Late last week Congress moved authority over coal-ash pollution standards from the feds to states and utilities. With hundreds of huge pits and ponds of the potentially toxic substance scattered across the United States, our latest TipSheet explores this unsolved problem and helps you find your local coal-ash angle.
The Society of Environmental Journalists has hired Melisa Klem as its new executive director, effective January 3, 2017. Klem has spent more than 13 years working in development for conservation and human health nonprofits, and raising millions of dollars. The SEJ Board of Directors selected Klem to serve as the group's second leader, replacing founding executive director Beth Parke who last summer announced her plans to step aside after nearly 24 years of leadership. Klem previously served as the development director at the Seafood Nutrition Partnership, the national director of development at the Izaak Walton League of America, and senior director of development at the Potomac Conservancy.
"Reindeer are shrinking on an Arctic island near the North Pole in a side-effect of climate change that has curbed winter food for animals often depicted as pulling Father Christmas' sleigh, scientists said on Monday."
"Retired Marine Corps Gen. John Kelly is Donald Trump’s choice to lead the Department of Homeland Security, the president-elect’s transition team officially announced Monday morning." DHS includes several agencies with environmental responsibilities, such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the U.S. Coast Guard.
"After a weeklong battle over last-minute policy riders, the Senate passed a major water bill in the early morning hours Saturday that includes emergency aid for Flint, Mich., and drought relief for California."
"Sen. Heidi Heitkamp has emerged as President-elect Donald Trump's leading choice for agriculture secretary, sources close to the transition tell POLITICO."
"The former Texas governor Rick Perry, who could not remember the name of the Department of Energy when listing those he would scrap as president, has emerged as a leading candidate to lead it under Donald Trump, a transition official said on Sunday."
"Among the queries included in a questionnaire sent by President-elect Donald Trump's transition team to workers at the Department of Energy is a request for an inventory of all agency employees or contractors who attended meetings or conferences on climate change."
"President-elect Donald J. Trump promised on Friday that his administration would strip away 'job-killing restrictions' on energy production and encourage the construction of refineries in the United States, as he campaigned for Republican candidates in a state heavily dependent on the oil and gas industry."
"President-elect Donald Trump said Sunday that 'nobody really knows' whether climate change is real and that he is 'studying' whether the United States should withdraw from the global warming agreement struck in Paris a year ago."
