James Bruggers covers the U.S. Southeast, part of InsideClimate News' National Environment Reporting Network. He came to InsideClimate News in May 2018 from Louisville's Courier Journal, where he covered energy and the environment for more than 18 years.

James Bruggers

‘Advanced’ plastic recycling using high heat and chemicals is environmentally problematic, a new government study finds

James Bruggers·February 1, 2023

Industry is pursuing various technologies to recycle plastic, but environmentalists say they only worsen environmental problems.

Pollution Your Environment Update

‘We do have questions to answer’ about single-use plastic waste, Shell internal emails reveal

James Bruggers·December 21, 2022

Emails between Shell communication officials were made public as part of a congressional investigation into the fossil fuel industry and climate change.

Energy Pollution The Coming Chemical Boom

The peak of a 150-foot tall coal waste pile

Coal powered the industrial revolution. It left behind an ‘absolutely massive’ environmental catastrophe

James Bruggers·June 24, 2022

Scenes from the end of coal: A blasted mountaintop in Kentucky, an underground inferno in Pennsylvania, slowly dying maples in New Hampshire and a toxic pile of waste in Florida.

Conservation Energy Water Your Environment Update

Appalachia’s Strip-Mined Mountains Face a Growing Climate Risk: Flooding

James Bruggers·November 21, 2019

A new analysis of satellite imagery shows how a section of West Virginia with the most strip-mine damage from the coal industry is also the most susceptible to increased streamflow.

Climate Change Energy Water

A Coal Ash Spill Made These Workers Sick. Now, They’re Fighting for Compensation.

James Bruggers·December 5, 2018

Some 30 people who cleaned up the ash have died with ailments that can be linked to exposure to toxic elements of coal ash, and more than 250 are sick or dying.

Environmental Justice Health Pollution

8 Black Lung Indictments Allege Coal Mine Managers Lied About Health Safety

James Bruggers·July 13, 2018

Former Kentucky miners described being pressured to cover up coal dust monitors meant to protect them. New research shows a resurgence in black lung disease.

Energy Health

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