"Lingering rancor over immigration remains the primary hurdle for wrapping up the 115th Congress, keeping in limbo the fate of spending for EPA and the Interior Department, the expired Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), and key energy tax breaks."
"The undersea use of chemical dispersants during the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil disaster likely did more harm than good, a new study says."
"Every August, Andrew Joyce used to hunker down in the field beside his house, picking juicy, ripe tomatoes in the blazing sun."
"Freshman orientation for new members of Congress had barely begun when Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the 29-year-old darling of the progressive left and newly elected congresswoman from New York, visited Nancy Pelosi’s office for the first time. She was not there to meet the House Democratic leader. She was there to protest."
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"The Camp Fire has claimed 48 lives and 8,800 structures in Northern California, officials said Tuesday."
"The Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday announced plans to place more stringent restrictions on pollution from heavy-duty trucks, in a move that won the Trump administration rare praise from environmental groups."
"A Jefferson County grand jury has indicted the Southeast regional administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency and a former Alabama Environmental Management Commissioner for violating state ethics laws."
The Society of Environmental Journalists last week objected to the White House suspension of CNN reporter Jim Acosta after a contentious briefing with President Donald Trump and the release of a doctored video of the incident. SEJ joined numerous other journalism groups in fighting what it called unacceptable censorship. Details in this month’s WatchDog TipSheet. Plus, science writers host an “info access summit,” a look at issues around secrecy at the Interior Department and the CNN pipe bomb.
If you’ve been to a lot of SEJ conferences in the past, this year’s Stolberg recipient could be seen organizing panels. At the 2018 Flint conference, she participated in three different conference sessions. She has been a mentor in SEJ’s mentor program, and was involved in SEJ’s Parallel Partners program. In addition to that, this year’s recipient was among the dedicated volunteers who sifted through more than 200 resumes and conducted candidate interviews as part of the SEJ Executive Director search committee.
What will a divided Congress mean for environment and energy issues? This week’s TipSheet explores the question by looking at the Democrats who will now lead key House committees once the new Congress is seated next year. Take a lightning tour of a half-dozen top panels, their anticipated leadership and the issues they tackle, including drinking water safety, environmental justice and climate change, infrastructure, science policy, natural resources and more.
