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Friday, July 26, 2024

Art breathes new life into pollution-ravaged MI community

By Randiah Camille Green for Arts Midwest.Broadcast version by Chrystal Blair for Michigan News Connection reporting for the Arts Midwest-Public News …

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., has introduced legislation to codify the Chevron Deference into law. (Adobe Stock)

Friday, July 26, 2024

SCOTUS ruling impacts future action of VA, US

Recent Supreme Court rulings on air pollution are affecting Virginia and the nation. Climate advocates said the court overstepped its bounds in …

Research shows global plastic production has surged from 15 million tons per year in 1964 to more than 450 million tons per year today. (Adobe Stock)

Report: Biodegradable plastics more marketing than environmentally friendly

As West Virginia opens its door to the plastics recycling or "advanced recycling" industry, a recent report found only a fraction of plastics are …

An outdoor coalition is fighting plans for a $4 billion copper mine on land near Sheep Creek, which feeds the iconic Smith River. (Miranda Hernandez)

Coalition: Mine threatens Montana's iconic Smith River

Nearly 10,000 Montanans have petitioned the U.S. Forest Service to prevent mining activity in the iconic Smith River watershed. The Smith is known …

Two South Dakota ethanol production facilities are considered high-priority emission violators, according to EPA data, including plants in Redfield and Aberdeen. (Adobe Stock)

Report: SD ethanol plants release hazardous air pollutants

Biofuels are painted as a greener energy alternative to fossil fuels but a new study found the industry produces plenty of its own air pollutants…

Radioactive contaminants can create harmful effects on public health, particularly for pregnant people, as well as for the environment. (Alexeiy/Adobe Stock)

Groups renew calls to address radioactive contamination in food, water

Some organizations are renewing calls to address radioactive contamination in U.S. food and drinking water. The issue has gained prevalence in the …

Tenth Circuit Court expected to decide on public lands access

A court is soon expected to decide a Wyoming case between hunters and landowners which could affect public land access. When a group from Missouri …

A 2021 report found more than 70% of the 3,000 hazardous natural gas leaks in Washington, D.C. posed an immediate threat to residents. (Adobe Stock)

DC residents push back on natural gas infrastructure build-up

Washington D.C. residents are pushing back on a plan to build out existing fossil fuel infrastructure. Washington Gas' $12 billion Project Pipes …

At the national level, researchers at Northwestern University estimate the nitrogen-dioxide-attributable mortality rate is 18% for Hispanic or Latino people. (Noemi Gonzalez/Chispa Arizona)

Poll: AZ Corporation Commission ranks poorly among Latino voters

New polling shows that less than 10% of Latino voters in Arizona believe the Arizona Corporation Commission is taking the state in the right direction…

Diminishing snowpack in northern New Mexico due to climate change will shorten the season for skiing and other forms of winter tourism and recreation, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. (RaisaNastukova/AdobeStock)

Boosting ‘Hope’ about climate-change among NM's next generation

New Mexico teachers educating young people about climate change don't want them to feel hopeless - and they've developed an educational curriculum to …

The Black Swamp Conservancy has grown to protect more than 175 properties since 1997, covering more than 21,000 acres. (Linda/Adobe Stock)

Grants boost environmental education and restoration in Ohio

The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency is awarding $271,000 in grants for environmental education projects across the state. The programs will …

In total, The Conservation Fund has protected 529,213 acres of land and water across the state of New York. (Adobe Stock)

Thousands of acres of NY forest land protected for conservation

Almost 200,000 acres of New York have been protected by The Conservation Fund. Their efforts in the Empire State come as the group, which protects …

Farmworkers laboring in extreme heat are at risk of heatstroke or even death. (F Armstrong Photo/Adobe Stock)

Biden administration's proposed heat rules would protect ID farmworkers

The Biden administration is proposing rules to protect workers from extreme heat. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration said its …

