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"The Interior Department is canceling a rule that put conservation on equal footing with development, as President Donald Trump’s administration eases restrictions on industries and seeks to boost drilling, logging, mining and grazing on taxpayer-owned land."
"Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has said little publicly about vaccines in recent months, at the behest of a White House worried that his unpopular stance will hurt Republicans in November’s midterm elections. But he has not abandoned his quest for evidence that they are unsafe."
"Scott Boyd walks through deep mud where the Stillaguamish River empties into Puget Sound, an arm of the Pacific Ocean."
"Across the country, wildland firefighters are staring down what could be one of the most severe fire seasons in recent history. Among those figuring out how to prepare is the U.S. Wildland Fire Service, a brand new agency created by the Trump administration."
"The Devils Hole pupfish, a critically-endangered species and an icon of conservation, ekes out a precarious existence in Death Valley National Park. There, in the scorching desert, guarded by fences and video surveillance, this fish swims around in a sunken fishbowl made of rock that's been its only natural home for millennia."
"Sweeping changes may be in store at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema), the nation’s frontline emergency response coordinator, that experts warned could further erode US capacity to handle disasters as the risks of extreme weather fueled by the climate crisis continue to rise."
"The Trump administration will soon propose softening Biden-era limits on “forever chemicals” in drinking water, delaying but keeping tough standards for two common types and rescinding limits on some rarer forms of the substance, according to an EPA official."
"FEMA slowed grants intended to help states such as California and Colorado prepare for and prevent wildfires, a Washington Post analysis shows."
"Media organizations and funders should proactively involve young people in journalism. There are some stories best told by young people, and youth media programs can help teenagers recognize themselves as important contributors to the news ecosystem, not simply as content consumers. If we don’t invest in building a community that involves the next generation of news creators and consumers, we can’t act surprised if there isn't one."
"Thousands of Milwaukee children are growing up with poison in their blood. It courses through their veins, cements in their bones and threatens to rob them of impulse control, learning ability and physical health."
"A South Dakota mining company has canceled a drilling project in the Black Hills after opposition from Native American tribes and local groups."
"Cycles of high tick activity are coming earlier and staying later, experts previously told USA TODAY, thanks to factors including shorter seasons, warmer winters and even acorns."
"Warming ocean waters are priming beaches and raw shellfish for Vibrio even as scientists are trying to stay one step ahead"
"Flooding across northern Michigan last month pushed rivers to record levels, testing the limits of the state’s aging dams so severely that officials in one city nearly ordered evacuations as water threatened to spill over the top of a key barrier — a close call that highlights the growing risk that intensifying storms pose to similar infrastructure around the country."
"In Benin, mangroves are said to be protected by the Zangbéto. In the Vodun belief, this deity forbids wood cutting, under penalty of a curse. As a result, in 10 years, more than 500 hectares (1,200 acres) of mangroves have been preserved thanks to this spiritual practice, which protects fragile and vital ecosystems."
