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Supreme Court Deals Blow to E.P.A. in Dispute Over Federal Water Rules

The 5-to-4 decision is the latest setback for the agency and could have sweeping implications for curtailing water pollution offshore.

The Supreme Court sided with San Francisco on Tuesday in a challenge to water quality regulations issued by the Environmental Protection Agency in a ruling could have sweeping implications for the agency’s ability to limit offshore pollution.The 5-to-4 decision dealt another blow to the agency, which has recently sustained several losses before the court over its efforts to protect the environment.The case was notable because it created unusual alliances. Liberal San Francisco found itself on the same side as mining and petroleum trade groups like the National Mining Association, American Farm Bureau Federation, and American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers in opposing the E.P.A.The dispute fundamentally focused on human waste and how San Francisco disposes of it. The question before the court was whether the Clean Water Act of 1972 allowed the E.P.A. to impose prohibitions on wastewater released into the Pacific Ocean and to penalize the city for violating them.Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr., writing for the majority, said the E.P.A. was entitled to impose specific requirements to prevent pollution but not to make polluters responsible whenever water quality generally falls below the agency’s standards.“When a permit contains such requirements,” he wrote, “a permittee that punctiliously follows every specific requirement in its permit may nevertheless face crushing penalties if the quality of the water in its receiving waters falls below the applicable standards.”Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justices Clarence Thomas and Brett M. Kavanaugh joined the majority opinion, and Justice Neil M. Gorsuch joined most of it.Justice Amy Coney Barrett dissented, joined by the court’s three-member liberal wing — Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson.Justice Barrett said the agency was entitled to supplement specific requirements for water discharge with more general standards based on changes to water quality. The need for the second kind of regulation, she wrote, quoting from the government’s lawsuit, “is on display in this case — discharges from components of San Francisco’s sewer system have allegedly led to serious breaches of the water quality standards, such as ‘discoloration, scum and floating material, including toilet paper, in Mission Creek.’”Justice Barrett added that polluters can file targeted challenges to rules if they believe them to be unfair. But “a statutory rewrite” was not warranted, she wrote.In the lead-up to the October oral argument, San Francisco officials had pushed back on the notion that they were challenging the federal government’s ability to regulate the environment. They said they just wanted clarity on the rule for the city’s wastewater permit so that the city could ensure it complied with the Clean Water Act, they said.The lawyer for San Francisco had argued that city officials did not have clear guidance on how to comply with the Clean Water Act and had been “exposed to crushing criminal and civil penalties even when it otherwise complies with its 300-page permit.”

Water
Pollution
Government

US supreme court weakens rules on discharge of raw sewage into water supplies

Ruling by the court, which has a Republican super majority, undermines the 1972 Clean Water ActThe US supreme court has weakened rules on the discharge of raw sewage into water supplies in a 5-4 ruling that undermines the 1972 Clean Water Act.The CWA is the principle law governing pollution control and water quality of the nation’s waterways. Continue reading...

The US supreme court has weakened rules on the discharge of raw sewage into water supplies in a 5-4 ruling that undermines the 1972 Clean Water Act.The CWA is the principle law governing pollution control and water quality of the nation’s waterways.The Republican super majority court ruled on Tuesday that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) cannot employ generic, water body-focused pollution discharge limits to Clean Water Act permit holders, and must provide specific limitations to pollution permittees.The ruling is a win for San Francisco, which challenged nonspecific, or “narrative,” wastewater permits that the EPA issues to protect the quality of surface water sources like rivers and streams relied upon for drinking water.In a 5-4 ruling written by Justice Samuel Alito, the court blocked the EPA from issuing permits that make a permittee responsible for surface water quality, or “end result” permits – a new term coined by the court.“The agency has adequate tools to obtain needed information from permittees without resorting to end-result requirements,” wrote Justice Samuel Alito, who was joined by Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Clarence Thomas and Brett Kavanaugh, along with Justice Neil Gorsuch, who joined part of the majority opinion.The EPA issued San Francisco a permit allowing it to discharge pollutants from its combined sewer system into the Pacific Ocean. The permit’s conditions include prohibitions on discharges that contribute to a violation of applicable water quality standards. The permit included generic prohibitions on the impacts to water quality, as part of the EPA’s efforts to halt San Francisco’s releases of raw sewage into the Pacific Ocean during rainstorms.San Francisco challenged these conditions, arguing that EPA lacks statutory authority to impose them. The US Court of Appeals for the ninth circuit in July 2023 upheld EPA’s authority to issue generic limits on discharges under the Clean Water Act. San Francisco took the case to the SCJ.The case was the first to grapple with Clean Water Act regulations since the court struck down Chevron deference in Loper Bright Enterprises v Raimondo in June 2024, though it was barely mentioned during oral arguments.“The city is wrong,” according to Justice Amy Coney Barrett, who wrote the dissenting opinion, which was joined by the three Democratic justices, Sotomayor, Kagan and Jackson. “The relevant provision of the Clean Water Act directs EPA to impose any more stringent limitation that is necessary to meet… or required to implement any applicable water quality standard.”

