"President Donald Trump on Thursday ordered government officials to consolidate wildland firefighting into a single program, despite warnings from former federal officials that it could be costly and increase the risk of catastrophic blazes."
Steep cuts for the U.S. National Park System look likely from the Trump administration, affecting visitors, roiling local businesses and raising political hackles. For environmental journalists, budgets slashed for hundreds of park units could also turn a summer standby story into something closer to disaster coverage. TipSheet has more than a dozen story ideas and reporting resources to cover the park nearest you.
"Months before hosting the U.N.'s first climate talks held in the Amazon, Brazil is fast-tracking a series of controversial decisions that undercut President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s lofty environmental rhetoric and show widening divisions within his cabinet."
"President Trump’s proposed cuts to the National Park Service (NPS) are troubling some Republicans."
"A plan to build a wood-burning power plant in a Massachusetts city once dubbed the asthma capital of the country could be springing back to life years after state and local officials struck it down — and opponents are ready to renew their fight against what many call a “zombie project.”"
"As a youngster, Barry McCovey Jr. would sneak through metal gates and hide from security guards just to catch a steelhead trout in Blue Creek amid northwestern California redwoods. Since time immemorial, his ancestors from the Yurok Tribe had fished, hunted and gathered in this watershed flanked by coastal forests. But for more than 100 years, these lands were owned and managed by timber companies, severing the tribe’s access to its homelands."
"Senate Republicans plan to add the sale of public land into their version of President Donald Trump’s massive package of tax cuts, according to a key lawmaker."
"Many fires burning across Canada, forcing evacuations and threatening air quality in the United States, cannot simply be put out, authorities and experts say."
"Wildfires burning in Canada's oil-producing province of Alberta have affected more than 344,000 barrels per day of oil sands production, or about 7% of the country's overall crude oil output, according to Reuters calculations."
Media coverage of “bugs” is often sensationalistic and centered on fear and disgust. But conservation photographer and writer Danae Wolfe says journalists should be highlighting the importance, beauty and plight of insects and spiders. Reporting that offers alternative perspectives on these essential creatures can inspire curiosity and admiration, and encourage efforts to protect them. Wolfe on why to write about insects.
