"Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom signed two bills Saturday that would require large corporations operating in the state to disclose both their carbon footprints and their climate-related financial risks starting in 2026."
"From Alcatraz Island to a park in New York City, Native American people will celebrate their centuries-long history of resilience on Monday with ceremonies, dances and speeches."
In the first of a two-parter for our 2024 Journalists’ Guide to Environment & Energy, TipSheet looks at what climate-driven disasters mean for the home insurance market. Storms, floods and fire rip through communities, yet a federal insurance program falls short, lawmakers shy away from real reform and insurers grow hesitant to cover the risks, while homeowners often attempt to rebuild in the same problematic locales. Plus, see part two on extreme weather and insurance.
"President Joe Biden is suspending 26 environmental laws to build a border wall in south Texas, a move announced by the Department of Homeland Security on Wednesday. The laws include the Clean Air Act, Safe Drinking Water Act, Endangered Species Act, and National Environmental Policy Act—all waived in favor of constructing a border wall to stop migrants fleeing into the U.S. through Mexico."
"Dust swirls on the dirt roads running through more than 400,000 acres of cactus studded grasslands south of La Junta, Colo. Suddenly, Jessica LaPage spots the reason she's here: A two-toned brown tarantula about the size of an adult's fist, crawling through the scrubby plants".
"Well over a century after the Age of Sail gave way to coal- and oil-burning ships, climate change concerns are prompting a new look at an old technology that could once again harness wind to propel commercial cargo ships — this time with the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions."
"The current strike by the United Auto Workers against the Detroit carmakers is, in part, about the transition to electric vehicles. A key union demand—in addition to a 40 percent wage increase, endorsed last week by President Biden when he joined a UAW picket line—is job security for union members as the auto industry reshapes itself."
"Transit officials in New York on Wednesday released a list of the system’s most pressing needs that ranks contending with climate change among the top priorities for the subway and bus network, which was paralyzed last week by a torrential storm."
"Many low- and middle-income countries lack the resources to tackle lead poisoning. Here’s how two countries did it."
"Forecasts for when salt water advancing up the Mississippi River will reach the New Orleans area were drastically pushed back Thursday, potentially sparing most of the city and Jefferson Parish entirely from the threat while avoiding the need to build an emergency pipeline estimated to cost as much as a quarter of a billion dollars."
