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Clean Energy Projects Are Stuck in a Years-Long Queue. Maryland and Neighboring States Are Pushing for a Fix
A Baltimore coal-fired power plant will be operating past its planned retirement date next year, pumping out pollution, while the cheaper clean energy projects that could help replace it are stuck in a queue to connect to the region’s electric grid. That’s the type of snarl a recent federal...
Employees Suing American Airlines Don’t Want Their 401(k)s in ESG Funds
A class-action lawsuit against American Airlines filed by employees opposed to Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) funds used in their 401(k)s could redefine how employers handle ESG investing and respond to further litigation. The American Airlines suit, filed in federal court in Texas, is one of the first in the...
How Good are Re-Planted Mangroves at Storing Carbon? A New Study Puts a Number on It
Dark green mangrove forests grow along shores from Indonesia to South Florida, with roots tangling out of the water. Scientists have continuously marveled at their myriad abilities: to survive in saltwater, to bear the brunt of severe storms, to support reefs and fish and to absorb a tremendous amount of climate-warming carbon—three to five times more per acre than mature tropical forests.
As a Nevada Community Fights a Lithium Mine, a Rare Fish and Its Haven Could Be an Ace in the Hole
AMARGOSA, Nev.—Eight thousand years. That’s roughly how long it takes for snowmelt from Mount Charleston, north of Las Vegas, to reach the aquifer in the Amargosa Basin and Death Valley—the hottest and driest corner of the United States. The temperatures are among the hottest on Earth, with Death Valley potentially setting a world record of over 130 degrees Fahrenheit this summer. Rain is scarce, just a few inches a year in the basin. Its namesake river largely runs dry on the surface, the water hidden underground. The only sign of life across much of the valley adjacent to Death Valley National Park is the sea of creosote bushes, but islands of mesquite and cottonwood trees hide pools of water bluer than the sky above.
New York’s Green Amendment Guarantees the Right to a ‘Healthful Environment.’ Activists Want the State to Enforce It
ALBANY, N.Y.—Green-clad activists rallied, chanted and marched at the state Capitol to urge the governor, the state attorney general and the state’s top environmental enforcer to shift their approach to applying New York’s Green Amendment. “We are here today to tell our New York leaders that our...
Jaguars, Macaws and Tropical Dry Forest Have a Right To Exist, a Colombian Court Is Told
A new lawsuit asks Colombia to recognize that jaguars, military macaws and the nation’s tropical dry forest have legal rights to “life, health and integrity.”. The case is the latest in the “rights of nature” movement, which aims to garner recognition from courts and legislatures that ecosystems and individual species have legal rights, similar to humans and nonhuman entities like corporations.
The Most Expensive Farm Bill Ever Is Stalled, Holding Back Important Funds Aimed at Combating the Climate Crisis
In an often-contentious hearing on Wednesday, members of the House Committee on Agriculture fired shots at each other over the Biden administration’s attempts to regulate farm pollution. But the hearing on environmental regulations covering agriculture also exposed the wide, if predictable, fault lines that have developed between Democrats and...
Baltimore Judge Tosses Climate Case, Hands Win to Big Oil
In a first of its kind decision, a Maryland judge on Wednesday tossed Baltimore City’s climate suit against major oil giants on the grounds that it is not the role of the state courts to address a global issue like climate change. Originally filed in 2018, the lawsuit is...
Following Cancer Alley Decision, States Pit Themselves Against Environmental Justice Efforts
From our collaborating partner “Living on Earth,” public radio’s environmental news magazine, aninterview by managing producer Jenni Doering with Monique Harden of the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice. The attempts of Black communities in Cancer Alley to seek justice for environmental racism are being met with...
The World’s Sharks Face a Gauntlet of Threats From Marine Heatwaves—and ‘Coldwaves,’ Scientists Say
Over the last 450 million years, sharks have survived five mass extinctions, making them some of the oldest—and sturdiest—creatures still in existence today. But a sixth mass extinction that many scientists fear is underway could be too much for these fierce predators. In recent years, overfishing and ocean...
