National (U.S.)

"Nestled between the lush forests, sheer cliffs, and marshy wetlands of West Virginia is the New River Gorge, a historic outdoors and adventure sport hub that attracts around one million visitors every year. It’s also the United States’ newest (and West Virginia’s first) national park and preserve."

"President-elect Joe Biden will issue a memo effective Inauguration Day that will block actions taken by the outgoing administration that haven’t yet become official, the transition team announced Wednesday."

"Fueled by climate change, extreme weather set records this year, causing close to $50 billion and the loss of at least 188 lives by early October."

"Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, where the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.  served as pastor and his funeral was held, has been a leader in a growing movement among American Black churches to embrace environmental activism."

"President Trump's four years in office brought a steady stream of courtroom brawls over environmental issues before an increasingly conservative judiciary. 2020 was no exception."

"After a three-year push by the Trump administration to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska to oil drilling — an effort that culminated in a rush to sell leases before the White House changes hands — in the end the only taker may be the state of Alaska itself."

"Snowstorms, holidays, and general inexperience in handling a pandemic response is to blame for a "lag" in the number of Americans so far vaccinated for the coronavirus, according to U.S. officials."

"Politico is acquiring the energy and environment-focused outlet E&E News."

"In an effort to boost natural gas exports, the Trump administration has reversed longstanding federal policy and approved transport of gas by rail anywhere in the country. Opposition has come from Hollywood stars, state attorneys general and local residents who worry about the danger this poses. But plans are moving ahead for a New Jersey project that calls for one of the longest such transport routes in the country: 200 miles through densely populated areas of the East Coast."

"Congress has prioritized scrubbing the atmosphere of carbon dioxide as a way to avoid the worst consequences of climate change, earmarking $447 million for carbon removal research and development in the stimulus bill signed into law. But climate scientists and decarbonization advocates disagree about the need for such a program, and the extent to which the money Congress appropriated for it will make a difference for scaling up carbon capture technology."