3 d. ago Conservationists sue Trump administration over rollback of green policies

Lawsuit focuses on day-one executive order claiming to ‘unleash American energy’ by boosting oil industryConservationists on Wednesday sued the Trump administration over its attempts to boost the oil industry by rolling back green policies.Filed by the environmental non-profit Center for Biological Diversity, the litigation focuses on Trump’s day-one “unleashing American energy” executive order. In an effort to boost already booming US energy production, the emergency declaration directed federal agencies to identify all policies and regulations that “unduly” burden fuel producers and create “action plans” to weaken or remove them. Continue reading...

Politics

5 d. ago The great Mississippi tops list of most endangered rivers amid fears over Trump rollbacks

Cuts to disaster agency and deregulation of fossil fuels, plus rise of water-guzzling datacentres, highlighted in new reportThe Trump administration’s sweeping cuts to the federal climate disaster agency – and the full-throttle deregulation of fossil fuels and water-guzzling datacentres – could prove catastrophic for America’s endangered rivers, threatening the food, water and livelihoods of millions of people, according to a new report.American Rivers’ annual most-endangered rivers list lays bare a myriad of human-made threats including floods, drought and other extreme weather events driven by the climate crisis, as well as industrial pollution and poor river management – all of which Trump’s regulatory rollbacks will almost inevitably make worse. Continue reading...

Politics

9 d. ago Kennedy Center director snipes at musician for ‘vapidness’ over DEI concerns

Trump ally Richard Grenell sends series of hostile emails to Yasmin Williams despite saying he was ‘too busy’ to do soThe Kennedy Center’s interim executive director, Richard Grenell – a staunch ally of Donald Trump – accused a professional musician of “vapidness” after she emailed him over concerns of the now Trump-controlled center’s rollbacks on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.Earlier this week, Yasmin Williams, an award-winning musician who has performed multiple times at the Washington DC-based performing arts center, emailed Grenell regarding the center’s DEI plans, pointing to the cancellations of a concert by the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington as well as Finn, a children’s musical about a shark who feels different from other sharks. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Politicians criticise US efforts to make EU firms reverse diversity initiatives

Officials in France and Belgium hit out at ‘American interference’ amid growing transatlantic tensionsEurope live – latest updatesOfficials in France and Belgium have hit back at American efforts to impose Donald Trump’s rollback of diversity measures on Europe, which in the US has seen Disney put under investigation.Several companies across the EU have in recent days reportedly received letters informing them that the Trump administration’s crackdown on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives also applies to firms around the world looking to do business with the US government. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago US could see return of acid rain if pollution rules are quashed, says scientist who first discovered it

Gene Likens, who first identified acidic rainwater in 1960s, said the Trump administration’s ‘rollbacks are alarming’The US could be plunged back into an era of toxic acid rain, an environmental problem thought to have been solved decades ago, due to the Donald Trump administration’s rollback of pollution protections, the scientist who discovered the existence of acid rain in North America has warned.A blitzkrieg launched by Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) upon clean air and water regulations could revert the US to a time when cities were routinely shrouded in smog and even help usher back acid rain, according to Gene Likens, whose experiments helped identify acidic rainwater in the 1960s. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago US could see return of acid rain due to Trump’s rollbacks, says scientist who discovered it

Gene Likens, who first identified acidic rainwater in 1960s, said the Trump administration’s ‘rollbacks are alarming’The US could be plunged back into an era of toxic acid rain, an environmental problem thought to have been solved decades ago, due to the Donald Trump administration’s rollback of pollution protections, the scientist who discovered the existence of acid rain in North America has warned.A blitzkrieg launched by Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on clean air and water regulations could revert the US to a time when cities were routinely shrouded in smog and even help usher back acid rain, according to Gene Likens, whose experiments helped identify acidic rainwater in the 1960s. Continue reading...

Politics