Forests

"Congressional Democrats are vowing to defend President Joe Biden’s new federal green jobs program from future Republican attacks."

"Extreme working conditions, low pay and high turnover are leading to a crisis exacerbated by more intense wildfires. Eighteen firefighters tell their stories of the mental toll — from burnout to PTSD to the loss of peers to suicide."

"Over the last few decades, air in the U.S. has undergone a remarkable transformation: pollution levels of health-damaging tiny particles have dropped by roughly 40% since 2000, primarily thanks to the country's decades-long effort to improve air quality through the Clean Air Act, a landmark environmental law."

"Four years since bushfires destroyed wide swathes of southeastern Australia, killing 33, the country is once again on high alert, bracing for what weather experts say will be the hottest, driest period since the so-called Black Summer."

"The Oak Fire, which burned roughly 20,000 acres west of Yosemite National Park last summer, was devastating to the area's Indigenous tribes — including the Southern Sierra Miwuk Nation."

"Increases in federal flood insurance premiums that are projected to surpass 700% over the coming years are already leading people to back out of home purchases and will likely lead to an exodus of residents and businesses from southern Louisiana, officials told a federal judge Thursday in New Orleans."

"The U.S. Forest Service, part of the Agriculture Department, said Thursday that it will issue 385 grants to increase access to trees and nature in cities, towns and suburbs around the country."