"Beholding the Arctic’s Wonders — And Its Melting Future"
"Thousands of years ago, the Arctic was ice-free. What can its past teach us about its future?"
Source: Atmos, 12/18/2024
EJToday: Top Headlines
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Toxic PFAS Taint Rural California Drinking Water, Far From Known Sources
"PFAS chemicals have unexpectedly turned up in well water in rural farmland, far from any industrial areas, airports, or military bases."
Source: KFF Health News, 12/18/2024"Trump Sues Des Moines Register, Pollster For ‘Election Interference’"
"President-elect Donald Trump sued the Des Moines Register and its pollster for “brazen election interference” in publishing a survey the weekend before the election that showed Democrat Kamala Harris with a surprising lead of three percentage points in the state."
Source: AP, 12/18/2024"Associated Press Photographers Capture Climate Change In 2024"
"All year, Associated Press photographers around the globe have captured moments, from the brutality unleashed during extreme weather events to human resilience in the face of hardship, that tell the story of a changing Earth."
Source: AP, 12/18/2024Anxious Scientists Brace For Trump’s Climate Denialism: ‘Target On Our Backs’
"As the world’s largest gathering of Earth and space scientists swarmed a Washington venue last week, the packed halls have been permeated by an air of anxiety and even dread over a new Donald Trump presidency that might worsen what has been a bruising few years for science."
Source: Guardian, 12/17/2024Emboldened by ABC Settlement, Trump Threatens More Lawsuits Against Media
"President-elect Donald Trump had not been terribly successful in suing media organizations until this weekend when ABC News agreed to settle a closely-watched defamation case he brought against the network to the tune of $16 million. Now, Trump is expanding his threats of legal action against the news media as he prepares to move back into the White House, stating he wants to “straighten out the press.”"
Source: CNN, 12/17/2024UN Talks Fail To Agree On Dealing With Rising Risk Of Global Drought
"Despite two weeks of U.N.-sponsored talks in Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh, the participating 197 nations failed to agree early Saturday on a plan to deal with global droughts, made longer and more severe by a warming climate."
Source: AP, 12/17/2024"‘Unfettered’ Gas Exports Would Harm U.S. Economy, Energy Secretary Warns"
"If the United States were to continue exporting liquefied natural gas in the way that has made it the world’s biggest gas supplier, it would drive up costs for American consumers and businesses, pollute struggling communities and increase global greenhouse gas emissions, according to a letter written by Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm that was obtained by The Times."
Source: NYTimes, 12/17/2024"Velsicol’s Defunct Memphis Plant May Become Environmental Trust"
"Velsicol, a legacy polluter that manufactured pesticides, is proposing to hand over its 83-acre defunct facility in North Memphis to Tennessee as an environmental response trust. Should the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) accept a settlement agreement from the company, the state will be left to determine what to do with wide-ranging contamination including a baseball diamond-shaped pile of hazardous waste and a fluctuating groundwater plume of chemicals beneath it."
Source: Tennessee Lookout, 12/17/2024"Biden Touts Labor Protections As He Creates Maine National Monument"
"President Joe Biden elevated the Frances Perkins Homestead National Historic Landmark in Maine to national monument status Monday, honoring the nation’s first female Cabinet secretary and an architect of the New Deal."
Source: E&E News, 12/17/2024Feds Propose Protection For Giant Salamanders Devastated By Helene
"You never forget your first time seeing a giant salamander, according to Andy Hill. He was a teenager, standing thigh-high in the Watauga River outside Boone, North Carolina, casting a line on an early fall day when he saw his first eastern hellbender. The salamander stretched 2 feet long and was camouflaged among rocks beneath the clear water."
Source: AP, 12/17/2024"Huffman Wins Key Vote To Succeed Grijalva Atop Natural Resources Democrats"
"Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) won a Democratic Steering and Policy Committee vote Monday to succeed Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.) as the top Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee, advancing him to a full vote of the Democratic caucus."
Source: The Hill, 12/17/20243 Years After Huge Sewage Spill El Segundo Still Stinks. Why Can’t LA Fix It?
"On the worst days, Tamara Kcehowski said, she has thrown up when the stench from Los Angeles’ nearby sewage plant overwhelms her El Segundo apartment. She said her dog, Maggie, has even retched alongside her."
Source: LA Times, 12/17/2024Burmese Pythons: How 20ft Predators Are Wreaking Havoc On The Everglades
"An invasive predator that can grow up to 20ft, weigh over 100kg and devour prey six times its size – it is enough to make anyone’s skin crawl. That’s what residents of southern Florida have been struggling with for the past few decades, with the rapid growth of the Burmese python population in the Everglades."
Source: Guardian, 12/17/2024"Trump’s Choice to Run Energy Says Fossil Fuels Are Virtuous"
"Chris Wright, Donald Trump’s pick for energy secretary, says oil, gas and coal are key to solving global poverty. Some call that misleading."
Source: NYTimes, 12/16/2024
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