A Michigan Healthy Climate Plan recommendation is to meet a goal of 100% clean energy no later than 2050. (pinkrabbit/Adobe Stock)

MI empowers disadvantaged communities for clean energy

The effects of climate change often hit Michigan's most vulnerable communities hardest, prompting state environmental organizations to take action…

The Conservation Fund said it aims to protect five million acres of forest by 2035. (Adobe Stock)

National project helps MN push back against deforestation

Deforestation remains a concern in the U.S. but success stories are emerging and Minnesota advocates said new achievements bode well for all …

The Northern Goshawk is dependent on old-growth forests and is especially good at getting into tight spaces. A federal judge in Montana has blocked a logging project that threatened the birds' habitat. (Adobe Stock)

Federal judge blocks logging project, protects iconic hawk

A federal court judge in Montana blocked a large project which would have logged or clear-cut more than 10,000 acres of old-growth forest and threaten…

Environmentalists say the plastics and fossil fuel industries driving plastic pollution and related problems have made false promises about efforts to address the pollution. (aryfahmed/Adobe Stock)

TX environmental groups fight for global plastics treaty

Environmental groups in Texas are backing a proposed global plastics treaty set to be finalized by the end of the year. The treaty aims to minimize …

The Climate Protection Program was adopted in Oregon in 2021 but invalidated in late 2023. (Cascadia Aerial/Adobe Stock)

Coalition forms to support restoration of OR Climate Protection Program

A diverse coalition of groups in Oregon is advocating for the restoration of the Climate Protection Program as the state works to reestablish it…

In 2022, Georgia had 70,400 registered electric vehicles, a 48% increase from the 47,600 EVs registered in 2021. (Adobe Stock)

Georgia lawmakers highlight EV benefits for health, environment

Georgia lawmakers with the group Elected Officials to Protect America are spotlighting the health and environmental benefits of electric vehicles…

Oso Outdoors offers winter and summer programs, including mountain biking, which aim to help bring more diversity to outdoor recreation in Summit County. (Adobe Stock)

Conservationists want free national park access for newest U.S. citizens

Conservation groups are asking federal agencies to give newly naturalized U.S. citizens a free America the Beautiful National Parks pass. Javier …

Oil companies have publicly championed tech-based carbon-capture solutions in part because it would allow them to continue selling fossil fuels. (Adobe Stock)

Tech-based carbon-capture projects making headway in local governments

By Ysabelle Kempe for SmartCitiesDive.Broadcast version by Eric Galatas for Colorado News Connection reporting for the Solutions Journalism Network-Pu…

Connecticut has seen an economywide 14% decline in greenhouse gas emissions since 1990. Although emissions hit an all-time low in 2020, the data show the dip did not last. (Adobe Stock)

Advocates: Climate change must be addressed at CT special session

Connecticut environmental advocates want the General Assembly to address climate action in this week's special session, since lawmakers failed to act …

The top eight oil and gas corporations alone are set to burn 30% of the world's remaining global carbon budget, the total amount of climate pollution scientists said can be released during a transition to clean energy. (Adobe Stock)

Report: Big oil continues to resist, block fast transition to clean energy

Big oil is dropping the ball when it comes to meeting the companies' public pledges to help avert catastrophic climate change, according to a new …

An oil spill from the pipeline in the Great Lakes would threaten the drinking water of 40 million people across the United States and Canada. (Jorge Moro/Adobe Stock)

MI environmental group hails Enbridge suit being ordered back to state court

A Michigan nonprofit dedicated to keeping oil out of the Great Lakes is celebrating a major victory. A federal Appellate Court has ruled that …

The U.S. government recognized the Black Hills as part of the Great Sioux Reservation in the 1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie. The Black Hills Forest Reserve was established in 1897 and transferred to the U.S. Forest Service in 1905. (R. Blauert, Wikimedia Commons)

Black Hills Visitor Center under new joint tribal, federal oversight

The Black Hills National Forest is one of the latest federal lands to enter a co-stewardship agreement with local tribal nations-a management model en…

