Eric Tegethoff News Today

The Iowa Environmental Council has petitioned the Environmental Protection Agency to invoke emergency powers to protect sensitive soil and groundwater in northeast Iowa. The council is holding a public webinar today and wants the EPA to address groundwater contamination in northeast Iowas so-called Driftless region. The groundwater there has a well-documented history of nitrate contamination. ...

The State of Arizona has received $156 million to invest into solar systems for Arizona families. Adrian Keller, Arizona program director for the nonprofit Solar United Neighbors, said the group is "thrilled" about the grant made available through the federal solar policy known as Solar For All. The policy sets out to expand or create new low-income solar programs, which the Environmental Protection Agency claims will enable more than 900,000 homes across the nation to benefit...

By Bryn Nelson for Yes! Media.Broadcast version by Eric Tegethoff for Oregon News Service reporting for the YES! Media-Public News Service Collaboration At the Fernhill Wetlands along the Pacific Flyway in suburban Forest Grove, Oregon, dedicated birders have documented more than 240 avian species. ...

A Knoxville-based environmental group is advocating for the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act expansion, currently awaiting House approval. It would provide compensation to more states such as Tennessee for radiation exposure from U.S. government nuclear activities such as weapons testing and uranium mining. ...

The Nebraska Winnebago Tribes Ho-Chunk Community Development Corporation has been awarded $2 million through MacKenzie Scotts Yield Giving company. Some 6,300 nonprofits applied to Yield Givings open call for grants the Ho-Chunk were among 279 to receive a top tier rating. In the next-highest tier, 82 organizations each received $1 million. ...

Most school and transit buses on the nations roadways these days are still powered by diesel engines but in Wisconsin and elsewhere, there is hope about the push to switch to electric fleets. The city of Racine has made headlines in recent years for leveraging federal funds to add more electric buses operated by its transit agency. Through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, school systems such as the Palmyra-Eagle district have used federal grants to buy a handful of buses fitted with such tech...

Groups concerned about air pollution and public health are asking the city councils of Long Beach and Los Angeles and their respective Harbor Commissions to pass major restrictions on air pollution from ships. The "Ports for People" ordinance would require agencies to take steps to reduce pollution from cargo ships by 50% from 2019 levels by 2030, and to achieve 100% zero-emission shipping at the ports by 2040. Dawnyall Heydari, climate campaign advocacy manager for the nonpr...

A Native American advocacy group is making a big push to get out the Indigenous vote in this years elections. It is hiring field organizers across the state and turning to technology. Western Native Voice calls its initiative "No Vote Left Behind in 2024." The group is hiring 14 part-time organizers, on reservations and in urban areas. ...

By Rico Moore for Yes! Magazine.Broadcast version by Eric Tegethoff for Washington News Service reporting for the Yes! Magazine-Public News Service Collaboration The Kettle Mountain Range runs north-south along the eastern flank of the Colville Reservation and north into the Tribes’ ancestral territory in Colville National Forest. ...

Women across California who are farmworkers will get help to maintain home and community gardens using fewer pesticides. It is the goal of a grant from the GreenLatinos Justicia y Equidad Fund. The advocacy group Alianza Nacional de Campesinas will use the grant to fund the Madre Tierra, or Mother Earth program. ...