Natural Resources

"House Republicans and Democrats have released two dueling visions for the farm bill, the massive $1.5 trillion omnibus that underpins the U.S. food system."

"Environmentalists warn that a California Democrat’s bill “drives a bulldozer” through the state’s new law that protects imperiled Joshua trees from commercial development. But the lawmaker says his impoverished desert region desperately needs the economic boost."

"An orangutan appeared to treat a wound with medicine from a tropical plant— the latest example of how some animals attempt to soothe their own ills with remedies found in the wild, scientists reported Thursday."

"Georgia’s congressional delegation introduced legislation Wednesday to protect some of the ancestral lands of the Muscogee tribe as a national park and preserve."

"Over the past several years, the temperature of the Earth’s oceans have been spiking high enough to trigger numerous die-offs of marine species, killing millions of corals, fish, mammals, birds and plants. Those mass die-offs also have sent a wave of emotional trauma washing over some researchers watching their life’s work vanish before their eyes."

"President Joe Biden will add a combined 120,000 acres Thursday to a pair of national monuments in California at a White House ceremony, the administration announced."

"The U.S. House voted Tuesday to end federal protection for gray wolves, approving a bill that would remove them from the endangered species list across the lower 48 states."

"Veterans of the first Trump administration predicted in interviews what their former boss might do with energy policy if he returns to the White House." "More oil and gas permitting. Aggressive deregulation. Federal career staff relegated to the sidelines."

"New details of the Biden administration’s signature conservation effort, made public this month amid a burst of other environmental announcements, have alarmed some scientists who study marine protected areas because the plan would count certain commercial fishing zones as conserved."

"On Tuesday, the White House finalized its “Phase 2” revisions for the National Environmental Policy Act’s regulations, which top officials believe will speed up permitting for key infrastructure projects while maintaining environmental protections. The rule is considered a cornerstone of Biden’s green agenda as he mounts his 2024 reelection bid and is likely to face resistance from Republican lawmakers and industry trade associations."