A still image from a video taken of the demolition of the Crawford Coal Plant smokestack, April 11, 2020. (Alejandro Reyes / YouTube)
,

During the more than hourlong confirmation hearing, Marlene Hopkins was not asked about what she did as the top official from the city’s Buildings Department charged with overseeing the implosion of the smokestack at the former Crawford Power Plant in Little Village.

(Brian Yurasits / Unsplash)

Alliance for the Great Lakes has collected 20 years’ worth of data from beach cleanups. Tiny plastic trash is a huge problem.

(Karolina Grabowska / Pixabay)

Chicago’s water has been tested numerous times for the presence of so-called “forever chemicals,” and the substances have never been detected.

A city of Chicago outfall at the Wild Mile floating wetland installation on the North Branch of the Chicago River. (Patty Wetli / WTTW News)

“Chicago owns the most outfalls that discharge into the river system, and controlling what comes out of them is essential to reach our shared vision for a fishable-swimmable river that is accessible to everyone,” said Margaret Frisbie, executive director of Friends of the Chicago River.

Methane plumes observed by Carbon Mapper during aerial surveys at a landfill in Georgia. (Carbon Mapper via CNN Newsource)

Landfills tend to be a less well-known methane source, but they also have a huge impact, estimated at around 20% of global human-caused methane emissions.

A still image from a video taken of the demolition of the Crawford Coal Plant smokestack, April 11, 2020. (Alejandro Reyes / YouTube)
,

Edith Tovar, of the Little Village Environmental Justice Organization, said her organization helped approximately 130,000 people submit a claim for damages. 

A still image from a video taken of the demolition of the Crawford Coal Plant smokestack, April 11, 2020. (Alejandro Reyes / YouTube)
,

Mayor Brandon Johnson nominated Marlene Hopkins to permanently replace former Buildings Commissioner Matthew Beaudet, whom Johnson fired last month. Hopkins’ nomination must be confirmed by the Chicago City Council.

FILE - Plastic bottles and other garbage are seen next to a beach at Fiumicino, Italy, near Rome, Saturday, Aug. 15, 2020. (Andrew Medichini / AP Photo, File)

We breathe, eat and drink tiny particles of plastic. But are these minuscule specks in the body harmless, dangerous or somewhere in between?

Emissions rise from the smokestacks at the Jeffrey Energy Center coal power plant as the suns sets Sept. 18, 2021, near Emmett, Kan. (AP Photo / Charlie Riedel, File)
,

Environmental and public health groups hailed the new Environmental Protection Agency rule finalized Wednesday as a major step in improving the health of Americans, including future generations. 

Alaina Harkness, the executive director of the water tech nonprofit Current, appears at a Chicago news conference on Jan. 30, 2024, with Gov. J.B. Pritzker. (Dilpreet Raju  / Capitol News Illinois)

The U.S. National Science Foundation awarded the grant to Current Innovation NFP, a nonprofit “innovation hub” whose mission is to “solve pressing water challenges caused by climate change and pollution.” 

A still image from a video taken of the demolition of the Crawford Coal Plant smokestack, April 11, 2020. (Alejandro Reyes / YouTube)

In April 2020, a smokestack implosion in Little Village blanketed the community in dust, endangering the health of residents during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, eligible Little Village residents have until March 26 to file claims for compensation.

Using a glass or stainless steel container is a safer way to consume water, experts say. (Clara Margais / dpa / picture alliance / Getty Images)
,

Nanoplastics are so teeny they can migrate through the tissues of the digestive tract or lungs into the bloodstream, distributing potentially harmful synthetic chemicals throughout the body and into cells, experts say.

Groot Industries operates a waste facility in West Chicago at 1995 Powis Road.
, ,

West Chicago is currently home to the only waste transfer facility in DuPage County. Now a second one is looking to open and residents are pushing back. 

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at the COP28 U.N. Climate Summit, Saturday, Dec. 2, 2023, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. (Kamran Jebreili / AP Photo)

The EPA said the rule will sharply reduce methane and other harmful air pollutants generated by the oil and gas industry, promote use of cutting-edge methane detection technologies and deliver significant public health benefits.

File photo of homes in Cicero. (WTTW News)

The project involves sensors installed and monitored by the Cicero Independiente and MuckRock providing data to back up what many community members were already feeling.

(WTTW News)

A new report from the Brushwood Center found Lake County residents face significant race-based disparities in health outcomes, environmental quality and access to nature.