Navajo Lack Water to Fight COVID-19 Because Coal Company Drained the Tribe’s Aquifer

Navajo Lack Water to Fight COVID-19 Because Coal Company Drained the Tribe’s Aquifer

Bloomberg News reports that Peabody Energy, the largest coal producer in the country, operated two coal mines on Navajo and Hopi reservation lands that pulled so much water from the Navajo Aquifer that many wells and springs have now run dry. This comes when water is more necessary than ever for essential hygiene since Covid-19 has hit the Navajo Nation harder than any state.

Why This Matters:  Peabody never replenished the aquifer water it took under a suspect agreement with the Tribes —  as much as 1.3 billion gallons of water from the aquifer annually —  and one-third of residents have no running water in the midst of the worst pandemic in generations.

Continue Reading 563 words
NY Denies Water Permit to Build Pipeline for Gas, Wants to Build Transmission Line Instead

NY Denies Water Permit to Build Pipeline for Gas, Wants to Build Transmission Line Instead

New York state environmental regulators denied for a third time a permit for a pipeline that would transport fracked natural gas from Pennsylvania to New York City and Long Island for two reasons: water quality in the Long Island Sound and fidelity to the state’s new law that requires the New York to transition its power sector to net-zero emissions by 2040 and reduce overall greenhouse gas emissions by 85 percent from 1990 levels by 2050. 

Why This Matters:  This is how the stimulus funding from the federal government should work — it must be used to build cleaner and more efficient new infrastructure that decreases our dependence on fossil fuels.

Continue Reading 488 words
Despite COVID Worries, Climate Still A Top Concern For 66% of Americans

Despite COVID Worries, Climate Still A Top Concern For 66% of Americans

A new, nationwide public opinion survey conducted by Yale from April 7–17 found that a record-tying 73% of Americans think global warming is happening and only 10% deny it, but most believe it is happening to others and not to them. 

Why This Matters:  The pollsters expected they would find that because the public is so concerned about the pandemic that they would not have the ability to maintain their concern about climate change — a theory that social scientists call the “finite pool of worry.”  But that was not the case.

Continue Reading 593 words
California Wins Battle With Trump Administration About Water and Endangered Species

California Wins Battle With Trump Administration About Water and Endangered Species

A federal court on Monday put on hold President Trump’s February order that overturned agency scientists and revised federal water supply plans in California, frustrating a political promise he made to farmers in central California to lift water restrictions for the benefit of agriculture there. 

Why This Matters:  This decision is just a temporary hold on the Trump administration’s water grab.  But the time is key for both the species at risk of extinction and for the farmers who will lose out on additional water that they would get to take out of the system for agriculture now, while there is spring runoff happening — water they can’t get back later because it is already flushed through the system.

Continue Reading 504 words
In Today’s Michigan Primary – As Well As The Other States – Water Issues A Top Concern

In Today’s Michigan Primary – As Well As The Other States – Water Issues A Top Concern

Whether it is drinking water in Michigan, floodwaters in Missouri and Mississippi, or dams versus salmon in Washington and Idaho, or wastewater from fracking in North Dakota — clean water is an issue that runs through the primaries that are taking place today.

Why This Matters:  The two remaining Democratic candidates have not had a chance to discuss these important water issues in the debates thus far.

Continue Reading 549 words
Western Voters, Nevadans In Particular, See Climate and Pollution As Top Issues In Election

Western Voters, Nevadans In Particular, See Climate and Pollution As Top Issues In Election

A new poll released Thursday by Colorado College just before the Nevada Democratic caucuses shows that for residents of both parties in Western states care deeply about a wide range of conservation issues from battling climate change and pollution, to protecting federal lands and parks and endangered species, and ensuring clean and plentiful water. 

Why This Matters:  If history is a guide, climate change will drive Latinos to vote in the caucuses and in the general election in Nevada this year.

Continue Reading 599 words

Want the planet in your inbox?

Subscribe to the email that top lawmakers, renowned scientists, and thousands of concerned citizens turn to each morning for the latest environmental news and analysis.