"The tentative deal on the 2018 farm bill is likely to boost the Conservation Reserve Program at the price of other conservation initiatives, reflecting fiscal limitations and policy fights that shaped talks over that part of the five-year legislation."
"Near Antarctica, whales are singing in deeper tones to cut through the noise of melting icebergs. In California, a big college football rivalry game was postponed until Saturday because of smoky air from wildfires. And Alaskan shellfish were struck by an outbreak of warm water bacteria."
"While the U.S. put off funding new icebreakers year after year, Russia built a fleet of more than 40 now at the ready as a melting Arctic opens new frontiers."
Not long after the president weighed in on the National Climate Assessment, a troop of highly paid climate deniers took to the big TV talk shows to discredit the scientists who put together the report. Lisa Hymas of Media Matters tracked the egregious contradictions, distortions, and outright lies that were permitted on CNN, Fox News, and NBC. She discusses why the television networks have such a hard time booking actual scientists to discuss global warming, and the pernicious myths and omissions that continue to dog our climate discourse.
"The Department of the Interior is seeking to streamline its schedule for document archiving (and destruction). Some scientists worry about what will be lost."
"Nearly two-thirds of Republicans and a majority of all Americans now acknowledge climate change, according to a Monmouth University Poll released Thursday."
"A new invasive tick species capable of transmitting several severe diseases is spreading in the United States, posing an emerging threat to human and animal health, according to a pair of reports issued Thursday."
"The Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Inspector General has closed two probes into Scott Pruitt’s conduct when he was EPA chief without reaching any conclusions because he resigned as administrator before he could be interviewed, according to a report the agency submitted to Congress on Thursday. "
"Lawmakers have struck a final farm bill deal that scraps a plan backed by House Republicans and President Trump to add new work requirements for recipients of food stamps."
On Monday, when asked about the [National Assessment] report’s conclusion that climate change will wreak havoc on the US economy, President Trump said “I don’t believe it.” Yesterday, the White House doubled down on its climate denial, with Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders questioning the methodology and conclusions of the climate report and saying it was “not based on facts.” That phrase is a fitting description for the talking points offered up by the White House. With one exception, none of these points is factually accurate:"