Water
Pollution

Supreme Court sides with San Francisco on EPA water discharge rules

The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 Tuesday that the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) rules for the city of San Francisco under the Clean Water Act are overly vague, siding with the city after it appealed a lower court’s decision. San Francisco appealed the case to the Supreme Court after the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals...

The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 Tuesday that the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) rules for the city of San Francisco under the Clean Water Act are overly vague, siding with the city after it appealed a lower court’s decision. San Francisco appealed the case to the Supreme Court after the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided with the EPA 2-1. In oral arguments before the court last October, the city argued the EPA’s discharge regulations could leave the city liable based on factors beyond its control.   “They might as well have said: Do not violate the Clean Water Act,” Tara Steeley, an attorney for the city, told the court. In the ruling, Justice Samuel Alito wrote that the statute requires the agency to outline specific limits on sewer overflows, rather than the generic limits that prompted San Francisco to sue. “Determining what steps a permittee must take to ensure that water quality standards are met is the EPA’s responsibility, and Congress has given it the tools needed to make that determination,” Alito wrote. “If the EPA does what the CWA demands, water quality will not suffer.” Justice Amy Coney Barrett sided with the court’s liberal bloc, Justices Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson. In a partial descent, Barrett called the majority conclusion “puzzling,” writing “[i]t is commonplace for ‘limitations’ to state “that a particular end result must be achieved and that it is up to the [recipient] to figure out what it should do.’” “For example, a company could impose spending ‘limitations’ by requiring each branch to spend no more than its allotted budget, while still leaving branch managers flexibility to determine how to allocate those funds,” she added. The ruling marks the court’s first ruling on a case pertaining to EPA authorities since it struck down the longstanding Chevron doctrine, which held that federal agencies rather than courts have broad latitude in interpreting ambiguities in the language of the law.

Water

Supreme Court strikes down EPA rules on discharge of water pollution

The justices found the EPA cannot impose generic prohibitions against violating water quality standards.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday struck down rules regulating the discharge of water pollution, narrowing the landmark Clean Water Act in an unusual case that featured sewage and an effort by one of the nation’s greenest cities to take on the Environmental Protection Agency.The justices found the EPA cannot impose generic prohibitions against violating water quality standards.San Francisco sued the EPA after the city was found to have violated certain guidelines for discharging sewage into the Pacific Ocean. City officials argued the EPA had exceeded its authority because the rules were so vague that it was impossible to know when they had crossed a line.San Francisco’s wastewater permit includes 100 pages of detailed rules on effluent limits, but also additional, less specific EPA restrictions known as narrative rules, such as “no discharge of pollutants shall create pollution, contamination, or nuisance” as defined by California’s water code. The city objected to the latter.During oral arguments in October, the Biden administration said the narrative rules are an important backstop to the specific limits it imposes on water pollution.The decision is the latest by the conservative majority on the high court to curtail the EPA’s ability to regulate pollution. Last summer, the justices temporarily blocked a major agency initiative to regulate air pollution that drifts across state lines. That litigation is continuing to play out in the lower courts.This is a developing story. It will be updated.

Water
Pollution

Indigenous Migrants in Northern Colombia Battle Worsening Droughts and Floods

In La Guajira, Colombia, the Wayuu people face worsening climate impacts, with droughts and intense rains causing food insecurity, flooding, and displacement

