"The House this week will vote on legislation that would create nearly 1.4 million acres of new wilderness in the West. The six-bill package would designate large swaths of land in California, Colorado and Washington state as wilderness or potential wilderness intended for further study."
"The Justice Department has dropped its antitrust inquiry into four automakers that had sided with California in its dispute with the Trump administration over reducing climate-warming vehicle pollution, deciding that the companies had violated no laws, according to people familiar with the matter."
With the negative impacts of climate change becoming clearer by the day, there is a growing awareness among important financial institutions that global warming confronts businesses with large, even catastrophic, economic losses. The latest TipSheet has the backstory on the financial risks of climate change, plus what’s ahead and how to cover it, with story ideas and reporting resources.
As the Pacific Northwest faces serious impacts from climate change, and moves to respond, the Society of Environmental Journalists provides a special in-depth report on how journalists can tell the unfolding story. “Covering Your Climate: The Emerald Corridor” launches Feb. 11 with an extensive issue backgrounder, which will be followed by tipsheets and a toolbox over the next few weeks. We hope this is the first in a series of regional climate special reports, and we welcome your suggestions and ideas for future editions of "Covering Your Climate."
"The Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Washington office ignored the advice of its Colorado staff, deciding to expand oil and gas drilling in the southwest corner of the state because earlier plans were “not in line with the administration’s direction to decrease regulatory burden and increase access.”"
"Across much of California, fossil fuel companies are leaving thousands of oil and gas wells unplugged and idle, potentially threatening the health of people living nearby and handing taxpayers a multibillion-dollar bill for the environmental cleanup."
"At least 10 US oil refineries have been emitting cancer-causing benzene above the federal government’s limits, according to a new report from the Environmental Integrity Project."
"The Trump administration on Thursday finalized plans to allow mining and energy drilling on nearly a million acres of land in southern Utah that had once been protected as part of a major national monument."
"Democrats on the House Science, Space and Technology Committee grilled Department of Energy (DOE) staff Wednesday on delays in releasing funds for energy efficiency research, a topic that has broad bipartisan support in Congress but not from the White House."
"Former Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Gina McCarthy expressed doubts Wednesday over investing in carbon capture technology, saying that focus should instead be on limiting fossil fuel extraction."
Advertisement 
