A promising federal shield law that would protect journalists from jail for refusing to reveal sources months ago passed the House of Representatives but has since stalled in the Senate. The new WatchDog Opinion column can tell you why … and why this measure, dubbed the PRESS Act, matters so much for reporters, including those that cover climate and the environment.
"Aita Prasad Gurung dangled off a cliff in Nepal, carefully manipulating a long pole with a blade at its end to cut away chunks of honeycomb after Himalayan bees fled the fumes from a fire set to drive them from their homes."
"Of all the decisions Paris Olympics organizers made about where to hold each sport, sending surfing competitions to the other side of the world — in the Pacific waters of Tahiti — provoked the strongest reactions. Tahitians and others railed against the building of a new viewing tower on Teahupo’o reef because of fears it would hurt marine life."
"Fossil fuel firms are biggest beneficiaries of investor-state dispute settlement courts which have awarded $114bn of public money".
"New litigation from state AG offices raises the stakes in court battles focused on fighting greenwashing and misleading claims about recycling."
"A First Nation in northwestern Ontario that has faced decades of mercury poisoning is suing the provincial and federal governments, arguing they've failed to protect its treaty rights."
"Top EPA officials supported a rebuke of the Tennessee Valley Authority’s environmental review of a gas-fueled power plant this spring, but they backed off when the electric utility ignored their criticism."
"Gov. Gretchen Whitmer had pledged to crack down on bottled water companies taking water at the same time Flint, Michigan, faced a water crisis. Six years later and in her second term, little has changed."
"Signal Hill Petroleum spent millions to overturn California’s landmark law protecting neighborhoods from oil drilling. Now it wants to drill dozens of new wells in a city established a century ago to avoid taxes on oil development."
"Global investment in clean energy technology and infrastructure is set to hit $2 trillion this year, twice the amount going into fossil fuels, an International Energy Agency report showed."
Links
[1] https://www.sej.org/publications/watchdog/why-press-needs-press-senate-action-press-act
[2] https://www.sej.org/headlines/nepal-s-honey-gatherers-say-fewer-hives-threaten-tradition
[3] https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/climate-change-nepal-honey/
[4] https://www.sej.org/headlines/paris-aiming-most-sustainable-olympics-yet-plan-not-perfect
[5] https://apnews.com/article/paris-olympics-sustainability-climate-carbon-emissions-tahiti-85a237ea50cc2f1e5c60b907e06b7299
[6] https://www.sej.org/headlines/secretive-court-has-awarded-over-100bn-public-money-fossil-firms-study
[7] https://www.theguardian.com/environment/article/2024/jun/06/investors-awarded-billions-of-dollars-for-losses-related-to-climate-laws-analysis-finds
[8] https://www.sej.org/headlines/lawsuits-citizens-and-states-targeting-plastic-pollution-pile
[9] https://insideclimatenews.org/news/05062024/lawsuits-targeting-plastic-pollution-pile-up-as-frustrated-citizens-and-states-seek-accountability/
[10] https://www.sej.org/headlines/grassy-narrows-first-nation-sues-ontario-canada-over-mercury
[11] https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/thunder-bay/grassy-narrows-first-nation-lawsuit-1.7223442
[12] https://www.sej.org/headlines/epa-balked-tva-s-fossil-fuel-plant-then-stepped-aside
[13] https://www.eenews.net/articles/epa-balked-at-tvas-fossil-fuel-plant-then-stepped-aside/
[14] https://www.sej.org/headlines/mich-bottled-water-company-still-extracting-millions-gallons-free
[15] https://www.propublica.org/article/michigan-bottled-water-whitmer-flint
[16] https://www.sej.org/headlines/calif-oil-town-chose-oil-tied-firm-review-impacts-drilling-permit
[17] https://insideclimatenews.org/news/06062024/california-oil-town-drilling-permit-extension-impact/
[18] https://www.sej.org/headlines/iea-expects-global-clean-energy-investment-hit-2-trillion-2024
[19] https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/iea-expects-global-clean-energy-investment-hit-2-trillion-2024-2024-06-06/
[20] https://www.sej.org/search_results
[21] https://www.sej.org/search_results?page=597
[22] https://www.sej.org/search_results?page=594
[23] https://www.sej.org/search_results?page=595
[24] https://www.sej.org/search_results?page=596
[25] https://www.sej.org/search_results?page=599
[26] https://www.sej.org/search_results?page=600
[27] https://www.sej.org/search_results?page=601
[28] https://www.sej.org/search_results?page=602
[29] https://www.sej.org/search_results?page=5052