"Two Democratic representatives from the San Francisco Bay Area on Tuesday delivered to the White House trash they picked up from national parks as they urged President Trump to end the partial government shutdown."
"At the spot where a rugged chain of islands breaks away from the Alaska Peninsula, a secluded national refuge protects millions of seabirds, grizzly bears and caribou."
"Sen. Cory Booker has a green new way for dealing with his critics. Booker (D-N.J.), a potential candidate for president, is betting that a heavy emphasis on environmental justice will resonate with primary voters."
"The last time Democrats were in charge of the House, the first iPad had just been released and the Deepwater Horizon oil spill was fresh on everyone's minds.
Since then, there has been significant turnover, not the least of which was the 40-seat blue wave that propelled Democrats into the majority this Congress.
New chairmen and chairwomen are taking the gavels controlling the legislative and oversight agendas for the next two years, at least."
"There's a big molecule, a protein, inside the leaves of most plants. It's called Rubisco, which is short for an actual chemical name that's very long and hard to remember."
"House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) on Tuesday rejected the call for Democratic energy committee members to shun contributions from fossil fuel companies and other industries as too extreme."
"Joshua Tree National Park will be temporarily closed as of Thursday morning because of damage caused by visitors during the partial government shutdown. Park officials said few rangers are on hand to prevent off-road driving, which causes destruction of the park's namesake trees."
"The House passed a bill to extend an expiring chemical facility security program, with Democrats and Republicans hoping to buy time for negotiations on its future."
"State lawmakers from nine states introduced bills Jan. 8 aimed at blocking oil and gas drilling off their coasts, and a group of House Democrats meanwhile unveiled measures that would ban drilling in federal waters off much of the country."
The economics of fracking may be as big a worry as its environmental impacts, finds a new book on the energy extraction industry. Our latest BookShelf reviews the volume from a seasoned business reporter, who questions conventional views about a renewed U.S. energy “dominance,” probes the financial instability of the industry’s boom and raises the politically destabilizing spectre of a future decline for the fossil fuel market.
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