"Plastic production really began in earnest in the 1950s. It’s hard to remember, but we once got along without it. Of course, plastic offered great convenience, and its production skyrocketed."
"KATHMANDU, Nepal — His boss fell sick first, with aching pains and a high temperature. Then, some of his colleagues began showing similar symptoms. By the time Rajkumar Adhikari, 35, grew feverish and started vomiting, he learned that the sickness had a name: dengue."
"Groups are turning up the pressure on Congress to do more for black communities being battered by strong storms, rising tides, and intense heat."
"For the fifth week since the blowout began, a large flare is still burning at the site of GEP Haynesville, LLC’s blown out fracked gas wells in northwestern Louisiana. The blowout occurred on August 30, shortly after the company began a frack job, igniting two adjacent wells. A state official estimated that efforts to contain the blowout could take another two months, or more."
"One of the West's largest utilities said yesterday it plans to retire about two-thirds of its coal units by 2030 and replace the vast majority of that power with renewable energy."
"The Supreme Court today agreed to take up a heated dispute over a natural gas pipeline's crossing of the Appalachian Trail."
"President Trump told House Republicans that he made his now infamous phone call to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the urging of Energy Secretary Rick Perry — a call Trump claimed he didn’t even want to make."
"The Trump administration plans to boost biofuel blending in the nation's fuel supplies beginning next year, while continuing to let small petroleum refineries avoid the mandates in certain circumstances, officials said today [Friday]."
A deeply documented investigation revealed serious problems in Illinois’ aging nuclear power plants, and won reporters Brett Chase and Madison Hopkins an outstanding small market investigative reporting award from the Society of Environmental Journalists last year. Chase spoke with SEJournal Online’s “Inside Story” about the “Power Struggle” project, about lessons learned and advice for other reporters. Read the Q&A.
As the Society of Environmental Journalists heads to Colorado this week for its annual gathering, it’s a good time to consider how to report on the vast public lands throughout the western United States. The latest TipSheet explores the history of conflict over public lands, the stories they yield and the resources needed to better report the issue.
