Plans to open a new mine have been criticised by local residents and
NGOs for contradicting government commitments to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions and phase out coal. Story here.
An open pit coal mine in New Zealand. Photo credit - Kai Point Coal Mine
Forty five years have passed since Earl Butz, then U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, asserted, “Before we go back to organic agriculture in this country, somebody must decide which 50 million Americans we are going to let starve or go hungry.” Time has proven Butz very wrong. Story here.
Algal blooms on Lake Erie, similar to Florida's. Photo by NOAA.
Waterways and beaches along Florida’s Atlantic coast have been taken over by thick, blue-green algae blooms, prompting Florida Gov. Rick Scott to declare local states of emergency in St. Lucie, Martin, Palm Beach and Lee counties. Story here.
The same day TransCanada Pipelines sued the U.S. government for $15 billion, the Democratic Party’s platform drafting committee met in Missouri. Between the two, there is a lesson to be learned about free trade and the climate crisis. Story here.