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Category Archives: Environmental Law

The World’s Power Grids Are Failing as the Planet Warms

Bloomberg [unpaywalled] – Outages from Albania to Texas show how electricity networks aren’t ready for climate change. “…The climate crisis exposes electricity networks to flash floods ripping down transmission towers, droughts drying up hydro reservoirs and demand spikes from cooling during searing heat. “The whole power system was built and designed in one climatic era… Continue Reading

Answers – What’s Project 2025?

Unpacking the Pro-Trump Plan to Overhaul US Government “…The Forces Behind Project 2025 – Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts launched Project 2025 in April 2022, a few months before Trump officially announced his reelection campaign. Since then, the number of groups backing the initiative has grown. As of now, Project 2025’s advisory board and so-called… Continue Reading

Nature and Artifice: A Portrait of Vincent van Gogh Not Seen Before

Yale University Press – Yale Books: “David Ebony interviews Michael Lobel, author of Van Gogh and the End of Nature In his latest book, Van Gogh and the End of Nature, author Michael Lobel situates Vincent van Gogh in the midst of the industrial era in 19th-century Europe, and explores the artist’s often fraught relationship… Continue Reading

New map gives horror glimpse at world’s climate in 60 years

Express UK: “As Britons experience a cold, rainy summer, experts are urging them to appreciate the milder conditions while they can. A new interactive map developed by scientists from the University of Maryland offers a glimpse into a much hotter future, predicting drastic changes in climate for cities worldwide within the next 60 years. According… Continue Reading

National Coral Reef Monitoring Program

“Coral reefs are among the most valuable ecosystems on earth, providing people with goods and services that include food, storm protection, and recreational opportunities. Despite their importance, coral reef ecosystems are in decline from a myriad of man-made and natural threats. In response, the NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program established an integrated and focused monitoring… Continue Reading

Home Insurance Rates in America Are Wildly Distorted. Here’s Why.

The New York Times [unpaywalled]: “Enid, Okla., surrounded by farms about 90 minutes north of Oklahoma City, has an unwelcome distinction: Home insurance is more expensive, relative to home values, than almost anywhere else in the country. Enid is hardly the American community that is most vulnerable to damaging weather. Yet as a share of… Continue Reading

Washington Post Chatbot in Beta Responds to Questions About Climate

Washington Post – Your climate questions, answered. This is an experiment from The Washington Post to use AI to help answer your climate questions. Responses are based solely on published reporting by Post journalists. Please verify any information with the underlying articles. See also the site’s Feedback Form – Did you find what you were… Continue Reading

Wildlife Protections Take a Back Seat to SpaceX’s Ambitions

“A New York Times investigation found that Elon Musk exploited federal agencies’ [no paywall] competing missions to achieve his goals for space travel. As Elon Musk’s Starship — the largest rocket ever manufactured — successfully blasted toward the sky last month, the launch was hailed as a giant leap for SpaceX and the United States’… Continue Reading

Plastics companies blocked mitigation efforts and may have broken US laws

The Guardian – Paper outlines different legal theories that could help governments pursue accountability for harms: “Companies have spent decades obstructing efforts to take on the plastics crisis and may have breached a host of US laws, a new report argues. The research from the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) details the widespread burdens… Continue Reading

Going plastic-free is nearly impossible. These people are trying anyway.

Washington Post:  The global trend of Plastic Free July offers ideas on how to cut back on plastic use at home. “…According to the Plastic Free Foundation, the nonprofit that Prince-Ruiz founded, 89 million people in 190 countries pledged to reduce their plastic use during July last year. The countries with the most participants are… Continue Reading

Birders asked to help find 126 ‘lost’ bird species

The Guardian: “The coppery thorntail and New Caledonian lorikeet are among the 126 birds “lost” to science, having not been seen for a decade or more, according to the most comprehensive list of missing species composed to date. The new tally is based on millions of records collected by enthusiastic birders and amateur scientists documenting… Continue Reading