"A little-known political race in New Mexico is drawing big money and attention from national environmental groups, and oil, gas and mining interests, in the lead-up to next week's midterm elections."
"It is the hottest, most expensive campaign in Arizona this year — and it’s not the one for the U.S. Senate. The battle — which has already cost nearly $54.7 million, or about $11.50 for every eligible voter — is over solar power."
"Oil and gas companies are spending millions to squash a pair of ballot initiatives this election cycle: a proposal for limiting the location of new oil and gas sites in Colorado, and a plan to charge climate polluters in Washington state."
"Flaws in Trump administration modeling inflate the benefits of freezing federal fuel economy standards by hundreds of billions of dollars, some automakers, economists, former EPA staff, and environmental groups say."
"Minnesota regulators on Thursday granted key permits to the long-planned PolyMet copper-mining project that’s opposed by environmentalists who fear it could someday foul waters, including Lake Superior."
"The Supreme Court on Friday refused to halt the trial in a lawsuit brought by 21 young people seeking to force the federal government to take action to address climate change."
As the Trump administration challenges wetlands preservation policy under the Clean Water Act, an important related practice has come into question. Mitigation banking — the creation or preservation of one wetland to offset the loss of another — has become a billion-dollar industry. But as this week’s TipSheet reports, the legal and regulatory tangle aside, wetlands permitting and mitigation continues, likely near you. Tracking the local story.
"A small, brownish weasel that spends much of its life in the water, hunting for fish and frogs, the American mink is a signal for the ecological health of where it lives. Right now, the mink is not doing very well along the Hudson River, largely due to decades of PCB pollution ... ."
"A giant antibody created in the laboratory shielded mice against dozens of flu strains, offering new hope against a winter misery."
"The oncoming flu season has claimed its first lives, among them a child in Florida who had not gotten a flu shot.
This year’s vaccine significantly reduces the odds of getting sick — and you should get one now if you haven’t already — but it’s far from perfect.
