Neonics v. birds; Elections have consequences; UN climate talks

Quite a week. The election gave hope for climate action, but science again showed we're playing a dangerous game with our environment. Here's what you need to know.



Pesticides are putting migratory birds 'on life support.'

EHN founder & chief scientist Pete Myers (and several readers, thank you!) underscore the importance of a study showing that neonicotinoid pesticides and chlorpyrifos, both widely used, interfere with bird orientation and feeding.

A key finding from the study, published online this week in the journal Nature:

These results suggest that wild songbirds consuming the equivalent of just four imidacloprid-treated canola seeds or eight chlorpyrifos granules per day over 3 days could suffer impaired condition, migration delays and improper migratory direction, which could lead to increased risk of mortality or lost breeding opportunity.

Canada's National Post has strong coverage: "Research shows common pesticides starve, disorient birds"

Saturday climate watch: COP23 in Bonn

The annual United Nations climate talks opened this week in Bonn, and for the first time in the quarter-century history of the proceedings, the United States did not set up a pavilion at the summit – the only developed country not to do so.

The talks aim to hammer out the "rule book" for the 2015 Paris Agreement, an accord signed by 195 countries including the United States that President Trump has vowed to abandon.

U.S. absence has left a vacuum at the talks, and plenty are speculating who will fill it.

A group of U.S. governors, mayors, university and business leaders – the We are Still In coalition – has stepped forward to show how Americans are still taking climate action, even if Uncle Sam isn't.

Led by California Gov. Jerry Brown and former NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg, the group on Saturday released a report showing the breathe and influence of U.S. non-federal action on climate change.

You can catch the livestream here starting at 4p CEST/10a EST featuring authors who will describe the report's findings.

Other coverage:

Our sister site, The Daily Climate, has more stories.

Four good reads

Grab a coffee. Or bookmark these for later if Saturday's chores await:

1. When did lunch become so complicated? Hakai Magazine on seafood labeling: The ecolabel fable: Sustainable seafood programs can't guarantee ocean-friendly choices.

"The server at the sushi restaurant hands me the menu, and I'm hit with a wave of anxiety as I count four pages, printed front and back. I was hoping the menu would be as minimalist as the modern decor. I have only 45 minutes, and I'd like to enjoy a conversation with my husband..." (read more)

2. Good news on environmental and social justice. Next City: Transforming a Bay Area brownfield into a green jewel.

"The city of Richmond is emerging as a leader in sustainable redevelopment and in the process, preserving its past..." (read more)

3. The Atlantic on Flint, children's health and the lead crisis: The 'horrifying consequence' of lead poisoning.

"The devastating health consequences of this lapse are now becoming clear. A recent paper finds that the city's lead crisis may have sparked a drop in birth rates and a precipitous rise in miscarriages..." (read more)

4. Seven trends that could beat global warming. The Guardian: There is reason for hope.

"It does not need to be all bad news: A series of fast-moving global megatrends, spurred by trillion-dollar investments, indicates that humanity might be able to avert the worst impacts of global warming..." (read more)

Election aftermath

"A good night for climate action at the ballot box," report ClimateWire's Josh Kurtz and Benjamin Storrow. (Blue wave seen as a rebuke to Trump's climate views.)

Seattle P-I's Josh Connelly weighs in on the suddenly sour prospects for North America's largest oil-by-rail terminal. (A big defeat for Big Oil on proposed Columbia River terminal)

Lest we forget, NBC offers this retrospective on how much the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has changed in one year since Trump's election.

Saturday's headlines

Peak Pig: The fight for the soul of rural America. ​

Head's up: Join us Monday as we launch our month's long investigation, in partnership with North Carolina Policy Watch, into the rapid rise of industrial agriculture and its environmental and social justice impacts in rural America, particularly North Carolina's hog country.

We'll take you to the frontline in the countryside as we uncover what it means to be rural in an age of mega-farms.

EHN.org: Journalism that drives the discussion.

In an archive photo from the 1970s, children stand and play in front of a house with a polluting smokestack in background.

Opinion: Trump-era science cuts would open the door to industry-fueled pollution

The Trump administration’s move to gut EPA science programs could let polluting industries rewrite the rules on cancer-causing chemicals, writes Jennifer Sass for Scientific American.

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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.
Silhouette of wind turbines in the sea during sunset.

EPA begins targeting offshore wind permits, slowing clean energy rollout

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has revoked a key permit for a New Jersey offshore wind project, marking the agency’s first major action under President Trump’s order to halt the expansion of the offshore wind industry.

Clare Fieseler reports for Canary Media.

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Brown and tan desert mountain near body of water during daytime.

Chile's lithium rush strains Indigenous communities and dries up a fragile desert ecosystem

A lithium mining boom in Chile’s Atacama Desert is depleting water resources and transforming the lives of Indigenous Lickanantay communities, who now face worsening drought, ecological loss, and cultural disruption.

Muriel Alarcón reports for Grist

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Men installing solar panels on a roof.

Zooming in on the fallout from the Trump administration's freezing of green bank funds

A sweeping halt to a $27 billion federal climate program is upending clean energy plans and stalling economic development for nonprofits, lenders, and contractors in low-income communities nationwide.

Marianne Lavelle and Dan Gearino report for Inside Climate News.

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a white ceiling fan in a white room.
Credit: A. B./Unsplash

HHS abruptly eliminates staff for federal energy aid program serving millions

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services fired all federal employees running a key energy assistance program for low-income families, raising concerns about access to funds as summer approaches.

Rachel Frazin reports for The Hill.

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Wind turbines in the distance with a yellow field in the foreground and a blue sky in the background.

Trump tariffs may raise U.S. wind energy prices and stall project growth

Tariffs proposed by President Trump could raise the cost of building wind power projects in the U.S., threatening the already fragile momentum of the renewable energy sector.

Stanley Reed reports for The New York Times.

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Offshore oil production platform.
Credit: wasi1370/Pixabay

Shell’s offshore oil ships face ongoing safety problems years after massive Nigeria spill

Shell’s oil production fleet, including the vessel at the center of a 2011 Nigerian spill, continues to show safety flaws years later, raising concerns about the risk of future disasters.

Ed Davey reports for The Associated Press.

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From our Newsroom
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.

People  sitting in an outdoors table working on a big sign.

Op-ed: Why funding for the environmental justice movement must be anti-racist

We must prioritize minority-serving institutions, BIPOC-led organizations and researchers to lead environmental justice efforts.

joe biden

Biden finalizes long-awaited hydrogen tax credits ahead of Trump presidency

Responses to the new rules have been mixed, and environmental advocates worry that Trump could undermine them.

Op-ed: Toxic prisons teach us that environmental justice needs abolition

Op-ed: Toxic prisons teach us that environmental justice needs abolition

Prisons, jails and detention centers are placed in locations where environmental hazards such as toxic landfills, floods and extreme heat are the norm.

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