Weekend Reader for Sunday, Dec. 24
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Weekend Reader for Sunday, Dec. 24

With political media focused on the Trump tax bill, rollbacks of US environmental law continue. And Canada does a very, very Trump-like thing.

We've got a joyous holiday mix of food, health, climate and toxics stories for you.


Must-read investigation: The Louisville Courier-Journal continues its dogged reporting on the state's beleaguered coal industry: A melting Arctic and delinquent children figure into a shadowy figure's global scheme to distribute coal.

Nothing to see here: Unhealthy food giants fund healthy food researchers. Malaysia boasts Asia's worst obesity problems. You'll never guess who holds many of the purse strings for its nutritionists. (NY Times)

Science, Schmience: The Interior Department slapped a harsh cap on the number of scientists attending the American Geophysical Union's annual meeting -- one of the top science gatherings each year. (Washington Post)

EPA's press office becomes a story in itself. Buzzfeed reports on how EPA's Press Office is a bit more like a political opposition research operation these days.

Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Festivus, or none of the above, enjoy the weekend.

Top Weekend News

Big Oil's decades of denial: More first-rate reporting from Inside Climate News on the long, long history of science and politics abuse on climate issues from Big Oil and its affiliates.

Superfund sites swamped? The Associated Press reports that 300+ toxic Superfund sites could be underwater due to sea level rise and anticipated increases in severe storms.Home-grown wisdom:

EHN/Daily Climate founder Pete Myers on the history of endocrine disruption science -- discovery, harassment, vindication and more. The premiere Science History Podcast.

Atomic piling on? The Nuclear Regulatory Commission launched its own Clinton investigation this week. But not so fast.... this one's not about Hillary, but the Clinton Nuclear Plant, near Clinton, Illinois. (Daily Energy Insider)

Smoke sidelines seniors: A Harvard study links small amounts of air pollution to health problems in senior citizens. (EHN.org)

Running dry: The Palm Springs Desert Sun continues its first-rate reporting on western water issues with a look at the very dry future of the Colorado River.

Opinions and Editorials

The Washington Post's Dana Milbank, a harsh critic of the Trump Administration, writes that Puerto Rico has been victimized twice, first by Hurricane Maria, then by politics.

Ed Perlmutter on the newly passed and signed "tax reform" legislation could cripple government science.

An op-ed in the Ventura (Calif.) News-Star dares to state the obvious: Its fire-weary readership has an impact of climate change literally in the backyard.

This Week in Trump

EPA is suffering a brain drain, as scientists and technical experts depart the agency in droves.

The Interior Department has ordered a halt to a study of its agency covering offshore oil safety.

MSNBC's Chris Hayes comments on the paranoia of EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt.

Government agencies drastically reduced the number of personnel authorized to attend last week's American Geophysical Union annual meeting -- one of the most important earth science gatherings every year. America First? There are stories on both the Interior Department and the USGS slashing their numbers of attendees.

And Barry Myers, CEO of AccuWeather, is Trump's pick to head NOAA. Can he truly separate himself from a family business that at times has featured climate denial?

Ready for a little good news?

Science Daily reports on a study on improving fetal health among neighbors of closed coal power plants.

republican climate change denial
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson. (Credit: Gage Skidmore)

Opinion: House Speaker Mike Johnson’s climate change playbook — deny the science, take the funding

The two-faced charade of climate denial while diving into the pot of federal renewable incentives and tax breaks.

It took no time for Mike Johnson to establish a hefty carbon footprint as new Speaker of the House.

Keep reading...Show less
Senator Whitehouse & climate change

Senator Whitehouse puts climate change on budget committee’s agenda

For more than a decade, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse gave daily warnings about the mounting threat of climate change. Now he has a powerful new perch.
pharmaceutical pills bottle
Photo by James Yarema on Unsplash

What to do when lifesaving products contribute to a changing climate

What happens when products that contribute to the climate crisis also save lives — millions of them?

dubai uae
Image by Igor Ovsyannykov from Pixabay

COP28: What sea level rise will look like in the cities that have hosted global climate summits

As global leaders and delegates gather in Dubai for the annual UN climate summit, a new analysis shows how the host cities of previous summits could be inundated — if not entirely submerged — by rising ocean waters.

California labor can’t quit oil jobs. That’s a problem for Democrats

One of California’s most powerful unions is not loosening its grip on oil jobs.

John Kerry says no coal plants should be ‘permitted anywhere in the world’

During a speech at the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference, Kerry said he is becoming “more and more” militant about climate policy because people are avoiding responsibility.

cop28 trade show
Big Stock Photo

COP28 crowds: a dangerous distraction or sign of success?

Flashy country pavilions, corporate-sponsored cocktail parties and a smorgasbord of side events have turned the annual U.N. climate summit into what some say is a trade show or circus.
casco bay maine
Big Stock Photo

As Casco Bay warms, climate change alters its chemistry in unexpected ways

Heavy rains most likely caused low salinity and dissolved oxygen rates in Casco Bay this year, raising long-term pollution and productivity concerns for the local section of the fast-warming Gulf of Maine.

From our Newsroom
childrens health climate change

Delays in joining the RGGI regional climate program means excess ER visits and child illness in Pennsylvania

Up to 128 premature deaths from air pollution could have been prevented if the state had entered the program in 2022 as planned.

environmental justice

LISTEN: Carlos Gould on wildfire smoke and our health

“Information matters a lot — trying to explain not just that there’s a problem, but how to do something about it.”

fracking PFAS

“Forever chemicals” in Pennsylvania fracking wells could impact health of surrounding communities: Report

More than 5,000 wells in the state were injected with 160 million pounds of undisclosed, “trade-secret” chemicals, which potentially include PFAS.

800,000 tons of radioactive waste from Pennsylvania’s oil and gas industry has gone “missing”

800,000 tons of radioactive waste from Pennsylvania’s oil and gas industry has gone “missing”

Poor recordkeeping on hazardous waste disposal points to potential for bigger problems, according to a new study.

drought climate farming

Opinion: Climate change and soil loss — the new Dust Bowl?

How we can save our soil, stabilize the climate, and prevent a new Dust Bowl.

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