EJToday is a daily weekday digest of top environment/energy news and information of interest to environmental journalists, independently curated by Editor Joseph A. Davis. Sign up below to receive in your inbox. For queries, email EJToday@SEJ.org. For more info, read an EJToday FAQ. Plus, follow EJToday on social media at @EJTodayNews, and flag stories of note by including the @EJTodayNews handle on your posts. And tell us how to make EJToday even better by taking this brief survey.
Want to join the EJToday team? Volunteer time commitments can vary from just an hour a month up to a daily contribution, and would involve helping to curate content of interest. To learn more, reach out to the director of publications, Adam Glenn, at sejournaleditor@sej.org.
Note: Members have additional options to choose from (you'll need your log-in info).
"The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will investigate possible racial discrimination in Alabama’s management of funds that can be used to bolster sewage infrastructure."
"The NDP sailed to victory Tuesday night with a solid win that cements leader Wab Kinew as Manitoba's first First Nations premier and also nets the party enough seats to form a majority government."
"Worldwide, humans now occupy more than twice as much land in flood-prone areas as they did four decades ago, according to a new study in the journal Nature. The findings highlight the degree to which rapid development along coasts and in floodplains has increased the need for disaster preparedness around the globe."
"Tommy Beaudreau is stepping down from his post as the No. 2 official at the U.S. Interior Department. Beaudreau grew up in Alaska during the 1980s and has gone on to spend 10 years working at the Interior Department. He has worn several hats at Interior, including chief of staff and director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management."
"State regulators on Monday released their draft rules for what to do with all the hazardous oilfield waste that’s left over once a well is drilled. The announcement gives the public one month to comment on the new rules — while some industry representatives started giving input more than two years ago, documents and interviews show."
"Experts say carbon sequestration projects that don’t prioritize biodiversity may be doing more harm than good, including to the climate."
"Pope Francis shamed and challenged world leaders on Wednesday to commit to binding targets to slow climate change before it’s too late, warning that God’s increasingly warming creation is fast reaching a “point of no return.”"
"The thunder of icebergs crashing into the turquoise sea of eastern Greenland is the sound of one of the planet's most important ecosystems teetering on the edge of collapse."
"Earth's amphibians - from the thorny spike-thumb frog to the red knobby newt, West African giant squeaker, ornate tree toad and fire salamander - are being pushed closer to the brink due to habitat destruction, disease and climate change, with 41% of species now threatened with extinction."
"In a new initiative announced on Tuesday, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service is working with the nonprofit Revive & Restore and other partners to create a “genetic library” of the country’s endangered species—before it’s too late." "Biobanking enables researchers to preserve genetic diversity in wildlife by freezing and storing living cells."
"Hours after becoming the first House speaker in history to be ousted from the job, California Republican Rep. Kevin McCarthy announced Tuesday night he would not try to retake the gavel."
"Madrid is hosting a conference with energy and climate ministers ahead of COP28, the UN climate summit, in Dubai. It comes as the European Union races to firm up a plan to cut harmful emissions."
"Arizona governor Katie Hobbs said this week her administration is terminating state land leases that for years have given a Saudi-owned farm nearly unfettered access to pump groundwater in the dry southwestern state."
"The unmistakable influence of the climate crisis helped cause New York City to be inundated by a month’s worth of rain within just a few hours on Friday, scientists have warned, amid concerns over how well the city is prepared for severe climate shocks."
"Abandoned farmland has been increasing, with a billion acres — an area half the size of Australia — lost globally. Ecologists are increasingly pointing to the potential of these lands and of degraded forests as neglected resources for rewilding and for capturing carbon."
