Policy

The United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has announced the designation of the 1,722-square-mile Lake Ontario National Marine Sanctuary in eastern Lake Ontario, New York. It is the country’s 16th national marine sanctuary and will celebrate the area’s Indigenous and maritime history while providing new opportunities for education, research, recreation and tourism related […]

A new solar power project that will break ground in the Mojave Desert, near two Kern County towns in California, will require thousands of Joshua trees (Yucca brevifolia) to be removed. The project is also expected to destroy a habitat for desert tortoises (Gopherus agassizii), California’s state reptile and a threatened species. The Aratina Solar […]

There are currently more than 200 coal-fired power plants in operation in the United States, but the country has been scaling back since reaching its coal generation peak in 2011. By the end of 2026, the U.S. is projected to have retired half of its coal capacity. Coal plants emit toxic pollutants into the air, […]

According to allegations by a former research fellow for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and watchdog group Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), the EPA’s own documents indicate that false information may have been presented to the public regarding the agency’s testing of harmful contaminants in pesticides. In May 2023, the EPA issued a […]

A new Data for Progress poll shared with The Guardian finds that most voters support litigation against big oil, while nearly half would also back the filing of criminal charges. On May 3 and 4 of this year, Data for Progress and nonprofit consumer advocacy organization Public Citizen surveyed 1,206 likely voters in the United […]

The Norway chapter of World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF-Norway) is bringing a lawsuit against the Norwegian government for allowing mining of its seabed, claiming the country has not properly investigated the negative impacts. WWF-Norway said the decision to proceed with deep-sea mining breaches Norwegian law and sets a “dangerous precedent,” a press release from […]

Eight young people from Alaska are suing their state government, claiming a major new North Slope natural gas project is in violation of their constitutional rights. The plaintiffs — who range in age from 11 to 22 — allege that a law mandating development of the Alaska Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) Project infringes on the […]

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced $300 million in grants from the Biden administration’s Investing in America agenda to assist Tribal Nations, States, nonprofit organizations and local governments with assessing and cleaning up the country’s former industrial sites, known as brownfields, a press release from the EPA said. There are an estimated […]