Peter Dykstra: Good news and hope on an otherwise gloomy beat
Credit: Chesapeake Bay Program

Peter Dykstra: Good news and hope on an otherwise gloomy beat

It's sometimes hard to find hope amid the news of environmental degradation. Here's some.

We try our best to present the honest news on environment, health and climate on these pages every day.


It's really not our fault that on balance, there's more bad news than good: Melting ice and permafrost, vanishing habitat, a crushing body burden of poisons from our chemical-laden lives. Some days EHNand The Daily Climate are more like The Daily Bummer.

But we should still occasionally take a break from the dreary drumbeat and look at the many steps forward in our fragile world. Here's a sampling of some progress.

I'll save some more for later, since we'll surely still need an antidote for eco-sadness.

Clean energy is not looking back

Credit: Edison Sub-District Office District 4 United Steelworkers

During the first "Energy Crisis" of the 1970's, President Richard Nixon dismissed calls for investment in wind and solar energy as an unrealistic pitch for technologies widely seen to be "30 years off."

Nearly 50 years later, we're about to make a semi-honest man out of Nixon, at least on this one point. China leads the world in solar energy development; in the U.S., Wal-Mart, long held as an environmental villain, has covered the roofs of its big box stores with solar panels.

Traditional oil and gas states like Texas and Oklahoma are cashing in on windpower, while offshore windfarms are jumping off the drawing board in New Jersey and New England.

Love that Dirty Water no more

The 1966 song "Dirty Water" immortalized the condition of Boston's Harbor and Charles River. Twenty-two years later, George H.W. Bush used Boston Harbor's filth as a campaign issue against Massachusetts Governor Mike Dukakis in the 1988 presidential race. Today, the Harbor is vastly cleaner, and this summer, humpback whales cavorted in that once-dirty water.

And the Hudson River is said to be its cleanest in 100 years. While still hosting PCB's dumped by two General Electric factories in the mid-twentieth centuries, the river sees fewer sewage and chemical discharges.

A few miles away, the Hackensack Meadowlands are recovering from more than two centuries of being on the receiving end of a massive industrial bowel movement from the Metro New York area.

Sewage, toxic chemicals, garbage, and the occasional Mafia corpse were Meadowlands trademarks. These days, you're more likely to see kayakers tracking migratory birds than the remains of Jimmy Hoffa. Last week, the annual Meadowlands Birding Festival drew hundreds of birders from all over the U.S.

Similarly, the decades-long cleanup of the Chesapeake Bay is paying off. The Bay's leading NGO says the Chesapeake is cleaner now than any point in the past 33 years.

Big (Green) Brother 

Imagine you're a Texas State Trooper. Now imagine you're the only Texas State Trooper, responsible for patrolling from El Paso to Brownsville to Port Arthur to Lubbock and back again to catch speeders and other desperadoes.

The island nation of Palau had a problem with illegal fishing in its marine sanctuary, which is roughly the size of Texas. Palau's budget stretched to afford staffing one patrol boat.

Now imagine you've got an eye in the sky – satellite monitoring that can cover Palau's sprawling Pacific expanse. Environmental monitoring from the sky, pioneered by nonprofits like the West Virginia-based SkyTruth, can help snag today's eco-desperadoes – illegal logging, destructive mining, and pirate fishing.

In 2017, satellite monitoring helped the Palauans nab a pirate fleet from Vietnam. The mighty Palauan Navy seized the vessels and burned them.

Liberating rivers 

Credit: Pelennor/flickr

Work to remove two dams on the Elwha River in Washington State's Olympic Peninsula began in 2011. With nature taking the lead, both the riverbed and salmon runs are coming back. The Elwha and Glines Canyon dams were hydroelectric assets that grew obsolete over the decades.

In places like Maine's Penobscot River, ancient former industrial workhorse dams are coming down. Demolition of Maryland's Bloede Dam is underway this month.

On the Chattahoochee River, two more obsolete hydro dams were removed several years ago, creating a whitewater tourist attraction in downtown Columbus, Georgia. Another dam project is underway on the Oconee River, near the University of Georgia in Athens.

