Climate Point: More species go extinct, some spared
Alternative energy funding, endangered species preservation and scary topics for Halloween are just a few of the environment and energy-related news stories across the Paste BN Network this week.
I'm Dinah Voyles Pulver, a journalist at Paste BN and this is Climate Point, your weekly newsletter guide to stories about climate, energy and the environment.
Another 21 species will be labeled extinct in the U.S. in the weeks ahead. After years of review, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced Monday it will remove the species from the endangered list because they are considered extinct.
Among the list are eight birds that were found only in Hawaii, eight mussels that were found primarily in Alabama and parts of the Southeast, and the Bachman's warbler, also once found in the Southeast.
Two species earned a reprieve. A Hawaiian herb-like plant was believed to be extinct, but field surveys have concluded suitable habitat remains where the plant might be found.
The second is the ivory-billed woodpecker. After petitions from people who have put together evidence they say proves the bird still exist in deep in the swamps of Arkansas, the service said it would conduct additional review and analysis.
In more positive endangered species news, the wildlife service concluded the Nelson's checker-mallow, a pink perennial flowering herb native to parts of Oregon and Washington would be removed from the threatened and endangered species list. The prairie herb was added to the list in 1993 but now can be found in more than 50 locations, growing along streams and wet meadows, the Salem Statesman Journal reported.
In North Carolina, endangered green sea turtles set a record for nests this year. The state was lucky to have a dozen or so green turtles nests in the early 2000's, but counted 95 this year, along with 1,619 loggerhead sea turtle nests.
Hydrogen hubbub
An announcement from the White House on Friday that the federal government would fund a $7 billion Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs program met widely mixed reactions. The Midwest Alliance for Clean Hydrogen in Indiana, Illinois and Michigan learned it would receive funding, the Indy Star reported. But, members of the Southwest Clean Hydrogen Innovation Network learned Arizona would not, the Arizona Republic reported.
U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said in a news release that the hope is hydrogen will be a less volatile, more affordable and cleaner energy option for Americans. However, the announcement drew criticism from several environmental groups, including the Climate Justice Alliance, who said hydrogen hubs are a "waste of taxpayer money that will further harm environmental justice communities."
In New Jersey, a former landfill is slated for a redevelopment plan, through a sublease for solar energy production, but a planned offshore wind project in New England has been placed on pause.
Halloween
Just in time for October 31, Paste BN's graphics team put together this explainer on "scary" birds.
The Indy Star wrote about the sinister invasive species that are taking over ecosystems and pushing out native species. They take all shapes and forms: plants, animals, insects, large and small, beautiful and menacing. One thing they all have in common is that they can do serious damage.
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