Washington, D.C.’s long-neglected Anacostia River bears both tragedy and beauty. And author Krista Schlyer plumbs its depths in her most recent book, “River of Redemption.” In this Between the Lines, she speaks of her connection to the urban waterway, as well as her latest reporting on the environmental impact of the border wall.
"As a boy, Francisco Ramirez Cruz loved hiking with his grandfather up into the mountains of central Mexico. While the old man grazed sheep or hunted for wild mushrooms, Ramirez would play amid the throngs of monarch butterflies that migrated 3,000 miles to this forest each autumn, turning the blue sky into a sea of orange."
"Mexican and American officials met in Mexico City this week to talk about fixing a costly set of problems that have sprung up along the border: failing sewer systems that send raw sewage spilling into rivers."
An environmental documentary that follows a risk-laden effort to save a rare and elusive porpoise won over audiences at the recent Sundance Film Festival. Correspondent JoAnn Valenti takes a look at the film, along with other documentaries that explore the role of journalists and journalism.
The vast Colorado River, recently in the news over a troubled drought deal, is at the heart of numerous environmental problems in the American West, where water is scarce and the legal complexities of water rights voluminous. The latest Issue Backgrounder offers an explainer on the story, which involves at least seven states, the federal government, Native American tribes, a hornet’s nest of irrigation districts and even Mexico.
The fierce contest over the Trump border wall has critical environmental implications, both local and regional, per the latest TipSheet. A key suit against the Trump emergency declaration was filed by environmental groups and plans for a border barrier may harm significant wildlife habitat, as well as numerous migrating species, including some that are endangered. Get the back story and why it matters, along with story ideas and reporting resources.
"Carrizo cane is the border wall no one wants. A pernicious plant on the banks of the Rio Grande along the U.S.-Mexico border, carrizo cane (Arundo donax) grows as much as 30 feet tall and so thick that people entering the country illegally can easily hide in it. Border patrol officers can’t see into it. Infrared signals can’t penetrate it."
"he Sea Shepherd environmental group published a video Thursday showing an attack by about two dozen small fishing boats on the vessel Farley Mowat in Mexico’s Gulf of California."
Environmental justice-related stories are expected to get more attention in the news media in 2019. But that’s not because the challenge of protecting marginalized communities from lopsided environmental impacts is being met. This week’s TipSheet explains, in a look-ahead to environmental justice stories making the news, the many forms the problem takes, the many communities affected and the emerging notion of “climate justice.”
"Thousands of people were evacuated, buildings boarded up and classes canceled on Mexico’s Pacific coast as Hurricane Willa threatened to batter tourist resorts with high winds and heavy rains on Tuesday."
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