In the fine print of the historic Biden climate bill is a controversial commitment to pass legislation on fossil fuel permitting, a measure deeply opposed by the environmental community and calling for heavy political muscle to move through Congress this month. Issue Backgrounder details what’s in it, and what’s not, and takes the measure of the measure’s prospects.
"The head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said Wednesday that he wants Mississippi’s capital city to receive “its fair share” of federal money to repair a troubled water system that left homes and businesses without running water for several days."
Biden administration efforts to measure its response to environmental injustice have spurred the launch of a place-based database that scores individual communities on the issue. The latest Reporter’s Toolbox reviews the new government index and suggests that despite weaknesses, it is still useful as part of a suite of similar tools. Learn more about how to effectively use the new database.
"Pesticide labels are designed to help prevent dangerous exposure, but the EPA doesn’t ensure most farmworkers can read them—an oversight that has serious implications for their health, and the environment."
"Recent flooding in Jackson, Mississippi, exacerbated the city's already failing water system. Experts say it's a familiar threat in disinvested communities of color."
 |
"Democrat Mary Peltola is the apparent winner of Alaska’s special U.S. House race and is set to become the first Alaska Native in Congress, after votes were tabulated Wednesday in the state’s first ranked choice election."
"Saik’uz and Stellat’en First Nations have been fighting for the health of the watershed for over a decade. A dam operated by Rio Tinto Alcan and regulated by the province continues to devastate sturgeon and salmon populations".
"The last surviving member of an isolated Amazonian tribe died this month, Brazil’s national Indigenous agency, FUNAI, has announced."
"Pitched as a way to develop the country’s poorest region, the Maya Train is threatened by a ballooning budget and rushed construction over fragile terrain. But Mexico’s president has refused to slow it down."
Advertisement 