Standing next to her makeshift home of scrap metal, wood and plastic tarp, 47-year-old Nelly Mengual recounts how severe flooding and winds tore off her roof a few months ago, leaving her knee-deep in water in her home. She lives in an informal settlement on the outskirts of Riohacha, in northern Colombia’s arid, wind-swept region, where thousands of other Wayuu people, native to the La Guajira region spanning Colombia and Venezuela, also reside. Although many residents were born in Colombia, it is the Wayuu who fled Venezuela who face the greatest hardship. Having escaped what many describe as economic crisis, they now live in these settlements without access to running water — and for many, without electricity. The Wayuu, whose traditional lands span Colombia and Venezuela, view the border as a political construct rather than a cultural divide, with their relationships and networks transcending national lines.“This entire hut. Our belongings, what little we had. Everything was lost,” said Mengual, who makes ends meet by recycling scrap material in Maicao. The Wayuu, the largest Indigenous group in Colombia, are facing the dual threats of climate change-driven droughts and floods. Scientists warn that more severe, prolonged drought periods punctuated by flashes of torrential rain are only getting more common as the world warms. Aside from damaging people's homes, they are also draining water sources, destroying crops, and increasing health risks from waterborne diseases. Many Wayuu families are forced to migrate in search of essential resources, putting even more pressure on already overcrowded urban areas. Intense flooding challenges the Wayuu's way of life Ingrid Gonzalez, a Wayuu community leader from Maracaibo who's lived in the Villa del Sol settlement near Riohacha for six years, says those more traditional Wayuu homes, made with sticks and covered in mud, are very susceptible to the rainy season.“There are many, many houses that flood and fill up with water,” said 29-year-old Gonzalez. “A strong river of water passes through here, and the mud houses collapse.”“Some people manage to preserve their homes by reinforcing them, but the damage is still significant,” she said. “Several of my own roofing sheets were blown off.” Samuel Lanao, head of Corpoguajira, La Guajira’s environment authority, said in 2024 extreme winter floods caused significant losses of homes, crops, and domestic animals in Indigenous communities, particularly among those coming from neighboring Venezuela. “Because of climate change, there’s been a rise in vector-borne diseases like dengue and Zika. Dengue, in particular, has hit Indigenous communities very, very hard,” he said.Lanao said Corpoguajira has created a Climate Change Plan to cut emissions and boost community and ecosystem resilience.The shift in weather patterns is undeniable to Camilo Martinez, La Guajira base manager for the Danish Refugee Council, which has a strong presence in the region. With 14 years of experience in the area, he has witnessed these changes firsthand. “Years ago when I arrived here, there was fog and in certain hours of the morning it was cold. Today that has stopped, as well as in the snow peaks on the nearby mountains ... you don’t see that much anymore,” Martinez told The Associated Press at the Uyatpana Indigenous community, on the outskirts of Maicao. Martinez says the months the rainy season starts has changed, but also the intensity of the rain too when it eventually comes. Scientific evidence of climate change in La Guajira, supported by data from Colombia’s Institute of Hydrology, Meteorology, and Environmental Studies (IDEAM) and various studies, includes rising temperatures, prolonged droughts like the 2012–2016 crisis, irregular rainfall patterns, and increased desertification. Heat and drought tests informal settlements Last year's heat was the hottest Gonzalez, the community leader, can remember. “There are houses where the heat is intense, which affects people, especially those with high blood pressure. They feel tired, flushed, and even unwell,” she said. “The heat is so strong that it even affects the animals. Neighbors who have chickens have lost some of them due to the extreme heat, as the animals are suffocating.”A significant portion of the Wayuu population maintains traditional, semi-nomadic lifestyles, residing in rancherias — thatched-roof huts made from dried cacti and mud — and herding cattle and goats. In many informal settlements, residents lack access to running water or sanitation services. Water sellers transport untreated water in barrels, using mules to distribute it between homes for a fee. While many people rely on collecting rainwater, the increasing unpredictability of rainfall has made this source of water less dependable.“They have been forced to buy water from sources that aren’t clean, transported by mules or carts that make long journeys to bring it to families,” said Martinez. “This water isn’t drinkable—it can only be used for washing or cooking. But people are left with no choice but to drink it. This is one of the biggest consequences of the droughts and the lack of rainfall during these seasons.” Many non-governmental organizations say they step in to support these areas in La Guajira where state assistance is minimal or entirely absent. Colombia's environment ministry did not respond to AP's requests for comment. Wayuu leader Anibal Mercado told AP the migrant Wayuu population suffers the most because of climate change. “You find them picking up garbage, you find them recycling, which has never been seen before. And that is a product of the neglect of the government. The State has been promoting neoliberal policies that go against traditional rights, with which the Wayuu used to provide for their own economy... their own food," he said. Many work to rebuild, again and again In the neighborhood of Uyatpana, 28-year-old Laura Pushaina sits on a stool, weaving a chinchorro, a traditional Wayuu hammock used for sleeping. With five children between the ages of one and ten, she says the intricate work will take her four days to complete.Pushaina is one of thousands of Wayuu people who cross into Colombia and establish settlements. Due to shifting political and economic conditions in the region, many have left homes in neighboring Venezuela. Many, like Pushaina, told the AP they hope to return to their rancherias on the Venezuelan side of the border, but they believe the political and economic situation remains too unstable to do so. Some also said that relocating from the informal settlements would help, as the land is unsuitable for living without running water or proper sewage infrastructure.Just a few months ago, Pushaina's home was destroyed by the floods. “I’ve lived through the worst of times," she said. “The water would seep through the mud, and sometimes it came in like a river, flowing through here.”The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Photos You Should See - Feb. 2025

Climate
Food
Indigenous

Greenpeace on Trial: $300M Lawsuit over Standing Rock Protests Could Shutter Group & Chill Free Speech

A closely watched civil trial that began in North Dakota last week could bankrupt Greenpeace and chill environmental activism as the climate crisis continues to deepen. The multimillion-dollar lawsuit by Energy Transfer, the oil corporation behind the Dakota Access Pipeline, claims Greenpeace organized the mass protests and encampment at Standing Rock between 2016 and 2017 aimed at stopping construction of the project. Although the uprising at Standing Rock was led by Indigenous water defenders, Energy Transfer is instead going after Greenpeace for $300 million in damages — an amount that could effectively shutter the group’s U.S. operations. “This case is not just an obvious and blatant erasure of Indigenous leadership, of Indigenous resistance,” says Deepa Padmanabha, a senior legal adviser for Greenpeace USA. “It is an attack on the broader movement and all of our First Amendment rights to free speech and peaceful protest.”

