Halting federal climate action isn't so easy

In this edition: Trump's effort to dismantle Obama's Clean Power; a rising mind-set of shared sacrifice regarding water in the West; progress in Flint.

What we're writing

Why Trump rollback of Obama policies isn't easy

President Trump signed an "Energy Independence" executive order, aimed especially at scrapping the Clean Power Plan, which calls on states to reduce electric-utility emissions. But, although Trump and his team can certainly slow US efforts to respond to climate change, it may be much harder for them to lock a different direction into place for the long term. // Mark Trumbull and Henry Gass

Zack Colman/The Christian Science Monitor
Lake Powell stretches across the Utah-Arizona border. Known for its house boat tourism, the reservoir retains water for states in the Upper Colorado River Basin that would otherwise flow through the river and into Lake Mead, which serves densely populated areas in the lower basin.

On Colorado River, a mind-set of shared sacrifice

A wet winter is easing water strains in the Southwest, but the longer-term outlook is generally hotter and drier. States now have that in mind in water bargaining. Last in our six-part series on emerging water solutions in the American West. // Zack Colman

Is the end in sight for the Flint water crisis?

The Michigan city's water crisis may finally be reaching resolution, with a settlement that would require the city to replace 18,000 underground pipes by 2020. But many of the problems that led to the contamination still have to be addressed in other areas of Michigan and across the United States, some experts warn. // Weston Williams

How climate change may drive extreme weather

Scientists say climate change could be altering the jet stream in a way that causes extreme heat waves, droughts, and flooding. // Eva Botkin-Kowacki

Courts now at front line in climate battles

As governments make commitments on emissions – or fail to do so – questions of follow-through increasingly land in court. Vienna's airport is a case in point. // Tamara Micner

What we're reading

A call for 'red teams' to challenge climate science

Should Congress fund "skeptic" scientists to challenge mainstream climate science? Debate was lively at a congressional hearing. // The Washington Post

Coal-mine waste could yield elements for clean energy

Researchers in Appalachia examine whether one of the region’s biggest liabilities – coal-mine waste – might supply rare earth elements. // Southeast Energy News

Solar energy + salt water = veggies in the desert

A project uses what's abundant to make "what we need more of." // Thomson Reuters Foundation

Should weatherization programs really be axed?

Building owners who make efficiency upgrades are making big cuts in emissions, a study concludes.  // The Washington Post

What's trending

'Climate change is real': Companies challenge Trump

“We believe that investing in a low-carbon economy will not only help foster a healthier environment, it is also a key to unlocking new business growth potential for the US and around the world.” // Gap spokeswoman Laura Wilkinson, quoted in The Guardian

On network news, just 50 minutes for climate in 2016

"Combined climate coverage on ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox News Sunday decreased significantly from 2015 to 2016, despite ample opportunity to cover climate change." // Newly released analysis by Media Matters

California in gear for cleaner cars

"Eight years from now, new cars and trucks sold in the Golden State will be required to have an average fuel economy of 54.5 miles per gallon.... The sheer size of California’s market, and a unique waiver from the Clean Air Act, give it an outsize role in determining what comes out of your car's tailpipe. With this vote, it’s trying to raise those standards at the same moment when the feds and automakers want them eased." // Patrick Reilly, writing in The Christian Science Monitor

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
What is the Monitor difference? Tackling the tough headlines – with humanity. Listening to sources – with respect. Seeing the story that others are missing by reporting what so often gets overlooked: the values that connect us. That’s Monitor reporting – news that changes how you see the world.

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

QR Code to Halting federal climate action isn't so easy
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/2017/0404/Halting-federal-climate-action-isn-t-so-easy
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe