The Margin

10/07/2026

Today, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments for the Department of Air Force vs Prutehi Guahan in a case that could have broader implications for how the U.S. military is regulated by local and state environmental authorities, especially for U.S. territories such as Guam.

Watch our first documentary in collaboration with The War Horse, as we investigate the environmental impact of the U.S. military’s presence in Guam, including pesticide use at Andersen Air Force Base and open detonation at Tarague Beach.

Guam’s drinking water has been contaminated by a toxic pesticide li...

09/30/2026

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Guam is being turned into a military fortress.

As the U.S. prepares for a potential conflict with China, the military is expanding firing ranges, missile defenses, and other infrastructure across the island.

But residents say Guam is paying the environmental price with forests cleared, wildlife threatened, and fragile resources put under growing pressure.

What happens when an island is treated as a military outpost instead of a home?

Read the full investigation produced with The War Horse at the link in our bio.

👉 Comment FORTRESS to read the full investigation.



This story was published in partnership with The War Horse , an award-winning nonprofit news organization educating the public on military service and veterans. Sign up for their newsletter at the link in their bio.

09/25/2026

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The government knew about elevated levels of a banned pesticide in some of Guam’s drinking water years before residents were warned.

Federal officials flagged elevated dieldrin levels as early as 2012. Residents in Yigo weren’t warned until 2025. What happened in those 13 years? Our latest investigation with The War Horse follows the records to uncover what officials knew, when they knew it, and what residents are still demanding answers to.

👉 Comment GUAM to read the full story.

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This story was produced in partnership with The War Horse, an award-winning nonprofit news organization educating the public on military service and veterans. Sign up for their newsletter at the link in their bio.

09/22/2026

Federal officials detected a banned pesticide in Guam wells as early as 2012. Residents served by one Yigo well weren't told to stop drinking their tap water until September 2025.

The reason for the gap: dieldrin has no federal drinking water standard. Nothing required anyone to warn the public.

Our investigation with The War Horse found that pesticides including dieldrin, aldrin, and chlordane were also detected in soil around military housing at Andersen Air Force Base, which sits above Guam’s sole-source aquifer. Environmental regulators later identified the former housing area as a “possible source of dieldrin in drinking water.”

The military maintains that no specific source has been identified. Residents are still asking what years of exposure could mean for their families—and why they weren’t warned sooner.

Read our latest investigation to learn what officials knew, when they knew it, and what happened next.

👉 Read the full story: https://themargin.us/features/the-pesticide-papers
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This story was produced in partnership with The War Horse, an award-winning nonprofit news organization educating the public on military service and veterans.

09/18/2026

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Can an A/C save your life? About 500 New Yorkers die from heat every year. City officials call these deaths “entirely preventable. So why is staying cool still so hard for the people most at risk?

The Margin analyzed 60,000+ NYC cooling assistance applications from 2024–2025. Nearly 1 in 5 were denied because applicants lacked sufficient documentation or couldn’t prove a qualifying medical condition. And even when residents receive an A/C or fan, the program doesn’t help pay the electricity bill to run it.

In summer 2025, Black New Yorkers died from heat-related illness at 3x the rate of white New Yorkers. Latino residents died at 2x the rate.

Our latest investigation examines why so many New Yorkers are still being left to figure out how to stay cool on their own.

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09/17/2026

The Margin wins its first Covering Climate Now Journalism Award for Outstanding Displacement & Migration Reporting for “Saving Sinking Homes” by Jess Zhang and Megan Gannon, with Katie Basile.

Judges said Zhang and Gannon offer “a great exploration of how climate impacts pile on top of other longstanding challenges,” calling the story “beautiful and memorable.”

Read the full story a here: https://themargin.us/features/saving-sinking-homes

09/17/2026

Comment HEAT to read our latest story.

About 500 New Yorkers die from heat every year. City officials call these deaths “entirely preventable.” But staying cool can be difficult and expensive.

Many New Yorkers like Cecil Brooks, Jr. have an air conditioner in their homes but rarely runs it overnight because of the cost of electricity.

The Margin analyzed more than 60,000 NYC cooling assistance applications from 2024–2025. Nearly 1 in 5 were denied because applicants lacked sufficient documentation or couldn’t prove a qualifying medical condition. And even when residents receive an air conditioner or fan, the program doesn’t help pay the electricity bill to run it.
In summer 2025, Black New Yorkers died from heat-related illness at 3x the rate of white New Yorkers. Latino residents died at 2x the rate.

In our latest investigation, The Margin examines why so many New Yorkers are still being left to figure out how to stay cool on their own as extreme heat becomes increasingly deadly.

👉 Comment HEAT to read the story.
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09/15/2026

Presented by The Margin as part of the day-long Stories that Move at NYC Climate Week, this program brings together investigative journalists, editors, and photographers to discuss the power of investigative and data-driven reporting that centers the people and places most affected by environmental and climate injustice. Panelists will explore how fact-based journalism, done with and for frontline communities, exposes injustice and drives accountability while elevating solutions from the frontlines. Register at https://luma.com/oopv0l2r

09/10/2026

With Ottavia Spaggiari ‘s 2022 and 2024 reporting for The Margin, Aamir explains the connection between Indigenous sovereignty and climate justice, culminating in the impact we story we published last week, “United Houma Nation Launches Climate Mitigation Plan in Southern Louisiana.”

09/04/2026

The Margin wins its first Online Journalism Award in 2026 for Jess Zhang, Katie Baldwin Basile, and Megan Gannon’s reporting, “Saving Sinking Homes” and ‘Morning Land that Leaves.”

Here’s what the judges had to say:
“The judges all agree that this is a tough category, and the winner took a unique and targeted look at the effects of climate change on a population that had traditionally been neglected by the US government. The reporters got a great story because they stayed in the community and gained the trust of those affected.”