"The Biden administration on Monday urged a federal judge to reject a state-authored agreement that could end the long-running legal battle over the waters of the Rio Grande, asserting that proposal could bankrupt a major irrigation project."
"Nearly half of workers in California say their farms are not in compliance with safety codes for extreme weather, survey finds."
"When the Mamalilikulla First Nation unilaterally declared an Indigenous Protected and Conserved Area in their traditional territory in late 2021, it was as much to protect rare corals and sponges as reestablish connection to lands and waters from which the community had been forcefully removed. Now Canada is backing the nation, adding marine protections under federal law".
"A federal judge in Nevada on Monday upheld the federal government’s approval of the largest proposed lithium mine in the nation, dismissing arguments that the Thacker Pass project would degrade nearby aquifers, air quality, and habitat for the imperiled greater sage grouse."
"For years now, Native American tribes have sought more protections for the federal lands in the Mojave Desert in southern Nevada that are central to their core beliefs about creation. But advocates say the effort took on new urgency as renewable energy developers eyed pieces of the same land for projects that could fit into the Biden administration’s push for clean electricity."
"Federal law enforcement officials have arrested two people accused of conspiring to “completely destroy Baltimore” in what they described on Monday as a racist plot to demolish the power grid in a predominantly Black city."
With wintry conditions still present in much of the country, there’s an important local story for environmental reporters to chase. No, not climate change this time. It’s salt. Road salt can end up in bodies of water, damaging the environment and risking human health. TipSheet offers a dash of background and a good dose of questions to ask, plus story ideas and resources to flavor your reporting with.
In our annual analysis of what’s ahead on the environment beat in 2023, there are some things to count on: worsening climate disasters and continued politicking over energy transitions, but also regulatory action on greenhouse gas emissions (not to mention on “forever chemicals”). Other things are less clear: environmental rulings by a conservative U.S. Supreme Court, energy impacts of war in Europe and the effectiveness of COP28 and treaty talks on plastic pollution. Read the full overview and get more in our “2023 Journalists’ Guide to Energy & Environment” special report.
"Last year permitting reform emerged as one of the most divisive climate policy debates in the United States. During my own reporting on geothermal energy, an underutilized source of renewable power, industry representatives insisted that the onerous permitting process is the single biggest challenge to expanding geothermal development."
"Twenty states have enacted laws restricting rights to peaceful protest, as environmentalists are increasingly criminalized".
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