🌱Dispatches from day 22 of the government shutdown

Dispatches from Day 22: As the government continues to stalemate in its funding discussions, the condition of National Parks is rapidly deteriorating. A viral photo showed a chopped down Joshua Tree in the national park, and states and municipalities are pooling money to keep maintenance up at local parks. "It's bizarro land," one Joshua Tree local told Outside. Meanwhile, The Washington Post reported that the shutdown has not impacted oil companies drilling on public lands. "It seems that the oil companies are getting services from the Department of the Interior when the public is not," Kelly Fuller, energy and mining campaign director at the Western Watershed Project, to [The Washington Post](. The longer the shutdown continues, the more information is revealed on what environment and health industries are exempt from the monetary lapse, even as more than 800,000 employees are now more than three weeks without pay. Read more:   - Joshua Tree remains open [via Outside]( - Important scientific research halted [via High Country News]( - Wildfire mitigation and firefighter training stopped via The Gazette - Oil and gas companies minimally affected by government shutdown via [The Washington Post]( - Health concerns arise with EPA shutdown [via The Guardian]( Fifty years after the publication of Edward Abbey's iconic book, Desert Solitare, Amy Irvine reflects on the radical conservationist's impact on public lands in the West in the context of modern political issues such as gender and immigration. [Read More +](  [U.S. greenhouse gas emissions spiked in 2018]( U.S. carbon dioxide emissions rose an estimated 3.4 percent in 2018, according to new research — a jarring increase that comes as scientists say the world needs to be aggressively cutting its emissions to avoid the most devastating effects of climate change. [Read More +](  [Ocean warming is accelerating faster than thought]( A new study found that the oceans are heating up 40 percent faster on average than a United Nations panel estimated five years ago.[Read More +](  [The era of easy recycling may be coming to an end]( The benefit of single-stream recycling — more participation and thus more material put forward for recycling — may have been overtaken by the cost — unrecyclable recyclables. [Read more+](  [Utilities speed up closure of coal-fired power plants]( Domestic coal consumption in 2018 fell to 691 million tons, the lowest level since 1979. [Read More +](  [Colorado could save $2.5 billion by rapidly shutting down its coal power plants]( An energy research shop called Vibrant Clean Energy (VCE) released a new paper detailing the financial and employment effects of shutting coal plants in Colorado.[Read More +]( What else we're reading this week - Democrats [deliver trash from national parks]( to White House via The Hill - West Coast [governors, Trump argue]( over wildfire prevention efforts via Oregon Public Radio - U.S. Supreme Court [refuses to block]( Exxon investigation via InsideClimate News - Does your box of ["ugly" produce]( really help the planet? via The New Republic  [Quote of the day:]( " We could weather a few days’ delay without losing too much, but every day after that costs a lot. At some point, the scientific continuity is lost." - [Rolf Peterson, a wildlife ecologist]( who oversees [the world’s longest-running study of predators and prey]( on the impacts of the government shutdown on scientific research Tip of the day: Ditch cling film wrap for your food. Foil is recyclable, so use foil instead or reuseable plastic boxes.  [Subscribe now!]( A free weekly environment briefing that comes to you. No algorithms, clickbait or ads – just what's worth reading. I've got your back Hi, my name is Liz Forster. I am an environment reporter and have a particular interest in public land management, natural disasters, climate change and ecology, among other topics. I received a degree in Environmental Policy from Colorado College and have worked for a Colorado newspaper since. Subscribe and each week, I'll comb through newspaper's headlines and send you the latest, most pertinent environment news. Questions, comments, suggestions? Email me at liz.forster@gazette.com or follow me on Twitter at @lizmforster. You're receiving this email because you signed up for Environment Weekly emails [Click here to see a web copy of this email]( Sent to: {EMAIL} [Unsubscribe]( Colorado Springs Gazette, 30 E. Pikes Peak Ave., Suite 100, Colorado Springs, CO 80903, USA