"National monuments, migratory birds, endangered and threatened species: Some of the nation’s most vulnerable natural resources are in jeopardy after Doug Burgum issued—on his first full day as secretary of the Department of the Interior—a seven-page directive weakening their protections to further fossil fuel development."
"The number of monarch butterflies spending the winter in the western United States has dropped to its second-lowest mark in nearly three decades as pesticides, diminishing habitat and climate change take their toll on the beloved pollinator."
"The Interior secretary signed orders to increase energy production, review Biden public lands efforts and slash regulations."
"What was once the world’s largest solar power plant of its type appears headed for closure just 11 years after opening, under pressure from cheaper green energy sources. Meanwhile, environmentalists continue to blame the Mojave Desert plant for killing thousands of birds and tortoises."
"The Senate confirmed former North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum as Interior Secretary Thursday in a 79-18 vote, with the majority of Senate Democrats joining every Republican in the chamber."
"A new strain of bird flu — H5N9 — has been detected in California’s Merced County at a commercial duck operation."
"Over the past month, the popular Black Sea resort beaches of Russia’s Krasnodar region have been transformed into a scene out of a dystopian sci-fi film, with thousands of workers in white hazmat suits swarming the blackened coast amid dead birds and dolphins."
"The latest data from the CDC and USDA show the continued devastating effects of bird flu outbreaks across the United States – with Iowa, the nation's leading egg producer, suffering substantial losses."
To many, plants are a merely green backdrop, indistinguishable and inconsequential. But, freelancer Karen Mockler says that such “plant blindness” belies an urgent need for our notice. More than a third of the world’s trees and thousands of other plant species face extinction. Their plight — and their many blessings — offer perceptive journalists a wealth of reporting and storytelling opportunities. Mockler on why to write about plants.
"The U.S Army Corps of Engineers announced last Friday it’s moving forward with an altered version of the Yazoo Pumps, a flood relief project that the agency has touted for decades. The project now also has the backing of the Environmental Protection Agency, whose veto killed a previous iteration in 2008 because of the pumps’ potential to harm 67,000 acres of valuable wetland habitat."
Advertisement 
