As the Trump administration and its allies seek to stifle free speech and paint protest as domestic terrorism, Voices columnist Yessenia Funes argues that environmental journalists must heed the impact on the environmental movement we cover. Start with what happened in Standing Rock, which swept back into the news this spring. Funes explains the connection, and where we may be headed.
"Consumers remain vulnerable to price spikes despite record domestic oil and gas production. But experts doubt the crisis will boost clean energy, absent strong policy."
"Indiana Gov. Mike Braun (R) on Wednesday suspended the Hoosier State’s sales tax on gas for 30 days, as prices at the pump have increased since the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran began."
"WEST COLUMBIA, W.Va. — Eric Pinson is obsessed with stacks of electric bills laid out in neat piles on his desk. He runs a camping trailer park in West Virginia not far from a planned data center — all in the shadow of an enormous coal-powered plant that recently received millions in funding from the Trump administration for upgrades.
"The Trump administration on Thursday proposed weakening rules for the disposal of ash produced by burning coal that can contain hazardous heavy metals and contaminate groundwater. Those regulations were strengthened under the Biden administration as part of a wider crackdown on pollution from coal-fired power plants."
"Yang Haiming didn’t stop working when he retired from the coal mines at age 60. Instead, he jumped into a new industry."
"Since last summer, developers are no longer allowed to use a government website that helps with a basic preliminary task for projects: identifying what endangered species are found in a particular area."
"Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin delivered the keynote speech at a Wednesday meeting of the Heartland Institute, a group that challenges the overwhelming scientific consensus on climate change’s harmful impacts and the need to curb greenhouse gas emissions that cause it."
"The legislation was weakened so significantly its original sponsor ultimately voted against it. Alabamians say they’ll continue to push for real reform."
"Seven Democratic U.S. senators have launched a probe into a $370 million “alternative fuel” payout to Cheniere Energy, made earlier this year by the IRS, that critics say the liquefied natural gas export company never should have received."
