"Facing what it saw as a threat to its monopoly from a surging rooftop solar industry, Arizona’s largest utility secretly funneled millions of dollars to back favored candidates for the state commission regulating it."
The latest release of the annual endangered rivers list provides boatloads of environmental reporting angles, including climate change-related threats like flooding and drought. This week’s TipSheet has the backstory and the new top-10 list, plus 10 suggested starting points for stories and a half-dozen key reporting resources.
"New Mexico lawmakers on Tuesday introduced a bill to protect federal lands around the Chaco Canyon from drilling and mining, attempting to permanently shield the Native American cultural site from recurring attempts at oil and gas leasing."
"More Mexican gray wolves are roaming the American Southwest now than at any time since federal biologists began reintroducing the predators more than two decades ago, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced Monday."
"Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed sweeping energy legislation on Friday that calls for New Mexico’s major electric utilities to get 100 percent of their power from carbon emission-free sources by 2045."
"The last lifeline for the Navajo Generating Station coal-fired power plant near Page was cut Thursday night when Navajo lawmakers voted to end their efforts to acquire the plant and keep it running."
"New Mexico Democratic Sen. Tom Udall won't run for re-election next year, putting an end to what will be 12 years in the Senate."
"Oklahoma lawmakers are considering legislation to prevent cities and towns from imposing a fee on single-use plastic and paper bags, a measure that officials in one Oklahoma community say encroaches on their search for an innovative way to protect the environment from the problems of carelessly discarded bags."
"The U.S. Chemical Safety Board on Wednesday announced it would investigate the three-day chemical blaze at the International Terminals Co., hours after emissions of carcinogenic benzene spiked near the Deer Park plant, prompting city officials to order residents to shelter in place for most of the morning."
