Senate passes sweeping $430 Billion legislation & more environmental news.

[View this email in your browser]( Monday, August 8, 2022 "Preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we've ever known." – Carl Sagan Senate Passes Sweeping $430 Billion Legislation That Could Lower U.S. Carbon Emissions 40% by 2030 On Sunday, the U.S. Senate passed the $430 billion Inflation Reduction Act, aimed at fighting [climate change]( lowering prescription drug prices and raising certain corporate taxes. Following a long debate over the weekend, the tie-breaking vote along party lines was cast by Vice President Kamala Harris. The bill will now be sent to the [House of Representatives]( which is expected to pass it when they reconvene at the end of the week, reported Reuters. [Read More]( Related: [Senate Budget Deal Would Be the Biggest Climate Change Action Ever, But Doesn’t Come Without Concessions]( Record Flooding in Death Valley National Park Strands 1,000 People Typically dry Death Valley National Park was hit with a record amount of rain over the weekend, which triggered flash floods, stranding park employees and visitors as all roads were forced to close and vehicles were washed away. The inch and a half of rain that fell in the 3.4 million acre park this weekend represents about 75% of the park’s typical total of 2 inches per year. The flood is the latest in a series of abnormally heavy rain events in the U.S. [Read More]( Related: [Coastal Flooding Rising With Sea Levels, NOAA Reports]( Global Forest Area Declined by 60% Since 1960, Study Finds A new study has found an alarming loss in forest areas globally, including that global forest area per capita has dropped from 1.4 hectares in 1960 to just 0.5 hectares per person by 2019, a 60% decline. The research, lead by Ronald Estoque from the Center for Biodiversity and Climate Change, Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute (FFPRI) and published in [Environmental Research Letters]( found a total forest decline by 81.7 million hectares since 1960. [Read More]( Related: [10 Soccer Fields of Tropical Primary Forests Were Lost Every Minute in 2021]( Solving the Plastic Crisis Through Community Empowerment Of the [8.3 metric tons of plastic]( produced in this world to date, 6.3 billion tons of that is trash, and less than 10% of it is recycled, which has created a global crisis, not just with the environment, but our health. [Read More]( Related: [Artists in 28 Countries Come Together to Respond to Climate Crisis With World Weather Network]( Do you get this newsletter daily? If not, [sign up here]( or forward to a friend. [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Website]( [Instagram]( Copyright © 2022 EcoWatch, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you signed up for EcoWatch Top News of The Day Our mailing address is: EcoWatch 1122 Oberlin RoadRaleigh, NC 27605 [Add us to your address book]( Want to change how you receive these emails? You can [update your preferences]( or [unsubscribe from this list](. [Mailchimp Email Marketing](