Environment

Doug Jones urges EPA to enforce civil rights protections

Minority communities are disproportionately impacted by environmental hazards, and the Environmental Protection Agency isn’t using all the tools it can to end those dangers, according to a letter sent to the EPA by U.S. Sen. Doug Jones, D-Ala, and signed by 21 other senators. Jones’s letter, sent to the EPA’s acting inspector general, Charles Sheehan, … Continued

Eddie Burkhalter

November 27, 2019

Doug Jones introduced bill to protect red snapper population in Gulf

Recreational and commercial fishermen in the Gulf of Mexico may soon have to have on board their boats devices that could help ensure the population of reef fish remain healthy for generations to come, thanks to a bill introduced by U.S. Senator Doug Jones, D-Ala. Jones and cosponsor Sen. Bill Cassidey, R-La., introduced a bill … Continued

Eddie Burkhalter

November 26, 2019

Report: Climate change threatens 11 Alabama superfund sites

Natural disasters made more severe and more frequent by climate change are endangering 11 superfund sites in Alabama, according to a report released Monday by the U.S. government. The report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office urges the Environmental Protection Agency to take action to protect more than 900 superfund sites across the country from … Continued

Eddie Burkhalter

November 22, 2019

Alabama Power’s solar fee challenged in PSC hearing

Thursday, the Alabama Public Service Commission held a formal hearing to consider a complaint by the Southern Environmental Law Center, on behalf of the environmental activist group, GASP and two other parties, demanding that the PSC abolish an Alabama Power Company charge on customers with solar panels that use Alabama Power as a backup service. … Continued

Brandon Moseley

November 22, 2019

USDA awards nearly $25 million for Alabama producers impacted by Hurricane Michael

Almost $25 million in federal disaster aid has been released to help Alabama farmers and timber producers in several southern counties to recover from last year’s Hurricane Michael. “Farmers in the southeast portion of Alabama are still feeling the effects of destruction caused by Hurricane Michael one year ago,” said Alabama Department of Agriculture & … Continued

Eddie Burkhalter

November 21, 2019

Coalition of gulf state groups release policy platform on climate change, inequality

There are important omissions in the sweeping federal Green New Deal proposal, said members of a coalition of gulf state organizations in an announcement Wednesday of the coalition’s policy platform. The Gulf South for a Green New Deal, made up of 49 organizations in Texas, Luisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida, was formed this year to … Continued

Eddie Burkhalter

November 14, 2019

Report: Alabama children’s wellness making slight gains, but racial disparities remain

Children in Alabama are faring slightly better than they were last year across several wellness indicators, but almost 300,000 Alabama children, 26 percent, still live in poverty, and racial disparities remain across every key wellness indicator. According to the 2019 Alabama Kids Count released publicly on Tuesday the state’s infant mortality rate is at an … Continued

Eddie Burkhalter

November 13, 2019

More than 11,000 scientists worldwide warn of “climate emergency”

In strongly worded new report signed by more than 11,000 scientists in 153 countries the authors lay bare a “climate emergency” they say requires rapid changes in the way humans live to prevent the worst predictions from coming true. Titled the “World scientists’ warning of a climate emergency” the report, published Tuesday in the journal … Continued

Eddie Burkhalter

November 8, 2019

Auburn awarded $3 million grant to fund climate change education

Auburn University has been awarded a $3 million grant to help fund climate change resilience education for graduate students. Less than 10 percent of the applications to the National Science Foundation Research Traineeship get funded, said Karen McNeal, associate professor of geosciences at Auburn and the principal investigator on the project, speaking to APR on … Continued

Eddie Burkhalter

October 30, 2019

Trial begins for Exxon, accused of misleading investors on climate change costs

Editor’s note: Eddie Burkhalter is a staff writer at Alabama Political Reporter and a fellow at the Poynter-Koch Media and Journalism Fellowship. The program is a partnership between the Poynter Institute and the Charles Koch Institute. Charles G. Koch is director of the Charles Koch Institute and CEO of the multinational petroleum company Koch Industries. … Continued

Eddie Burkhalter

October 23, 2019