"Interior Department Appoints First Native American Chief Of Staff"
"The Interior Department announced Friday that Lawrence Roberts will serve as its first ever Indigenous chief of staff."
Source: The Hill, 05/03/2021
EJToday: Top Headlines
EJToday is a daily weekday digest of top environment/energy news and information of interest to environmental journalists, independently curated by Editor Joseph A. Davis. Sign up below to receive in your inbox. For queries, email EJToday@SEJ.org. For more info, read an EJToday FAQ. Plus, follow EJToday on social media at @EJTodayNews, and flag stories of note by including the @EJTodayNews handle on your posts. And tell us how to make EJToday even better by taking this brief survey.
Want to join the EJToday team? Volunteer time commitments can vary from just an hour a month up to a daily contribution, and would involve helping to curate content of interest. To learn more, reach out to the director of publications, Adam Glenn, at sejournaleditor@sej.org.
Note: Members have additional options to choose from (you'll need your log-in info).
Court Rules EPA Must Ban Chlorpyrifos Pesticide — Or Prove It Is Safe
"A federal appeals court on Thursday ruled that the Environmental Protection Agency must ban a widely used pesticide linked to neurological damage in children from being sprayed on food crops, unless the agency can demonstrate safe uses for the chemical."
Source: Washington Post, 04/30/2021Senate Passes $35 Billion Water Bill; Bigger Infrastructure Fights Loom
"The Senate on Thursday overwhelmingly approved a $35 billion measure to clean up the nation’s water systems, offering a brief moment of bipartisan cooperation amid deep divisions between the two parties over President Biden’s much larger ambitions for a multitrillion-dollar infrastructure package."
Source: NYTimes, 04/30/2021"Biden’s Pick For No. 2 At Interior Has Numerous Ties To Fossil Fuels"
"President Joe Biden’s nominee for the second-highest position at the Department of the Interior has a list of potential conflicts of interest that rivals that of Trump administration Interior Secretary David Bernhardt, whose ties to industry and his revolving-door experience earned him labels like the “ultimate D.C. swamp creature.”
Source: HuffPost, 04/30/2021"The Pandemic Exposed the Severe Water Insecurity Faced by SW Tribes"
"Lack of potable water drove high Covid-19 rates in Native American communities. That realization may help them gain better representation in upcoming negotiations about Colorado River water."
Source: Inside Climate News, 04/30/2021"Corporate Secrecy Over Climate Change Targeted By Wash. And Calif."
"California clean tech innovator Bloom Energy, with its noncombustion, low-emission fuel cells, is hardly taking the same approach to powering the planet as oil giant Chevron, but one thing the companies have in common are slick promotional campaigns defining them as environmental pioneers. That public relations savvy, though, has lately become a liability for both firms."
Source: LA Times, 04/30/2021"Trans Mountain Can Keep Name Of Insurer Secret, Commission Rules"
"Trans Mountain Corp. has permission to keep secret the name of its insurer, after a Thursday ruling by a commission with Canada’s energy regulator."
Source: Toronto Globe & Mail, 04/30/2021"EPA Expands Scope of Toxics Inventory With Eye Toward Justice"
"The EPA said Thursday that it’ll expand the scope of its toxics release inventory to include more chemicals and facilities releasing toxic chemicals while providing easier public access to the data."
Source: Bloomberg Environment, 04/30/2021More Air Monitoring At Louisiana Industrial Plants? How They Voted
"For years, environmental advocates and neighborhoods close to Louisiana industrial plants have sought more monitoring of air pollution. But a state Senate committee on Tuesday rejected a bill that would have required 473 plants to install real-time air monitoring systems and pay for it."
Source: nola.com, 04/30/2021"US: Nuclear Waste Tank In Washington State May Be Leaking"
"An underground nuclear waste storage tank in Washington state that dates to World War II appears to be leaking contaminated liquid into the ground, the U.S. Department of Energy said Thursday."
Source: AP, 04/30/2021California Just Hit 95% Renewable Energy. Will Other States Join It?
"Something remarkable happened over the weekend: California hit nearly 95% renewable energy."
Source: LA Times, 04/30/2021"Senate Reinstates Obama-Era Controls on Climate-Warming Methane"
"The Senate voted on Wednesday to effectively reinstate an Obama-era regulation designed to clamp down on emissions of methane, a powerful, climate-warming pollutant that will have to be controlled to meet President Biden’s ambitious climate change promises."
Source: NYTimes, 04/29/202113 U.S. Refineries Exceeded Emissions Limits For Cancer-Causing Benzene
"Thirteen U.S. oil refineries released the cancer-causing chemical benzene in concentrations that exceeded federal limits last year, according to government data published by the green group Environmental Integrity Project (EIP) on Wednesday."
Source: Reuters, 04/29/2021"Biden Races Courts For Chance To Torpedo Trump Water Rule"
"Key lawsuits that could define the reach of the Clean Water Act are working their way through federal courts — despite Biden administration attempts to stop them so it can craft its own regulations. The cases concern what waterways and wetlands qualify for federal protections, a question that has befuddled judges for two decades."
Source: E&E News, 04/29/2021Migration To Flee Rising Seas Could Affect 1.3 Mln Bangladeshis By 2050
"Bangladeshi migrants leaving the coast due to rising sea levels could trigger waves of migration across the country that will affect at least 1.3 million people by 2050, according to a new study."
Source: Thomson Reuters Fdn., 04/29/2021
Advertisement 
