"Federal officials on Monday took a first step toward reopening vast areas of public lands in two Western states to new coal sales as part of President Donald Trump’s push to expand U.S. fossil fuel production."
Wildfire’s immensely destructive power is not just about what it burns. The smoke from more frequent fires, too, has real potential to harm human health, the new Backgrounder explains, releasing particulate matter, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides and worse. Learn more about the hazards and historical perspective, along with what journalists should tell their communities can be done.
"State regulations limiting gas-powered lawn equipment for public properties went into effect this month. Users are warming up to the cleaner, quieter tools."
"Last year, as Utah prepared to file a lawsuit aiming to take control of millions of acres of federal public land within its borders, state officials sought help swaying public opinion in their favor. They turned to a group of public relations professionals at Penna Powers, a media and branding firm based in Salt Lake City."
"The dwindling flow of the Colorado River has alarmed the American West for years, but the water losses happening underground are even worse, according to a new study that uses satellite data to measure groundwater supplies across the Colorado River Basin."
"The Interior Department said it would fast-track the permitting process for a uranium mine in Utah as part of President Trump’s plan to shorten environmental reviews and speed the construction of certain types of energy projects." "An environmental review of the project, known as Velvet-Wood, would normally take roughly a year. The government says it will complete the process in two weeks."
"The Trump administration has moved to end federal protections for the lesser prairie chicken, a showy grouse with the misfortune of inhabiting southern and central grasslands long sought-after for agriculture and energy development."
"BILLINGS, Mont. — An asbestos screening clinic in a small Montana town where thousands have been sickened by toxic dust from a nearby mine has been abruptly shuttered by authorities following a court order to seize the clinic’s assets to pay off a judgment to the railroad BNSF."
With wildfires becoming more extreme in every way, reporters covering them face new challenges along with familiar hazards. A pair of experienced wildfire journalists and others on the front lines offer advice on dealing with access restrictions, on-the-ground dangers, toxic exposure risks and traumatized survivors — as climate change speeds up the news cycle and misinformation muddies the reporting landscape.
"Evacuating the Tahoe basin in summer could take 14 hours, and 99% of properties in South Lake Tahoe are at risk — yet new resorts are being built in high-danger fire areas."
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