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Climate Crimes on the Border, in the Amazon, and in Boardrooms: The Intercept’s 2019 Environment Coverage

A look back at The Intercept’s must-read environment stories from 2019.

A look back at The Intercept’s must-read environment stories from 2019.

Forged in Fire: California’s Lessons for a Green New Deal

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Photo: Noah Berger/AP
Days before the anniversary of the deadly Camp Fire that killed 86 people, a community in California unveiled a plan to adopt its own Green New Deal.
By Naomi Klein

How the Plastics Industry Is Fighting to Keep Polluting the World

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Photo: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images
Pushes to “recycle” plastics are one element of a massive, industry-led effort to suppress meaningful efforts to reduce plastic waste.
By Sharon Lerner

Emboldened by Bolsonaro, Land-Hungry Ranchers Are Destroying a Pioneering Project to Help the Poor and Save the Amazon

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Illustration: Rodrigo Bento/The Intercept Brasil; Photos: AP
American Catholic nun Dorothy Stang died defending a sustainable development model for the Amazon. Can her legacy survive in Bolsonaro’s Brazil?

 

 

 

Leaked Audio Reveals How Coca-Cola Undermines Plastic Recycling Efforts

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Photo: Jens Kalaene/picture-alliance/dpa/AP
Audio obtained by The Intercept reveals how Coca-Cola’s “green” philanthropy helped squelch an important tool in fighting the plastic crisis.
By Sharon Lerner

Greta Thunberg on the Climate Fight: “If We Can Save the Banks, Then We Can Save the World”

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Video still: The Intercept
Greta Thunberg joined Naomi Klein in September for a conversation on the climate emergency.
By Naomi Klein

Two Years After Maria, Relief Funds Promise Displacement for the Hardest-Hit Puerto Ricans

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Photo: Christopher Gregory for The Intercept
Residents of San Isidro are still struggling to rebuild. Now their only option for hurricane relief may be to relocate.
By Alleen Brown

A Message From the Future With Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

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Video still: Molly Crabapple
What if we actually pulled off a Green New Deal? What would the future look like? The Intercept presents a film narrated by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
By Naomi Klein, Video by Molly Crabapple

The EPA’s Bungled Response to an Air Pollution Crisis Exposes a Toxic Racial Divide

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Photo: William Widmer for The Intercept
How government responds to cancer-causing air pollution depends a lot on where you live and the color of your skin.
By Sharon Lerner

Climate Change, Migration, and Militarization in Arizona’s Borderlands

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Photo: Ash Ponders for The Intercept
The swirling mix of far-right politics and the actual threats posed by the climate crisis raises questions about what’s happening in the Arizona desert.
By Ryan Devereaux

 

 

IT’S EVEN WORSE THAN WE THOUGHT.

What we’re seeing right now from Donald Trump is a full-on authoritarian takeover of the U.S. government. 

This is not hyperbole.

Court orders are being ignored. MAGA loyalists have been put in charge of the military and federal law enforcement agencies. The Department of Government Efficiency has stripped Congress of its power of the purse. News outlets that challenge Trump have been banished or put under investigation.

Yet far too many are still covering Trump’s assault on democracy like politics as usual, with flattering headlines describing Trump as “unconventional,” “testing the boundaries,” and “aggressively flexing power.” 

The Intercept has long covered authoritarian governments, billionaire oligarchs, and backsliding democracies around the world. We understand the challenge we face in Trump and the vital importance of press freedom in defending democracy.

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IT’S BEEN A DEVASTATING year for journalism — the worst in modern U.S. history.

We have a president with utter contempt for truth aggressively using the government’s full powers to dismantle the free press. Corporate news outlets have cowered, becoming accessories in Trump’s project to create a post-truth America. Right-wing billionaires have pounced, buying up media organizations and rebuilding the information environment to their liking.

In this most perilous moment for democracy, The Intercept is fighting back. But to do so effectively, we need to grow.

That’s where you come in. Will you help us expand our reporting capacity in time to hit the ground running in 2026?

We’re independent of corporate interests. Will you help us?

Donate

I’M BEN MUESSIG, The Intercept’s editor-in-chief. It’s been a devastating year for journalism — the worst in modern U.S. history.

We have a president with utter contempt for truth aggressively using the government’s full powers to dismantle the free press. Corporate news outlets have cowered, becoming accessories in Trump’s project to create a post-truth America. Right-wing billionaires have pounced, buying up media organizations and rebuilding the information environment to their liking.

In this most perilous moment for democracy, The Intercept is fighting back. But to do so effectively, we need to grow.

That’s where you come in. Will you help us expand our reporting capacity in time to hit the ground running in 2026?

We’re independent of corporate interests. Will you help us?

Donate

Contact the author:

media@theintercept.com

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