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has reported power plant pollution exacerbates asthma, creates new asthma cases, causes heart attacks and is the largest airborne emission of mercury. (TomKonrad/Wikimedia Commons)

Danskammer Energy withdraws Newburgh power plant application

Danskammer Energy is no longer seeking an expansion of its Newburgh plant. The original plan called for expanding the company's "peaker plant" meant …

Environmental groups are working to attract more Latino families to enjoy the great outdoors on public lands such as the Alabama Hills National Scenic Area in southern Inyo County. (Louis Medina)

Latino environmental groups push for greater access to public lands

Conservation groups are circulating a petition asking the feds to give "America the Beautiful National Parks and Recreation Lands" passes to new citiz…

Many of the rules governing oil and gas operations on Montana public lands had not been updated in a century. (Adobe Stock)

MT groups fight to preserve new BLM oil and gas rule

Montana groups are working to save a new Bureau of Land Management rule about oil and gas leasing on public lands. They have hand-delivered a …

A zombie mine is shown in Clintwood, Kentucky. (Erin Savage)

Zombie mines continue to pose environmental, health threats to Appalachia

West Virginia and other Appalachian states are littered with hundreds of "zombie mines," abandoned mines neither producing coal nor undergoing reclama…

Of the nearly 2.5 million people living within the 78 coastal communities in Massachusetts, roughly 55% are in state-designated Environmental Justice Block Groups, communities of color and low-income populations dealing with the effects of climate change. (Adobe Stock)

Federal funds help build Boston’s climate-ready workforce

The City of Boston has been awarded nearly $10 million in federal funding to help build a Climate-Ready Workforce. More than 1,000 people will …

On Oct. 5, 1966, Fermi 1 suffered a partial fuel meltdown. Two of the 92 fuel assemblies were partially damaged. According to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, no abnormal radioactivity was released into the environment. (spiritofamerica/Adobe Stock)

Climate change reignites concerns over nuclear storage on MI shores

Summer temperatures are one more reason for concern by environmental groups about the nuclear waste stored along the Great Lakes. There are three …

A new Colorado law provides local and tribal governments with science-based resources for siting and permitting new renewable-energy projects, including maps identifying sensitive wildlife habitat. (Adobe Stock)

New resources available to site CO clean-energy projects, protect wildlife

To reach 100% clean energy by 2040 - a move seen as critical for averting the worst impacts of climate change - Colorado must generate five times more…

Senate Bill 252 would require state pension funds to divest from oil and gas companies by 2031, with an extra four years of leeway if certain market conditions arise. (Dogora Sun/Adobestock)

CA climate-change groups press for fossil-fuel divestment

State lawmakers are considering a bill which would require two public pension systems to pull about $15 billion in combined investments from the fossi…

About 60% of coal energy generation and 79% of all non-hydro clean energy were produced in rural America, according to a Rural Climate Partnership report. (Adobe Stock)

Report: Rural communities deal with emissions from industries that benefit cities

Nearly 70% of Wyomingites live in non metro areas, and a new report finds that a large portion of the state's greenhouse-gas emissions originate …

The group says the United States should work with partner countries willing and able to enforce strict terms or face sanctions. (Anastasiia/Adobe Stock)

Environmental groups want say in Critical Mineral Agreements

A group of environmental and civil society organizations is fighting for better working conditions for people in countries that supply critical minera…

Rural households use 80% of the propane used across all U.S. households, according to a Rural Climate Partnership report. (Adobe Stock)

Report finds rural America's climate impact has been overlooked, calls for action

At least 10% of Arizona's population lives in rural areas, and a new report shows a significant portion of the state's greenhouse gas emissions …

Firsthand Foods collaborates with more than 20 farmers across 10 counties. (Adobe Stock)

Building a sustainable food system: Firsthand Foods' approach

Building a sustainable and fair food system benefiting people and the planet is becoming increasingly important and North Carolina businesses are answ…