Hurricane Beryl Was a Warning Shot for Houston
When Hurricane Beryl entered the Gulf of Mexico, the city of Houston had little reason to believe it was about to take its first direct hit from a tropical cyclone in decades. Initial forecasts predicted the storm would make landfall in northern Mexico, hundreds of miles away, after it battered Caribbean Islands and the Yucatán Peninsula. Instead, it veered sharply north and hit an unfortunate bullseye. Its center passed just west of Houston, dragging the hurricane’s violent eastern edge directly over the city’s core.
Clean Energy Is Booming in Purple Wisconsin. Just Don’t Mention Climate Change
Scott Walker’s disdain for climate-friendly policies was no secret. During his tenure as Wisconsin’s governor from 2011 to 2019, he eliminated state clean energy programs, slashed environmental agency budgets and made it more difficult for state employees to use peer-reviewed climate studies to inform policy decisions. Walker, a...
US Government Launches New Attempt to Gather Data on Electricity Usage of Bitcoin Mining
The fast-growing cryptocurrency industry is a major consumer of electricity, but no one—not even the U.S. government—knows exactly how much energy goes into the armada of computers used to ‘mine’ Bitcoin and other digital assets. The U.S. Energy Information Agency estimates that cryptocurrency mining uses between 0.6 percent and 2.3 percent of all electricity per year, but the agency may soon be able to access more precise information.
Making Sense of the Year So Far in EV Sales
With half of 2024 now on the books, U.S. electric vehicle sales continue to grow, for some manufacturers by leaps and bounds. But the overall pace has slowed compared to last year at this time. Here’s an analogy: Think of the transition to electrified transportation as a long car trip....
Montana’s High Court Considers a Constitutional Right to a Stable Climate
A landmark climate change lawsuit reached Montana’s Supreme Court on Wednesday, with the justices hearing arguments that a state law promoting fossil fuel development violated Montanans’ constitutional rights. The case was heard in a Helena courtroom filled to capacity with spectators, as temperatures outside closed in on 100...
In the South, Sea Level Rise Accelerates at Some of the Most Extreme Rates on Earth
JACKSONVILLE, Fla.—For most of his life, Steve Salem has led an existence closely linked with the rise and fall of the tides. Salem is a 50-year boat captain who designed and built his 65-foot vessel by hand. “Me and Noah, we’re related somewhere,” said Salem, 75, whose silver beard...
UN Expert on Climate Change and Human Rights Sees ‘Crucial and Urgent Demand’ To Clarify Governments’ Obligations
When scorching temperatures rocked the East Coast last month, heat-related emergency room visits in New York City soared 600 percent compared to average June figures. At the same time, heat took the lives of 1,300 Hajj pilgrims visiting Mecca. And in recent weeks, high temperatures have caused hundreds more deaths in Asia, Europe, Mexico and Egypt.
Sen. Britt of Alabama Confronted on Her Ties to ‘Big Oil’
Amalia Hochman isn’t from Alabama, but she’s willing to fight for it anyway. Hochman, an organizer with the Sunrise Movement, approached Alabama’s junior senator, Katie Britt, in the halls of the U.S. Congress in May, confronting the Republican with a question about contributions she’s accepted from the fossil fuel industry. The activist, who’d recognized Britt at a congressional hearing she’d been attending, filmed the interaction, which was posted to the youth-led climate group’s social media accounts on Monday.
Texas Leaders Worry That Bitcoin Mines Threaten to Crash the State Power Grid
GRANBURY, TEXAS — Cheryl Shadden cannot sleep. The 61-year-old nurse, who works at hospitals giving patients anesthesia, says she is kept up at night by the nonstop mechanical whir of fans spinning to cool tens of thousands of computers. Shadden lives in Granbury, Texas, about 40 miles southwest of...
Will the Nation’s First Heat Protection Standard Safeguard the Most Vulnerable Workers?
The Biden administration finally proposed federal heat protection standards last week, more than half a century after federal experts first outlined the need for such rules. The Nixon administration proposed detailed recommendations to safeguard workers in hot environments in 1972, a few years after Congress established the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, or NIOSH, tasked with research and training on heat illness, and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, or OSHA, charged with enforcing standards.
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