Eco Stories You Need to Know

[View in your browser]( [ecowatch]( Top Posts [ In Today's Eco Digest... - The Arctic is safe from future drilling. - Japan is going to dump its nuclear wastewater. - Biden hasn't shut down Dakota Access yet. - Happy Earth Week and Earth Day, fellow earthlings. – summaries below written by [Angely Mercado]( [post_image]( [Don't Drill the ArcticÂ]( Last week, a federal appeals court finally ended former President Trump's attempt to allow oil and gas drilling in about 130 million acres of the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans. The attempt to drill in the protected area began in April 2018 when then-President Trump [signed]( an executive order that aimed to undo an Obama-era [ban on Arctic fossil fuel exploration](. An Alaskan federal judge found the order to be [unlawful]( in 2019 and the Trump administration appealed. Soon after taking office, President Joe Biden [revoked]( the 2017 order. And this past week the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals agreed to dismiss the Trump administration's appeal. [Read More Button]( [9630b8e6-45a3-4648-9335-a47935d7d092.png](  [twitter](  [linkedin](  [email](mailto:?subject=Don't Drill the Arctic &body= [post_image]( [Something's in the Water]( Japan's government recently announced that it will release radioactive wastewater from the Fukushima [nuclear]( plant into the Pacific Ocean. The disposal is a problem a little over a decade in the making. An [earthquake]( and [tsunami]( hit northeastern Japan in March 2011, killing thousands and causing three of the six reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant to melt down. It was the biggest nuclear disaster since Chernobyl. To cool the reactors, water is flushed through them and filtered to remove all radioactive material except for tritium. The wastewater has been stored on site at the nuclear plant but the facility will run out of storage next year. The Japanese government will begin releasing the treated wastewater within the next two years. However, organizations including Greenpeace Japan Climate and Friends of the Earth Japan have condemned the Japanese government's decision to dump the toxic wastewater. [Read More Button]( [9630b8e6-45a3-4648-9335-a47935d7d092.png](  [twitter](  [linkedin](  [email](mailto:?subject=Something's in the Water&body= [post_image]( [Biden's Broken Campaign Promise]( President Joe Biden has refused to shut down the contested [Dakota Access Pipeline]( during a court-ordered environmental review. This has caused climate activists and indigenous leaders to criticize the president and claim that he has broken his campaign promise to move the country away from fossil fuels. The pipeline, otherwise known as DAPL, carries oil through North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa and Illinois. Tribal water protectors and environmental activists have been fighting the expansion of the pipeline for years citing grievances including water safety concerns. Since the pipeline began operating in 2017, it has [leaked]( several times. [Read More Button]( [9630b8e6-45a3-4648-9335-a47935d7d092.png](  [twitter](  [linkedin](  [email](mailto:?subject=Biden's Broken Campaign Promise&body= [post_image]( [How to Celebrate Earth Day in 2021]( The world will celebrate Earth Day on April 22. It's considered the largest non-religious holiday and this year will be the second celebration during the pandemic. It is also a crucial time for celebration and reflection as 2020 saw not only a global health crisis that killed half a million people but a series of climate disasters like [wildfires that scorched California]( and what felt like an endless number of [hurricanes that battered Central America](. Like last year, many celebrations will be held digitally for everyone's safety. If you do want to participate in person, you can either host or join a cleanup [here](. Otherwise, EarthDay.org is streaming [three days]( of climate action this week. [Read More Button]( [9630b8e6-45a3-4648-9335-a47935d7d092.png](  [twitter](  [linkedin](  [email](mailto:?subject=How to Celebrate Earth Day in 2021&body= [post_image]( [3 New Films to Watch This Earth Week]( These three new films will transport you from pole to pole and introduce you to the scientists and activists working to save our shared home. [Read More Button]( [9630b8e6-45a3-4648-9335-a47935d7d092.png](  [twitter](  [linkedin](  [email](mailto:?subject=3 New Films to Watch This Earth Week&body= [post_image]( [Writer Spotlight – Tiffany DuongÂ]( Tasked with writing an official review for Netflix's Seaspiracy, I had the pleasure of speaking with one of the planet's original eco-warriors: Capt. Paul Watson of Sea Shepherd. We talked candidly about the many challenges currently facing our oceans – climate change, overfishing, habitat destruction, acidification and more. Each of these was touched upon in the documentary, and our conversation reinforced just how precarious a situation the planet is in. While there exists some controversy and debate surrounding the facts presented in the movie and whether it sensationalizes reality to make its points, I chose to focus on the universal takeaways of the galvanizing film: - The oceans finally have the main stage, and many are realizing for the first time how important they are. - Whether it's 2048 or several years later, the oceans are in a downward spiral that only we can stop. - Everything in the sea and on the planet is connected, so removing any species has a trickle-down effect on many others. - Saving the oceans is far too important not to try, and it's not too late. – [Tiffany Duong]( [Read More Button]( [9630b8e6-45a3-4648-9335-a47935d7d092.png](  [twitter](  [linkedin](  [email](mailto:?subject=Writer Spotlight – Tiffany Duong &body= All rights reserved. [facebook](  [twitter](  [instagram]( [Unsubscribe]( {EMAIL} [Update Profile]( [about our service provider]( Sent by contact@ecowatch.com