New Louisiana Bird Wails Like A Banshee But Eats Pest, Saving Crops
"Screechy, gangly bird gorges on invasive apple snails, helping wetlands and crawfish farms".
Source: New Orleans Times-Picayune, 04/12/2024
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EPA Sets First-Ever Limits On ‘Forever Chemicals’ In Drinking Water
"The Biden administration on Wednesday finalized strict limits on certain so-called “forever chemicals” in drinking water that will require utilities to reduce them to the lowest level they can be reliably measured. Officials say this will reduce exposure for 100 million people and help prevent thousands of illnesses, including cancers."
Source: AP, 04/11/2024FirstEnergy Gave Secret $1 Million To Ohio Lt. Gov. Campaign in Scandal
"A surge in FirstEnergy political spending ahead of the utility’s push to secure a legislative bailout for its nuclear power plants included a $1 million dark money contribution to support the campaign of Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine’s eventual running mate."
Source: Floodlight/Energy News Network, 04/11/2024Trump Appointees Barred EPA Staff From Warning Senate About PFAS Loophole
"Trump administration officials barred experts from warning legislators that they were about to write a major environmental loophole into law, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) staffers alleged in newly revealed internal communications."
Source: The Hill, 04/11/2024US Agrees With Native American Tribe That Line 5 Pipeline Is Trespassing
"The Biden administration straddled the line on a controversial Canadian oil pipeline in a court filing Wednesday, saying a lower court’s order to drain portions running through tribal land may violate a 1977 treaty but agreeing with a Native American tribe that the operator is trespassing on tribal land."
Source: The Hill, 04/11/2024"House Approves Bipartisan Outdoor Recreation Package"
"The House on Tuesday approved a package aimed at boosting the nation’s access to outdoor recreation. The bipartisan EXPLORE Act contains provisions that seek to open up more opportunities for spending time in national parks, forests and other public lands."
Source: The Hill, 04/11/2024"How The Essential, Dirty Steel Industry Is Going Green"
The United States is suddenly on the very cusp of a “green steel” transition. New solutions are emerging that could offer a cleaner path to producing the high-strength metal. Most likely, they’ll involve using hydrogen to process iron ore for steelmaking.
Source: Canary Media, 04/11/2024Senate Votes To Reject Rule To Cut Greenhouse Gas Emissions On Highways
"The U.S. Senate on Wednesday passed a resolution that would overturn a federal agency's rule requiring states to measure and set declining targets for greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles using the national highway system."
Source: Reuters, 04/11/2024Salmon Fishing Banned Off Calif. Coast For Second Year Amid Low Stocks
"Federal fishery managers voted Wednesday to cancel all commercial and recreational salmon fishing off the coast of California for the second year in a row, and only the fourth time in state history, because of dwindling stocks."
Source: AP, 04/11/2024"The U.S. Urgently Needs a Bigger Grid. Here’s a Fast Solution."
"One of the biggest obstacles to expanding clean energy in the United States is a lack of power lines. Building new transmission lines can take a decade or more because of permitting delays and local opposition. But there may be a faster, cheaper solution, according to two reports released Tuesday."
Source: NYTimes, 04/11/2024"Mapping America’s Access To Nature, Neighborhood By Neighborhood"
"Using satellite imagery and data on dozens of factors — including air and noise pollution, park space, open water and tree canopy — NatureQuant has distilled the elements of health-supporting nature into a single variable called NatureScore. Aggregated to the level of Census tracts — roughly the size of a neighborhood — the data provide a high-resolution image of where nature is abundant and where it is lacking across the United States."
Source: Washington Post, 04/11/2024"Biden Admin Tackles Cancer-Causing Air Pollution"
"The Biden administration is reining in releases of cancer-causing compounds and other hazardous pollutants in a crackdown that targets petrochemical plants clustered in areas like Louisiana’s “Cancer Alley.”
Source: E&E News, 04/10/2024"Swiss Women Win Landmark Climate Case At Europe Top Human Rights Court"
"Europe's top human rights court ruled on Tuesday that the Swiss government had violated the human rights of its citizens by failing to do enough to combat climate change, in a decision that will set a precedent for future climate lawsuits."
Source: Reuters, 04/10/2024"Railroad Agrees To $600 Million Settlement For Fiery Ohio Derailment"
"Norfolk Southern has agreed to pay $600 million in a class-action lawsuit settlement for a fiery train derailment in February 2023 in eastern Ohio, but local residents worry the money won’t go very far because their potential health needs down the road may be tremendous."
Source: AP, 04/10/2024Humans Converted 250,000 Acres Of Estuaries To Cities And Farms In 35 Years
"Worldwide over the past 35 years, dams and land reclamation activities have converted 250,000 acres of estuary — an area roughly 17 times the size of Manhattan — to urban land or agricultural fields, with most land conversion and estuary loss in rapidly developing countries, a new study finds."
Source: AGU, 04/10/2024
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