Floodlight

4 days ago | floodlightnews.org | Hilary Beaumont

On a windy night in early January, second-grade teacher Barbara Ishida spotted the Eaton Fire glowing in the hills behind her home in Altadena, California. Her mind turned to the deadly wildfires in Lahaina and Paradise and she thought, “Let’s get out — now.” Ishida and her husband evacuated safely, but the flames destroyed their home. An attribution study found that climate change, which is primarily caused by burning fossil fuels, made the January fires 35% more likely.

6 days ago | floodlightnews.org | Ames Alexander

It began with a lobbyist’s pitch. Tennessee Rep. Rusty Grills says a lobbyist proposed a simple idea: repeal the state’s requirement for reflective roofs on many commercial buildings. In late March, Grills and his fellow lawmakers voted to eliminate the rule, scrapping a measure meant to save energy, lower temperatures and protect Tennesseans from extreme heat. It was another win for a well-organized lobbying campaign led by manufacturers of dark roofing materials.

1 week ago | floodlightnews.org | Kari Lydersen

This story was originally published by Canary Media, and is part of the Rural News Network's Powering Rural Futures series. DECATUR, ILLINOIS — A fistfight at a high school football game nearly defined Shawn Honorable’s life. It was 1999 when he and a group of teen boys were expelled and faced criminal charges over the incident. The story of the “Decatur Seven” drew national headlines and protests led by the Rev. Jesse Jackson, who framed their harsh treatment as blatant racism.

2 weeks ago | floodlightnews.org | Terry Jones

Six grassroots environmental groups filed a federal lawsuit this week that takes aim at a 2024 Louisiana law that essentially crippled community-based air monitoring in the state. The suit, filed Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana, calls the law an “industry-friendly ban” that bars groups from using their own independent air monitoring systems to warn residents living in fenceline communities about potential health risks.

2 weeks ago | floodlightnews.org | Ames Alexander

Farmers who were left in limbo after the U.S. Department of Agriculture froze renewable energy grants are finally starting to get paid. At the same time, however, farmers have been hit with the cancellation of another USDA grant program: the $3 billion Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities initiative, designed to promote farming and forestry practices to improve soil and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.