Environment

The City of Flint Water Plant is illuminated by moonlight on Jan. 23, 2016, in Flint, Michigan. The state approved new funds for the city yesterday.
Ayana Byrd  Apr 17, 2019 11:55AM EDT

Flint Receives $77 Million to Fund New Water Projects

Five years after the water crisis began, the city continues to recover with projects to protect residents and update infrastructure.
Puerto Rican flag
Ayana Byrd  Apr 8, 2019 12:06PM EDT

READ: Puerto Ricans Face Food Shortages, Crumbling Infrastructure As Relief Aid Stalls

These are the real life consequences of Capitol Hill in-fighting.
A Puerto Rican flag hangs from a black-shuttered window set in a bright blue exterior wall
Ayana Byrd  Apr 2, 2019 2:01PM EDT

Senate Rejects Bill That Would Send Relief Money to Puerto Rico

Democrats say the bill’s aid package is another sign of Republican disregard for the island.
People walk through flooded streets the morning after Hurricane Irma swept through the area on September 11, 2017 in Naples, Florida.
Ayana Byrd  Mar 25, 2019 12:26PM EDT

FEMA Releases Bank Info, Home Addresses of 2.3 Million Disaster Survivors

The agency calls the error a “major privacy incident.”
Keystone Oil Pipeline Protesters Demonstrate Outside Of Obama Fundraiser
Ayana Byrd  Mar 20, 2019 2:30PM EDT

South Dakota Criminalizes Protest Against Keystone XL Pipeline

The state’s tribal communities say the governor is placing the interests of big business over their safety.
China's Coal Dependence A Challenge For Climate
Ayana Byrd  Mar 12, 2019 12:22PM EDT

STUDY: White Americans' Consumer Habits Pollute the Air That Black and Latinx People Breathe

Researchers say there is a stark racial difference in who suffers from toxic air and who causes it.
People march from the U.S. Capitol to the White House for the People's Climate Movement to protest President Donald Trump's environmental policies April 29, 2017, in Washington, D.C.
Ayana Byrd  Mar 11, 2019 12:21PM EDT

READ: What It Means That the Environmental Justice Movement is Overwhelmingly White

A new report explores how people of color are “sidelined” in the fight against climate change—despite the fact that they disproportionately suffer more from its effects.
Floods Hinder Recovery Efforts In Southeast Texas
Ayana Byrd  Mar 7, 2019 11:39AM EST

Congress Investigates EPA For Refusing NASA's Help After Hurricane Harvey

The space agency offered to assess air pollution caused by the storm—and was essentially told “No, thank you.”
Puerto Rico Marks Holiday Season Amidst Slow Hurricane Recovery
Ayana Byrd  Feb 21, 2019 12:07PM EST

Scientists Hope Hurricane Maria Can Reveal How The Earth Recovers From Increasingly Intense Storms

Caribbean ecosystems devastated by climate-related extreme weather have global implications.
Warren Washington
Ayana Byrd  Feb 14, 2019 12:35PM EST

Pioneering Black Climate Scientist Honored With Top Prize in the Field

Warren Washington was one of the first physicists to create models for understanding the earth’s climate. 
A one-level light brick and mint green house sits on a green lawn with a blue sky and green trees around it
Ayana Byrd  Feb 13, 2019 12:29PM EST

People of Color Benefit From New Public Lands Protection Bill

With bipartisan support, the Senate passed a measure that includes provisions aimed at Indigenous and African Americans. 
Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha.
Ayana Byrd  Feb 12, 2019 4:23PM EST

READ: Flint Whistle Blower Says Government Is Still Failing Residents

Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha believes the state legislature is taking actions that could cause another water crisis. 
Puerto Rico Faces Extensive Damage After Hurricane Maria
Ayana Byrd  Jan 29, 2019 12:28PM EST

Puerto Rican Activists Fear Residents Will See Little of $20 Billion Recovery Grant

Human rights attorney Ariadna Godreau-Aubert: “What we’ve seen so far is that this is a plan for developers, and not for the people.”
The City of Flint Water Plant is illuminated by moonlight on Jan. 23, 2016, in Flint, Michigan. The state approved new funds for the city yesterday.
Ayana Byrd  Jan 23, 2019 1:20PM EST

Flint Launches Program to Help Kids Who Need Special Education Services Because of Water Crisis

Experts say it’s a step in the right direction, but not enough.
Lin-Manuel Miranda. Latinx man with black hair and beard in dark suit with blue tie and shirt in front of blue wall with light blue text spelling "MARY POPPINS RETURNS" and white text spelling "Entertainment"
Sameer Rao  Jan 15, 2019 3:39PM EST

Lin-Manuel Miranda Uses Puerto Rican 'Hamilton' Run to Support Recovery

Ticket sales will aid the Flamboyan Arts Fund’s mission to uplift the island’s arts institutions.
A Native woman wearing a blue hoodie stands next to a pole with signs symbolizing historic fights
Mary Annette Pember  Jan 9, 2019 11:47AM EST

Inside the Long, Hard Fight to Stop the Bayou Bridge Oil Pipeline

For more than two years, Indigenous water protectors, Black residents of “Cancer Alley,” Atchafalaya Basin landowners and others have been protesting, suing and, in some cases, doing felony-level direct action, to halt the completion of the Bayou Bridge Pipeline in Louisiana. Here’s the harsh reality of fighting the inevitable in the bayou.
Ayana Byrd  Dec 18, 2018 1:55PM EST

ICYMI: Poll Says Green New Deal Enjoys Bipartisan Support

Championed by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the plan seeks to eliminate income inequality and support communities of color.
Proposed Keystone XL Pipeline To Run From Canada To Gulf Of Mexico
Ayana Byrd  Dec 7, 2018 4:29PM EST

READ: Is This Energy Company Buying Off a Black Town To Build a Pipeline?

Energy Dominion has offered Union Hill, Virginia, millions of dollars to buy support for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline.
A street floods as a powerful storm moves across Southern California on February 17, 2017, in Sun Valley, California. After years of severe drought, heavy winter rains came to the state.
Ayana Byrd  Dec 6, 2018 3:54PM EST

ICYMI: Study Says Climate Change Is Serious Threat To Americans' Health

Researchers predict that an estimated 3,000 people will die from high temperatures by 2050, and people of color are more vulnerable than their White counterparts.
A blue sign points to the pedestrian crossing to the U.S. near the U.S./Mexico border.
Shani Saxon  Dec 4, 2018 5:13PM EST

Trump Can Continue to Ignore Environmental Laws While Building Border Wall

The Supreme Court will not hear a challenge brought by groups that say construction would pose a serious threat.