National (U.S.)

Some Houses Being Built To Stand Up To Hurricanes And Cut Emissions, Too

"When Hurricane Michael hit the Florida Panhandle five years ago, it left boats, cars and trucks piled up to the windows of Bonny Paulson’s home in the tiny coastal community of Mexico Beach, Florida, even though the house rests on pillars 14 feet above the ground. But Paulson’s home, with a rounded shape that looks something like a ship, shrugged off Category 5 winds that might otherwise have collapsed it."

Source: AP, 11/07/2023

Texas Could Spend U.S. Funds Meant To Cut CO2 Emissions On Highway Projects

"The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act required Texas’ transportation agency to create a carbon reduction strategy to get $641 million federal dollars. Critics say the plan is unlikely to meaningfully cut greenhouse gasses from the state’s massive transportation sector."

Source: Texas Tribune, 11/07/2023

"In the Florida Everglades, a Greenhouse Gas Emissions Hotspot"

"Drainage has exposed the fertile soils of the Everglades Agricultural Area, a region responsible for much of the nation’s sugar cane."

"ORLANDO, Fla. — It used to be the water spilled over Lake Okeechobee’s southern shore, flowing eventually into the sawgrass prairies of the Florida Everglades. For thousands of years the marsh vegetation flourished and died here in an endless cycle, the plant remains falling beneath the slow-coursing water to form a rich layer of organic soil called peat.

Source: Inside Climate News, 11/07/2023

How Midwest Landowners Helped to Derail One of the Biggest CO2 Pipelines

"Lured by billions of dollars in federal funding for carbon capture, developers are proposing huge pipelines to carry the CO2 across the Midwest. In Illinois, one retired academic united her neighbors to fight a key project."

Source: Inside Climate News, 11/07/2023

"This County Could Create The Strictest Workplace Heat Rules In The U.S."

"Miami-Dade County commissioners on Tuesday will decide whether to establish the first county-level workplace heat protections in the United States, a test of whether local governments can protect workers from increasingly dangerous temperatures in the absence of federal rules."

Source: Washington Post, 11/07/2023

"EPA Watchdog Accused Of Creating A Hostile Work Environment"

"The top watchdog tasked with overseeing EPA faced accusations that he abused his authority, wasted government money and showed partisan favor. EPA Inspector General Sean O’Donnell denied the allegations, which an oversight body ultimately deemed not worthy of further investigation, according to documents obtained by E&E News."

Source: E&E News, 11/07/2023

Covering Food Systems — The Next Climate Action Battleground

Freelance food systems reporter Thin Lei Win believes that if the world doesn’t change the way it produces, processes, transports, consumes and discards food, climate change will worsen and hunger levels will spike. But she also worries that powerful interests want to keep the status quo and cites parallels with the tobacco and fossil fuel industries. More in Freelance Files, including places for freelancers to pitch climate-food stories.

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Reporting on Environmental Solutions and Equity — at a Watershed Scale

Reporting on interconnected ecosystems lends itself to better environmental stories, and so tracing how water moves across landscapes, communities, industries and regulatory schemes can help the public connect the dots. That’s how Annie Ropeik, who helps run the Mississippi River Basin Ag & Water Desk, sees the watershed beat. She shares expert views and offers insights for environment journalists to use in their reporting.

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"How Microsoft Is Making A Mess Of The News After Replacing Staff With AI"

"False claims that President Joe Biden fell asleep during a moment of silence for victims of the Maui wildfire. A conspiracy theory that the latest surge in Covid-19 cases is being orchestrated by the Democratic Party ahead of the election. An obituary for a late NBA player that described him as “useless.” These false and bizarre stories aren’t showing up on some far-flung corner of the internet — they’re being published by Microsoft."

Source: CNN, 11/06/2023

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