In Chile, the government yielded to public pressure in 2014, cancelling a multi-billion dollar project to build five dams on two pristine rivers in Patagonia.

So there you have a partial list of some of the breakthroughs and victories in environment and energy. I'm looking forward to writing about more, and would welcome your suggestions. My email is pdykstra@ehn.org

And when you're feeling cynical, remember this: If we play our cards right, all the acid we're putting in the ocean will eat all the plastic we're putting in the ocean.

*The song "Dirty Water" was performed by the Standells, a teenage garage band from L.A. that had never set foot in Boston or its filthy harbor. The song never made the Top Thirty, but remains as an anthem today for Boston sports teams. The video above shows also one of the worst efforts at lip-synching in history.

Scales of justice with green trees and water on one side and polluting industry and smokestacks on the other.
Credit: digitalista/BigStock Photo ID: 324918955

EPA slashes key staff fighting pollution in low-income communities

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is firing hundreds of staffers who worked to protect overpolluted, underserved neighborhoods, effectively gutting its environmental justice efforts.

Rachel Frazin reports for The Hill.

Keep reading...Show less
Sunrise in the woods

Get our Good News newsletter

Get the best positive, solutions-oriented stories we've seen on the intersection of our health and environment, FREE every Tuesday in your inbox. Subscribe here today. Keep the change tomorrow.

a large body of water surrounded by mountains.

Elon Musk-linked aide gains sweeping control over U.S. Interior Department operations

A former oil executive with ties to Elon Musk now holds expansive authority to reshape operations at the Interior Department, raising alarms among conservationists and longtime federal employees.

Dino Grandoni and Maxine Joselow report for The Washington Post.

Keep reading...Show less
Clear blue water beside mountain covered with snow.

Arctic cold once defended Canada — now climate chaos threatens military readiness

A warming Arctic is complicating Canada’s military operations, with unpredictable weather destroying equipment, thwarting training, and eroding the region’s role as a natural line of defense.

Leyland Cecco reports for The Guardian.

Keep reading...Show less
man in black coat standing near round logo with world flags.

World Bank tones down climate messaging as Trump allies threaten U.S. withdrawal

The World Bank has scaled back public climate advocacy as it navigates the political risks posed by President Trump’s administration and its review of U.S. involvement in global institutions.

Sara Schonhardt and Zack Colman report for POLITICO.

Keep reading...Show less
a lego man standing next to a wooden cross also made of legos.
Credit: Worshae/Unsplash

Evangelical churches in Indiana turn to solar and sustainability as an expression of faith

A growing number of evangelical churches and universities in Indiana are embracing renewable energy and environmental stewardship as a religious duty, reframing climate action through a spiritual lens.

Catrin Einhorn reports for The New York Times

Keep reading...Show less
A firetruck parked next to a hillside on fire

Lawsuits allege that insurers colluded to limit wildfire coverage and shift costs to state plan

Two lawsuits allege that major insurance companies coordinated to drop coverage in wildfire-prone California areas, pushing homeowners onto a costly, state-backed insurance plan.

Trân Nguyễn reports for The Associated Press.

Keep reading...Show less
Two men in baseball caps, yellow shirts and shorts installing solar panels on a roof.

Solar tax credit trading brings clean energy to underserved communities — but faces political risk

A tweak in tax law that made clean energy credits transferable has helped small developers build solar and wind projects in low-income areas, but congressional Republicans may roll back the benefit as part of federal budget talks.

Syris Valentine reports for Grist.

Keep reading...Show less
From our Newsroom
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.

People  sitting in an outdoors table working on a big sign.

Op-ed: Why funding for the environmental justice movement must be anti-racist

We must prioritize minority-serving institutions, BIPOC-led organizations and researchers to lead environmental justice efforts.

joe biden

Biden finalizes long-awaited hydrogen tax credits ahead of Trump presidency

Responses to the new rules have been mixed, and environmental advocates worry that Trump could undermine them.

Stay informed: sign up for The Daily Climate newsletter
Top news on climate impacts, solutions, politics, drivers. Delivered to your inbox week days.