In Atlanta, a Deadly Forest Protest Sparks Debate Over ‘Domestic Terrorism’
"Manuel Esteban Paez Teran seemed to be everyone’s favorite social justice activist. ... Now the 26-year-old activist is dead."
Source: Washington Post, 01/27/2023
EJToday: Top Environmental Politics Headlines
EJToday is a daily weekday digest of top environment/energy news and information of interest to environmental journalists, independently curated by Editor Joseph A. Davis. Sign up below to receive in your inbox. For queries, email EJToday@SEJ.org. For more info, read an EJToday FAQ. Plus, follow EJToday on social media at @EJTodayNews, and flag stories of note by including the @EJTodayNews handle on your posts. And tell us how to make EJToday even better by taking this brief survey.
Want to join the EJToday team? Volunteer time commitments can vary from just an hour a month up to a daily contribution, and would involve helping to curate content of interest. To learn more, reach out to the director of publications, Adam Glenn, at sejournaleditor@sej.org.
Note: Members have additional options to choose from (you'll need your log-in info).
"Climate Groups Decry Selection Of Oil Chief To Oversee COP28"
"Hundreds of climate and environmental groups from around the world released a letter Thursday that decried the nomination of an oil executive to oversee the United Nations climate negotiations at COP28 this year.
Earlier this month, the United Arab Emirates, host of the U.N. climate talks this year, named Sultan al-Jaber to the presidency of the conference Nov. 30 to Dec. 12. The company he runs as chief executive, the Abu Dhabi National Oil Co., produces 4 million barrels of crude oil per day and hopes to expand to 5 million daily by the end of the decade.
Source: AP, 01/27/2023"Biden Bans Roads and Logging in Alaska’s Tongass National Forest"
"The Biden administration announced Wednesday that it has banned logging and road-building on about nine million acres of the Tongass National Forest in Southeast Alaska, aiming to settle a two-decade battle over the fate of North America’s largest temperate rainforest."
Source: NYTimes, 01/26/2023Bill To Withdraw Va. From Carbon-Trading Program Dies In State Committee
"A committee of the Virginia Senate on Tuesday defeated a bill backed by Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) that would withdraw the state from a regional carbon-trading initiative."
Source: The Hill, 01/26/2023US Refuses Calls For Immediate Protection Of North Atlantic Right Whales
"The U.S. government has denied two petitions to immediately protect critically endangered North Atlantic right whales during the species’ calving season, raising concerns that this population of whales will continue to decline without intervention. There are currently about 340 of these whales left, making them one of the most threatened cetaceans in the world."
Source: Mongabay, 01/26/2023"Silencing Science: How Indonesia Is Censoring Wildlife Research"
"Under President Joko Widodo, Indonesia has gained international praise for its conservation policies. But now the government is clamping down on scientists who are questioning official claims that the country’s endangered orangutan and rhino populations are increasing."
Source: YaleE360, 01/26/2023"Agency Delays Protections For Imperiled Bat, Prairie Chicken"
"The Biden administration is temporarily delaying stepped-up legal protections for two imperiled species following efforts by congressional Republicans to derail the actions."
Source: AP, 01/26/2023"4th Circuit Asked to Nix Permit for Mountain Valley Pipeline"
"Environmental groups asked the Fourth Circuit during oral arguments Tuesday to toss a key water permit for the Mountain Valley Pipeline, which would lead to even more delays for the $6.2 billion project that developers aim to resume constructing this summer."
Source: Bloomberg Environment, 01/25/2023"Depleted Under Trump, a ‘Traumatized’ E.P.A. Struggles With Its Mission"
"Despite an injection of funding, the agency still has not recovered from an exodus of scientists and policy experts, both insiders and critics say."
"WASHINGTON — The nation’s top environmental agency is still reeling from the exodus of more than 1,200 scientists and policy experts during the Trump administration. The chemicals chief said her staff can’t keep up with a mounting workload. The enforcement unit is prosecuting fewer polluters than at any time in the past two decades.
Source: NYTimes, 01/24/2023"Big Tech Helps Big Oil Spread Subtle Climate Denialism"
"Fossil-fuel companies’ climate messaging may have changed to fit the new century, but the goal is the same the industry has had for decades: to delay action and protect profits for as long as possible. Even in the face of an increasingly obvious climate emergency, this message still resonates with many people. Maybe that’s because the biggest social media companies help amplify it."
Source: Bloomberg, 01/24/2023"Georgia Regulators Release Plans For Mine Near Okefenokee"
"Georgia regulators released detailed plans Thursday for a titanium mine near the fabled Okefenokee swamp, a project that’s drawn the ire of environmental groups and the head of the Interior Department."
Source: E&E News, 01/23/2023"Rough Road For Farm Bill As Divided Congress Takes Hold"
"A chaotic start to the new Republican-led House may spell trouble for the 2023 farm bill."
Source: E&E News, 01/23/2023"Thunberg Says Davos Elite 'Fuelling Destruction Of Planet'"
"Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg slammed business and political leaders attending the World Economic Forum in Davos on Thursday, saying it was "absurd" to listen to them while they fuelled 'the destruction of the planet.'"
Source: AFP, 01/20/2023"Trump’s Interior Secretary Didn’t Violate Ethics Rules, Watchdog Finds"
"The inspector general for the Interior Department said on Thursday it had found no evidence that the former secretary, David Bernhardt, violated federal ethics or conflict-of-interest rules when the department made decisions that affected one of his former clients, a California water district."
Source: NYTimes, 01/20/2023"These Farmers Dominate The Colorado River. Cross Them At Your Peril"
"The letter from Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly was greeted like an act of war in California’s Imperial Valley."
Source: LA Times, 01/20/2023
Advertisement 
