"Alarming Levels of Mercury Are Found in Old Growth Amazon Forest"
"The findings, related to gold mining in Peru, provide new evidence of how people are altering ecosystems in dangerous ways around the world."
Source: NYTimes, 01/28/2022
Water & Oceans
"Minnesota Court Orders Review Of Water Permit For Polymet Mine"
"The Minnesota Court of Appeals on Monday ordered state regulators to reconsider a wastewater permit that was granted to PolyMet Mining Corp (POM.TO) to build an open-pit copper mine, though judges rejected six other challenges to the permit from environmentalists."
Source: Reuters, 01/25/2022
"High Court Drops ‘Earthquake’ on Federal Water Protections"
"The U.S. Supreme Court is likely to deal federal wetland and waterway safeguards a near-fatal blow by hearing arguments to limit the scope of the EPA’s power under the Clean Water Act, attorneys say."
Source: Bloomberg Environment, 01/25/2022
"Saving The Manatees — Rescue By Rescue, Rehab By Rehab"
"On an unusually cold winter morning in central Florida, Corleone the manatee was awakened before dawn by wetsuited workers who slipped into his pool at SeaWorld and wrapped him in a long vinyl sling."
Source: Washington Post, 01/24/2022
"In Parched Beijing, Claims Of A ‘Green’ Olympics May Not Hold Water"
"Barren hillsides broken up by thin strips of white snow are a familiar sight for regular visitors to ski resorts near Beijing. The 2022 Winter Olympics host, which is under 150 miles from the rapidly expanding Gobi Desert, is famous for cold and dry winters."
Source: Washington Post, 01/24/2022
"US, Colorado Reach Proposed Settlement In 2015 Mine Spill"
"Colorado, the U.S. government and a gold mining company have agreed to resolve a longstanding dispute over who’s responsible for continuing cleanup at a Superfund site that was established after a massive 2015 spill of hazardous mine waste that fouled rivers with a sickly yellow sheen in three states and the Navajo Nation."
Source: AP, 01/24/2022
The Year Ahead Will Spark Abundant Environment News — Both Good and Bad
Even as the climate crisis countdown story continues, a wide range of environment and energy issues are on journalists’ watchlist for the year ahead, per an analysis from our “2022 Journalists’ Guide to Energy & Environment.” The overview looks at 13 key trends to track in 2022 and beyond — including infrastructure, pandemics, environmental justice, energy, chemicals, plastics and, of course, climate.
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Explorers Discover Pristine Coral Reef That Could Hold Climate Lessons
"French researchers say they have discovered one of the world’s largest healthy coral reefs, possibly paving the way for similar discoveries in locations that have not yet been explored, Paris-based UNESCO announced Thursday."
Source: Washington Post, 01/21/2022
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