People & Population

Rio Grande Valley Was Once Covered In Forest. One Man Tries To Bring It Back

"The Tamaulipan thorn forest once covered 1 million acres on both sides of the border. Restoring even a fraction of it could help the region cope with the ravages of a warming world."

Source: Grist, 04/08/2025

"Worries Grow Over Risks To Americans As Trump Cuts Health, Safety Agencies"

"The chorus of experts issuing warnings include Republican lawmakers, former Trump officials and civil servants who worked under GOP and Democratic presidents."

Source: Washington Post, 04/08/2025

Storms Tore Up Two Of America’s Iconic Trails. Federal Cuts Disrupt Repairs

"Hiking the Pacific Crest Trail is a challenge, especially for adventurers making the entire run from Southern California to Canada, and Eric Kipperman’s job is to greet them at the start and lay bare the difficulties ahead. He has lately begun warning that the journey may be even tougher. Following cuts by the Trump administration, plans to clear downed trees and rebuild storm-battered stretches in 2025 have been scrapped."

Source: AP, 04/07/2025

Coal Country Voices Say Closures Of MSHA Offices Will Endanger Mine Safety

"Retired coal miner Stanley “Goose” Stewart questions whether it’s safe for anyone to work in the industry right now. The Department of Government Efficiency, created by President Donald Trump and run by Elon Musk, has been targeting federal agencies for spending cuts. That includes terminating leases for three dozen offices in the Mine Safety and Health Administration, the agency responsible for enforcing mine safety laws."

Source: AP, 04/07/2025

"Milwaukee Faces Lead Crisis Without CDC Experts RFK Jr. Fired"

"When Milwaukee officials discovered in January that lead paint in school buildings had poisoned kids, they called the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention." "“The people who were answering our questions are just gone,” City Health Commissioner Michael Totoraitis said in an interview after the firings Tuesday at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention."

Source: E&E News, 04/07/2025

Nearly Half of NWS Offices Have 20% Vacancy Rates. Experts Say It’s A Risk

"After Trump administration job cuts, nearly half of National Weather Service forecast offices have 20% vacancy rates — twice that of just a decade ago — as severe weather chugs across the nation’s heartland, according to data obtained by The Associated Press."

Source: AP, 04/07/2025

Rising Rivers Threaten US South and Midwest After Dayslong Torrent Of Rain

"Rivers rose and flooding worsened Sunday across the U.S. South and Midwest, threatening communities already waterlogged and badly damaged by days of heavy rain and wind that killed at least 18 people."

Source: AP, 04/07/2025

How the Potomac Imparts the Capital’s Story

The Potomac is one of the most prominent rivers in the United States, a defining ecological feature of Washington, D.C., at the same time it reveals the city’s history of racial inequality and disenfranchisement. Writer, historian, educator and herbalist Charlotte Taylor Fryar recounts that tale in her ambitious “Potomac Fever,” reviewed in the latest BookShelf by contributing editor Jennifer Weeks, herself a Washington native.

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After Outcry, Brazil Supreme Court Nixes Mining On Indigenous Lands

"Brazil’s Supreme Court backed down and withdrew its proposal to open up Indigenous territories to mining and economic activities from a controversial bill that critics say violates the Constitution."

Source: Mongabay, 04/04/2025

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