EPA Aims To Bring Back Herbicide That Was Twice Banned By Federal Courts
The Environmental Protection Agency announced on Wednesday its plans to reregister the herbicide dicamba. Other environmental news is on the “boiling frog effect” of extreme climate events, FEMA flood aid in Maryland and Texas, and more.
The Washington Post:
Courts Banned This Herbicide Twice. The EPA Wants To Bring It Back.
The Environmental Protection Agency announced Wednesday its proposed decision to reregister dicamba, a herbicide widely used on soybean and cotton farms that has been banned twice by federal courts. The EPA originally approved dicamba’s use on genetically engineered soybeans and cotton in 2016. Environmental groups sued the EPA over dicamba in 2020 because of its potential drift away from the intended target, especially during warmer temperatures, and harm neighboring crops, nearby ecosystems and rural communities. (Ajasa, 7/23)
Politico:
Trump’s Latest Plan To Undo The ‘Holy Grail’ Of Climate Rules: Never Mind The Science
The Trump administration plans to argue that federal law does not require agencies to regulate greenhouse gas emissions, in a move designed to derail virtually all U.S. limits on climate pollution, according to three people familiar with the upcoming proposal. The Environmental Protection Agency will as early as this week unveil its plan to undo the so-called endangerment finding, which in 2009 laid out a comprehensive case for how human emissions of carbon dioxide, methane and other greenhouse gases threaten human health and welfare. (Colman, 7/23)
Bloomberg:
UN Top Court Says Countries Are Obliged To Fight Climate Change
One of the world’s most vulnerable countries to the fallout from climate change has won a landmark legal battle, giving countries new ammunition to pursue some of the planet’s biggest emitters. In its advisory opinion, delivered on Wednesday, the International Court of Justice said countries have a responsibility to do what they can to limit global warming to the critical threshold of 1.5C, saying that failure to do so may violate international law. The ICJ sided with the South Pacific archipelago of Vanuatu in a case brought two years ago via the United Nations General Assembly. (Ainger and Schwartzkopff, 7/23)
The Guardian:
‘Boiling Frog’ Effect Makes People Oblivious To Threat Of Climate Crisis, Shows Study
Surveys show that the increasing number of extreme climate events, including floods, wildfires and hurricanes, has not raised awareness of the threats posed by climate change. Instead, people change their idea of what they see as normal. This so-called “boiling frog effect” makes gradual change difficult to spot. (Hambling, 7/24)
On FEMA disaster aid —
The Washington Post:
Trump Denies Maryland’s Request For FEMA Aid After Devastating Floods
The White House on Wednesday denied Democratic Gov. Wes Moore’s request for $15.8 million in disaster relief funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, to pay for repairs after heavy floods swept through Western Maryland in May. (Shepherd, 7/23)
The Washington Post:
FEMA Moved Quickly To Help Texas. These States Are Still Waiting.
Earlier this month, sitting next to President Donald Trump at an event in the flood-ravaged Texas Hill Country, Gov. Greg Abbott (R) was quick to praise the administration’s rapid response to the deadly disaster that killed more than 130 people in his state. The robust response to the flooding in Texas contrasts sharply with delays faced by other states that have sustained deadly floods and other disasters this year, FEMA staff and state disaster officials say. At least 10 states and two Native American tribes had been waiting months for the president and FEMA to approve their requests for disaster response and recovery assistance. (Sacks, 7/23)
NBC News:
Texas Flood Survivors Offer Mixed Reviews Of FEMA As The Agency Awaits Uncertain Future
As contaminated Guadalupe River water receded following the deadly flooding in Kerrville, Texas, this month, residents returned to find their homes, vehicles and businesses destroyed. Shelled-shocked and in urgent need to rebuild, many turned to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the embattled organization created to assist people in the aftermath of natural disasters. The responses they received ranged from “fantastic” to unhelpful to frustrating, residents told NBC News. (Bunn, 7/22)
