Water & Oceans

"USDA’s staffing cuts, scuttled conservation programs, and misdirected crop insurance are hitting farmers hard."

"A group of experts says Western states urgently need to cut water use to avert a deepening crisis on the Colorado River. The river’s major reservoirs are less than one-third full, and another dry winter would push reservoirs toward critically low levels."

"Both House and Senate lawmakers have advanced bills rejecting the Trump administration’s proposal to eliminate climate research at the weather agency."

"Energy Secretary Chris Wright told Democratic Sen. Patty Murray that he’s looking to delay operations at a multibillion-dollar vitrification plant at the Hanford nuclear cleanup site in Washington state, despite public statements signaling otherwise, the senator said."

"A billion-dollar seawall may shield the city’s wealthy core — but not the vulnerable communities beyond it. Who will be forced to move?"

"House Speaker Mike Johnson is going to bat for an offshore wind project located off Virginia Beach at a time when the Trump administration has halted the construction of similar projects and the president himself has warned that support for the industry could cost politicians their careers."

"A novel solar power project just went online in California’s Central Valley, with panels that span across canals in the vast agricultural region." "The 1.6-MW pilot system is among a growing number of initiatives to put solar over waterways. The approach could generate gigawatts of power nationwide."

"The Trump administration set strict import bans on fisheries in more than 40 nations that do not meet standards for conserving marine mammals like whales and dolphins." 

"For decades, scientists believed Prochlorococcus, the smallest and most abundant phytoplankton on Earth, would thrive in a warmer world. But new research suggests the microscopic bacterium, which forms the foundation of the marine food web and helps regulate the planet’s climate, will decline sharply as seas heat up."

"A bill drastically reducing the scope of the Clean Water Act passed through committee in the U.S. House and will likely reach the floor for debate later this month. The legislation would narrow the definition of bodies of water that qualify for protection under the Clean Water Act and would remove laws requiring permits before discharging pesticides or manure-contaminated stormwater from factory farms into waterways."