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Land
Throughout Brexit, many have wondered about the environmental implications of the UK leaving the European Union. When the split becomes official at the end of the month it will also mean a severing with Europe’s notorious farm subsidies. As Science Mag reported, many researchers see this as a good thing as this week “the U.K. […]
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To say that Australia’s massive wildfires have been unprecedented is an understatement. The world has watched in disbelief at images of people and animals fleeing for their lives as more than 200 fires have burned roughly 12 million acres. As CBS News reported, the fires have forced more than 100,000 residents and tourists to flee […]
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Emily is the Executive Director of the St. Simons Land Trust on Georgia’s famed St. Simons Island. ODP: We’ve talked before about why land trusts are an important part of conservation. What is something that SSLT has accomplished this year that exceeded all of your expectations? EE: This year, the St. Simons Land Trust celebrated […]
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Farm state voters in swing states like Minnesota see extreme weather, such as droughts and floods, as a significant threat to farming. According to a new poll conducted by Iowa-based RABA Research on behalf of the Union of Concerned Scientists, a majority of these voters say they would be more likely to back a 2020 […]
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Last week, an eruption at New Zealand’s popular White Island volcano killed 16 people and it’s raised questions about why potentially dangerous tourist destinations aren’t better regulated for safety.
This follows a year on Mt. Everest where overcrowding from unqualified mountain climbers created dangerous conditions at the summit.
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The American Prairie Reserve in northeastern Montana is a non-profit working to create the largest nature sanctuary in the continental United States. Founder Sean Gerrity made his money in Silicon Valley and hopes to create a preserve that’s made up of private properties stitched together with vast tracts of neighboring public lands to create one […]
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CNN reported last week that a new study warns that the unaddressed problem of invasive (non-native) animal species in National Parks is threatening many parks — that are now being overwhelmed with rats, domesticated cats, feral hogs and many other non-native animals that also thrive there. Scientists from within the Department of Interior and several universities found that of the 1,409 reported populations of invasive species in National Parks, only 11% are under control.
Why This Matters: There is a backlog of maintenance projects at National Parks across the U.S. totaling nearly $12B – and those are just for maintenance of roads and facilities, not eradicating invasive species.
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The Supreme Court heard oral argument yesterday in a case brought by a group of Montana landowners who want to force ARCO (which is owned by oil giant BP) to comply with state law and reduce arsenic levels in the soil throughout their community to pre-contamination levels. The Justices — even the liberal ones — appeared to side with the Company.
Why This Matters: When the EPA cares more about protecting a polluting company and limiting its liability than protecting the innocent victims of that toxic pollution from harm, federal “pre-emption” of state law claims can actually frustrate the intent of the statute — which was to make the polluters pay for the clean up of their toxic contamination.
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When we asked our partners at the St. Simons Land Trust about what they’ve been thankful for this year they told us that the opportunity to operate a land trust in one of coastal Georgia’s most diverse ecosystems is something to be thankful for in and of itself. Land trusts are a really important conservation […]
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According to a new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report, climate change may increase the frequency and intensity of certain natural disasters, which could damage Superfund sites—the nation’s most contaminated hazardous waste sites.
Why This Matters: Spilled Superfund sites can cause deadly outcomes for the people that have to live near them, not to mention the havoc they wreak on wildlife.
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Rising global temperatures are worrying truffle hunters around the Italian town of Alba, where the most prized specimens can fetch twice the price of gold. To stave off the longer-term climate change impact on the production of the highly prized white truffle, experts have launched initiatives to better preserve the territory where they grow.
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The Grand Canyon National Park and Chaco Culture National Park both are under threat from nearby mining and drilling developments being advanced by the Trump Administration. The House of Representatives voted by comfortable margins on Wednesday to protect both Parks from contamination by banning nearby extraction activities, but there is no companion legislation in the Senate so these measures will likely stall now.
Why This Matters: The Trump Team is trying to “camouflage” its plans to expand mining near the Grand Canyon as a national security imperative and then pad the pockets of the developers by having the government buy the uranium. The Grand Canyon is one of the most iconic U.S. Parks and a natural wonder — it is hard to imagine the public would support uranium mining adjacent to the Park — it is a national treasure.
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