"LOS ANGELES -- Two climbers completed a historic 19-day ascent to the summit of Yosemite National Park's El Capitan in California on Wednesday after scaling the rock formation's 3,000-foot (900-metre) sheer granite face without climbing tools, representatives said."
Nobody has ever explained why Congress refuses to release the tax-funded explainers produced by the Congressional Research Service. They are a gold standard for journalists needing quick background. Here are some recent CRS reports relevant to environmental journalists, helpfully released by the Federation of American Scientists.
You may have read in recent WatchDogs about controversial federal laws and rules that could restrict photojournalism in federal parks, forests, and rangelands. Now comes the "Ansel Adams bill" that would make it legal to do an activity that is Constitutionally protected. Only someone has to introduce the bill. Photo: Ansel Adams, by J. Malcolm Greany.
"Their beards have grown full. Their hair, greased with sweat and brushed only with mountain air, stands on end. Their fingers, raw and ragged from grasping at sharp crevasses in the stone, are bandaged and bleeding."
"In 2010, China set in motion a wave of worry around the globe when it dramatically lowered quotas on its exports of rare earth elements, which are crucial to the making of everything from cellphones to missile systems to electric-car batteries. China held 95 percent of the world's supply."
"Streams of oil slid into the bayous of southeastern Louisiana after the Deepwater Horizon explosion in 2010, damaging the marsh grasses, the wildlife and the livelihood of the 17,000-member Houma tribe."
"A new state report details troubling mining legacies in 10 Pennsylvania counties, including Elk, raising questions about the true cost of coal for those communities as new, more modern forms of energy development begin to take root."
"Farmers in western Poland are warning of civil unrest if a vast coalmine and power plant are given the go-ahead, with thousands of people at risk of being forcibly relocated."
"A commodity boom has helped pull millions out of poverty across South America over the past decade. It has also unleashed a new scramble for oil, minerals and cropland that is accelerating deforestation and fueling a new wave of land conflicts from Colombia to Chile."
"Federal land managers will release proposed rules next month to change the pricing structure for oil, natural gas and coal leases on public land."
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