Environment

ProPublica reports: The federal government is seeking to collect nearly $3.2 million in fines from coal companies owned by West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice after the firms violated the terms of a major water pollution settlement, according to documents filed Thursday in federal court. Justice, a billionaire listed by Forbes as the richest person in the state, owns a vast …

CNN reports: The Senate voted to confirm Michael Regan as President Joe Biden’s pick to lead the Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday, where he’ll join an administration that has pledged aggressive action on tackling the climate crisis. With a bipartisan confirmation vote of 66 to 34, Regan will become the first Black man to lead the EPA in the agency’s …

The New York Times reports: The Trump administration is rushing to approve a final wave of large-scale mining and energy projects on federal lands, encouraged by investors who want to try to ensure the projects move ahead even after President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. takes office. In Arizona, the Forest Service is preparing to sign off on the transfer of …

Australia’s ABC News outlet reports: A company commercialising seaweed feed product, which slashes the amount of greenhouse gases cattle burp and fart into the atmosphere, has won a $1 million international prize for its work reshaping the food system. According to the science agency, methane emissions from livestock make up around 15 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Future Feed …

Politico reports: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers denied a permit for the Pebble Mine in Alaska on Wednesday, effectively killing plans to build the massive copper and gold project that opponents had warned could wipe out the world’s largest sockeye salmon fishery. The decision from the Trump administration, which had reversed course several times on the issue, comes just …

Yahoo News reports: The Trump administration is advancing plans to auction drilling rights in the U.S. Arctic National Wildlife Refuge before the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden, who has vowed to block oil exploration in the rugged Alaska wilderness. The Interior Department is set to issue a formal “call for nominations” as soon as Monday, kick-starting a final effort to …

The Guardian reports: Japan’s government has reportedly decided to release more than 1m tonnes of contaminated water from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the sea, setting it on a collision course with local fishermen who say the move will destroy their industry. Media reports said work to release the water, which is being stored in more than 1,000 …

Gothamist reports: The famous clock in Union Square that has been tracking the time of day since 1999 has been reset for a new countdown: the rapidly diminishing time left for the human race to take meaningful action to avert the most horrific and deadly consequences of climate change. The Climate Clock was set up ahead of Climate Week over …

Courthouse News reports: Two weeks after the neglected storage of highly combustible ammonium nitrate caused a devastating explosion in Lebanon, six environmental groups urged the D.C. Circuit on Tuesday to stop the United States from ushering in a new era of so-called bomb trains. Federal law stipulates that liquefied natural gasses can only be safely transported in trucks and specific …

Reuters reports: The Trump administration on Monday finalized a plan to allow oil and gas drilling in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, putting it on track to issue decades-long leases in the pristine wilderness area before a potential change in U.S. leadership. The 19 million acre (7.7 million hectares) refuge is home to wildlife populations including Porcupine caribou and polar …

The New York Times reports: The Trump administration is expected in the coming days to lift Obama-era controls on the release of methane, a powerful climate-warming gas that is emitted from leaks and flares in oil and gas wells. The new rule on methane pollution, issued by the Environmental Protection Agency, has been expected for months, and will be made …

The Washington Post reports: A preliminary magnitude 5.1 earthquake occurred near Sparta, in northwestern North Carolina at 8:07 a.m. on Sunday morning, very near the Virginia border. The quake rattled the Carolina Piedmont, but was reportedly felt as far away as Atlanta, part of Tennessee, Washington D.C., and Ohio. It appears to be the strongest North Carolina quake in more …

The Guardian reports: Brazil’s government has fired an official at the national space agency Inpe whose department is responsible for satellite monitoring of the Amazon rainforest, just three days after June deforestation data reflected a continued increase in degradation. Lubia Vinhas was the general-coordinator of Brazilian space agency Inpe’s Earth Observation Institute, which is an umbrella for divisions that monitor …

The Guardian reports: Chesapeake Energy, the shale gas drilling pioneer that helped to turn the United States into a global energy powerhouse, has filed for bankruptcy protection. The Oklahoma City-based company said on Sunday that it had been forced to enter chapter 11 protection because its debts of $9bn were unmanageable. It has entered a plan with lenders to cut …

ABC News reports: In the west, very dry and blustery conditions continue to spread the Bighorn Fire near Tucson, Arizona, where evacuations have been issued. The Bighorn Fire is only 10% contained and is more than 6,000 acres. A brush fire also broke out just east of San Diego, where evacuation orders were in effect. Red flag warnings have now …

Politico reports: The Trump administration is preparing to open the door to oil and gas drilling off Florida’s coast — but will wait until after the November election to avoid blowback in a swing state whose waters both parties have long considered sacrosanct, according to four people familiar with the plan. Drilling in the eastern Gulf of Mexico would fulfill …

Roll Call reports: Environmental advocates are warning that changes to the way the EPA calculates public health benefits of the rules it writes would make it harder to regulate air pollution, even as industry groups cheer the overhauls they have long sought. The EPA on Thursday evening proposed overhauls to its metrics for weighing the public health and environmental benefits …

Deadline Hollywood reports: Broadway will remain closed through June 7, a two-month extension of the current coronavirus shutdown that would seem to retroactively end the 2019-2020 Broadway season with the March 12 shutdown. The extension announcement was made today by the Broadway League, the trade group representing theater owners and producers, which had been in discussions with theatrical unions this …

The New York Times reports: Coronavirus patients in areas that had high levels of air pollution before the pandemic are more likely to die from the infection than patients in cleaner parts of the country, according to a new nationwide study that offers the first clear link between long-term exposure to pollution and Covid-19 death rates. In an analysis of …

Never let a national crisis go to waste. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a sweeping suspension of its enforcement of environmental laws Thursday, telling companies they would not need to meet environmental standards during the coronavirus outbreak. The temporary policy, for which EPA has set no end date, would allow any number of industries to skirt environmental laws, with …