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)

People silhouetted in an arch carrying suitcases and walking toward the setting sun

Can this film change our understanding of the climate and migration crises?

Josh Fox fueled the fight against fracking with his documentary Gasland. His latest film, The Welcome Table, sends a potent message on climate and immigration.
A view of a tropical beach covered in green ground cover with a dog walking through it

Bank credit remains scarce in Bangladesh where climate risks are highest

The flow of bank credit to climate-vulnerable regions in Bangladesh remains low, with lending heavily concentrated in major commercial areas, including Dhaka.

A beaver chewing on leaves in a water source

Beavers help heal watersheds in drought-stricken US West, experts say

Beaver dams slow moving water in a way that promotes localized year-round availability, creates habitat for native fish and provides a natural break that slows wildfires.

A view of the front of the White House on a sunny day

Trump vowed to stop an 'energy emergency.' Then he created a real one

The president used executive powers to boost oil and coal, but he can't fix the shortages caused by the Iran war.
An aerial view of a complex of buildings

Data centers are burning fossil fuels. It's destroying Big Tech's climate goals

In his new book, Paris Marx explores how global anti-data center movements are fighting Big Tech’s power over us.
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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