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3 Years After Huge Sewage Spill El Segundo Still Stinks. Why Can’t LA Fix It?

"On the worst days, Tamara Kcehowski said, she has thrown up when the stench from Los Angeles’ nearby sewage plant overwhelms her El Segundo apartment. She said her dog, Maggie, has even retched alongside her."

Source: LA Times, 12/17/2024

"Huffman Wins Key Vote To Succeed Grijalva Atop Natural Resources Democrats"

"Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) won a Democratic Steering and Policy Committee vote Monday to succeed Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.) as the top Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee, advancing him to a full vote of the Democratic caucus."

Source: The Hill, 12/17/2024

Feds Propose Protection For Giant Salamanders Devastated By Helene

"You never forget your first time seeing a giant salamander, according to Andy Hill. He was a teenager, standing thigh-high in the Watauga River outside Boone, North Carolina, casting a line on an early fall day when he saw his first eastern hellbender. The salamander stretched 2 feet long and was camouflaged among rocks beneath the clear water."

Source: AP, 12/17/2024

"Velsicol’s Defunct Memphis Plant May Become Environmental Trust"

"Velsicol, a legacy polluter that manufactured pesticides, is proposing to hand over its 83-acre defunct facility in North Memphis to Tennessee as an environmental response trust. Should the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) accept a settlement agreement from the company, the state will be left to determine what to do with wide-ranging contamination including a baseball diamond-shaped pile of hazardous waste and a fluctuating groundwater plume of chemicals beneath it."

Source: Tennessee Lookout, 12/17/2024

"‘Unfettered’ Gas Exports Would Harm U.S. Economy, Energy Secretary Warns"

"If the United States were to continue exporting liquefied natural gas in the way that has made it the world’s biggest gas supplier, it would drive up costs for American consumers and businesses, pollute struggling communities and increase global greenhouse gas emissions, according to a letter written by Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm that was obtained by The Times."

Source: NYTimes, 12/17/2024

UN Talks Fail To Agree On Dealing With Rising Risk Of Global Drought

"Despite two weeks of U.N.-sponsored talks in Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh, the participating 197 nations failed to agree early Saturday on a plan to deal with global droughts, made longer and more severe by a warming climate."

Source: AP, 12/17/2024

Emboldened by ABC Settlement, Trump Threatens More Lawsuits Against Media

"President-elect Donald Trump had not been terribly successful in suing media organizations until this weekend when ABC News agreed to settle a closely-watched defamation case he brought against the network to the tune of $16 million. Now, Trump is expanding his threats of legal action against the news media as he prepares to move back into the White House, stating he wants to “straighten out the press.”"

Source: CNN, 12/17/2024

Anxious Scientists Brace For Trump’s Climate Denialism: ‘Target On Our Backs’

"As the world’s largest gathering of Earth and space scientists swarmed a Washington venue last week, the packed halls have been permeated by an air of anxiety and even dread over a new Donald Trump presidency that might worsen what has been a bruising few years for science."

Source: Guardian, 12/17/2024
April 3, 2025 to April 4, 2025

Science Talk ’25

Join the Association of Science Communicators for SCIENCE TALK ’25, April 3-4, 2025 at McKimmon Center in Raleigh, NC and virtually March 17-28. Early-bird conference registration is open now through the end of January.

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