By Timothy Cama and Devin Henry 28 October 2017 (The Hill) – A massive rebuilding contract between Puerto Rico and a small Montana energy company has sparked controversy and raised questions about relief efforts after Hurricane Maria.The $300 million contract between the stricken island’s power utility and two-year-old firm Whitefish Energy Holdings is looking more […]
By Jeffrey Mervis 19 October 2017 (Science) – Senate Republicans have launched a new attack on peer review by proposing changes to how the U.S. government funds basic research.New legislation introduced this week by Senator Rand Paul (R–KY) would fundamentally alter how grant proposals are reviewed at every federal agency by adding public members with […]
By John D. Sutter 27 October 2017 Arecibo, Puerto Rico (CNN) – You won’t hear about her death from officials investigating the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, but you should know her name and her story. She was Isabel Rivera González.Rivera was 80. She loved to dance, and was known in this hilly enclave of Puerto […]
By Nicholas Kusnetz 20 October 2017 (Inside Climate News) – You’ve probably heard of the Keystone XL pipeline. But what about Line 67, also known as the Alberta Clipper?Nine years ago, both were controversial proposals to ship oil from Canada’s tar sands into the United States. But while Keystone XL is still awaiting approval and […]
By Lisa Friedman 22 October 2017 WASHINGTON (The New York Times) – The Environmental Protection Agency has canceled the speaking appearance of three agency scientists who were scheduled to discuss climate change at a conference on Monday in Rhode Island, according to the agency and several people involved. John Konkus, an E.P.A. spokesman and a […]
By Claire Galofaro 16 October 2017 PORT ARTHUR, Texas (Associated Press) – The church was empty, except for the piano too heavy for one man to move. It had been 21 days since the greatest storm Wayne Christopher had ever seen dumped a year’s worth of rain on his town, drowning this church where he […]
By Edward Carver 20 October 2017 ANTANANARIVO, Madagascar (Mongabay) – In Madagascar, speaking out against corporate wrongdoing or government corruption can be dangerous business. So it took some courage for Raleva, a 61-year-old farmer, to stand up and ask questions at a meeting in his village in southeast Madagascar on 27 September 2017. A Chinese-Malagasy […]
By Talli Nauman 20 October 2017 WASHINGTON (Native Sun News Today) – A federal judge ruled against tribal arguments on October 11, when he declared that the contested Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) can continue pumping oil across the Missouri River, while the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers finishes an environmental review he ordered on the […]
By Zahra Hirji and Jason Leopold 20 October 2017 (BuzzFeed News) – At least 27 accidents happened at BP’s oil and gas operations in Alaska this year, including five that risked the lives of dozens of workers, BuzzFeed News has learned. Now BP’s top officials are scrambling to “reset” the company’s safety culture before one […]
By Devin Henry 22 October 2017 (The Hill) – The Senate’s budget vote on Thursday was the opening salvo in what’s likely to be a bitter fight over drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). President Trump, key officials in his administration and leading Republicans support drilling in ANWR, an expanse of 19 million […]
