As more Americans make their way to the nation’s parks (and every other variety of outdoor locales), big budget bumps may not be enough to tackle a variety of ongoing worries, from overcrowding and climate change impacts to maintenance backlogs and political backlash. The latest Issue Backgrounder looks over the state of our nation’s parks.
Each year brings another update of the Toxics Release Inventory database. And each year, it gets ignored or downplayed by too many news outlets. As the new Reporter’s Toolbox points out, not only does the latest iteration of TRI have some notable updates but it also offers plenty of room for localizable stories. Here’s how to mine the resource.
"A new project aims to shore up the disappearing coastline of New York City’s Staten Island, while reviving a once famously thriving oyster population".
"As global warming fuels extreme weather in climate-vulnerable Yemen, restoring the Tawila Cisterns could help avert future disasters, officials say".
"A dozen deeply contaminated areas will get a significant boost toward cleanup following an announcement this week by EPA. The agency is adding sites to the National Priorities List, a special designation under the Superfund program that oversees cleanup at areas that pose significant threats to human health and the environment."
"The Great Barrier Reef has been hit by bleaching due to heat stress, the Australian agency that manages the reef said on Friday, ahead of a visit by United Nations officials reviewing whether the reef should be listed as being "in danger"."
"Investment funds that market themselves as sustainable under European rules get similar levels of "green revenues" through the companies they invest in as traditional funds, according to a new study published on Thursday."
"Koch Industries, the American manufacturing giant that employs 122,000 people across the world, said Wednesday it would not exit its operations in Russia because doing so would put its “employees there at greater risk and do more harm than good.”
"European Union countries on Tuesday backed the bloc's plan to impose a world-first carbon dioxide emissions tariff on imports of polluting goods, although the finer details will need to be worked out in upcoming negotiations."
"Professor Jennifer Jacquet examined the top 35 meat and dairy companies—which together, account for a large percentage of greenhouse gas emissions—and found that half aren’t even measuring their impact."
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