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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 Ironton, leaving homes to flood duringREAD MORE
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. This video is part of America's DirtyREAD MORE
A Chevron Refinery Fire in California Created a Generation of Activists
On the afternoon of August 6, 2012, a thick black plume grew over Richmond, California, 10 miles northeast of San Francisco. As the air grew thick with smoke, residents instinctively knew the source: the Chevron oil refinery that for decades has loomed over the working-class community. In the days that followed, 15,000 people in the areaREAD MORE
‘Every Street Has Its Own Problem’: Majority-Black City Sees Hope After Years of Sewage Crisis (VIDEO)
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 extreme rain brought on by climateREAD MORE
The Fight to Save Sacred Land in Nevada: ‘Like Putting a Lithium Mine on Arlington Cemetery’ (VIDEO)
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 survivors, recalled losing his parents andREAD MORE
When the Water Runs Out: 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. “I wouldn't trade a day ofREAD MORE
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 pollutants into her neighborhood. The incinerator,READ MORE