"Justin Pearson, a Tennessee lawmaker, has become one of the loudest voices amid a growing national backlash against the pollution and politics of America's AI buildout."
"The stopgap includes extenders and authorizations for a number of environmental and infrastructure programs but leaves out special funding the White House had requested for national parks operations, wildfire management and disaster recovery in North Carolina."
"Republicans in Washington are taking steps to roll back federal workplace heat protections as summer temperatures surge."
"Reducing rampant pollution across the United States was so important that when Congress passed many environmental protection laws, including the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act and Safe Drinking Water Act, it didn’t want to leave enforcement only to the executive branch. Congress specifically wrote into those laws ways for citizens to enforce them through the courts when the government does not act to address the problem."
"Michigan’s highest court has ordered state energy regulators to redo their environmental review of Enbridge’s Line 5 tunnel project beneath the Straits of Mackinac."
Summertime and the livin' is smoggy. American air may be clearer now than when the Clean Air Act was passed in 1970, but pollutants still abound. Heat and sunlight stoke chemical reactions that exacerbate health hazards. And worsening wildfires mix in harmful smoke. The latest TipSheet has more than a dozen story ideas and reporting resources.
The U.S. freight system delivers significant environmental impacts nationwide, especially in states that host major rail-and-road hubs and seaports. Meanwhile, new federal laws and policies are making it harder to curtail pollution generated by freight trucks, trains and warehouses. Journalist John Lippert looks at how the public, private and nonprofit sectors are rising to this challenge.
Emailed documents and an anonymous memo set two Tampa Bay Times reporters to investigating government development plans for sensitive state lands. Max Chesnes and Emily L. Mahoney followed the fast-moving story for more than a year, approaching it as a drumbeat of scoops. Ultimately, the government reversed course. Read about this award-winning series in the latest Inside Story Q&A.
"Ten U.S. states have legalized systems that can be plugged into standard wall outlets. The technology typically does not require permits or electricians."
"Solar panels produced 51% of California’s electricity in May, the first time the clean energy source surpassed the halfway mark for an entire month. The data counts both large-scale installations and the state’s bounty of rooftop arrays."