A closely watched civil trial that began in North Dakota last week could bankrupt Greenpeace and chill environmental activism as the climate crisis continues to deepen. The multimillion-dollar lawsuit by Energy Transfer, the oil corporation behind the Dakota Access Pipeline, claims Greenpeace organized the mass protests and encampment at Standing Rock between 2016 and 2017 aimed at stopping construction of the project. Although the uprising at Standing Rock was led by Indigenous water defenders, Energy Transfer is instead going after Greenpeace for $300 million in damages — an amount that could effectively shutter the group’s U.S. operations. “This case is not just an obvious and blatant erasure of Indigenous leadership, of Indigenous resistance,” says Deepa Padmanabha, a senior legal adviser for Greenpeace USA. “It is an attack on the broader movement and all of our First Amendment rights to free speech and peaceful protest.”

Activism
Climate
Crisis

Power struggle: will Brazil’s booming datacentre industry leave ordinary people in the dark?

While millions live with regular blackouts and limited energy, plants are being built to satisfy the global demand for digital storage and processing – piling pressure on an already fragile system Thirty-six hours by boat from Manaus, the capital of Amazonas state, Deodato Alves da Silva longs for enough electricity to keep his tucumã and cupuaçu fruits fresh. These highly nutritious Amazonian superfoods are rich in antioxidants and vitamins, and serve as a main source of income for farmers in Silva’s area. However, the lack of electricity to refrigerate the fruit makes it hard to sell their produce.Silva’s fruit-growing operation is located in the village of Boa Frente, in Novo Aripuanã municipality, one of Brazil’s most energy-poor regions, where there is only one diesel-powered electricity generator working for a few hours a day. Continue reading...

