"The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee proposed bipartisan legislation Friday that would authorize infrastructure and studies addressing flood risk and other water challenges, but the package is slimmer on new projects than past versions."
An explosion of new artificial intelligence data centers means potential trouble, as they hoover up power and water, and spew global warming gases. It’s a story with national and global ramifications, certainly. But it’s also one that can be reported locally. Reporter’s Toolbox offers up some handy databases for environmental journalists to find data center stories in their communities.
"Residents of West Oakland, which suffers from toxic waste and high pollution rates, rally against a coal export facility"
"There’s an increasingly narrow strip of New Orleans marshland that hardly anyone lives on, but without it, hundreds of thousands of people will face far greater risks from storms and floods."
"Renewable energy groups are suing the U.S. military because they say national security reviews for new wind farms on private land have been effectively frozen for months. The groups say this logjam jeopardizes $47 billion in investments and thousands of jobs in 21 states."
"More than 200 data centers are going up in dozens of competitive House districts — and neither party knows how to handle their political fallout heading into the midterms."
“On Monday, Albania's Prime Minister Edi Rama told Reuters in an interview that his country will press ahead with a luxury resort planned by U.S. President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner and his daughter Ivanka Trump on a remote stretch of Balkan coast despite protests over its environmental impact.”
“Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chair Mike Lee wants to overhaul the National Historic Preservation Act. That may be a step too far for many Democrats.”
“Groups work to identify, save and reseed areas to help the culturally significant resource thrive as climate change portends more strains.”
The growing disconnect between climate risk and risk insurance for homeowners is leaving millions on the knife-edge of economic disaster. But the latest TipSheet suggests that reality offers environmental journalists an opportunity to navigate the morass, community by community. Get more than a dozen story ideas and reporting resources in the latest column.
