EAGLE LAKE, Texas - Hurricane Harvey disrupted the lives of millions of people along the Texas Gulf Coast, but also may have damaged or destroyed as many as a dozen critical wildlife habitats.

The massive storm, with 120-mph winds and rainfall measured in feet, is believed to have damaged nesting sites and eroded marshes and coastlines that are home to dozens of species of birds and marine life, including some listed as threatened or endangered.

Ryan Fikes, a staff scientist for the National Wildlife Federation's Gulf of Mexico Restoration Program, said agencies such as Texas Parks and Wildlife and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are just beginning to survey the damage.

"Right now, we're doing initial assessments," he said. "Both the state and federal agencies are trying to get out there and start doing some status assessments. They'll be doing more detailed monitoring over the coming weeks and several months to really pinpoint the exact amount of damage."

Aransas National Wildlife Refuge near Matagorda Island sustained damage to the salt marshes where endangered whooping cranes feed when they return in October, Fikes said. Attwater Prairie Chicken National Wildlife Refuge, south of Houston, absorbed about 50 inches of rain from Harvey, he said, adding that about 60 endangered prairie chickens were in the refuge before the storm but as few as 10 are believed to have survived.

Increases in both the size and intensity of recent storms have scientists factoring climate change into their approach to managing wildlife sanctuaries, Fikes said.

"Storms like Harvey and Irma and Superstorm Sandy are much larger than what have historically taken place," he said, "and National Wildlife Federation believes that a lot of the intensity increase in these storms is due to global climate change and increases in sea-level temperatures."

He said some marine species on the Texas coast, such as shrimp and crabs, appear to have survived, while many oyster beds sustained losses. Marine mammals, such as bottlenose dolphins, may have been injured due to fresh-water inflows to bays and estuaries, since many coastal species can't survive outside a saltwater environment.


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West Virginia environmental groups are suing the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, arguing the agency failed to consider residents' health when it gave the stamp of approval for the creation of four valley fills on a thousand-acre surface mine in Raleigh County.

Vernon Halton, executive director of the nonprofit Coal River Mountain Watch says the region experienced severe flooding in the 1990s and early 2000s, and says more valley fills, which involve dumping rocks, minerals and waste into nearby waterways, will put their lives at risk.

"It's going to permanently endanger the people whose homes are in the valleys below, he explained."

According to Environment America, valley fills permanently bury headwater streams and reduce water quality. More than 2,000 miles of headwater streams have been buried due to mountaintop removal.

Haltom added that communities continue to grapple with health challenges unparalleled outside of the coalfields.

"Higher rates of cancer, higher rates of heart disease, higher rates of birth defects, higher rates of other diseases, and most of them can be linked to the airborne dust that people are forced to breathe," he continued.

Research has shown breathing in toxic dust promotes the growth of lung cancer cells in people living in communities near mountaintop removal. Coal is mined in 22 of West Virginia's 55 counties, according to federal data.

A Knoxville environmental group is raising concerns over federal budget cuts and their effects on jobs at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge.

The Trump Administration briefly laid off workers at the complex but called them back the next day.

Tanvi Kardile, coordinator for the Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance, warned the cuts, including layoffs at the Department of Energy and National Nuclear Security Administration, are troubling. She advocated shifting jobs from weapons production to environmental cleanup, citing ongoing efforts to address groundwater contamination, though she pointed out cost overruns and major concerns remain unaddressed.

"One of these cuts we feel should be the uranium processing facility, which is being constructed to replace, all these old, deteriorating buildings at Y-12," Kardile explained. "The budget for that keeps skyrocketing.
And this is one of the largest construction projects in Tennessee history."

Kardile emphasized the uranium processing facility is estimated to cost $10.3 billion and will not be complete in 2031. Initially, the project was expected to cost $6.5 billion and be finished by this year.

Kardile added her group is hesitant about Trump's statement expressing his intention to initiate nuclear arms reduction negotiations with China and Russia. The future of the U.S. nuclear weapons program remains uncertain as a result.

"Who knows if reduction talks will happen or how successful they'll be, especially with some other energy initiatives that he supports, such as discrediting climate change, promoting fossil fuels and drilling," Kardile outlined. "It doesn't seem like the administration will take many initiatives to protect the environment."

Kardile argued it is crucial for Tennesseans to push for greater accountability from the Department of Energy on the rising cost of Y-12 and collaborate with lawmakers to find the best path to allocate their tax dollars and protect public health.

Ohio is seeing a growing number of solar energy projects, including the first utility-scale installation in Dayton, which will help power a key water treatment facility.

Cities across the state are also working together to expand clean energy access. The five-megawatt solar array in Dayton will be built on a brownfield site, which is also a repurposing project for land that had been burned and has limited use because of contamination.

Robert McCracken, energy manager for the neighboring city of Cincinnati, said it is amazing to be able to produce energy to help with energy resiliency anywhere in Ohio.

"There is a lot of great work happening in the sustainable energy field throughout the state of Ohio," McCracken observed. "That's happening in large cities and small towns."

It is expected to provide 38% of the Miami Water Treatment Plant's electrical power needs and cut consumer energy bills by keeping water rates low. The City of Dayton serves as the principal water source for an estimated 1.5 million people in southwest Ohio.

McCracken pointed out local governments across Ohio recognize the importance of clean energy and are working collaboratively on solutions.

"It's become ever more important for all of those cities throughout Ohio ... to be working together to figure out how we all can advance the projects that we're working on that can benefit residents and businesses in each of our local communities," McCracken contended.

The project supports Dayton's climate emergency commitment to cutting carbon emissions at city facilities through renewable energy. McCracken emphasized Ohio cities remain dedicated to sustainable solutions, benefiting the environment and local communities.


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