"The health of Australia’s environment is poor and has deteriorated over the past five years due to pressures of climate change, habitat loss, invasive species, pollution and mining, according to a government report that warns the natural world holds the key to human wellbeing and survival."
"The White House today touted a new analysis from federal scientists that found breaching a series of four dams in Washington state is “paramount” to efforts to restore salmon populations in the Pacific Northwest but stopped short of endorsing the action."
As part of a Society of Environmental Journalists publishing project focused on covering climate solutions, we take a closer look at ocean-based solutions. In this special tipsheet, ocean scientist and science writer Juli Berwald offers a primer on the climate-related challenges and possibilities in the global ocean’s physics, chemistry and biology. Plus, check out an expanded toolbox with reporting resources and watch a recent SEJ webinar.
In 2006, a local government council in Pennsylvania concerned about sewage sludge dumping enacted the Western legal system’s first formal “rights of nature” instrument. Today, numerous countries have laws recognizing specific rights or even legal personhood for nature. As legal expert Alice Bleby explains, this new perspective arises from a wide range of contexts and plays out in many different ways.
"A federal study released Thursday determined that hardrock mining in a Minnesota wilderness area would risk contaminating the region."
"The Biden administration is throwing out the definition of “habitat” for endangered animals, returning to an understanding that existed before the government under President Donald J. Trump shrank the areas that could be protected for animals under threat of extinction."
"There's a vast world around us that animals can perceive — but humans can't."
"The current pace of reducing agricultural pollution in the Chesapeake Bay is off track, an advocacy group said Wednesday."
"As California endures water restrictions due to widespread drought, a proposed $2.5-billion reservoir expansion project in Santa Clara County promises to increase the amount of freshwater for more than a million people."
Oceans and climate change intersect with many other issues, a crossover likely to be emphasized in the upcoming United Nations Ocean Conference and in future ocean-based climate discussions. This list of resources reflects some of that intersection in order to help environmental journalists better cover the field of “blue climate” solutions.
