Rural America

Despite Heat Deaths, Many States Don’t Require Water Breaks

As temperatures break records, lawmakers in state after state have declined to require that companies give their outdoor workers shade and water breaks.

Barbara Barrett

Fighting Industrial Development and Defending Black History in Louisiana’s “Cancer Alley”

In Wallace, descendants of enslaved people live on one of the last preserved stretches of Louisiana’s Mississippi River. Now, a massive grain export facility threatens the community’s history and future.

Daja E. Henry

A Farmer’s Almanac for the End of This World

The Earthbound Farmer’s Almanac offers a place for sharing stories, experiments and strategies for food autonomy in our age of ecological devastation.

Joseph Bullington

Big Dairy is Milking California Dry

A small town fights back against dairy expansion.

Ian Whitaker

How Land Swaps Turn Public Lands into Private Playgrounds

Land exchanges, a management tool used by the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management, too often benefit rich landowners at the public’s expense.

Erica Rosenberg

Inside the Government’s Failing Program to Protect Farmworkers

Fifty years ago, the U.S. created a program to protect farmworkers from dangerous housing, wage theft and other rampant abuse. Internal documents show a failing system.

Johnathan Hettinger and Sky Chadde

How Old Oil Wells Become Taxpayers' Problem

Nationwide, oil companies have abandoned more than a million oil and gas wells—and the cost of cleaning them up.

Jonathan Thompson

The Vail-ification of the West

In part two of our series, we visit the Colorado ski towns at the extreme edge of rural gentrification.

Joseph Bullington

Los Trabajadores en Vail no Pueden Darse el Lujo de Vivir Ahí

En la segunda parte de nuestra serie, visitamos las ciudades de esquí de Colorado a borde de la gentrificación rural.

Joseph Bullington

In Montana, an Avalanche of Wealth Is Displacing Workers

The people who feed, clothe and clean up after the West’s rich newcomers can’t afford to live alongside them.

Joseph Bullington

En Montana, Una Avalancha de Riqueza Está Desplazando a los Trabajadores

Los trabajadores que alimentan, visten y aseean para los ricos recién llegados a occidente de Montana no pueden darse el lujo de vivir cerca de sus trabajos.

Joseph Bullington

East Palestine: “We Basically Nuked a Town with Chemicals So We Could Get a Railroad Open”

Companies should never again be allowed to do what Norfolk Southern did to this Ohio community.

Tish O'Dell and Chad Nicholson

In Coal Country, Young Workers Seek a Sustainable Future

Neither coal companies nor government have a “plan B” for many Appalachian communities. Meet the young leaders determined to find one.

Jonathan Blair

The Life-Threatening Consequences of Rural “Maternity-Care Deserts”

The number of mothers who receive no prenatal care is on the rise in North Carolina. Lack of access in rural areas is a big part of the problem.

Sarah Melotte and Shelby Harris

Roundup Caused Her Cancer, but Bayer Won’t Pay Settlement Because She’s an Undocumented Farmworker, Lawsuit Says

Elvira Reyes-Hernandez was diagnosed with cancer after working for years with the weed killer on Virginia tree farms.

Sky Chadde

Queering the Family Farm: Meet the LGBTQ Midwest Farmers Taking Food Justice Into Their Own Hands

“We’re not just raising food. We are creating safe spaces for people.”

Bennet Goldstein

Oversight Has Led to Better Housing for Migrant Farmworkers. Why Aren't Some States Doing It?

With no national regulation, employers often provide subpar housing to the migrant farmworkers who sustain the billion-dollar food industry.

Johnathan Hettinger and Sky Chadde

Oil Companies Have Plundered Louisiana's Coast. They Owe Us Reparations.

Native and Black communities suffering the most from coastal damage need reparations for past abuse while we fight for systemic change.

Courtney Naquin