"An unlikely advocate seems to be around every bend of the Colorado River these days: the Walton Family Foundation. The $3.65 billion organization launched by Walmart founder Sam Walton has become ubiquitous in the seven-state basin that provides water to 40 million people, dishing out $100 million in grants in the last five years alone."

"Economists have workable policy ideas for addressing climate change. But what if they’re politically impossible?"

"Multiple coal ash sites in Illinois sit within or adjacent to flood plains, according to environmental watchdogs."

"With countless acres of flat, fertile farmland traversed by major rivers, Illinois is familiar with major flooding.

Just as towns were built along rivers in decades past, so were coal-fired power plants that relied on the water for cooling and transporting coal. Now, those plants — some defunct and some still operating — are also repositories for toxic coal ash that could pose a risk of contamination when floodwaters rise.

"Imports of waste from across the country have turned parts of the state into ‘a toilet bowl’ – and residents are fighting back"

"The latest Census of Agriculture, released yesterday by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), shows a number of familiar trends: farm consolidation is continuing; the largest agribusinesses are increasing in number and acreage; the average age of American farmers is still climbing; and mid-sized farms are fading away."

"The New York Times sent a climate policy survey to the 18 declared candidates. They all want to stick to the Paris Agreement. Beyond that, they diverge."

"Russian social media accounts focused on U.S. division over coal jobs as part of an effort to sway the 2016 presidential election, according to the newly released report from special counsel Robert Mueller."

"Anti-abortion Christians are among those protesting an Environmental Protection Agency proposal that would limit consideration of health benefits in regulating mercury and other toxic emissions from industrial sources like coal-burning power plants."

"South Carolina’s Republican-majority Senate advanced a measure on Wednesday that would require the state to block new infrastructure to transport or process offshore oil and gas as state lawmakers fear the Interior Department will open the Atlantic coast to offshore drilling."

"Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s already shaky bid to persuade Canadians to fight climate change will get even tougher after the election on Tuesday of conservative Jason Kenney as premier of the energy-rich province of Alberta."