Campaign Cash: Louisiana Regulators’ Ties To The Utilities They Oversee
"The state is tied for dead last in renewable energy adoption. Little surprise, with so much fossil fuel money flowing to its commissioners."
(AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN)
"The state is tied for dead last in renewable energy adoption. Little surprise, with so much fossil fuel money flowing to its commissioners."
Getting people excited about large, charismatic wildlife is easy, but tiny, little-known or less-than-lovable species can be a tough sell. Journalists Bethany Brookshire and Douglas Main on why it’s important to include oddball organisms in your reporting and how to get audiences engaged. Pro tip: Building curiosity and caring for minor-league creatures often means being a bit self-centered.
In any disaster, among the most vulnerable populations are the residents of nursing homes. Yet many communities may simply not be ready to protect them, despite a complex patchwork of state, federal and local regulatory oversight. That means environmental journalists should get on the case, reporting the risk in their locales, advises the latest TipSheet. Insights, plus a dozen story ideas and reporting resources.
"A new groundbreaking survey highlights the human toll from pollution and other quality of life impacts connected to those living near the forest biomass industry’s wood pellet mills in the U.S Southeast. Door-to-door interviews were conducted by a coalition of NGOs, with 312 households surveyed in five mostly poor, rural and minority communities located near pellet mills"
The displacement of populations by climate impacts, while not a new phenomenon in human history, is worsening in the face of global warming’s extreme weather patterns. Yet the extensive international regime to aid refugees doesn’t cover those migrating due to flooding, drought, natural disasters or climate change. Backgrounder considers the implications and how nations will respond to the new realities.
"The red-cockaded woodpecker, an iconic bird in southeastern forests, has recovered enough of its population to be downlisted from an endangered species to a threatened one, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced Thursday."
Susceptibility to landslides is more on the minds of environmental reporters, especially in the wake of Hurricane Helene, which caused hundreds of them. To get a better read on local landslide risk for local stories, Reporter’s Toolbox recommends an enhanced resource from the U.S. Geological Survey, which layers the risk data into easily readable map form.
"A federal agency proposed an expansion of the Okefenokee Swamp’s vast wildlife refuge on Friday, which could lead to a buyout offer for land intended for a private company’s mining project that conservationists have fought for years."
"Hurricane Oscar made landfall in eastern Cuba Sunday evening amid a power blackout, adding to fears that the storm may prove to be especially dangerous."
"The federal government has just finalized a $861 million loan guarantee to fund what will be Puerto Rico’s largest utility-scale solar and battery storage installations."