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Logging mature and old trees threatens U.S. climate goals

Forests

Logging mature and old trees threatens U.S. climate goals

 Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Thursday signed a memorandum to clarify the U.S. Forest Service’s direction on climate policy. The memo, "Climate Resilience and Carbon Stewardship of America's National Forests and Grasslands," follows a recent White House executive order highlighting the importance of conserving mature and old-growth forests on federal lands as a climate solution. The memo, which lays out “actions to restore forests, improve resilience, and address the climate crisis”, falls short in meeting the ambition outlined in President Joe Biden’s order on old forests and trees. Secretary Vilsack acknowledges the role that older trees play in absorbing and storing carbon and supporting biodiversity. But he fails to outline a plan for his agency to protect mature and old-growth forests and trees from commercial logging. 

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Advocates at Outdoor Retailer call on companies to phase out toxic ‘forever chemicals’

Toxic threats

Advocates at Outdoor Retailer call on companies to phase out toxic ‘forever chemicals’

Ahead of the Outdoor Retailer Summer trade show, Environment Colorado Research & Policy Center and CoPIRG Foundation, state affiliates of Environment America Research & Policy Center and U.S. PIRG Education Fund, hosted a media conference on Wednesday to call on the outdoor industry to phase out toxic PFAS chemicals from their products and supply chains. At the event, the environmental and consumer advocates highlighted companies that are lagging behind and celebrated the companies that are taking action.

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Florida Gov. DeSantis’s veto saves rooftop solar in Sunshine State

Solar power

Florida Gov. DeSantis’s veto saves rooftop solar in Sunshine State

Exercising his first veto of the 2022 legislative session, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday vetoed HB 741, a bill that would have gutted net metering in Florida. Net metering is the policy which compensates solar owners for the excess electricity they generate and then sell back to the grid. 

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