Trump Admin Makes It Easier to Dredge Protected Areas to Restore Beaches
"The Trump administration changed a 25-year-old policy to make it easier for coastal communities to take sand from protected ecosystems to improve their beaches."
"The Trump administration changed a 25-year-old policy to make it easier for coastal communities to take sand from protected ecosystems to improve their beaches."
"A team of Trump administration advisers – consisting mostly of appointees from private industry – are urging “modernization” of national park campgrounds, with a vision of food trucks, wifi and even Amazon deliveries."
"Top Trump administration officials have said that they plan to hold an oil and gas lease sale in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge before the end of the year. But that goal now appears out of reach because of two procedural steps still necessary before a sale can take place."
"Illegal loggers in the Amazon ambushed an indigenous group that was formed to protect the forest and shot dead a young warrior and wounded another, leaders of the Guajajara tribe in northern Brazil said on Saturday."
"The Grand Canyon Centennial Protection Act, which passed the House today [Wednesday] by a vote of 236–185, would permanently withdraw more than 1 million acres of public lands surrounding the Grand Canyon from new mining claims."
"Chaco Culture National Historical Park is at the center of a decades-long debate over how to manage oil and gas development in a sprawling area of northwestern New Mexico that is dotted by sites tied to the park but that lie outside its boundaries. The U.S. House is set to vote Wednesday on legislation that would prohibit drilling on the checkerboard of federal land that borders the park."
"Conowingo Dam owner Exelon Corp. and the state of Maryland have reached a settlement under which the Chicago-based energy company will invest $200 million to clean up the Susquehanna River, and, by extension, the Chesapeake Bay."
"Federal officials yesterday asked the Supreme Court to keep records related to Endangered Species Act decisions under lock and key. The government said a lower court's ruling that certain draft documents should be publicly disclosed under the Freedom of Information Act could have a chilling effect on discussions around federal decisionmaking."

When it comes to telling environment and energy stories, especially about place and scale, data visualizations can turn an average story into a standout. Reporter’s Toolbox takes a look at some recent examples of inspiring data-mapping projects that provide insight into everything from auto emissions and floods to vanishing rivers and whipping winds.

As U.S. coal’s comedown continues, our latest Issue Backgrounder takes a close look at the factors behind the industry’s decline and finds a combination of economics, competition and shifting global markets, along with aging technology, politics and environmental pushback. What’s in store for coal in 2020?