Environmental Justice
‘Lip service’: Judge blasts DEQ for approving Formosa project in St. James
Environmental groups in Louisiana are celebrating a state judge’s decision Wednesday to revoke permits for a massive $9.4 billion Formosa Plastics facility planned in the middle of Louisiana’s so-called Cancer Alley. The ruling comes after nearly three years of litigation on behalf of a community of Black residents in St. James Parish. Judge Trudy White […]
Federal government to review proposed grain elevator’s risk to Louisiana slave burial sites
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will meet with the Descendants Project, a group of Louisiana slave descendants, to review whether construction of a proposed grain elevator in St. John the Baptist Parish might harm slave burial grounds and other historic properties. The meeting, set for Thursday, comes two weeks after Descendants Project members testified […]
Air monitors alone won’t save communities from toxic industrial air pollution
One summer night last year, air began flowing into a steel canister across the street from the Little Bo Peep Child Development Center in Calvert City, Kentucky. The pollution monitor hummed into the morning as parents dropped off their toddlers and later into the day as the kids played outside. Within a month, a lab […]
Supreme Court could hamstring federal regulatory power in high-profile air pollution case
The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments in a case that centers on the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions that drive climate change. How the court decides the case could have broad ramifications, not just for climate change but for federal regulation in many areas.
New flood maps show stark inequity in damages, which are expected to rise over next 30 years
Research using new flood maps shows the high costs of flooding and lay bare the inequities of who has to endure America’s crippling flood problem. They also show the importance of altering development patterns now.
The U.S. is making plans to replace all of its lead water pipes from coast to coast
Gabriel Filippelli, IUPUI for The Conversation The Biden administration has released a plan to accelerate removal of lead water pipes and lead paint from U.S. homes. As a geochemist and environmental health researcher who has studied the heartbreaking impacts of lead poisoning in children for decades, I am happy to see high-level attention paid to this […]
Is Santa’s sleigh zero carbon? The answer lies in reindeer poo
Mike Jeffries, Northumbria University, Newcastle for The Conversation Santa’s sleigh is famously pulled by eight reindeer, nine if you include the luminous Rudolf who pitches in when it’s foggy. The classic eight are Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Vixen and Blitzen. Those last two are an easy-on-the-ear translation of Dutch, but the whole eight sound […]
Biden calls for ‘decade of action’ on climate, apologizes for Trump exit from Paris Accord
President Joe Biden urged the international community on Monday to transition to clean energy, curb greenhouse gas emissions, including methane, and help developing nations adapt to a changing climate. Speaking at a pivotal United Nations climate conference in Glasgow, Scotland, Biden said worsening wildfires and once-in-a-century storms hitting every few years show that there’s only […]
Americans in climate-threatened regions anxious for solutions from world summit
Flooded beach towns will be abandoned along millions of miles of coastlines. Islands will be inundated. It has already begun. Heat will become so oppressive that field workers can’t endure it and crops fail. It’s already happening. Huge wildfires will scorch millions of acres and spew toxic smoke plumes across swaths of the planet. Astronauts […]
Louisiana’s governor pursues biomass industry, drawing skepticism from environmentalists
Gov. John Bel Edwards is, in many ways, pushing to be Louisiana’s “green governor” — the leader who transforms this oil-and-gas state into a safe space for sustainable energy. “Make no mistake: an industry-wide transition to cleaner, less environmentally impactful energy production and utilization is going to happen regardless of if Louisiana participates, so it’s […]
Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards to attend climate change summit in Scotland
Gov. John Bel Edwards, along with ten other Louisiana officials, will be traveling to Scotland for the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference. Along with the governor and security personnel, the following people will be part of the Louisiana delegation: Special Assistant to Edwards Donald Dunbar Louisiana Economic Development Secretary Don Pierson Louisiana Department of […]
Louisiana governor replaces members of the Baton Rouge area groundwater commission
Gov. John Bel Edwards appointed two new members to the 18-person board that regulates groundwater use in the Baton Rouge region, less than three months after rejecting legislation that would have allowed employees from companies who use the groundwater to continue to sit on the commission without penalty. Alvin Broussard, the public works director and […]