Russia’s invasion of Ukraine raises questions about the world energy supply and related environmental consequences (such as pressure to lease U.S. lands for drilling). TipSheet explores the politics — and the reality — of U.S. energy policy in the wake of Ukraine and in the run-up to November’s midterm elections, and asks the question: Do federal policies on pricing really matter?
A historical look at how profit and capitalism have ravaged the natural world is the subject of our new BookShelf review. Contributor Melody Kemp offers her take on award-winning Australian journalist Jeff Sparrow’s forthcoming volume, which explores the damage wrought by cars, roads and PR spin, as well as solutions suggested by models of Indigenous land management.
"President Biden hosted a virtual event Tuesday with California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), among others, to announce new domestic investments in minerals key to production of goods such as computers and household appliances."
"Once nonexistent in northwest Alaska, beavers are both benefiting from and changing a warming tundra."
"The Biden administration on Tuesday said it found “significant deficiencies” in a Trump-era environmental analysis of a mining road that would cut through wilderness and Indigenous territory in northwest Alaska."
"Two controversial mining concessions on Indigenous land were canceled after Mexico’s Supreme Court ruled that residents were not consulted."
The climate-security nexus has drawn attention from the Biden administration, but less so elsewhere, even as security experts worry about climate change as a threat multiplier that can exacerbate other causes of conflict. Our new Backgrounder explores these concerns, with a look at how the issue has played out in recent U.S. politics. Plus, seven global regions where climate change may worsen ongoing conflict.
"America’s national bird is more beleaguered than previously believed, with nearly half of bald eagles tested across the U.S. showing signs of chronic lead exposure, according to a study published Thursday."
"The department’s inspector general found Zinke had repeated contact with developers about a real estate deal and lied about it to an ethics official. The Justice Department declined to bring charges."
"The extreme dryness that has ravaged the American West for more than two decades now ranks as the driest 22-year period in at least 1,200 years, and scientists have found that this megadrought is being intensified by humanity’s heating of the planet."
