"On a recent Wednesday night, three flares were raging from the industrial smoke stacks at Norco Shell, so bright they could be seen miles away from the interstate at the Bonnet Carré Spillway. They were my guide to Woodland Plantation in La Place, Louisiana, whose new owners were commemorating the site of the largest enslaved revolt in U.S. history."
"Funding delays for lead pipe replacement and the elimination of a CDC lead program could put children at risk."
"A civil rights lawsuit alleging a south Louisiana parish engaged in racist land-use policies by placing polluting industries in majority-Black communities can move forward, a federal appellate court says."
"The president’s suite of executive orders to decimate environmental regulations will propel his administration into court."
Next week, hundreds of environmental journalists are expected to gather in Arizona for #SEJ2025, the Society of Environmental Journalists’ expansive annual conference. Co-chair Kendal Blust has highlights of the four-day event, plus how the challenges facing the Southwest are those of communities across the United States, and why now is a critical time for journalists to come together. Read her rundown and register now, before the April 16 midnight deadline.
"The president may not like how the museum and research institution tells the American story — but Americans do."
"Jared Bossly was planting soybeans one spring night in 2023 on his 2,000-acre farm in South Dakota when he spotted a sheriff’s vehicle parked at the corner of his property. He had a hunch it wasn’t a social visit."
"The National Weather Service is no longer providing language translations of its products, a change that experts say could put non-English speakers at risk of missing potentially life-saving warnings about extreme weather."
"The National Park Service has reversed edits and restored content to its webpage about Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad in the wake of news reports and public backlash over the changes."
"On a recent trip to Mexico City, I marveled at some small, speckled Inca doves, which are almost as common as pigeons in the United States. Nearby, grackles bathed their long, gorgeous blue-black tails in a fountain. Ever since I got the Merlin Bird ID app, my partner has become accustomed to my stopping midwalk, pausing the conversation, and holding up my phone to catch a bit of birdsong or do a step-by-step visual search. Ideally I add a new species to my “life list” in the process."
