Water & Oceans

"Dank, Ancient And Quite Fantastic: Scotland’s Peat Bogs Breathe Again"

"Flanders Moss bog is slumped on the flat, farmed landscape of the Carse of Stirling in Scotland like a jelly fungi. It wobbles when you walk on it, and a metal pole goes down eight metres before reaching hard ground. This lowland-raised bog is a dome of peat fed mainly by rainfall and it acts like a single organism – the whole thing has to be looked after for any part to be in really good shape."

Source: Guardian, 01/10/2022

"The Western Megadrought Is Revealing America's 'Lost National Park'"

"On a turquoise lake in a sandstone desert, Ross Dombrowski is trying to figure out what to do about the rock growing behind his houseboat. The rock, spectacular and rust red, like most in southern Utah, wasn't visible below the water's surface when Dombrowski moored his houseboat on Lake Powell last year. Today, it's three stories tall."

Source: NPR, 01/10/2022

Key National Dam Database Gets Major Upgrade

Tens of thousands of dams around the United States provide important functions — but also represent critical environment or public safety risks. Now, one central resource to help environmental journalists cover these structures has been improved in important ways. The latest Reporter’s Toolbox walks you through the main changes to the National Inventory of Dams, and points out some lingering weaknesses.

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"Groups File Complaint Against Water Utility Over Lead Pipes"

"Five environmental and community groups have filed a civil rights complaint with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency alleging the Providence Water Supply Board’s infrastructure and lead pipe replacement work disproportionately increases the risk of lead exposure for residents of color."

Source: AP, 01/07/2022

Biden Administration Eyes Wind Leases Off California’s Coast

"The administration wants to sell its first lease in 2022, and a new bill in California requires a plan. Some in Humboldt have been waiting years for this moment to arrive."

"In the early 20th century, the U.S. Census Bureau declared Humboldt County, California—now famous for its redwoods—the “principal center” of the state’s lumber industry. In 1900, the product accounted for nearly 60 percent of the region’s exports.

But now, though lumber yards and wood suppliers still line Humboldt Bay, the industry is a shadow of its former self.

Source: Inside Climate News, 01/06/2022

Reporters Reveal ‘Decades of Deceit’ Over Underground Water Contamination

A trove of confidential documents about a well-known groundwater pollution problem helped journalists Paul LaRocco and David M. Schwartz uncover how much had actually been hidden about the contamination’s severity and how it could have been kept from worsening. In the latest Inside Story Q&A, LaRocco and Schwartz share the story behind their award-winning investigation.

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