Thirty-six hours by boat from Manaus, the capital of Amazonas state, Deodato Alves da Silva longs for enough electricity to keep his tucumã and cupuaçu fruits fresh. These highly nutritious Amazonian superfoods are rich in antioxidants and vitamins, and serve as a main source of income for farmers in Silva’s area. However, the lack of electricity to refrigerate the fruit makes it hard to sell their produce.Silva’s fruit-growing operation is located in the village of Boa Frente, in Novo Aripuanã municipality, one of Brazil’s most energy-poor regions, where there is only one diesel-powered electricity generator working for a few hours a day.The 17 families in the community pay for the diesel, but because of the high price, everyone agrees to use the generator only between 6pm and 10pm. This is also the only time they can communicate with the outside world – the region has no mobile phone connection, only satellite internet.“Power is supplied for just four hours a night. The motor is switched off and only switched back on the following night,” says Silva, 72, a rural health worker and fruit-grower who has lived in the area since he was born.“I would have a much higher income if we had power to preserve the cupuaçu pulp. Our community is a big producer of tucumã, but the lack of power prevents conservation.”More than 1.3 million Brazilians still live, like Silva, with little or no electricity. Even though it has one of the world’s cleanest power grids, the country has a vulnerability: its reliance on hydroelectric power, which causes fluctuations in power generation and blackouts in times of severe drought.Brazil has one of the cleanest energy grids in teh world, but is heavily reliant on hydropower, which can lead to blackouts in drought conditions. Photograph: Jeff BotegaYet Brazil is attracting the attention of big datacentre companies, which consume huge amounts of energy. According to the Brazilian Data Centre Association (ABDC), 46 new datacentres are either under construction or being planned across the country. There are already 60 centres in operation.By using cooling systems with excessive water use, these companies consume more than small citiesThe rush to build datacentres is part of the growing digitalisation of the Brazilian economy as large multinationals seek more data storage and processing for cloud platforms, apps, and critical private and government services.Brazil has become a hub to meet growing demand in Latin America for streaming, e-commerce and AI apps, as expanding regional server capacity is critical to minimising delays in transferring data.“If all the data was stored solely in the US, communication would be inefficient and delayed,” says João Xavier, director of institutional relations at ABDC.Rodrigo Pastl Pontes, monitoring manager at Brazil’s National Confederation of Industry, says the need to expand the number of datacentres is closely related to “Industry 4.0” – the integration of technologies to make manufacturing more intelligent, automated and interconnected.An impression of Scala Data Centers’ planned 700-hectare AI City in Rio Grande do Sul. ‘This is our response to the demand for artificial intelligence,’ the firm said. Illustration: Scala Data Centers“Industry 4.0 offers flexibility that meets customer requirements in real time, allowing the company to reorganise constantly,” says Pontes. “Secure datacentres are essential for this.”One study put Brazil’s Industry 4.0 market at $1.77bn (£1.40bn) in 2022 and expects it to reach $5.6bn by 2028.With an eye on local and global markets, as well as its largely renewable power grid, Amazon and Microsoft have announced new investments in Brazilian datacentres.Amazon plans to invest 10.1bn reais (£1.35bn) in expanding its datacentres and infrastructure over the next 10 years. The company claims to have established solar and windfarm projects with the capacity to match its energy consumption in Brazil – enough to supply 100,000 homes.Itaipu hydroelectric dam in Foz do Iguaçu. Though Brazil has vast hydropower potential, recent droughts have underlined its vulnerability to the climate crisis. Photograph: Bloomberg/GettyMicrosoft is planning to invest R$14.7bn in the country. With datacentres in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, the company has signed a deal with the energy company AES Brasil to be supplied for 15 years from a Rio Grande do Norte windfarm.Campaigners and experts say the problem is that implementing new energy projects, even renewable ones, could harm local communities just as the country needs to adapt its power grid to the climate crisis.Vinícius Oliveira, a specialist at the Energy and Environment Institute, says: “The impact of datacentres depends on where they are installed and on the type of energy the Brazilian power grid will need to meet the load demanded.“We may have environmental impacts in soil, deforestation, building road access. Native flora will be eliminated. We may have real-estate speculation, with land becoming more expensive and families being displaced.” Oliveira also anticipates greater demand for water, as datacentres generally require vast amounts to cool servers.Osório windfarm in Rio Grande do Sul. Brazil has one of the world’s cleanest electricity grids but demand is rising so fast that small nuclear reactors are now being considered. Photograph: Alamy“By using cooling systems with excessive water use, these companies consume more than small cities,” he says, stressing that better infrastructure for distribution and power generation will also be required.“This level of investment may affect energy rates,” he adds. “In the end, the consumers bear the cost.”skip past newsletter promotionSign up to Global DispatchGet a different world view with a roundup of the best news, features and pictures, curated by our global development teamPrivacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.after newsletter promotionIf they are going to build datacentres where people don’t even have access to power, the companies need to provide compensationAccording to last year’s National Energy Balance report, the industry consumes about 31% of Brazil’s energy, second only to transport. Projections suggest Brazil’s electricity demand will grow by more than 30% by 2050.Experts fear that datacentres’ high water consumption will raise pressure on the power grid, as hydroelectric plants supply about half of all power. Lower water levels in reservoirs raise the chances of blackouts and increase demand for pricier and more polluting thermal power plants, fired by oil, gas and coal.Incidents such as the 2001 water crisis, which caused rationing, and the severe 2014-15 drought, when reservoirs reached record lows, show how a lack of rainfall can threaten the national power supply.Itajá in Goiás during a blackout last year. Demand for electricity in Brazil is predicted to grow by more than 30% by 2050. Photograph: Vinicius Souza/AlamyYet the energy ministry remains optimistic. In a statement, it said: “The growth of the datacentre sector in Brazil shows the country’s capacity to become a technological hub in South America, driven by a robust and predominantly renewable power grid.”By 2026, global datacentre power demand is projected to reach up to 1,050 terawatt-hours – equivalent to about four times the UK’s annual electricity consumption. This has prompted greater interest in alternative energy sources such as small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs), as seen in the plan by Alphabet, Google’s parent company, to use them in the US.According to Raul Lycurgo, president of the state-owned company Eletronuclear, nuclear power can meet Brazil’s needs. “Nuclear is the only [power source] that does not generate greenhouse gases,” he says.But the idea faces opposition due to high capital costs and concerns about how to manage radioactive waste. “Countries with no alternatives can afford to use a more expensive energy,” says Ricardo Lima, an energy consultant. “We have much cheaper alternatives than nuclear – we have solar, wind, hydroelectric.”Energy has been an issue as the climate crisis increasingly tests the Brazilian power grid. Roraima, in the Amazon region, the only state in the country not connected to the national grid, experienced blackouts last year due to severe drought and poor infrastructure.Ivone Medeiros, lights her way with a candle as she climbs the stairs after more than seventy hours without electricity following a storm that knocked down power cables, in São Paulo, in November 2023. Photograph: Carla Carniel/ReutersRio Grande do Sul faced dramatic floods, leaving millions of residents in the dark. In São Paulo, the country’s wealthiest city, a recent blackout caused by heavy rain affected more than 3 million people.Plans to expand the datacentre industry also contrast with the energy poverty affecting millions – a problem not limited to the Amazon. A study using the Multidimensional Energy Poverty Index indicated that 11% of Brazilian households lived in energy poverty in 2018 – a percentage rising to 16% in rural areas.Elaine Santos. ‘People lose food and medication,’ she says. ‘The shortages create tension’Even in São Paulo, the country’s largest metropolis, residents face increasingly frequent blackouts. Elaine Santos, a researcher in energy poverty at the University of São Paulo, faces the problem herself, as she lives in Santo André, a suburb of the city.“People lose food and their medication; the bakery closes,” she says of the power cuts. “The shortages create tension, as everyone knows they will have to cope with their losses alone in neighbourhoods where people live in extremely vulnerable conditions.”Santos believes the tech companies must look at the local effects caused by their growing share of the country’s power supply.“If they are going to build datacentres where people don’t even have access to power, the companies need to provide compensation,” she argues. “Since Brazil is being sold, the compensation must be robust.”

