Environmental journalists from around the country and beyond will gather in Houston later this month for the Society of Environmental Journalists’ 31st annual conference. Widely known as the energy capital of the world, this highly diverse city is an ideal place to drill down on the causes and consequences of climate change and other environmental issues of the day.
A historical look at how profit and capitalism have ravaged the natural world is the subject of our new BookShelf review. Contributor Melody Kemp offers her take on award-winning Australian journalist Jeff Sparrow’s forthcoming volume, which explores the damage wrought by cars, roads and PR spin, as well as solutions suggested by models of Indigenous land management.
"Three men pleaded guilty Wednesday to being part of a plan to attack power grids in an effort to spark race conflict that would advance white supremacy."
"The U.S. Postal Service finalized plans Wednesday to purchase up to 148,000 gasoline-powered mail delivery trucks, defying Biden administration officials’ objections that the multibillion-dollar contract would undercut the nation’s climate goals."
"For years, Europe’s dependence on Russian energy has held it back from taking powerful action against Kremlin mischief. But now, the Russia-Ukraine crisis is forcing a change unlike any before, driving the European Union to make plans for a permanent, far-reaching break from Russian oil and gas, European policymakers said."
"The Biden administration on Tuesday said it found “significant deficiencies” in a Trump-era environmental analysis of a mining road that would cut through wilderness and Indigenous territory in northwest Alaska."
As extreme precipitation, intensified by climate change, becomes a more frequent story for environmental journalists, recent coverage points to important holes in the rain data bucket. But the latest Reporter’s Toolbox identifies some useful government and commercial data resources that track and predict rainfall and offers suggestions on using the data they provide.
"Gas pipeline reviews will take into account a proposed project’s effect on climate change, look at a wider set of impacts on landowners and environmental justice communities, and scrutinize the economic need for a project beyond its contracts with shippers, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission announced Thursday."
"A water and electric utility in central California will install a first-of-its-kind network of solar panels on water canals. Turlock Irrigation District (TID) has secured a $20 million grant from the state to pursue the first-in-the-nation project, which could serve a beneficial double whammy: create renewable energy and save some water in the process."
"The success of New Jersey’s biggest city at replacing nearly 24,000 lead drinking water pipes can serve as a national model and shows why infrastructure spending is vital, Vice President Kamala Harris said Friday in Newark."
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