Hurricane Irma left millions of Floridians in the dark, while Maria stripped Puerto Ricans of power, potentially for months. Can the electric grid be made less vulnerable? Our Backgrounder has a dozen-plus angles to jump-start your power reporting, from stronger poles to microgrids. Plus, hurricane coverage resources.
Flooding disasters can unleash some nasty substances into the environment, whether from Superfund sites, sewage plants or petrochemical and other industrial facilities handling toxic and hazardous materials.This week's TipSheet identifies some of the biggest risks, and offers starting points for your local reporting.
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"The Trump administration has proposed a $10 million reduction to the government’s wild horse management program, a cut that advocates fear will place the horses in jeopardy of wholesale destruction."
"Colorado landfills have been illegally burying low-level radioactive waste from the oil and gas industry that they are not approved to handle, state health officials revealed this week."
"According to a CDC study, up to 75 percent of the contiguous United States may provide suitable conditions for several species of disease-spreading mosquitoes."
"An environmental group and two chemical companies filed appeals Friday of a court decision that overturned an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rule restricting the use of certain greenhouse gases."
"Environmentalists won a major battle this week in a long legal war over the Clinton administration rule that limited road construction and logging in national forests."
"The Interior Department is set to reopen millions of acres of sensitive greater sage grouse habitat across six Western states to mining activity when a two-year moratorium on new mining claims ends Sunday."
"The U.S. International Trade Commission ruled [Friday] that imported solar panels and modules are causing 'serious injury' to U.S. manufacturers, giving President Trump the final say about tariffs in a high-profile case that could unravel the American solar industry."
