"More than 100 coal ash waste sites, many unregulated, sit just feet from the Great Lakes, raising concerns for nearby communities and the 30 million people who rely on the lakes for drinking water."
With wintry conditions still present in much of the country, there’s an important local story for environmental reporters to chase. No, not climate change this time. It’s salt. Road salt can end up in bodies of water, damaging the environment and risking human health. TipSheet offers a dash of background and a good dose of questions to ask, plus story ideas and resources to flavor your reporting with.
In our annual analysis of what’s ahead on the environment beat in 2023, there are some things to count on: worsening climate disasters and continued politicking over energy transitions, but also regulatory action on greenhouse gas emissions (not to mention on “forever chemicals”). Other things are less clear: environmental rulings by a conservative U.S. Supreme Court, energy impacts of war in Europe and the effectiveness of COP28 and treaty talks on plastic pollution. Read the full overview and get more in our “2023 Journalists’ Guide to Energy & Environment” special report.
"The Colorado River is in crisis. The problem has been building for decades but has come to a head in recent years because the major manufactured reservoirs on the river have fallen to dangerously low levels, prompting the Biden administration to call for unprecedented cuts in water usage among the 40 million people who rely on the river."
"For the first time, the U.S. government in 2022 included methane emissions from dams and reservoirs in its annual report of human-caused greenhouse gas emissions to the Inventory of Greenhouse Gases and Sinks required by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change."
"Sturgeon are disappearing from North American rivers where they thrived for millions of years. And the quest to save them is exposing the limits of the Endangered Species Act."
"A New Jersey beach town that defied state environmental authorities and fixed its dunes that were seriously eroded by a storm can proceed with a lawsuit seeking to recover $21 million it spent bulking up its shoreline, but cannot build a bulkhead to permanently thwart the waves, a judge ruled Wednesday."
"A company seeking to build an oilfield waste dump near wells and waterways in East Texas has showered regulators with upwards of $50,000 in political contributions since 2019." "McBride Operating LLC and owner Joseph McBride contributed to the political campaigns of the three sitting commissioners of the Texas Railroad Commission now considering his request."
"As drought and climate change continue to wreak havoc on California’s water supply, an environmental advocacy group is calling on the state to limit the cultivation of thirsty crops like almonds and alfalfa, saying the agriculture industry is guzzling most of the state’s supplies at the expense of residents."
"The seven states that depend on the Colorado River have failed to meet a Tuesday deadline for agreeing on a water-use reduction plan, raising the likelihood of more friction as the West grapples with how to manage the shrinking river."
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