In early January, some North Dakotans might be daydreaming about summer water activities but certain forms of pollution remain a threat to various waterways around the state, and officials want to hear residents concerns in a new survey. The North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality is crafting a new 10-year strategy as it responds to the latest and more pressing threats to surface water. The rollout includes an online survey where residents can identify which pollutants they are most concerned about, and which rivers and lakes they want protected. .
The nonprofit organization Corazón Latino has been awarded $15,000 to help Latino communities in Arizona fight for what they are calling "climate liberation." Karina Martínez, chief communications officer for the Corazón Latino, said GreenLatinos Justicia y Equidad Fund is intended to support organizations who are leaders in their communities and advancing environmental justice initiatives in a reciprocal and collaborative manner. "It is not us bringing an agenda to people, it s creating an agenda from what the needs but also the solutions are that they see within their own communities," Martínez explained. Martínez argued it is important to make sure the projects and initiatives being worked on are culturally resonant. .
A new program from the Montana Legal Services Association is boosting legal assistance to people living on the state s tribal land. The Tribal Advocate Incubator Project gives lay people the skills they need to help Montana s underserved Indigenous population. Right now, many of Montana s Indigenous people lack legal services or the money they need to pay for them. .
An Oklahoma pensioner has taken the state to court and filed a motion for a temporary injunction over a state law some said targets financial firms for their climate change policies, in turn harming public pension funds. In 2022, the state passed the Oklahoma s Energy Discrimination Elimination Act, which prohibits public retirement systems from investing with financial companies accused of boycotting the fossil fuel industry. Tony DeSha, executive director of the Oklahoma Public Employees Association, which represents thousands of state employees, said they support the lawsuit filed by former state employee Don Keenan. .
Tennessee s incarceration rates stand out internationally, and there are glaring racial disparities in prisons and jails. New research examines the key causes of inequalities and offers remedies. According to the Sentencing Project, one in three Black men in 1981 was likely to be imprisoned at some point in his life. .