Environmental Politics

Texas Grid Operator Urges Electricity Conservation As Temperatures Rise

"The Electric Reliability Council of Texas says a large number of power plants are offline, but it could not provide details as to what may be causing the “very concerning” number of outages. At the same time, the state is experiencing near-record demand for electricity in June."

Source: Texas Tribune, 06/15/2021

Haaland Urges Biden To Restore 3 National Monuments Weakened By Trump

"Interior Secretary Deb Haaland has recommended in a confidential report that President Biden restore full protections to three national monuments diminished by President Donald Trump, including Utah’s Bears Ears, Grand Staircase-Escalante and a huge marine reserve off New England."

Source: Washington Post, 06/15/2021

Boom and Bust — Two Books Explore Working-Class Communities in the Clean Energy Transition 

For a clean energy transition to succeed, it almost certainly will have to bring along displaced workers and communities. To help journalists understand the challenges underlying that shift, BookShelf’s Jenny Weeks reviews two volumes. The first is a new memoir of working in North Dakota’s booming Bakken oil fields, the second an earlier account of decline in a working-class community in Oregon.

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Uncovering Inequality’s Roots in Timber Poaching

Journalist Lyndsie Bourgon had covered timber poaching in the Pacific Northwest for over a decade when she decided to expand her scope, heading to the Peruvian Amazon to explore old-growth poaching there. In FEJ StoryLog, she shares the ups and downs of that project, made possible in part by a grant from the Society of Environmental Journalists’ Fund for Environmental Journalism.

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Irrigation Districts Are Key to Covering Coming Drought

With megadrought a growing reality, one way into the story is through ubiquitous water management agencies. TipSheet surveys the “waterscape” of these governmental bodies — from local irrigation districts to multi-state regional water compacts — and how focusing on them can yield vital insights for drought stories. Plus, questions to ask and links to reporting resources.

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"Why A California Oil Workers Union Is Getting Behind Clean Energy"

"The dominant narrative about labor unions and climate change is that fossil fuel workers are a major roadblock to action. ... So it’s worth slowing down to examine a groundbreaking new report — endorsed by 19 unions, including two representing thousands of California oil workers — that offers a preview of what the path forward might look like."

Source: LA Times, 06/14/2021

"St. Croix’s Limetree Bay Refinery Could Be Facing Bankruptcy"

"When the long-mothballed Limetree Bay oil refinery reopened in February, environmentalists saw it as a parting gift from the Trump administration to the deeply divided people of St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Some thought the massive facility would help revive the island’s economy while others feared environmental disaster and a looming climate nightmare."

Source: Inside Climate News, 06/14/2021

Climate Activists Criticize Lack Of G7 Details On Ending Fossil Fuels

"G-7 leaders vowed Sunday to move away from public financing of coal projects worldwide and to make good on their long-standing commitments to help vulnerable nations bear the rising costs of climate change. But activists who had hoped for more concrete and ambitious pledges raised a key question: Where are the details?"

Source: Washington Post, 06/14/2021

"Biden Plans to Restore Alaskan Forest Protections Stripped Under Trump"

"The Biden administration plans to restore environmental protections to Tongass National Forest in Alaska, one of the world’s largest intact temperate rain forests, that had been stripped away by former President Donald J. Trump."

Source: NYTimes, 06/14/2021

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