Juanpablo Ramirez-Franco
@juanpab.bsky.social
Climate journalist @grist.org and @wbez.org
we have a full-time climate and environment reporter @juanpab.bsky.social in collaboration with @grist.org. i have background in satellite imagery, open data and a marked interest in infrastructure and its impacts. donate.wbez.org
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New from @juanpab.bsky.social, @keertigopal.bsky.social, and me: Chicago has the most lead pipes of any U.S. city... and pays wildly more than anyone else to replace them: ~$31,000 per line, more than 6x the EPA's nat'l est. of $4,700. Officials can't fully explain why. grist.org/accountabili... 1/n
Why is it so unusually expensive to replace lead pipes in Chicago?
The city with the most lead pipes in the nation is paying way above average to fix them. Officials can't fully explain why.
grist.org
We spent months digging into why it's so expensive to replace toxic lead pipes in Chicago, where swapping a single pipe can run $31,000 average. That's more --- a lot more --- than every other city we heard from, and we reached out to a lot. From @keertigopal.bsky.social and I.
Licenses for short-term rentals like Airbnb have been declining in Chicago since 2019. But on the South Side near the Obama Center, licenses are up 46% in that same time as the area gets ready for tourists.
As Airbnbs explode around the Obama Center, housing advocates say affordable units are disappearing
chicago.suntimes.com
Every day, 20,000 semi-trucks roll in and out of sprawling warehouses along I-80 south of Chicago, carrying good for retailers like Amazon and Target. What's it like to live near one of them? Many residents say it's miserable.
‘Die-80': Life and death near southwest suburbs' booming warehouse hub
chicago.suntimes.com
"Fish swim away." That's Illinois Dept of Transportation's defense for skipping endangered species permits, in writing. They used this line to justify projects threatening the American brook lamprey—a fish that spends most of its life burrowed in sediment. *sigh* story by @juanpab.bsky.social
Grist@grist.org · 3mo agoIllinois is feuding with itself over endangered species protections
Illinois state agencies at odds over endangered species protections. The state’s top transportation authority has been running afoul of Illinois’s wildlife regulators according to internal documents obtained by WBEZ and Grist. chicago.suntimes.com/environment/... by @juanpab.bsky.social
chicago.suntimes.com
I’ve got a new story out today about Illinois transportation officials speeding past species protections
1/ Today, we overwhelmingly voted to authorize a STRIKE as we fight for a fair contract with @propublica.org.
At least 30 homes were destroyed and 500 buildings were impacted by the EF-3 tornado that barreled through Kankakee County Tuesday night, officials said.
Illinois officials assessing Kankakee County tornado damage to determine relief funds needed
chicago.suntimes.com
Staff at the nation’s largest Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility have placed bets on which detainee will be the next to die by suicide, according to new reporting from the Associated Press based on 911 calls and detainee accounts.
At Largest ICE Detention Camp, Staff Bet on Detainee Suicides, AP Reports
Camp East Montana has received several 911 calls in the span of five months about immigrants trying to harm themselves.
motherjones.com
"As climate change intensifies wildfires and other extreme weather events, demand for native seeds is surging." @juanpab.bsky.social for @grist.org grist.org/solutions/a-...
A regional network is racing to save the Midwest's native seeds
As climate change intensifies wildfires and other extreme weather events, demand for native seeds is surging.
grist.org
"These species genetically adapted over thousands of years and sustain the region’s ecosystems. That evolutionary inheritance makes them indispensable for restoring the nation’s remaining prairies, wetlands, and woodlands." Latest from @juanpab.bsky.social www.wbez.org/environment/...
A network is racing to save the Midwest’s native seeds
As climate change intensifies wildfires and other extreme weather events, demand for native seeds is surging.
wbez.org
Appalachia’s iconic salamander was slated for federal protection. It’s still in limbo.
Appalachia’s iconic salamander was slated for federal protection. It’s still in limbo.
As climate change remakes the mountains, the fight to save the hellbender is becoming a fight for home.
dlvr.it
I'm in the @chicago.suntimes.com today: Illinois is dangerously dry, and we have no legal framework to manage large water users. Illinois' historic water abundance bred complacency. We still rely on centuries old English water law, totally unequipped for modern population & industrial usage.
Most of Illinois is in a drought, and the state is unprepared
Outdated water use laws, destruction of wetlands, demands of data centers and extreme weather are a dangerous mix.
chicago.suntimes.com
A study I led came out in Nature Cities yesterday! We used radar to study the role that urban landscapes play in migratory bird stopover. Spoiler: birds use cities a lot, and the patterns of their use reflect social processes and the inequities embedded in them. www.nature.com/articles/s44...
Migratory bird stopover patterns linked to urbanization and social landscapes - Nature Cities
Urban ecology traditionally focuses on single cities, yet cities play key roles in ecological processes such as migration. Radar analysis across the continental USA reveals that nearly half of stopove...
nature.com
Jackson presidential campaigns embraced environmental justice, though he was pragmatic about projects like a natural gas pipeline when he thought it would be economically beneficial to Black communities, writes @juanpab.bsky.social. 🧵 chicago.suntimes.com/environment/...
