LOUISVILLE — Environmental journalist James Bruggers died on a Tuesday at a hospital in Louisville, Kentucky, at the age of 68. His cause of death was a combination of thyroid cancer and pneumonia.

Bruggers began his journalism career at his high school newspaper in Saginaw, Michigan, where he was born in 1958. He held reporting positions in Montana, Alaska, California, and Louisville during his career. His parents, an obstetrician-gynecologist and a nurse, participated in a racially diverse religious congregation. After relocating to Louisville, he joined a similar congregation. The Bruggers family maintained a property in Northern Michigan where they harvested maple syrup.

He worked as an environmental beat reporter at a Louisville publication from 1999 to 2018. He spent the final seven years of his career at an environmental news organization, covering issues in the southeastern U.S. Bruggers continued to submit stories after his retirement through April. His reporting focused on coal mining, petrochemical development, and plastics pollution.

His work received awards from the National Press Foundation and the Society of Environmental Journalists. He received the 2003 Thomas L. Stokes Award for Energy and Environment Journalism from the foundation for a series of reports. Bruggers documented hundreds of railroad workers who sustained brain damage from chemical exposure during their employment. He also reported on toxic air pollution levels in Louisville, particularly near an industrial zone known as Rubbertown.

Bruggers investigated the environmental impacts of plastic waste and evaluated petrochemical industry claims regarding advanced recycling. His reporting presented findings that some advanced recycling claims were speculative and documented pollution from related facilities. Judith Enck, Environmental Advocacy Director, said, "He was the tip of the spear on so many issues related to plastics." She added, "He did really pioneering journalism educating lots of people before anyone got to the issue."

News Executive Vernon Loeb said, "He was the kind of reporter all the reporters on our staff wanted to be." Loeb said, "His death hit us all so hard because he meant so much to everyone in our newsroom." His spouse, Chris Bruggers, said, "He loved people." She also said, "He loved the Earth." She said, "He loved music." She added, "He loved a good restaurant, and he loved a good beer."