Priorities, Priorities, Priorities
Dear Reader,
Happy weekend! Here are the top stories on the world’s most pressing health and environmental disparities.
Best regards,
Alex Ip
Publisher and Editor
🍑 A SOUTHERN FLAIR
A Journey into the South’s Last Old-Growth Swamps (Lindsey Lile and Mac Stone, Garden & Gun)
“When you step into an old-growth forest, you just get this feeling that this is what woods are supposed to be like,” Stone says. “Everything is mature, shaped by time, and vibrant.”
ATLANTA — Atlanta airport spills estimated 33,000 gallons of sewage near Sullivan Creek (Mirtha Donastorg, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
In January this year, a jet fuel spill at the Atlanta airport released an estimated 10,000 gallons from a fuel pipeline into the stormwater system and the Flint River, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said.
The SELC said in its July letter there had also been major fuel spills in April and over Memorial Day weekend.
Former Georgia regulator who helped set policy for data centers now works for company building them (Alander Rocha, Georgia Recorder)
When asked why step down from the position before her term concluded, Pridemore said that there are federal projects that are moving quickly and “DC BLOX needed [her] to be involved in those in the beginning stages of those projects.” She mentioned particularly that the U.S. Department of Energy tapped DC BLOX to help build a data center at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina.
Entergy Arkansas drops lawsuit over newspaper’s publication of data center agreement details (Andrew Demillo, Arkansas Advocate)
“We’re obviously so pleased Entergy called off their legal threats against the journalists and the good citizen who did nothing wrong and were simply trying to answer a question so many people have been asking,” Times Editor Austin Gelder said. “This was a heartening reminder that running to the courts won’t save anyone from the truth.”
🟠 TRACKING TRUMP
Why Germany Is Building an Ark for U.S. Climate Data (Christian Schwägerl, Yale Environment 360)
Glöckner said he believes that President Trump “has, to a certain extent, done science a favor by making it clear how important it is to not just hoard data in one place but to truly share it with the global scientific community.”
China Stockpiled Oil, and Now It Could Dominate the Energy Landscape (Rebecca F. Elliott and Keith Bradsher)
“This is a power that nobody thought China had,” said Erica Downs, a senior research scholar at Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy. “Going forward, it’s going to be really interesting to see: What does China do with this newfound power?”
Read more: Trump donor Harold Hamm’s oil company announces Venezuela deal (Rachel Frazin, The Hill)
Who Made America Poorer and Dirtier? (Adam Serwer, The Atlantic)
The administration’s environmental policies have made American water and air dirtier. Its health-care, tariff, and tax policies have worsened inflation and increased the financial burden on most American households, even as incomes have grown. And its public-health policies have led to outbreaks of contagious disease.
Read more: The EPA Would Rather Monitor Water for Abortion Pills than Pollution (Rachel Santarsiero, Mother Jones)
Read even more: A New Bill Could Help Obstruct Future Energy Efficiency Standards for Home Appliances—and Repeal Old Ones (Lauren Dalban, Inside Climate News)
Malawi: A Path Forward (Molly Bentley and Seth Shostak, Big Picture Science)
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🗺️ WHAT ELSE WE'RE READING
OSORNO, Chile — The Unwilding of Patagonia’s Pollinators (Jude Isabella and Katrina Pyne, bioGraphic)
“I’m really angry now, can you tell?” asks [Marina Arbetman, a biologist at the National University of Comahue in Bariloche, Argentina]. A ceiling of clouds blocks the sun, and southern lapwings zip through the air, their grating voices suiting the mood. “If [something is] from Europe, it must be better,” she remarks sarcastically. “We are still colonized.”
An Environmental Defender Is Murdered Every Three Days (Katie Surma, Inside Climate News)
“Defenders are the world’s eyes and ears on the ground,” said [Toby Hill, a Global Witness investigator]. “It’s thanks to them that we know when ecosystems are being destroyed, where forests are being cleared or rivers polluted.”
MIAMI, NEW ORLEANS, HONOLULU, NORTH CAROLINA, and CONNECTICUT — ‘Betting the House’: A Pop-Up Collaboration (Emily Atkin, HEATED; Chase Cain, Chase What Matters; Rachel Ramirez, The Confluence; Ben Tracy, Climate Central; Tracy Wholf, WereWHOLF Media)
RENO, Nev. — Nevada's first wastewater-to-drinking-water plant breaks ground in Reno (Piper Heath, The Nevada Independent)
BOSTON — This is a story about a filthy forever puddle in Chinatown. It is also about so much more. (paywalled)(Danny McDonald, The Boston Globe)
Ranching’s Plastic Problem (Moira Donovan, Offrange)
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