Energy
Food
Conservation

Growers Who Rely on Climate Data Sue USDA for Cutting Off Access

This story was originally published by Grist and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. In late January, the director of digital communications at the U. Department of Agriculture sent an email to staff instructing them to remove agency web pages related to climate change by the end of the following day.  Peter Rhee, the communications head, […]

This story was originally published by Grist and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. In late January, the director of digital communications at the U. Department of Agriculture sent an email to staff instructing them to remove agency web pages related to climate change by the end of the following day.  Peter Rhee, the communications head, also told staff members to flag web pages that mention climate change for review and make recommendations to the agency on how to handle them. The new policy was first reported by Politico.  The result is that an unknown number of web pages—including some that contained information about federal loans and other forms of assistance for farmers and some that showcased interactive climate data—have been taken down, according to a lawsuit filed this week on behalf of a group of organic farmers and two environmental advocacy groups. The plaintiffs are demanding that the USDA stop erasing climate-related web pages and republish the ones taken down.  “Farmers are on the front lines of climate change,” said Jeff Stein, an associate attorney with the environmental nonprofit Earthjustice, who is representing the plaintiffs. “Purging climate change web pages doesn’t make climate change go away. It just makes it harder for farmers to adapt.” One of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit is the Northeast Organic Farming Association of New York (NOFA-NY), a group that helps educate and certify producers in organic farming practices. The organization has a hotline that often directs interested farmers to USDA websites as a starting point for more information.  “The Trump administration is demonstrating itself to be the most anti-science administration in history.” “All of a sudden, it’s like anything marked with climate is starting to disappear,” said Wes Gillingham, the board president of NOFA-NY. According to the complaint, the Farm Service Agency and Farmers.gov, both part of the USDA, removed information about how farmers could access federal loans and technical assistance to start adopting practices that help reduce emissions and sequester carbon, known as climate-smart agriculture.  The speed with which websites were taken down encouraged NOFA-NY to move quickly when it came to filing a lawsuit. “We want to prevent good science and information that farmers need from disappearing, especially this time of year,” Gillingham added, since the colder winter months are when farmers plan for the growing and harvesting seasons ahead.  Gillingham emphasized that access to scientific information about drought, extreme weather, and other climate impacts is essential to farmers’ ability to stay in business. “Farmers are constantly trying to improve their situation. They’re under immense economic pressure,” he said.  One tool that allowed farmers to assess their risk level when it came to climate impacts was an interactive map published by the US Forest Service, which combined over 140 different datasets and made them accessible to the general public, said Stein. Land managers could see how climate change is expected to impact natural resources throughout the country; for example, they could look up which watersheds are projected to face the greatest climate impacts and highest demand in the future. But this tool is no longer available. (As of late Monday evening, a link to information about the map on the Forest Service’s website was dead.) When tools like this go offline, they disrupt farmers’ ability to protect their lands and their livelihoods. In New York, where Gillingham’s group is located, the majority of farms are small: under 200 acres. “The margin of error to be successful, it’s pretty slim already,” said Gillingham. “So taking away information that allows farmers to make decisions about their business, and that also protects the planet, protects their soil, enhances their crop yields, it’s really insane to be doing that.” In its complaint, filed Monday, Earthjustice referred to emails sent on January 30 by Rhee, the director of digital communications at USDA, instructing staff to remove web pages. These emails were obtained by multiple news outlets last month. It’s unclear how Rhee’s directives were meant to be implemented—if all web pages that were taken down also had to be sorted and flagged for review, or if the staff received further guidance on which ones to unpublish and which ones to leave online. To date, neither Rhee nor the Department of Agriculture has publicly acknowledged the emails or the removal of climate-related web pages. “That’s problematic for a number of reasons, including that we don’t know the full scope of the purge,” said Stein. Larry Moore, a spokesperson for the USDA, said the agency is working with the Department of Justice, or DOJ, on court filings, and directed inquiries to the DOJ. The DOJ did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication.  Jason Rylander, a senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity who is not involved in the lawsuit, said that the agency’s move serves to diminish the public’s confidence in climate science, and the scientific community more broadly. “Once again, the Trump administration is demonstrating itself to be the most anti-science administration in history,” he said. The loss of dedicated web pages for climate research, mitigation programs, and datasets “holds back scientific inquiry and public knowledge,” he added. In addition to NOFA-NY, the other plaintiffs in the complaint are the National Resources Defense Council and the Environmental Working Group, an activist group focused on toxic pollution.  A hearing date is still pending. Rylander argued it’s likely that more complaints will be filed over the removal of climate information from other federal agency websites, like the Environmental Protection Agency. He also said the Center for Biological Diversity may look into these purges. Gillingham referred to these moves as part of “an indiscriminate political agenda scrubbing climate” from any government website. “We can’t sit by and just wait to see what happens. You know, they should not be doing what they’re doing. So it has to stop. And the courts are the only option right now.”

