Every summer, beaches are closed across the United States because of pollution that can bring disease to beachgoers. That suggests local stories, such as problems with sewage systems and algal blooms known as 'red tides.' The latest TipSheet shares resources and info to help you cover the local beach closure beat.
"The Trump administration is taking steps to allow five energy companies to use seismic air guns for oil and gas exploration off the U.S. Atlantic coast even though they would incidentally harass marine mammals. Environmental groups and some coastal communities object."
"In the coming years, a new gold rush will begin. Deep beneath the ocean’s waves, from scalding hydrothermal vents to the frigid stretches of the abyssal plain, ocean processes have deposited vast quantities of valuable minerals on the seafloor. Now, the convergence of technological development and political will has placed this ore within reach. But like the gold rushes of old, the deep-sea-mining industry is emerging on the frontiers of society, far from legislatures and law enforcement."
"Eric Schneiderman says he has evidence that Exxon used one set of numbers in describing risks to investors but used a secret set internally."
"After the European Parliament obtains the release of Monsanto's data, a very different picture emerges about the safety of its product."
"A coalition of environmental groups is mobilizing to challenge the Trump administration's recent effort to pause Obama-era restrictions on greenhouse gas emissions from the oil and gas industry."
"Federal appeals judges denied the Trump administration's motion yesterday to halt a lower-court order requiring U.S. EPA to address water pollution linked to coal mining in West Virginia."
"California's Senate yesterday stepped up promised efforts to push back against the Trump administration, passing a package of bills to protect federal standards in the Golden State, even if rules are repealed or softened nationally."
"A federal judge in Montana has blocked the development of a contested mine next to a wilderness area in the northwestern part of the state, handing a victory to environmental activists who had argued the project could endanger grizzly bears and bull trout."
"The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has halted an Obama administration rule to cut down on pollution of methane, a greenhouse gas produced at oil and natural gas drilling wells."
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