Z. Jackson: A Rhode Island city gets serious about climate justice

In its climate action plan, Providence, Rhode Island, is giving frontline residents' health equal billing with carbon reduction. Other cities should pay attention.


Banner photo: Ebony Lunsford-Evans, owner of FarmerGirlEB in Pittsburgh, helps a customer. (Credit: Brian Cook)

A coyote walking along a road

Animal control has always been tough work. Climate change is making it harder

Bears, coyotes, mountain lions: More wild animals are tangling with humans as increased drought and heat alter their behavior. Animal control officers are scrambling to keep up.
A helicopter flying over a large fire

Wildfires hit Southern California during red-flag conditions

The Bryson Fire sparked Thursday afternoon in Malibu and quickly ballooned, burning up to 200 acres in just a few hours. Near San Diego, another major blaze broke out at Camp Pendleton.
Sugarcane branches laying on green sugarcane leaves

El Niño threatens global sugar supply

A poor sugarcane crop in India, the world’s second-largest producer, is hurting consumers and farmers — and undermining the country’s energy security goals.

A beach with houses on it and dried up land

Severe drought declared in six areas of England as reservoirs run low

Some reservoirs in southern England at critical levels as water companies call for extended restrictions that would affect golf clubs, private schools, and car washes.

Volcanic rock coastline with ocean waves

Climate change could send more toxic mining waste into coastal waters, study warns

Demand for metals has exploded in recent decades, thanks to population growth, technological innovation, and economic development. The volume of metal ores like iron and copper extracted globally quadrupled during the last half-century, and the trillion-dollar industry shows no signs of slowing down.

A view of a couple sitting on the floor looking through bills

Opinion: Climate policies can bring relief on affordability and beyond

Americans are suffering under an affordability crisis, while the climate crisis is making life more expensive. Both require urgent action — and both can be addressed simultaneously.

An illustration of the European Union on a map

Brussels says EU countries partly to blame for failure on key climate rule

There’s a circular blame game going on over who’s responsible for failures in EU methane law.
From our Newsroom
Multiple Houston-area oil and gas facilities that have violated pollution laws are seeking permit renewals

Multiple Houston-area oil and gas facilities that have violated pollution laws are seeking permit renewals

One facility has emitted cancer-causing chemicals into waterways at levels up to 520% higher than legal limits.

Regulators are underestimating health impacts from air pollution: Study

Regulators are underestimating health impacts from air pollution: Study

"The reality is, we are not exposed to one chemical at a time.”

Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro speaks with the state flag and American flag behind him.

Two years into his term, has Gov. Shapiro kept his promises to regulate Pennsylvania’s fracking industry?

A new report assesses the administration’s progress and makes new recommendations

silhouette of people holding hands by a lake at sunset

An open letter from EPA staff to the American public

“We cannot stand by and allow this to happen. We need to hold this administration accountable.”

wildfire retardants being sprayed by plane

New evidence links heavy metal pollution with wildfire retardants

“The chemical black box” that blankets wildfire-impacted areas is increasingly under scrutiny.

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