"JASPER — A sign on the way into this Newton County town states its population is 547. On Thursday evening, more than twice that number, upwards of 1,185 people, squeezed into the cafeteria at the local high school."
The devastation caused by the Amazonian palm oil industry was at the heart of an investigation by Mongabay reporter Karla Mendes. But first she had to face hostile sources, intransigent regulators and a robbery attempt. Ultimately, the project not only won a reporting prize from the Society of Environmental Journalists but brought global awareness and government action. Her experience, in Inside Story Q&A.
"The Biden administration on Friday designated four tracts of federal waters in the Gulf of Mexico off the Texas and Louisiana coasts for development of wind energy."
"The government of the U.S. Virgin Islands on Friday warned that people on the island of St. Croix should not drink their tap water because officials found high levels of lead and copper."
"A federal appeals court on Thursday indefinitely stayed an earlier order requiring the Biden administration to hold a November oil lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico, though it’s unclear whether the administration will immediately proceed with the sale."
"Today, spent filters—cigarette butts stuffed with microplastics—are some of the most abundant litter on the beach, which is just one stop on their toxic marine journey that often begins in storm drains."
"In the U.S., people often think of the Rio Grande mainly as a political border that features in negotiations over immigration, narcotics smuggling and trade. But there's another crisis on the river that receives far less attention. The river is in decline, suffering from overuse, drought and contentious water rights negotiations."
"Environmental groups on Wednesday urged a moratorium on deep-sea mining ahead of a meeting in Jamaica of a U.N. body that conservationists fear will soon authorize the world’s first license to harvest minerals from the ocean floor."
"Major corporations in water-guzzling industries such as clothing, food, beverage and technology want to be better stewards of the freshwater they use — especially as drought, floods and other extreme weather intensified by climate change threaten their supply chains. But of 72 companies ranked by a sustainability nonprofit over the past year, few are close to achieving their 2030 targets."
"The UK’s oil and gas regulator is coming under fire from environmental groups for using lawyers to try to prevent the publication of five key documents relating to the environmental impact of Shell’s activities in the North Sea."
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