"Global Wildlife Crime Causing ‘Untold Harm’, UN Report Finds"
"More than 4,000 species around the world are being targeted by wildlife traffickers, causing “untold harm upon nature”, a UN report has warned."
Source: Guardian, 05/16/2024
EJToday: Top Headlines
EJToday is a daily weekday digest of top environment/energy news and information of interest to environmental journalists, independently curated by Editor Joseph A. Davis. Sign up below to receive in your inbox. For queries, email EJToday@SEJ.org. For more info, read an EJToday FAQ. Plus, follow EJToday on social media at @EJTodayNews, and flag stories of note by including the @EJTodayNews handle on your posts. And tell us how to make EJToday even better by taking this brief survey.
Want to join the EJToday team? Volunteer time commitments can vary from just an hour a month up to a daily contribution, and would involve helping to curate content of interest. To learn more, reach out to the director of publications, Adam Glenn, at sejournaleditor@sej.org.
Note: Members have additional options to choose from (you'll need your log-in info).
There's An Off-Season Viral Surge In California Wastewater. Is It Avian Flu?
"An unusual surge in flu viruses detected at wastewater treatment plants in California and other parts of the country is raising concerns among some experts that H5N1 bird flu may be spreading farther and faster than health officers initially thought."
Source: LA Times, 05/16/2024"More Than Half Of Zimbabwean Population Will Need Food Aid, Cabinet Says"
"More than half of Zimbabwe's population will need food aid this year following a devastating drought that led to widespread crop failure as humanitarian organisations seek funding to save many from hunger, the country's cabinet heard late on Tuesday."
Source: Reuters, 05/16/2024"DeSantis Signs Bill Scrubbing ‘Climate Change’ From Florida Law"
"Florida will eliminate climate change as a priority in making energy policy decisions, despite the threats it faces from powerful hurricanes, extreme heat and worsening toxic algae blooms."
Source: Washington Post, 05/16/2024Impunity And Pollution Abound In DRC Mining Of Critical Minerals
"In the DRC’s copper belt, pollution from the mining of cobalt and copper, critical minerals for the energy transition, is on the rise and polluters are ignoring their legal obligations to clean it up. Cases of pollution have caused deaths, health problems in babies, the destruction of crops, contaminated water and the relocation of homes or an entire village, residents and community organizations say."
Source: Mongabay, 05/16/2024USDA Shifts Gardening Zones: Map Shows Changes In Vivid Detail
"Recently, the USDA updated its plant hardiness map for the first time in 11 years."
Source: NPR, 05/16/2024"Trump Pledges To Scrap Offshore Wind Projects On ‘Day One’ Of Presidency"
"Donald Trump has vowed to immediately halt offshore wind energy projects “on day one” of a new term as US president, in his most explicit threat yet to the industry and the latest in a series of promises to undo key aspects of the transition to cleaner energy."
Source: Guardian, 05/15/2024"Biden Ratchets Up Tariffs On Chinese EVs, Solar, Batteries"
"The Biden administration moved Tuesday to block China’s access to the American market for clean energy technology by doubling duties on solar cells and effectively quadrupling the price of electric vehicles from China."
Source: E&E News, 05/15/2024"Democrats Probe Trump’s Request For Campaign Cash From Big Oil"
"House Democrats are probing President Trump’s request for $1 billion in campaign cash from major oil companies."
Source: The Hill, 05/15/2024"Persistent Brazil Floods Raise Specter Of Climate Migration"
"Devastating and ongoing flooding in southern Brazil is forcing some of the half million displaced residents to consider uprooting their lives from inundated towns to rebuild on higher ground."
Source: Reuters, 05/15/2024"Republican States Sue EPA, California Over EV Truck Mandate"
"A coalition of Republican state attorneys general on Tuesday announced two lawsuits against the Biden administration and the state of California challenging emissions rules for trucks and other heavy-duty vehicles."
Source: The Hill, 05/15/2024"Zombie Coal Plants Could Threaten The US Energy Transition"
"Maryland’s Brandon Shores can’t close down — even though its owners want it to. The coal plant is a poster child for how poor grid planning stalls climate progress."
Source: Canary Media, 05/15/2024Whistleblower Raps Mistakes In EPA Use Of Sensor Plane At Ohio Derailment
"The U.S. government has a specialized plane loaded with advanced sensors that officials brag is always ready to deploy within an hour of any kind of chemical disaster. But the plane didn’t fly over eastern Ohio until four days after the disastrous Norfolk Southern derailment there last year."
Source: AP, 05/15/2024Radioactive Waste Around The Bay Area Triggers New Testing At Parks
"Beyond a chain-link fence topped with spiraled barbed wire, swaying coastal grasses conceal a cache of buried radioactive waste and toxic pesticides from a bygone chemical plant."
Source: LA Times, 05/15/2024"Tree Rings Show That Last Northern Summer Was The Warmest Since Year 1"
"The broiling summer of 2023 was the hottest in the Northern Hemisphere in more than 2,000 years, a new study found."
Source: AP, 05/15/2024
Advertisement 
