With the nation's infrastructure suddenly atop the political agenda, thanks to incoming President Trump, Circle of Blue reporter Brett Walton talks with SEJournal Online about his award-winning series on the neglected risks of septic system pollution, in our latest 'Inside Story' Q&A.
"Californians now face a new grocery-store reality: No more plastic bags. Voters approved Proposition 67, the statewide ban on carry-out plastic bags, 52 percent to 48 percent."
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.
"Oklahoma’s oil and gas regulator plans to shut some disposal wells and reduce the volume of others as its initial response to Sunday’s earthquake near the oil hub of Cushing."
"Wastewater treatment plants may be responsible for emitting up to 23 percent more greenhouse gas than previously thought because of fossil fuels in detergent-laden water from residential showers, household washing machines and industrial sites, new research shows."
While issues like climate change have gained little traction in the presidential race, environmental topics are playing a clearer role in some congressional contests, as well in statehouse and local elections. At the same time, a number of controversial ballot initiatives are tackling environmental topics ranging from plastic bag bans to solar energy. Get info and resources in our Election 2016 Issue Backgrounder.
"A top U.S. Energy Department official in southern New Mexico says the agency plans to close off part of the federal government's underground nuclear waste repository due to contamination and stability concerns."
"Environmentalists are warning the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that its draft plan to continue allowing oil and gas companies to dump unlimited amounts of fracking chemicals and wastewater directly into the Gulf of Mexico is in violation of federal law."
"Norway and Turkey were the only two of 53 countries to vote against an international ban on the dumping of mining waste at sea, at a major conservation summit in Hawaii last week."
"Just south of Johnson Creek sits an abandoned landfill that time, and the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, forgot."
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