Methane emissions for oil and gas wellheads have accounted for roughly 30% of global warming since pre-industrial times, and are proliferating faster than at any other time, according to a United Nations study. (Adobe Stock)

CO methane verification protocol seen as 'major breakthrough'

Environmental groups are calling Colorado's new rules to measure methane pollution a "major breakthrough" in curbing it. The Greenhouse Gas …

A soldier participates in the Norwegian Foot March at Fort Ord National Monument in Monterey County, Calif., in 2022. (Winifred Brown/U.S. Army)

Vets exposed to Agent Orange at Fort Ord denied VA compensation

By Hannah Norman and Patricia Kime for KFF Health News.Broadcast version by Suzanne Potter for California News Service reporting for the KFF Health Ne…

Some 170 community groups and nonprofits rallied in Sacramento on Wednesday in favor of a proposed bond measure to fund a variety of climate-related projects. (Community Water Center)

Coalition presses lawmakers to put climate bond on CA November ballot

A huge coalition of 170 groups rallied in Sacramento on Wednesday, pressing lawmakers to put a climate bond measure on California's November ballot…

A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held in Las Vegas, New Mexico, on Wednesday for the community's new Rural Minority Business Center. (Photo courtesy NMRMBC)

Rural NM community hit hard by 2022 wildfire opens new business center

A small New Mexico community working to get back on its feet following a devastating wildfire has opened a new rural business center. Two years ago…

Republican West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey is leading more than two dozen states in a lawsuit aimed at overturning the Environmental Protection Agency's recently released power plant regulations. (Adobe Stock)

Scorecard: How WV lawmakers vote on clean air, water

As West Virginia leads a group of states in a lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency's new emissions rules for power plants, a recent …

The John Day Fossil Beds National Monument encompasses about 14,000 acres in east-central Oregon. (Zack Frank/Adobe Stock)

New BLM rules better protect national parks, supporters say

Conservation groups said two new federal rules aim to help better protect public lands, including national parks. The Bureau of Land Management's …

The new Public Lands Rule is designed to protect places such as Joshua Tree National Park, which is bordered by vast swaths of Bureau of Land Management land. (Dmitry/Adobestock)

Conservation groups praise new rules governing oil and gas on public lands

Groups fighting for public lands and national parks are praising two recent Biden administration rules for managing federal land. The oil and gas …

The transportation sector in the United States is the main contributor to carbon emissions, with heavy-duty vehicles responsible for more than 20% of this pollution despite comprising only 10% of road vehicles. (Adobe Stock)

New regulations target transportation emissions in Georgia

New federal clean-truck standards in Georgia will improve air quality and public health. The Environmental Protection Agency aims to reduce …

According to the EPA, Georgia has warmed less than most of the nation in the last century but in the next few decades, the changing climate is likely to harm livestock and increase the number of unpleasantly hot days and heat-related illnesses. (Laura Ballard/Adobe Stock)

Scientists call on moms to help fight climate change

Mothers from a nonpartisan climate science group are gearing up for summer, getting the word out to Georgia families on how more frequent and extreme …

Industrial emissions of carcinogenic chemicals disproportionately occur in neighborhoods where African American, Hispanic, Latino residents, including many living in poverty. (Oleksii Fadieiev/Adobe Stock)

Environmental group takes on polluters in historic Louisiana neighborhood

An environmental justice organization in Wallace, Louisiana, says it won't back down in a fight for the health of its historic community. The …

Multiple lawsuits have been filed against the Texas Department of Criminal Justice because its prisons are not air conditioned. (Felix Pergande/Adobe Stock)

People in TX prisons claim heat-related health effects, demand air conditioning

The Texas Department of Criminal Justice is facing a class action lawsuit calling for the agency to add central air conditioning to all its prisons…

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PNS Daily Newscast: Afternoon Update - July 26, 2024

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