Jesse Jackson’s vision for America embraced environmental justice
Jackson connected conservation, clean air and safe drinking water to civil rights.
chicago.suntimes.com
The fact that some Earth systems—like coral reefs—have already passed tipping points shows that the 1.5C climate target was not ambitious enough. If there's a 'safe' limit, it's more like 1C, scientists said this week.
Scientists Push for More Ambitious Climate Targets - Inside Climate News
Researchers say a line has been crossed. For systems like coral reefs and ice sheets, the climate is already past safe.
insideclimatenews.org
In 2022 we wrote about how paper seed catalogues are still a highlight for people despite the prevalence of online seed catalogues. Checking 4 years later: Are y'all still perusing the paper catalogues? foodprint.org/blog/paper-s...
Seed Companies and Customers Say Paper Seed Catalogs are Not Obsolete — Yet
Online catalogs have been around for a log time now, but seed companies continue to send out paper seed catalogs. Do people still use them?
foodprint.org
The administration targeted 88 million acres for potential development: land previously set aside for conservation. BLM held 22 lease sales and approved 6,027 oil/gas permits, the highest since 2010. @juanpab.bsky.social illustrates which landscapes are now at risk. (6/n)
Breaking: WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Republicans defeat Venezuela war powers resolution, bowing to Trump’s pressure as Vance casts tie-breaking vote.
Bears quarterback Caleb Williams grew emotional as he gave his coach a game ball following the Bears’ unbelievable 31-27 comeback win against the Packers at Soldier Field.
WATCH: Bears QB Caleb Williams gets emotional as he gives Ben Johnson a game ball
chicago.suntimes.com
A WBEZ and Sun-Times analysis shows detainees initially booked at Broadview were nearly twice as likely as detainees nationwide to self-deport. Legal experts said inhumane conditions, coercion and a lack of legal counsel were contributing factors.
Broadview detainees during Operation Midway Blitz were self-deporting at alarming rates, analysis finds
chicago.suntimes.com
Paul Vallas — the perennial candidate who normally loves to talk — has no comment on this one www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/18/j...
Judge rules against Paul Vallas in suit over payments to shore up Black vote
Paul Vallas alleged that Chimaobi Enyia ripped him off by doing little work in exchange for hundreds of thousands of dollars to build support for Vallas with Black voters.
chicagotribune.com
"Agricultural, chemical and mining industry groups celebrated the EPA’s push to curb federal water regulations" Of course they celebrated—their business model depends on polluting our water. story by @juanpab.bsky.social www.wbez.org/environment/...
Trump administration to strip protections for wetlands and streams, leaving Illinois habitat at risk
At the heart of the proposal announced earlier this week is a new, stricter definition to the long-debated legal term, “Waters of the United States."
wbez.org
Congratulations to our 2025 SEAL Environmental Journalism Awards winners! Each honoree brings accountability to power, empathy to data, and urgency to the conversation on environmental policy. Read more about this year's winners: sealawards.com/twelve-journ...
2025 Environmental Journalism Award Winners Announced
Environmental journalism award honors top 12 writers globally. Winning outlets include Mongabay, Grist, DeSmog and Heatmap News.
sealawards.com
Lawmakers Press #EPA for $3B in Stalled Lead Pipe Replacement Funds @juanpab.bsky.social reports for a partnership of @insideclimatenews.org @grist.org and @wbez.org insideclimatenews.org/news/1311202...
Lawmakers Press EPA for $3B in Stalled Lead Pipe Replacement Funds - Inside Climate News
This story is a partnership between Inside Climate News, Grist and WBEZ, a public radio station serving the Chicago metropolitan region. A group of Illinois congressional delegates is calling for the ...
insideclimatenews.org
Keeping human-introduced carp out of the Great Lakes Today's SciFri podcast: "Can A Billion-Dollar Barricade Keep Carp Out Of The Great Lakes?" with Juanpablo Ramirez-Franco (@juanpab.bsky.social), WBEZ environment reporter, and Dr. Cory Suski, U of Illinois. www.sciencefriday.com/segments/inv...
Can A Billion-Dollar Barricade Keep Carp Out Of The Great Lakes?
A giant infrastructure project aims to block invasive carp from entering Lake Michigan, but Chicago’s polluted water already keeps them out.
sciencefriday.com
Shortly after Trump took office, DHS wiped from its website a policy regulating facial recognition use. Face rec tools — like Clearview AI, which Illinois cops are barred from using, and Mobile Fortify — are now being used to support Trump’s deportation campaign. www.wbez.org/immigration/...
ICE has powerful facial recognition app Illinois cops are barred from using — with little apparent oversight
The Trump administration has contracts with Clearview AI, a firm banned from doing business with Illinois police agencies. “This is what dystopian nightmares are made of, this kind of continual expans...
wbez.org
