Thaca News Today

Lehman Alternative Community School Celebrates 50th Anniversary

A recent anti-fracking bill, S.8357/A.8866, has now passed in both the Senate and Assembly. The bill would add carbon dioxide fracking to the statewide hydraulic fracking ban codified in the 2020-21 state budget. The proposed legislation adds two words to the original law that banned fracking. Th

Acquiring the assets, which include recently purchased fields from Neptune Energy Group, would boost Ithaca’s North Sea production at a time when larger players are withdrawing from the aging basin.

ITHACA, N.Y. (WETM) – Habitat for Humanity of Tompkins and Cortland counties is accepting applications for its affordable homeownership program until the beginning of April. The organization is recruiting homebuyers for three-bedroom/one-bathroom, two-story homes that are located in the city of Ithaca. Applications are being accepted from Feb. 1 until April 1, 2024. Habitat homebuyers […]

Nevada conservationists held a webinar to discuss the protection of Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge near the Nevada-California border from proposed mining activities. Mason Voehl, executive director of the Amargosa Conservancy, said the refuge is the largest remaining oasis in the Mojave Desert and is home to at least 26 endemic species. Voehl added that because Ash Meadows is entirely sustained by groundwater, its future depends on how that groundwater is managed in the basin. ...

North Carolina is taking action to address environmental injustice, specifically targeting areas disproportionately affected by pollution and climate change. Gov. Roy Cooper signed Executive Order 292 to establish an Environmental Justice Advisory Council, made up of 11 people from state agencies and 11 appointed by the governor. ...

Trees in urban areas provide benefits for people, including decreased temperatures and improved air quality, according to new research from Washington state. The Greening Research in Tacoma initiative measured air temperatures across a neighborhood in the city to understand the effects of urban trees. Ailene Ettinger, qualitative ecologist for The Nature Conservancy in Washington and the studys lead author, said temperatures were as much as 18 degrees lower in areas with trees. ...

Advocates from coal-mining communities are proposing a roadmap to help address and prevent so-called "zombie mines," - abandoned mine lands on hold indefinitely. According to the Center for Public Integrity, Ohio and other Appalachian states are littered with hundreds of zombie mines, allowing companies to avoid paying for environmental cleanup. Erin Savage, senior program manager for Appalachian Voices, explained permit transfers allow companies to shed their responsibiliti...

Lawmakers in Congress are urging the Government Accountability Office to investigate so-called "zombie mines," abandoned mine lands on hold indefinitely, rather than being safely closed and reclaimed. According to the Center for Public Integrity, Ohio and other Appalachian states are littered with hundreds of zombie mines, allowing companies to avoid paying for environmental cleanup. Erin Savage, senior program manager for Appalachian Voices, explained permit transfers allow ...

A New York bill would make polluters pay for climate change damage the state endured. The Climate Change Superfund Act requires companies whove contributed to climate change to bear some costs of necessary infrastructure investments for New York to adapt to climate change. Data show over the last 40 years, the state has endured at least 85 "billion-dollar disasters." The most substantial was Hurricane Sandy, costing the state around $43 billion. ...