People & Population

Oversight on EPA FOIA Screening,  Covering Pipeline Protests, Feedlot Air Emissions, Data on Illegal Fishing

The new year will likely mean subpoenas on EPA’s FOIA response policies, as a Democrat takes the chair in the House Oversight Committee amid charges the agency is choking off politically sensitive record requests. And are new laws in a dozen states making coverage of pipeline protests a felony? That, plus air emission exemptions for animal feedlot operators and data on illegal fishing. All in the latest issue of the WatchDog.

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Climate Refugees Tell Stories of Escaping Wildfires, Floods, and Droughts

"Tens of thousands of U.S. residents were displaced by climate change-fueled disasters in 2018. California saw a string of massive wildfires — from the Mendocino Complex in July, which became the state’s largest wildfire on record, to the Camp fire in November, which was the deadliest. Meanwhile, Hurricane Florence, the second rainiest storm in 70 years of U.S. record-keeping, was quickly forgotten as Hurricane Michael slammed into the Gulf Coast, the third strongest ever to make landfall in the U.S."

Source: The Intercept, 12/31/2018

Trump’s Retreat on the Environment Is Affecting Communities Across U.S.

"In just two years, President Trump has unleashed a regulatory rollback, lobbied for and cheered on by industry, with little parallel in the past half-century. ... The trade-offs, while often out of public view, are real — frighteningly so, for some people — imperiling progress in cleaning up the air we breathe and the water we drink, and in some cases upending the very relationship with the environment around us."

Source: NY Times, 12/31/2018
November 3, 2019 to November 7, 2019

World Environmental Education Congress

The theme of the 10th WEEC, taking place in Bangkok, Thailand, is Local Knowledge, Communication and Global Connectivity. In addition, various other arguments relevant to environmental education, divided into eight thematic niches, will be addressed.

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Environmental (In)Justice Coverage Grows, As More Media Take Note

Environmental justice-related stories are expected to get more attention in the news media in 2019. But that’s not because the challenge of protecting marginalized communities from lopsided environmental impacts is being met. This week’s TipSheet explains, in a look-ahead to environmental justice stories making the news, the many forms the problem takes, the many communities affected and the emerging notion of “climate justice.”

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Ariz. Top Court Rules Against Hopi on Wastewater Snow on Sacred Land

"The Hopi Tribe cannot claim special damage on land controlled by the Arizona Snowbowl ski resort, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled Thursday, all but ending an eight-year legal battle and ensuring the ski area can continue using machine-made snow on the state's most popular slopes."

Source: Arizona Republic, 11/30/2018

Flood Insurance Reform Remains Key Congressional Task

With flooding from hurricanes and other climate disasters becoming the new normal, badly needed flood insurance reform continues to founder in the halls of Congress. The National Flood Insurance Program is billions of dollars in debt, and aid packages are doing little to get people out of flood-prone areas. Congress watchers will keep an eye on new House leadership for insurance solutions, although politically unpalatable rate hikes swamped the big reform. This week’s TipSheet has more on the story, with leads on what to watch in 2019.

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