"The Department of Interior is preparing mass layoffs beginning Monday despite a federal judge’s order prohibiting firings due to the shutdown, a federal employee union said Thursday."
"The sky above us is a complex ecosystem, just like the land and sea. A new field of research is bringing a fresh understanding of the birds, bugs and other species that live there"
"More than 1,100 incarcerated firefighters were sent to Southern California in January to fight four different wildfires. As the Palisades Fire ran up a hillside, one strike team saved the life of a resident who was still at his home."
"The United Nations warned that mercury contamination from illegal gold mining in Colombia’s Atrato River basin has created a “serious and ongoing human rights crisis,” threatening the health and survival of Indigenous and Afro-descendant communities who depend on the river for food, water and culture."
"After more than a century, these shellfish have reappeared along the Damariscotta River. Their return is a boon — and a warning of climate change."
"Global forest health has plunged to “dismal” levels and threatens the wellbeing of humanity, warns a damning report that highlights how financial systems are pouring money into land clearance and undermining efforts to reduce destruction."
"As we’ve seen with tigers and other threatened species, captive lion breeding may stimulate consumer demand and put additional pressure on wild populations across African home ranges."
"President Trump has been a cheerleader for coal miners. But these miners say his administration is failing to enforce limits on a lethal workplace hazard."
Even as the number of coal-fired power plants declines in the United States, the dangerous coal ash byproducts they generate are found in dumps in every state, threatening to leach toxins into drinking water supplies. The latest TipSheet examines why the problem won’t seem to go away, and offers 10 top story ideas and resources for reporting on coal ash in your locale.
"Jasmín Ordóñez looks out from a wooden boat at the water as she crosses a narrow channel that connects a labyrinth of chinampas, island farms that were built by the Aztecs thousands of years ago."
