WhoWhatWhy’s Best Environmental Coverage of 2021 - WhoWhatWhy WhoWhatWhy’s Best Environmental Coverage of 2021 - WhoWhatWhy

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COP26_2021_Protest_3x2.jpg
Over 4,000 people participated in the COP26 Sheffield Climate March on November 6, 2021, in Glasgow, Scotland. Photo credit: Tim Dennell / Flickr (CC BY-NC 2.0)

The dire state of the environment is one of humanity’s greatest challenges. Here are some of our 2021 environmental stories you may have missed.

national parks, yosemite park, yellowstone, yosemite, mount rainier, glacier park, glacier national park, mountain ranger, fire, gas, mount rainier national park, global warming, global crisis, climate change, environment, outdoors, climate change now, ccnow
Photo credit: Design by Aman Dembe / WhoWhatWhy from Ben Soyka / Unsplash and Bryan Ramos / Unsplash

Forests Ablaze, Glaciers Melting: Climate Change Threatens US Parks

Whether it’s a mistimed wildflower bloom on Mount Rainier, scorched trees in Yosemite, or a lack of grizzly bears in Yellowstone, the effects of climate change can be hard on park visitors. 


Sunrise Movement, Climate Finance, Protest
Young activists and their allies led a climate strike in San Rafael, CA, to demand action on climate change. Photo credit: Fabrice Florin / Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0)

The Money Movement Exposes Fossil Fuel Financing

Is your bank helping to fund climate change by loaning money to fossil fuel companies? www.Bank.Green can help you find out. 


Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland paused all activities related to the oil and gas leasing program in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, initiated by the Trump administration, until her department completes a new environmental review. Photo credit: Alaska Region U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service /Flickr (Public Domain Mark 1.0)

Biden’s Baffling Inconsistency on Alaska Drilling

With recent oil-drilling decisions, Biden gives good news and bad news to environmentalists. We explain how he’s playing the long game. 


Glacier, Mount Everest, Base Camp
Measuring remote Himalayan glaciers like this one, photographed in 2014 near Mount Everest base camp, is daunting. Researchers generally can’t hike or ski to sites, and helicopters and snowmobiles may not function properly. As a result, less data has been collected from the Himalayas than from other ranges, and any insight gleaned is especially valuable. Photo credit: Hendrik Terbeck / Flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Melting Himalayas Point to Problems Worldwide

Warming temperatures are melting mountain glaciers worldwide, threatening lives and livelihoods. Climbers are witnessing the damage firsthand. 


Wildcat Mountain, Driftless Area
The Driftless area is home to Wisconsin’s Wildcat Mountain State Park, which sits on a ridge above the Kickapoo River. The Driftless is marked by bluffs, valleys, rolling hills, and meandering streams. Photo credit: Yinan Chen / Wikimedia

600 Square Miles to Redemption

In 1985 Bryan Stanley killed three men. In an attempt at redemption, he has spent decades fighting against the odds to create the first national park in Wisconsin. 


Papa Jo, Fracking site, Erie
A fracking pad called Papa Jo, shown here, and a nearby one called Yellowhammer contain 16 wells. Some Erie, CO, residents live less than 500 feet away. Fracking-friendly Weld County rules apply at both sites. Photo credit: Courtesy of Erie residents for WhoWhatWhy

Fracking and Health: Colorado Locals Aim to Clear the Air

“Get the frack out,” say protesters to oil and gas companies that have drilled more than 100 wells near their homes in Erie, CO. State officials may finally be listening to complaints about airborne chemicals.


Climate, Change, Farming, Big Agriculture, Farmers, Integrated meat processing, Greenhouse gas, Industrial farms, USDA, National Farmers Union, Sierra Club, sustainability, North American Meat Institute, American Farm Bureau Federation, Environmental Working Group
Photo credit: Designed by Mathilde Fallot / WhoWhatWhy from:
Dishfunctional / Flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0), Anton Maksimov juvnsky / Unsplash

Farm to Factory: Big Ag’s Manure Machine, Part 1

When Big Ag put small farmers out of business, they changed a way of life in rural America. They also made it harder to fight climate change.


cloud brightening ship
Artist rendering of a cloud brightening ship. Salter’s version would be deployed in the Atlantic Ocean. Photo credit: Edinburgh University (PDF)

Engineer Pitches Cloud Brightening to Stem Arctic Melting

For decades, a Scottish engineer has labored to answer a question: Could spraying seawater into clouds to make them reflect more sunlight lead to a brighter future for the planet? 


cooling tower, carbon sequestration
There are about two million cooling towers across the US. Noya plans to use existing towers to capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Photo credit: Thawt Hawthje / Flickr (CC BY 2.0)

Capturing Carbon One Cooling Tower at a Time

Tech startup Noya plans to suck carbon dioxide from the atmosphere in a process called direct air capture, but building plants to do the job is pricey. Noya’s fix: Use the 2 million cooling towers that already exist across the US.


Statue of Liberty, Climate Change
Towns throughout the US face challenges from climate change. Photo credit: Adapted by WhoWhatWhy from Burnt Pineapple Productions / Flickr

Climate Crisis: The Time to Act Is Now

This WhoWhatWhy series examines how climate change is affecting towns across the US.


The Ashokan Reservoir in Kingston is New York’s largest reservoir.
Ashokan Reservoir outside Kingston, NY. Photo credit: John Cudworth / Flickr (CC BY-NC 2.0)

The Right to Life, Liberty, and a Clean Environment

Will New York voters make a healthy environment a constitutional right? 

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