(AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN)
"Local and federal authorities are investigating after an attempt Friday to poison the city of Oldsmar’s water supply, Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said."
"An audit found that the time it takes the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality to issue penalties to polluters has doubled. Some companies that have been known to violate air quality rules were able to keep at it for years, or even decades."
"Farmers and environmentalists have been arguing for decades over proposals for a massive federal flood-control project in the south Mississippi Delta. The fight is continuing into a new presidential administration."
"Environmental groups filed suit in federal court Thursday to undo a decision by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency last month that handed Florida officials primary regulatory authority over the state’s wetlands."
"Federal and state wildlife officials are investigating who wrote the name “Trump” on the back of a manatee that was spotted in a popular wintering spot for the threatened creatures.
The agencies don’t think the manatee was hurt — the letters appear to have been formed by scraping away algae that often coats the backs of the slow-moving mammals — but the prank appears to be a clear violation of laws against harassing them.
"Four days into the new year, two endangered Florida panthers have been found dead, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission."
"Oil blobs and fuel sheens are appearing on waters surrounding the shipwrecked Golden Ray, an adverse byproduct as work progresses on cutting off the vessel’s stern."
This Society of Environmental Journalists’ special report — “Covering Your Climate: The South” — is the second in a series designed to help journalists of all kinds cover the impacts of climate change in their region, and to report on actions taken to mitigate its worst effects and preparations for what can’t be stopped. This special report begins with the extensive background overview and in the coming weeks, we’ll publish three tipsheets with a wealth of story ideas for right now and over the coming decade, plus a resource toolbox.
Preparations for the inevitable impacts of the climate crisis in the South, the country’s most vulnerable region, have been hit or miss. And one of the toughest challenges — preparing coastal communities for inevitable flooding from sea level rise — is just beginning. More on the region’s climate adaptation considerations in the final entry in our “Covering Your Climate: The South” special report. Plus, a backgrounder, additional tipsheets and a toolbox.
As global warming worsens, effects like extreme heat, drought, wildfires, coastal flooding and inland flooding will have an outsized impact in the Southern United States. The latest entry in our ongoing “Covering Your Climate: The South” special report looks at those effects. Plus, read an introductory overview and watch for additional entries on climate mitigation and adaptation in the South.
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