Weekend Reader for Sunday, Jan. 14

Weekend Reader for Sunday, Jan. 14

Salmon stress on two fronts; more rollbacks from a Very Stable Genius; Nuclear for climate? Research from 56,000 dog years ago.

Even though President Trump enjoyed his brisk schedule of watching Fox & Friends and tweeting their news coverage, deriding other news outlets and investigations as part of a massive hoax, insulting large groups of people and sovereign nations and playing an absurd amount of golf for a guy with a big job, his team has plenty of time to stage the purge of environmental law and regulation. (Plenty more on that below.)


Rains came to California, and the hills of Los Angeles stopped burning. In Santa Barbara, the rains soaked fire-stripped hillsides, and the hills went to town. Mudslides brought death and destruction, as Nature fulfilled the fire->rain->mudslide cycle.



Top Weekend News

The Food and Environment Reporting Network (FERN) has a strong piece from an unexpected place. Smithfield Foods, long an environmental black-hat for its factory hog farms, is working on some solutions. And check out EHN's recent series, Peak Pig.

This week, two pieces of news mark the plight of salmon in the Pacific Northwest: Science Magazine covered a study on the narrowing genetic diversity of chinook salmon. And NPR reports that a pesticide that Obama's EPA tried to rein in is doing damage to salmon in Northwest waterways.

Bears Ears get lopped, Navajos cringe, uranium miners cash in: The Trump Administration's drastic shrinkage of the new Bears Ears National Monument angered environmentalists and Navajo neighbors, but could be a windfall for uranium miners who have had their eyes on the land for a long time.

And on MLK Day, Rep. John Lewis, an enduring link to the peak days of the Civil Rights Movement, will join the NAACP in launching a wind and solar campaign. They see clean energy as a human right.

And just what did Trump do this week?

The EPA is considering reversing a 2015 rule that set an age limit on farmworkers' use of pesticides. The current age limit is 18, but younger teenagers could be exposed to farm chemicals should this happen.

Tell me something I didn't know: The Washington Post's Chris Mooney on how, under Trump, coal is losing out to natural gas. Just like under Obama. Thanks, Obama!

Search for the least appropriate environment officials continues: Kathleen Hartnett White, who built a reputation as a foe of environmental regulation and science, scores a key nomination as Trump's environmental advisor.

Opinions and Editorials

Bloomberg has an anti-coal, pro-nuke editorial on battling climate change.

Has there been a greening of Christianity? With the exception of the current Pope, few signs point to yes.

Meteorologist Eric Holthaus sees a need for environmentalists to embrace nuclear power as a climate solution.

Klein opines: New York City may be on the verge of fossil fuel divestment. Naomi Klein says that would have been unheard of five years ago.

Care for a little good news?

An obsolete coal plant along the Delaware River was converted to natural gas. A study says that pregnant Moms downwind in New Jersey showed health benefits. So did their kids.

And finally, News for Dogs

Archaeologists have discovered what are believed to be the oldest images of dogs from a site in Saudi Arabia. The rock wall etchings are estimated to be 8,000 years old. Or, if you're a dog, 56,000 years old.

Collapsed house surrounded by rubble and wood debris.

U.S. to stop publicly tracking financial toll of billion-dollar climate disasters

The federal government will no longer collect or share data on the financial costs of extreme weather events, a move that scientists and lawmakers say will obscure the growing risks of climate change.

Rebecca Dzombak and Hiroko Tabuchi report for The New York Times.

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Disaster aid on a flatbed truck.

Congress proposes major reforms to FEMA in bid to counter Trump cuts

A bipartisan House effort seeks to restructure the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) into an independent agency and expand its powers amid President Trump’s push to shrink or eliminate it.

Thomas Frank reports for E&E News.

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Aerial photo of wind turbines near field with clouds floating over them casting shadows below.

Trump administration budget shifts lead to layoffs at key federal renewable energy lab

More than 100 employees at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory were laid off last week following new federal orders and funding changes under the Trump administration.

Rachel Frazin reports for The Hill.

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Solar battery with red and black connection cables.

Virginia governor blocks bipartisan solar and battery bills, citing cost to utility customers

Gov. Glenn Youngkin vetoed two bipartisan clean energy bills in Virginia that would have expanded small-scale solar and battery storage, despite support from utilities and environmental groups.

Charles Paullin reports for Inside Climate News.

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Yellow excavator on an excavated mountain during daytime with sun rising over the horizon.

Trump’s mining push undermines itself by gutting clean energy demand

The Trump administration is accelerating domestic mining projects while simultaneously undercutting the clean energy policies that would create a stable U.S. market for critical minerals like lithium and graphite.

Alexander C. Kaufman reports for The Atlantic.

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A pile of plastic bottles for recycling.
Credit: Photo by tanvi sharma on Unsplash

Plastics industry misled public on decades-old recycling tech

The fossil fuel industry has aggressively promoted “advanced recycling” as a breakthrough solution to plastic pollution — even while knowing it rarely works.

Dharna Noor reports for The Guardian.

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Seabed with rocks and rays of sunlight permeating the depths.

Trump’s order on deep-sea mining risks fragile ocean ecosystems and global cooperation

President Trump’s decision to fast-track deep-sea mining permits without international agreement has alarmed scientists and conservationists who warn of long-lasting environmental damage and geopolitical fallout.

Richard Schiffman reports for Yale Environment 360.

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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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