In the wake of Donald Trump’s presidential upset, U.S. environmental and energy policy may undergo dramatic change. SEJournal Online has prepared a reporter’s watchlist of 12 stories with local angles and broad impact, ranging from fossil fuels to renewables, clean air to clean water, and infrastructure to public lands. Read on.
"'Trump will be the first anti-science president we have ever had,' says Michael Lubell, director of public affairs for the American Physical Society in Washington DC. 'The consequences are going to be very, very severe.'”
"Ralph J. Cicerone, president emeritus of the National Academy of Sciences and a renowned authority on atmospheric chemistry and climate change, has died. He was 73."
"Facing opposition from politicians, this North Carolina scientist is urging coastal communities to get ready for rising water."
"A small, dark-feathered bird known as the common swift flies for 10 months on end without ever landing, the longest time spent aloft of any known bird, scientists said Thursday."
"For decades, the military and the VA have repeatedly turned to one man to guide decisions on whether Agent Orange harmed vets in Vietnam and elsewhere. His reliable answer: No."
"One day, the sun might send a massive explosion of highly charged particles flying directly at North America. If a storm hits, some U.S. cities could be blacked out until the solar storm passes to protect electric grid transformers threatened by storm currents, grid officials explain."
"Scarcely two months have passed since the Obama administration announced a major breakthrough in its program to resurrect the population of the world’s most endangered wolf."
"One of the most detailed genomic studies of any ecosystem to date has revealed an underground world of stunning microbial diversity, and added dozens of new branches to the tree of life."
"Governments gave the green light on Thursday for a U.N. scientific study on how to meet an ambitious global warming target, despite growing worries by some scientists that the goal may be unrealistic."