Climate
Agriculture
Business

Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek has been taken to court over 11 threatened species. Here’s why

Thousands of Australian species and ecological communities are threatened – and many don’t have a recovery plan in place.

Carnaby's Black Cockatoo Imogen Warren/ShutterstockWhat do the Australian lungfish, ghost bat, sandhill dunnart and southern and central greater gliders have in common? They’re all threatened species that need a formal “recovery plan” – but do not have one. Today, environmental group the Wilderness Society launched a case in the Federal Court against Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek, arguing she and successive environment ministers have failed to meet their legal obligations to create threatened species recovery plans. Other species forming the basis of the case are Baudin’s cockatoo, the Australian grayling, Carnaby’s black cockatoo, red goshawk, forest red-tailed black cockatoo and the Tasmanian wedge-tailed eagle. Many other species and ecological communities also don’t have recovery plans. If successful, the case would set a precedent compelling future environment ministers to meet their legal obligations and improve Australia’s dire conservation record. This is a significant moment for conservation in Australia – testing how accountable environment ministers are in preventing species extinctions. Why do recovery plans matter? Threatened species recovery plans lay out very clearly why species or ecological communities are in trouble and the actions necessary to save them. Once a plan is in place, it can directly benefit the species by tackling threats and safeguarding habitat. Proposals such as a new farm, suburb or mining project can be assessed by the environment minister and rejected if they are inconsistent with recovery plans and place threatened species at increased risk of extinction. Recovery plans have helped dozens of species come back from the brink. Under Australia’s national environmental laws, the environment minister must decide whether a recovery plan is required for a species or ecological community listed as threatened. If a plan is ordered, it must typically be created within three years. But a 2022 Auditor-General’s report found just 2% of plans met this timeframe. Recovery is possible, but plans are vital Successive governments have failed to keep up with creating and implementing recovery plans in a timely manner. The perennial and chronic lack of funding for conservation means there’s little capacity to do the vital but time-consuming work of planning and recovery. As a result, the federal government has increasingly shifted to offering conservation advices in place of recovery plans. Conservation advices can be produced and updated faster than recovery plans. This is useful if, say, a new threat emerges and needs a rapid response. But there’s a key legal difference. When the environment minister is considering a project such as land clearing for new farmland or a mine, they need only consider any conservation advice in place. When a recovery plan is in place, the minister is legally obliged not to approve actions which are contrary to its objectives and would make the plight of a species or ecological community worse. A conservation advice can be thought of more like a fact sheet without the same legal weight or accountability that recovery plans have. In March 2022, the Morrison government scrapped recovery plans for 176 threatened species and habitats, despite thousands of submissions arguing against this. After the Albanese government took power in May 2022, it pledged to end “wilful neglect” of the environment and to introduce stronger environmental laws. Sadly, this commitment has not been honoured. The range of northern Australia’s ghost bats has shrunk significantly. Ken Griffiths/Shutterstock Why do we need recovery plans? Australia’s species protection record is unenviable. Since European colonisation, more than 100 species have been driven to extinction and more than 2,000 species and ecological communities are listed at risk of suffering the same fate. For a species to be considered threatened, its population has to have shrunk. The severity of the decline and hence its extinction risk will determine how it’s categorised, from vulnerable through to critically endangered. Recovery plans lay out the research required to actually recover these species, meaning helping their populations to grow out of the danger zone. A key role for these plans is to coordinate planning and action between relevant interest groups and agencies. This is especially important for species found across state and territory borders, such as the southern greater glider and the migratory swift parrot. The greater glider should have had a recovery plan in place since 2016, but does not. Are individual plans still worthwhile? Faced with so many species in need of protection and limited funding, prominent figures including former Environment Minister Peter Garrett have argued we should focus our efforts on protecting ecosystems rather than single species to make the best use of scarce funds. But there is a deeper issue. Australia is one of the wealthiest nations in the world. It has the capacity to greatly increase conservation spending without impoverishing humans, and should do so for the benefit of the economy, culture and our health and wellbeing. That’s not to say ecosystem protection isn’t worthwhile. After all, ecosystems are made up of species and their interactions with each other and their environment. You cannot have healthy species without healthy ecosystems and vice versa. But if we focus only on protecting large expanses of wetland, forest and grasslands, we risk overlooking a key issue. Two species in the same ecosystem can be very differently affected by a specific threat (predation by foxes, for instance). Some species can even have conflicting management needs. For some species, invasive species are the biggest threat, while climate change and intensified fire regimes threaten others the most. The sandhill dunnart is one of 11 species listed in the court case. Kristian Bell/Shutterstock Extinction is a choice As Australia’s natural world continues to deteriorate, climate change deepens and worsening wildlife woes abound, these issues will no doubt be front of mind for many in the upcoming federal election. It can be easy to see these trends as inevitable. But they are not – the collapse of nature is a choice. We have what we need for success, including traditional, ecological and conservation knowledge. What’s sorely needed is political will. There were once fewer than 50 northern hairy-nosed wombats alive. Today, that number exceeds 400. When supported, conservation can succeed. Almost all Australians want their government to do more to save our species. Let us hope whoever forms the next government takes up that challenge – even if it takes court cases to prompt action. Euan Ritchie receives funding from the Australian Research Council and the Department of Energy, Environment, and Climate Action. Euan is a Councillor within the Biodiversity Council, a member of the Ecological Society of Australia and the Australian Mammal Society, and President of the Australian Mammal Society.

