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The Intercept

31 Dec 20, 10 tweets, 4 min read

As 2020 comes to a close, we're taking a look back at some of our best reporting on the environment.

The American landscape has become 48 times more toxic to insects since the 1990s, a shift largely fueled by rising use of neonicotinoid insecticides.

Banned in the EU, a sophisticated information war has kept these insecticides on the U.S. market. interc.pt/38OBYBv

Amid California's severe wildfires, grape growers in Sonoma County got exemptions to send in farmworkers who have few alternatives or options for support into fire evacuation zones. interc.pt/2MpcaED

With Trump's election, a small and previously marginalized group of toxics apologists suddenly took control over health and environmental regulations, ushering in higher profits for polluters and higher cancer rates for the American people. interc.pt/3hIQUp3

Steven Donziger won a multibillion-dollar judgment against Chevron in Ecuador. The company sued him in New York — as of December, he has been under house arrest for over 500 days. interc.pt/3n9TZ2w

After Canadian police raided a camp to defend the Coastal GasLink pipeline, protesters shut down ports, roads and railways from Vancouver to Saskatchewan, and a blockade set up by Indigenous-led protesters halted commuter rail between Montreal and Toronto. interc.pt/34U0Erd

Contractors working for the Trump administration blew apart a mountain on protected lands in southern Arizona to make way for the border wall along a tract of Sonoran Desert wilderness long celebrated as one of America’s great ecological treasures. interc.pt/382x30P

Corporations are developing creative means to funnel millions of dollars to local law enforcement groups. This funding has often been paired with increasingly elaborate private security and propaganda operations. interc.pt/351jUmu

“It’s money invested in maintaining the license to pollute.”

Since China’s policy change on scrap plastic, the U.S., Australia, and many wealthy European nations have been exporting their waste to other countries that are far less able to deal with it. interc.pt/2Mn0qCy

A Message From the Future II: The Years of Repair

The pandemic exposed the cruelty of the system that got us into this crisis, but it also provided the inspiration to build a better world.

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More from @theintercept

The Intercept

@theintercept

31 Dec 20

The coronavirus pandemic exacerbated racial and class inequalities, and put a spotlight on a system that deems some lives essential and others expendable. Here's how we covered a pandemic that has claimed over 344 thousand lives in the U.S.

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In March, @fastlerner and @lhfang exposed how a coronavirus treatment developed by Gilead Sciences was granted “rare disease” status, potentially limiting its affordability. Days later, Gilead asked the FDA to rescind the drug's special status. interc.pt/35200I2

Two weeks as a New York City nurse in the coronavirus pandemic:

“I just can’t help but think that being a collective force of primarily women — many immigrant, many women of color ... that our lives are somehow expendable.”

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31 Dec 20

From sophisticated electronic surveillance against American protesters, to Zoom’s “fuzzy” encryption claims, 2020 was a big year for technology reporting at The Intercept. Here are some of our highlights.

An internal presentation at Facebook discussed the “benefits” of “content control,” and offered one example of a topic employers might find useful to blacklist: the word “unionize.” interc.pt/3mXl5K0

Internal TikTok moderation documents made public by The Intercept revealed that the China-based social media company censored various forms of political speech, and instructed moderators to suppress posts by “ugly” people and the poor to attract new users. interc.pt/384xWWu

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The Intercept

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31 Dec 20

From the threat posed by far-right terrorism, to a Pentagon “Zbellion” war game, here’s some of our best national security reporting of 2020.

In buried report, U.S. government admits major failures in confronting domestic terrorism. interc.pt/3n2TreK

The FBI has long pursued advanced technological tools to rapidly predict crime and locate potential suspects. The bureau's embrace of powerful mass location data through a firm such as Venntel represents a potential new era. interc.pt/3aWAsjn

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The Intercept

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31 Dec 20

Here's a look back at some of our best politics reporting of the year.

The corruption and politicization of the Department of Justice under William Barr is complete. It will take a generation to reestablish its credibility and independence, writes James Risen. interc.pt/382M2I4

Following an abrupt reversal by Trump, Chinese telecom giant ZTE’s path back into business remained shrouded in mystery. An Intercept investigation reveals some missing pieces — centering on Eric Branstad, the son of Trump's ex-ambassador to China. interc.pt/3aXUVEz

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The Intercept

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31 Dec 20

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World faces Covid-19 “vaccine apartheid” interc.pt/2Ldfemo by @fastlerner

Argentina, South Africa, Brazil, and Turkey — all countries that hosted vaccine trials — will have to be satisfied with Pfizer’s gratitude, because (like most countries in the world) they won’t be receiving enough of the vaccine to inoculate their populations anytime soon.

Meanwhile, the U.S. and Germany — along with Canada and the rest of the European Union — have contracted for enough doses of various Covid-19 vaccines to inoculate their populations several times over.

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The Intercept

@theintercept

18 Dec 20

The buzz of a drone in the night sky warned residents of the Afghan village of Omar Khail that trouble was coming.

Soldiers speaking Pashto and English moved toward the madrassa, or religious school, where more than two dozen boys slept. interc.pt/2KeFj4s

“Wake up!” yelled an Afghan soldier bursting through the door of a dormitory, pointing at the boys one by one with the barrel of his rifle.

In preparation for death, some boys recited the Muslim declaration of faith. Then the sound of automatic gunfire tore along the corridor.

When the sun rose hours later, 12 boys, their bodies mauled by bullets, lay crumpled on the floor.

The massacre at Omar Khail that winter night was among at least 10 previously undocumented night raids in the central Afghan province of Wardak.

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