Disasters

"For the past 25 years, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has helped develop building codes, the construction standards that help houses survive hurricanes, wildfires and earthquakes. Now, the Trump Administration has ordered that to stop, according to people involved with the work."

"One month into the new Trump administration, firings of scientists and freezes to U.S. research funding have caused an unprecedented elimination of scientific expertise from the federal government. Proposed and ongoing cuts to agencies like the National Weather Service and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, could hobble efforts to keep Americans safe during and after disasters."

"After firing 200 probationary employees this weekend, FEMA was directed “to make a list” of anyone who worked on climate or equity."

"Enbridge Energy’s plans to build a protective tunnel around an aging pipeline that runs beneath a channel connecting two Great Lakes can continue, a Michigan appeals court ruled."

"Staff at the office, a branch of the U.S. housing department that Congress uses to address the worst catastrophes, would be reduced by 84 percent."

"Demonstrators have protested against an expedited cleanup process that would involve using a beloved beach as a toxic waste sorting site"

"Numerous programs aimed at averting violence, instability and extremism worsened by global warming are ensnared in the effort to dismantle the main American aid agency, U.S.A.I.D."

"The agency’s acting administrator directed employees to not engage with the media without “prior authorization.”"

"Just over a mile from where Patricia Flores has lived for almost 20 years, a battery smelter plant spewed toxic elements into the environment for nearly a century."

"President Donald Trump’s administration is holding up money for wildfire mitigation projects funded through legislation championed by his Democratic predecessor, threatening efforts to prevent catastrophic blazes like the ones that recently ripped through Southern California."