Biden-Harris Admin Announces $2.2 Billion In Discrimination Relief Payments To Farmers
by Cristen Hemingway Jaynes, EcoWatch
The Biden-Harris administration has announced the issuance of $2.2 billion in financial assistance payments to more than 43,000 farmers, forest landowners and ranchers who were subject to discrimination before January 2021. The payments are being made through the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA)’s Discrimination Financial Assistance Program (DFAP), a press release from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) said. “Farmers and ranchers work around the clock to put food on our tables and steward our Nation’s land. But for too long, many farmers and ranchers experienced discrimination in farm loan programs and have not had the same access to federal resources and support,” said President Joe Biden.
EPA Deals ‘Major Blow’ To Woodside’s Multibillion-Dollar Gas Drilling Plan At Browse Basin
by Adam Morton, The Guardian
A multibillion-dollar Woodside Energy gas export development off Western Australia’s north-west has been deemed “unacceptable” by the state’s Environment Protection Authority due to its impact on marine life at Scott Reef. The EPA’s assessment of Woodside’s Browse liquefied natural gas (LNG) proposal was revealed in response to a freedom of information request by WAToday. It follows scientists raising concerns that extraction at the Browse basin, about 300km off the Kimberley coast, could damage a coral reef ecosystem that is home to more than 1,500 species, many unique to the area. They identified risks to migrating whale species, the possible sinking of a beach used for nesting by endangered turtles and the potential of an oil spill in a pristine environment.
United Against Hate: England’s Counter-Protesters Left With Little To Counter
by Reporting Team, The Guardian
It was the day that England held its breath. Across the country, and over the Irish sea in Belfast, police feared and were braced for the most widespread night of violence in more than a decade. Shops were boarded up, theatre performances cancelled and hotels and immigration advice centres closed over fears they were in the crosshairs of the far-right disorder that has laid siege to dozens of towns and cities over the past week. But it was anti-racism demonstrators who thronged the streets of England from Newcastle down to London and across to Bristol. Counter-protesters arrived first and their numbers just grew and grew, from dozens to hundreds and then thousands.
Lahaina Celebrates Recovery Of Historic 151-Year-Old Banyan Tree That Survived Devastating Maui Wildfire
by Cristen Hemingway Jaynes, EcoWatch
The August 2023 Maui wildfires were devastating for the Hawaiian island’s people, wildlife and flora, including a century-and-a-half-old banyan tree in the beach community of Lahaina. The historic town is celebrating the landmark’s recovery, as parts of the 151-year-old banyan tree have begun to regrow and are even thriving in Lahaina’s decimated waterfront district. “You see a lot of long, long branches with hundreds of leaves back on the tree,” said Duane Sparkman, Maui county arborist committee chair, as The Associated Press reported. Sparkman added that some of the great banyan’s branches have begun to produce fruit. “It’s pretty amazing to see that much of the tree come back.”
Doggy Bags Packed With Seeds Help Rewild Nature Reserve In England
by Gavin Haines, Positive News
Man’s best friend’ is becoming an ally of nature too thanks to a novel rewilding project in England. Furnished with leaky backpacks stuffed with wildflower seeds, dogs are being let loose on an urban nature reserve just outside Lewes, east Sussex. The idea is that they mimic an ecological role vacated by wolves, when the latter was driven to extinction in the UK in the 18th century. Wolves unwittingly collected seeds in their fur and deposited them all over the UK, creating new colonies of plants. Now Lewes’ dogs are doing the same thanks to an initiative run by the Railway Land Wildlife Trust and the Wilderlife rewilding platform.
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