We used the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species database, which provides EOO data for 11,552 extant fish
The announcement comes as the #Trump admin has aggressively pursued opening #PublicLands to the #energy industry. This includes shrinking #NationalMonuments in #Utah, which would allow for #oil & #gas development, & reportedly pursuing the same in #Alaska, all while rolling back rules around bond requirements, public comments & procedural timelines around those lease sales.
Although some bureaucratic hurdles remain, a lease sale brings #fracking to the #forest for the first time – the subject of political effort since at least 2016 [since #Trump’s first term] – far closer to fruition, giving specific #corporations legal rights to the #land & #minerals beneath it.
The #US Bureau of #Land Management announced a lease sale scheduled for Sept 15 of 41 parcels of land in the Wayne National Forest totaling 2,840 acres.
#SCOTUS upheld this interpretation in 1995, ruling against property owners who argued that #harm should only mean directly killing or injuring an #endangered #animal.
But on Friday, the #Trump #Interior Dept & the #Commerce Dept announced a final rule that rescinded this longstanding interpretation. Under the rule, destroying an #EndangeredSpecies’ nest or #habitat would no longer be considered illegal.
For more than 50 years, the federal government has used a broader definition of #harm to #animals under the #EndangeredSpeciesAct, a bedrock #EnvironmentalLaw. It included any significant “modification or degradation” of habitat that kills or injures animals by impairing their ability to eat, shelter or breed.
The Trump admin Friday moved to open the #habitats of imperiled animals to #farming, #drilling, #mining, #RealEstate #development & other activities in what environmentalists characterized as the most severe erosion of protections for #wildlife in half a century.
The #fireworks are planned to be set off at sites along the #PotomacRiver & the #NationalMall, not far from areas such as Southeast Washington that are predominantly #Black & #LowIncome. Thurston said there is a greater prevalence of #respiratory & #cardiovascular problems, including #asthma, in lower-income & minority populations. “I definitely think that should not be ignored,” he said.
Levels of up to 1,200 micrograms per cubic meter match what have been recorded with other #fireworks events but are nevertheless reason to take precautions, said George Thurston, a professor of medicine & population health at NYU. He added that the worst-case scenario would exceed anything he has seen previously recorded from pyrotechnic displays.
The analysis highlights best, worst and most likely scenarios based on wind conditions, humidity & other factors. In the “expected” or “most likely” scenario, the #fireworks show will generate 600 to 1,200 micrograms of PM2.5 per cubic meter in the Mall area. A worst-case scenario would see >2,000 micrograms per cubic meter.
The #Interior Dept & the #NPS did not respond to questions about the documents & #pollution associated with the event. In downtown #DC, #Arlington & the #CapitolHill area, where pollution will be “very unhealthy,” the document says that people should “expect irritation symptoms” & limit their postshow exposure to the pollution. It projects that pollution will remain at elevated levels for 3 to 6 hours after the show.
#Trump #Fireworks likely to cause hazardous #air #pollution, documents show Internal #NPS modeling for the July 4th show predicts dangerous pollution around the #NationalMall & “very unhealthy” conditions across central DC.
The show, billed by the #Trump admin as the largest pyrotechnic display in history, will include some 850k fireworks in a roughly 40-min show….Trump will speak as part of the event….
Out in the #PacificOcean, between #Hawaii & #California, is the Great #Pacific #Garbage Patch, a swirl of #PlasticTrash >2X the size of Texas. As pieces of plastic tumble against each other, they break down into particles tiny enough to be borne aloft on the wind [& inhaled].
The section responsible for #EnvironmentalLaw lost about a third of its staff. And the department’s #CivilRights Division lost more than half. And the Bureau of #Prisons – which the DOJ’s internal watchdog has said is in a “staffing crisis” – shed more than 2,200 employees, about 6% of its workforce. The number of inmates in federal custody has remained largely unchanged.