Climate
Conservation
Culture

NASA and Costa Rica Unite to Track Red Tides from Space

An unprecedented marine expedition in Latin America took place on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica, collecting data and samples for an international study that aims to detect red tides using satellite technology. Red tides are harmful algal blooms that can significantly impact marine ecosystems, public health, fisheries, and tourism. Their sudden appearance and unpredictable […] The post NASA and Costa Rica Unite to Track Red Tides from Space appeared first on The Tico Times | Costa Rica News | Travel | Real Estate.

An unprecedented marine expedition in Latin America took place on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica, collecting data and samples for an international study that aims to detect red tides using satellite technology. Red tides are harmful algal blooms that can significantly impact marine ecosystems, public health, fisheries, and tourism. Their sudden appearance and unpredictable nature make early detection essential for mitigation efforts. The expedition, which occurred from February 17 to 21, involved biologists and oceanographers from the Costa Rican Federation of Tourist Fishing (FECOP), the University of Costa Rica (UCR), the National University (UNA), and NASA scientists, including a Costa Rican researcher. This initiative aligns with NASA’s PACE (Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, Ocean Ecosystem) satellite mission, launched a year ago, which seeks to advance our understanding of ocean color and improve the monitoring of ocean ecosystems through innovative optical measurements. “This is pioneering research in ocean optics, as such comprehensive measurements applied to ocean color validation in Costa Rica have never been done before,” said Dr. Joaquín Chaves, a Costa Rican scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. During the expedition, information was gathered using different optical sensors: a spectrometer on a research aircraft, a hyperspectral radiometer on board a ship, and PACE itself in orbit. “The information collected in situ is triangulated to verify or validate the satellite data, and with all the information simultaneously, regional algorithms can be developed,” explained Chaves. The objective is to create specific algorithms for the Costa Rican Pacific that will enable the prediction of red tides with greater precision. For Dr. Marina Marrari, executive director of FECOP, this expedition “marks a milestone for science in Costa Rica.” The ability to detect red tides in near real-time is expected to mitigate their impacts on tourism, fisheries, aquaculture, and public health. Marrari also highlighted the collaboration between the participating organizations and the free access to the information generated through FECOP’s PezCA application. Moreover, the expedition expanded its scope by collecting data on contaminants such as microplastics and heavy metals, as well as conducting an analysis of the microbial population structure. Maribel Vargas, a UCR researcher, explained that the information collected will contribute to the development of new algorithms for PACE, considering the specific phytoplankton species of the region. This research not only paves the way for improved environmental monitoring but also represents a critical step towards proactive management of coastal resources. With enhanced predictive capabilities, local communities and industries can better prepare for and respond to the environmental and economic challenges posed by red tides, ensuring that both public health and local economies are protected. The post NASA and Costa Rica Unite to Track Red Tides from Space appeared first on The Tico Times | Costa Rica News | Travel | Real Estate.

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