11-4: Five quick things for your Saturday

Winter's coming. We all have chores to do. Let's make this simple: Five quick hits to keep you up to date on our environment and health.



Gov't climate report at odds with Trump and his team

Coverage of the federal climate assessment takes Trump to task:

AP's Seth Borenstein:

As President Donald Trump touts new oil pipelines and pledges to revive the nation's struggling coal mines, federal scientists are warning that burning fossil fuels is already driving a steep increase in the United States of heat waves, droughts and floods.

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Three top stories for Saturday

  1. New Jersey sets new PFOA level below Vermont standard. New Jersey last week set its safe drinking water standard for the chemical PFOA at 14 parts per trillion, 30 percent lower than Vermont's standard. (Vermont Public Radio)
  2. Louisville neighborhoods use trees to fend off heart disease. The poets were right all along: Trees are a drug, in ways marvelous and often misunderstood. We underestimate at our peril the powers of a walk in the woods. (USA Today) (thanks to Univ. of Louisville's Alex Carll for pointing us to that story)
  3. Will the bird that dodged a bullet pay the price of peace? "Armed conflict is good for preventing deforestation." (Mike Shanahan, Under the Banyan)

One must-read opinion

As ice shelves crumble and the Twitter president threatens to pull out of the Paris accord, author Jonathan Franzen reflects on the role of the writer in time of crisis (The Guardian)

One beautiful thing

Those are my kids (and dog), at 6:30 a.m. on a Saturday. Eleven inches of snow fell overnight in Bozeman, Montana.

It's ski swap weekend here, and people are already to find a sweet deal on winter gear. I told my kids we weren't moving the car until the driveway was clear.

Amazing how much energy a motivated kid has.

Today's gift in Bozeman is reminder for us all: Get outside and enjoy the weather. It's beautiful out there.

Interior of chemical factory or plant workshop with metal industrial manufacturing production equipment

Opinion: Artificial intelligence can spur chemical plant decarbonization

AI can help engineers navigate thousands of decisions each shift, including constant energy, emissions, and cost trade-offs.

The New Mexico state capitol building in Santa Fe

Clear Horizons Act, setting emissions goals, heads to New Mexico Senate floor

The Clear Horizons Act would enshrine the climate goals enacted by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s 2019 executive order to lower New Mexico’s greenhouse gas emissions to a 2005 target level.

A ship sailing past a large iceberg

Black carbon spewing from ships is a major climate threat in the Arctic

A coalition of nations and environmental groups is lobbying the International Maritime Organization to create regulations around black carbon, or soot, that spews from ships and blankets parts of glaciers and snow.
A view of ice-covered water with icicles forming on a nearby cliff
Credit: Hans/Unsplash

What over a century of ice data can tell us about the Great Lakes' future

Using old records, scientists created a new dataset on ice cover since 1897. It's already being used to study a declining fish species.
A fracking well next to a farm field

Fracking boom put oil field in Texas river’s floodplain

Lack of a state floodplain policy enabled oil companies to build in parts of Texas hit by an epic inundation less than 30 years ago.
A man wearing a business suit riding his bike to work

Encouragement boosts people’s likelihood to take climate action

Framing climate action as “doing more good” instead of “doing less bad” makes people more willing to act and feel better about it, a study finds.
The blue and white Energy Star logo sticker

Energy Star program survives Trump administration's budget cuts

Energy Star, the program that helps guide consumers to more energy-efficient appliances and electronics, has survived President Donald Trump’s attempt to kill it.
From our Newsroom
Multiple Houston-area oil and gas facilities that have violated pollution laws are seeking permit renewals

Multiple Houston-area oil and gas facilities that have violated pollution laws are seeking permit renewals

One facility has emitted cancer-causing chemicals into waterways at levels up to 520% higher than legal limits.

Regulators are underestimating health impacts from air pollution: Study

Regulators are underestimating health impacts from air pollution: Study

"The reality is, we are not exposed to one chemical at a time.”

Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro speaks with the state flag and American flag behind him.

Two years into his term, has Gov. Shapiro kept his promises to regulate Pennsylvania’s fracking industry?

A new report assesses the administration’s progress and makes new recommendations

silhouette of people holding hands by a lake at sunset

An open letter from EPA staff to the American public

“We cannot stand by and allow this to happen. We need to hold this administration accountable.”

wildfire retardants being sprayed by plane

New evidence links heavy metal pollution with wildfire retardants

“The chemical black box” that blankets wildfire-impacted areas is increasingly under scrutiny.

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