This week's newsletter focuses almost exclusively on the human impact on the environment. Whether it is overt - like the Trump administration's attempts to rollback climate and environment legislation - or not as explicitly intentional - like the human impact on West Coast killer whales - humans are proving to be the fifth element (credit to James Balog, for the term).
What this newsletter also highlights is the human element of raising ourselves out of the problem that we have largely created. From grassroots efforts to players on the federal stage elevating the conversation to a voting issue, it seems as though people are motivated to act, not just talk and watch the situation worsen.
As an environment reporter, it's easy to focus on the doom-and-gloom, especially in the past six months. In fact, there's even a growing amount of scientific literature on 'climate grief,' a mental health condition that is impacting people overwhelmingly concerned with the impacts of a changing climate. Though understanding the possible, dire implications of our trajectory is important, many argue such pragmatism must be balanced with the innovation and idealism that can mitigate those consequences.
The Seattle Times most recent multi-media project details plight of the southern resident killer whales, which the newspaper says is one of "the most-enduring symbols of our region and most-endangered animals." The series looks at the role humans have played in their decline, what can be done about it and why it matters.
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[White House plans disputing climate change ‘will erode our national security,’ 58 ex-military and intelligence officials warn](
A group of former military and intelligence officials are criticizing President Trump for creating a committee that will scrutinize the government's own findings on climate change.
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[Climate change gets worse management under Trump, investigation shows](
Government Accountability Office comptroller told Congress that of the threats facing the federal government, climate change management has regressed and is exposing the government to fiscal risk.[Read More +](
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[U.S. plans end to wolf protections; critics say it’s premature](
U.S. wildlife officials are trying to end protections for the gray wolf, "re-igniting the legal battle over a predator that’s running into conflicts with farmers and ranchers as its numbers rebound in some regions," AP writes.
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[LISTEN: The promise and peril of the Green New Deal](
The New York Times's Coral Davenport breaks down the origins of the Green New Deal, where it went wrong and where it could go.
[Listen +](
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[Plan to combat drought in West hinges on California, Arizona](
As Lake Mead and Lake Powell fall to historically low levels, the seven states that use the Colorado River are trying to save their water resource. Arizona and California have caused an impasse in negotiations. [Read More +](
What else we're reading this week
- Logging opponents offer [highest bid]( in Bozeman timber sale via The Bozeman Daily Chronicle
- Op-Ed: A guide to why a [very small number of physicists]( are climate change skeptics via Medium
- The 2018 Farm Bill is [surprising climate-conscious]( via Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia Law School
- How federal disaster money [favors the rich]( via NPR
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[Quote of the day:](
‘‘Imposing a political test on reports issued by the science agencies, and forcing a blind spot onto the national security assessments that depend on them, will erode our national security. It is dangerous to have national security analysis conform to politics.’’
-Letter from 58 ex-intelligence and military officials on the White House's creation of a committee to analyze a climate change report
Tip of the day:
Drop the soda and opt for water. This is not only good for your health but also reduces your aluminum and plastic consumption, as long as you have a reusable water bottle.
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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.
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