Derrick Z. Jackson

memphis pollution
Credit: Luca Sartoni/flickr

Ethylene oxide adds to toxic burden for Memphis residents

“The South Memphis community should not be forced to endure several more years of unnecessary exposure to a cancer-causing chemical."

Rose Sims has lived in South Memphis, Tennessee, for 25 years.

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New study confirms: Structural racism in STEM programs needs fixing

A groundbreaking paper published last month in PNAS Nexus, a sibling journal to the Proceedings of the National Academies of Science, offers stark quantitative data showing the continued blight of structural racism in academic STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) programs in the United States.

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EPA's chemical safety rule tests the Biden administration’s commitment to environmental justice

In christening a new office of environmental justice, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan proclaimed on Sept. 24 that “underserved and overburdened communities are at the forefront of our work.”

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Solving the climate crisis will help both ‘sacrifice zones’ and ‘cute’ puffins
Credit: Derrick Z. Jackson

Solving the climate crisis will help both ‘sacrifice zones’ and ‘cute’ puffins

When I tell bird-loving audiences what puffins mean to me, I start with the expected.

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Derrick Z. Jackson: Children will suffer the consequences of recent Supreme Court rulings

It appears to be of no concern to the Supreme Court’s 6-3 ultraconservative majority how children are collateral damage in its monumental rulings to close the 2021-22 term.

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roe v. wade

Derrick Z. Jackson: Roe v. Wade draft bodes ill for air, wetlands and the EPA

Science and the U.S. Supreme Court are on course to become oil and water, much to the joy of Big Oil and to the dread of those who support actions that protect our planet.

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covid nurse

Derrick Z. Jackson: Nearly one million US deaths from COVID-19—the grim consequences of sidelining science

One million US deaths from COVID-19. Catatonic politics on climate change. Communities suffocating from environmental injustice.
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climate change indigenous rights

Climate colonialism at COP26: Derrick Z. Jackson

The refusal of the United States and fellow rich nations to compensate developing countries for the devastation wrought by air pollution and climate change smacks of a kind of modern colonialism at its worst.

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From our Newsroom
environmental justice

LISTEN: Robbie Parks on climate justice and mental health

“It’s not just moving people around that’s going to solve public health disasters.”

WATCH: Are plastics a threat to national security?

WATCH: Are plastics a threat to national security?

Pete Myers explores the troubling link.

plastic waste

Every stage of plastic production and use is harming human health: Report

New report recommends the United Nations Global Plastics Treaty significantly reduce plastic use through aggressive bans and caps, and closer examination of toxic ingredients.

WATCH: The aftermath of the East Palestine, Ohio, toxic train derailment

WATCH: The aftermath of the East Palestine, Ohio, toxic train derailment

Beyond Plastics captures the personal stories of residents and call for a federal ban on vinyl chloride.

Adrift: Communities on the front lines of pesticide exposure fight for change

Adrift: Communities on the front lines of pesticide exposure fight for change

Rural communities of color and farmworkers are disproportionately exposed to some of the most dangerous chemicals used in agriculture.

environmental justice reporting

We're hiring: Texas Environmental Health Reporter

Want to do journalism with an impact? We want to hear from you.