State of emergency declared for Louisiana coast by Gov. John Bel Edwards – Order requests Trump to “recognize and declare the coastal crisis”

BY Tristan Baurick 20 April 2017 (The Times-Picayune) – Gov. John Bel Edwards on Wednesday (April 19) officially declared Louisiana’s coastal land loss an emergency, a move he hopes will expedite a host of restoration projects mired in federal permitting. “The Louisiana coast is in a state of crisis that demands immediate and urgent action […]

Trump is handing the U.S. government over to fossil fuel interests – The appointments, the policies, the rhetoric — it is not subtle

By David Roberts 14 June 2017 (Vox) – In September 2016, speaking to an audience of fossil fuel executives at a Shale Insight conference in Pittsburgh, Donald Trump promised, “Oh, you will like me so much.”They didn’t give him much money during his campaign, presumably because, like most people, they were confident he wouldn’t win. […]

Scientists say the rapid sinking of Louisiana’s coast already counts as a “worst case scenario”

By Chelsea Harvey 15 June 2017 (The Washington Post) – It’s common knowledge that the coast of Louisiana is quietly sinking into the balmy Gulf waters. But new research suggests we may have been underestimating how quickly it’s happening.A new paper, published Wednesday in the Geological Society of America’s bulletin GSA Today, includes an updated […]

The Republicans who urged Trump to pull out of Paris deal are fossil fuel darlings – 22 Republican senators have collected more than $10 million in oil, gas, and coal industry money

By Tom McCarthy and Lauren Gambino 1 June 2017 (The Guardian) – A withdrawal by Donald Trump from the Paris climate accord would go down as a hallmark of his presidency. It would be unilateral, reckless and splashy – trademark Trump. The president [announced his decision to withdraw] at 3pm ET (8pm BST) on Thursday.But […]

Leaked documents reveal counterterrorism tactics used at Standing Rock to “defeat pipeline insurgencies”

By Alleen Brown, Will Parrish, and Alice Speri 27 May 2017 (The Intercept) – A shadowy international mercenary and security firm known as TigerSwan targeted the movement opposed to the Dakota Access Pipeline with military-style counterterrorism measures, collaborating closely with police in at least five states, according to internal documents obtained by The Intercept. The […]

Energy companies urge U.S. to stay in Paris climate agreement

By Samantha Raphelson18 May 2017 (NPR) – President Trump is expected to face pressure from European Union leaders at the G-7 summit in Italy next week to keep the U.S. in the Paris Climate Treaty. Trump recently signed an executive order aiming to roll back President Barack Obama’s Clean Power Plan but did not address […]

Venezuela’s worst economic crisis: What went wrong?

3 May 2017 (Al Jazeera) – Venezuela is experiencing the worst economic crisis in its history, with an inflation rate of over 400 percent and a volatile exchange rate. Heavily in debt and with inflation soaring, its people continue to take to the streets in protest. President Nicolas Maduro announced the highest increase in the […]

Trump’s EPA chief recuses himself from climate, water rule cases

By Timothy Cama5 May 2017 (The Hill) – The head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is recusing himself from matters involving numerous major lawsuits he filed against his own agency. Scott Pruitt filed a recusal statement Thursday, saying that he will stay away from cases challenging the EPA’s Clean Power Plan, the Clean Water […]

24 national monuments threatened by Trump executive order

By Gregory Korte26 April 2017 WASHINGTON (USA Today) – President Trump signed an executive order Wednesday calling into question the future of more than two dozen national monuments proclaimed by the last three presidents to set aside millions of acres from development. In asking Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke for an unprecedented review of national monuments, […]

Trump signs executive order on offshore drilling and marine sanctuaries

By Nathan Rott and Merrit Kennedy27 April 2017 (NPR) – President Trump signed an executive order Friday that aims to expand offshore drilling for oil and gas, in a move welcomed by the oil and gas industry and greeted with alarm by environmental groups. “Renewed offshore energy production will reduce the cost of energy, create […]

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