America’s Dirty Divide
A series on environmental racism in partnership with The Guardian
The ‘Gift of God’ That Has Poisoned American Kids for 100 Years
Generations after scientists found that lead was dangerous to humans, American infrastructure is still rife with lead: homes, water pipes, automobile fuel and more. This means an astounding number of America’s most vulnerable children have high levels of lead in their blood. To understand why lead has been so difficult
Drying Up: Inside the Californian Communities Without Enough Water
California’s Central Valley grows a large portion of America’s food – and that requires a huge amount of water. But the region is experiencing a drought and drying up the surface water that farms rely on. So farms are now pumping water from underground. There’s a problem, though: it’s drying
Ravaged by Hurricanes, a Historic Black Community Fights for Survival (VIDEO)
Ironton, a small incorporated community in Louisiana, was devastated by Hurricane Ida. But the destruction was not inevitable. Founded by freed people who were previously enslaved, Ironton residents had to fight for running water, sewage – and levees. Federally funded levees built after Hurricane Katrina in 2005 stopped short of
The Racist History of Toilets in America (VIDEO)
America invested in sanitation systems throughout the 20th century – but it often left out communities of color, and they’re still trying to catch up. This video explains how specific policies caused these inequities, and talks to some of the people who still lack proper sanitation systems in 2022. Additional
A Majority-Black City’s Sewage Crisis
In the shadow of one of the world’s richest cities, the people of Mount Vernon, New York face an unpleasant problem inside their homes: sewage. The city’s under-resourced sanitation crew struggles to keep up with complications stemming from its crumbling, 100-year old sewer system—a system strained even further by the
Inside South Baltimore’s Fight Against Burning Trash (VIDEO)
This story is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. When Meleny Thomas first moved to South Baltimore, she thought the towering smokestack emblazoned with the city’s name was a welcome sign. She later learned what it really was: a trash incinerator releasing
How a Proposed Lithium Mine in Nevada Threatens Sacred Native Land
On a windy September afternoon in northern Nevada, where her family has lived for generations, Daranda Hinkey fought back tears as she read a description of an 1865 massacre that killed at least 31 members of the Paiute tribe. In the passage, her great-great-great grandfather, Ox Sam, one of three
Climate Change and an Ongoing Water Crisis Threaten the Future of Native Tribes, Fish, and Farmers (VIDEO)
Except for a brief stint in the military, Paul Crawford has spent his entire life farming in southern Oregon. First, as a boy, chasing his dad through hayfields and now, growing alfalfa on his own farm with his wife and two kids, who want to grow up to be farmers.
Briana Flin produces videos for Nexus Media News, a nonprofit climate change news service. You can follow her @BrianaFlin. These documentaries were produced in partnership with The Guardian. It was made possible by a grant from the Open Society Foundations.