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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Drop us a line at feedback@ehn.org ("Attaboys" always welcome).

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.

A view of a sign with the Shell Oil logo on it in red and yellow in the shape of a shell

Shell’s hidden climate knowledge under scrutiny as court battle looms

“What seems to be important,” wrote the British scientist, James Lovelock, in June 1966, is “the almost certain fact that the climate is worsening and the probability that the combustion of fuel is responsible.”

Cincinnati, Ohio, daytime cityscape

A city with a plan

Cincinnati wants to take in people fleeing climate disasters.

An antelope with large horns peeking above grasslands

‘Wastelands’ no more: India charts a future for its grasslands

India is beginning to reverse decades of treating native grasslands as 'wastelands,' embracing a new conservation strategy that recognizes their importance for carbon storage, climate resilience, and wildlife.

Solar panels arrayed in a newly cleared field

The influencer teaching millions to fear solar

Alexandra Fasulo says she’s protecting farms and wildlife. How much of her rhetoric is actually true?
Solar panels arrayed in a remote setting

How African off-grid solar companies are using financing deals to land mainstream investors

Landmark fundraising deals by two of Africa’s largest off-grid solar companies are raising hopes that private capital markets could become a major source of funding to help bring electricity to millions of homes lacking access to reliable power.
Two workers walk towards an industrial site under construction

Georgia’s first ‘pop-up’ power plant for data centers faces scrutiny

The project is under investigation for allegedly beginning construction before obtaining required air permits as regulators consider whether privately operated power plants can legally serve data centers.
Refinery and petrochemical industrial plant
Credit: Tee Theerapol/BigStock Photo ID: 60783539

The Trump administration wants more gasoline made in idled refineries from California to St. Croix

The White House is hoping to attract private investors for defunct fuel factories across the country and beyond.

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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