Environmental Studies

"A federal judge took a no-nonsense approach Friday to a hearing on the White House’s rewrite of federal environmental review standards, grilling conservation groups on how they’ll be harmed and chiding the Justice Department for glossing over the political motivations behind the rules."

"A coalition of 21 states sued the Trump administration Friday for rolling back what they say is a “rule that is, at its heart, the gutting” of America’s bedrock environmental law."

"The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has allegedly halted a probe into a case of possible political interference in conservation measures."

"The Trump administration finalized plans Monday to open up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling, a move that will auction off oil and gas rights in the heart of one of the nation’s most iconic wild places. Achieving a goal Republicans have sought for 40 years, it marks a capstone for an administration that has ignored calls to reduce fossil fuel consumption in the face of climate change."

"The decades-long battle over an effort to raise the height of Shasta Dam took another turn Thursday when the Trump Administration released a new environmental report on the plan, just five years after completing a similar study."

"Federal agencies suggest caution in U.S. bat research to avoid transmitting the novel coronavirus to wildlife."

"The U.S. government announced Friday that four huge dams on the Snake River in Washington state will not be removed to help endangered salmon migrate to the ocean."

"Earlier this month, when the Trump administration told hospitals to send crucial data about coronavirus cases and intensive care capacity to a new online system, it promised the change would be worth it. ... Instead, the public data hub created under the new system is updated erratically and is rife with inconsistencies and errors, data analysts say."