Environmental Politics

"Imagine, for a moment, oil and gas infrastructure carving up Alaska’s far northern tundra, a refuge for migrating caribou and polar bears. Copper-nickel mines on the doorstep of one of the largest wilderness areas east of the Rockies, a nearly 1.1m-acre (450,000-hectare) expanse of pristine lakes and forests full of loons, wolves and moose. Or uranium and coal exploration in once-protected landscapes, including areas bordering the Grand Canyon."

"A rightwing organization is attacking efforts to educate judges about the climate crisis. The group appears to be connected to Leonard Leo, the architect of the rightwing takeover of the American judiciary who helped select Trump’s supreme court nominees, the Guardian has learned."

"House Agriculture Committee Chair Glenn “G.T.” Thompson (R-Pa.) is meeting with congressional leaders on agricultural policy Thursday to try to secure a last-minute deal on passing the farm bill."

"A federal judge on Thursday sentenced a white supremacist to 18 years in prison for conspiring to attack Baltimore’s power grid in hopes of provoking a race war."

"Fossil fuel lobbyists coordinated with lawmakers behind the scenes and across state lines to push and shape laws that are escalating a crackdown on peaceful protests against oil and gas expansion, a new Guardian investigation reveals."

"In 2017, two United Nations experts called for a treaty to strictly regulate dangerous pesticides, which they said were a “global human rights concern”, citing scientific research showing pesticides can cause cancers, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s, and other health problems. Publicly, the industry’s lead trade association dubbed the recommendations “unfounded and sensational assertions”.  In private, industry advocates have gone further."

"Laying out her economic agenda this week, Vice President Harris backed increasing domestic minerals production and creating a minerals stockpile."

"In a bipartisan vote, the House approved a forestry bill opposed by the Biden administration."

"While many young climate voters are rallying around Harris, her backpedaling on a fracking ban and support of President Biden’s oil and gas policies leave some disenchanted."