Climate Law & Liability - Inside Climate News

The Barely Recognizable J.D. Vance as Trump’s Vice Presidential Running Mate

Interview by Steve Curwood, Living on Earth — Sat, 20 Jul 2024 09:05:00 +0000

Inside Climate News staff writer Dan Gearino, who lives in Columbus, Ohio, wonders what happened to the “Hillbilly Elegy” author and “public intellectual” who once touted “a climate problem in our society.”

Interview by Steve Curwood, Living on Earth

From our collaborating partner “Living on Earth,” public radio’s environmental news magazine, an interview by host Steve Curwood with Dan Gearino, a staff writer at Inside Climate News based in Columbus, Ohio.

Louisiana’s ‘Business-Friendly’ Climate Response: Canceled Home Insurance Plans

By Terry L. Jones, Floodlight — Sat, 20 Jul 2024 09:00:00 +0000

Under a new state law, residents will no longer be protected from homeowners’ policy cancellations, higher deductibles or big rate increases.

By Terry L. Jones, Floodlight

This story was originally published by Floodlight, a nonprofit investigative newsroom focused on climate accountability.

Plastics Pollution Has Become a ‘Crisis,’ Biden Administration Acknowledges

By Marianne Lavelle — Fri, 19 Jul 2024 18:37:58 +0000

The White House strategy aims to cut pollutants, not cap production, and use government purchasing power to discourage single-use plastic.

By Marianne Lavelle

Single-use plastic would be phased out of all U.S. government operations by 2035 under a new federal plastics pollution strategy unveiled Friday by President Joe Biden’s administration, which cited a “crisis” of littered oceans and poisoned air due to plastics.

When a Retired Scientist Suggested Virginia Weaken Wetlands Protections, the State Said, No Way

By Sarah Vogelsong — Fri, 19 Jul 2024 09:05:00 +0000

After the Supreme Court weakened federal protection of wetlands last year, a Trump transition team member from Fairfax County urged the state to follow suit. But Virginia’s top environmental regulator stood his ground.

By Sarah Vogelsong

A little over a year after the U.S. Supreme Court narrowed the range of wetlands the federal government can protect, a Virginia board turned down a petition that would have similarly limited local officials from regulating certain wetlands within the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

Montana Is a Frontier for Deep Carbon Storage, and the Controversies Surrounding the Potential Climate Solution

By Najifa Farhat — Thu, 18 Jul 2024 09:00:00 +0000

The Big Sky State hopes to get federal incentives to store captured carbon under public lands, but for many residents near the project, the threat is greater than the opportunity.

By Najifa Farhat

A new project aims to take carbon dioxide pollution, likely from two natural gas processing plants in Wyoming, and store it thousands of feet underground beneath the wide-open prairies of southeastern Montana.

Tribes and Environmentalists Press Arizona and Federal Officials to Stop Uranium Mining Near the Grand Canyon

By Noel Lyn Smith — Wed, 17 Jul 2024 09:00:00 +0000

Activists hope to shut down an existing mine within a new national monument and to prevent the transportation of uranium on state and federal roads across Navajo Nation lands.

By Noel Lyn Smith

PHOENIX—Members of environmental groups stood together in the lobby of the Arizona State Capitol Executive Tower late last month to deliver a petition to Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs, requesting that she stop uranium mining activities near the Grand Canyon National Park.

Trump’s Environmental Impact Endures, at Home and Around the World

By Marianne Lavelle — Tue, 16 Jul 2024 21:35:30 +0000

His break from the Paris accord inspires other populist leaders, while his reshaping of the federal courts and environmental rollbacks affect the air, water, wetlands and public lands, disrupting efforts to counter climate change.

By Marianne Lavelle

Former President Donald Trump dismantled the pillars of U.S. climate policy when he exited the Paris climate accord and rolled back more than 100 regulations to protect air, water, endangered species and human health.

New York’s Green Amendment Guarantees the Right to a ‘Healthful Environment.’ Activists Want the State to Enforce It

By Peter Mantius — Mon, 15 Jul 2024 08:45:00 +0000

"Our environmental rights are not discretionary": In a march at the state Capitol, advocates call for more action.

By Peter Mantius

This article previously appeared in WaterFront.

Jaguars, Macaws and Tropical Dry Forest Have a Right To Exist, a Colombian Court Is Told

By Katie Surma — Sun, 14 Jul 2024 09:10:00 +0000

The “rights of nature” lawsuit follows at least eight Colombian court rulings that have recognized the rights of ecosystems, including the country’s portion of the Amazon rainforest. But enforcement of those decisions has been lagging, and some activists face retaliation.

By Katie Surma

A new lawsuit asks Colombia to recognize that jaguars, military macaws and the nation’s tropical dry forest have legal rights to “life, health and integrity.”

Baltimore Judge Tosses Climate Case, Hands Win to Big Oil

By Aman Azhar — Sat, 13 Jul 2024 09:05:00 +0000

Environmental groups say judges across the country believe cases like Baltimore's should hold oil companies accountable in state courts for environmental harm.

By Aman Azhar

In a first of its kind decision, a Maryland judge on Wednesday tossed Baltimore City’s climate suit against major oil giants on the grounds that it is not the role of the state courts to address a global issue like climate change.