** Private investors are banking on water scarcity in the West
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Thursday, June 4, 2020
The Trona Pinnacles in California | Bob Wick, Bureau of Land Management ([link removed])
In the West, climate change is changing life as we know it ([link removed]) . Water supplies, already scarce, are diminishing as snowpack shrinks and river flows decrease. The future of water for cities, industries, and farmers across the West is uncertain. Adding to the uncertainty is a new actor: the private investor. ([link removed])
In Colorado, a New York-based hedge fund is buying up irrigated land as an investment in the potential value of water ([link removed]) , raising concerns over the future of farming. In Arizona, housing growth is creating opportunities for investors ([link removed]) to try and transfer water rights, while investors in Nevada are exploring underground water storage options ([link removed]) . Locals and researchers across the West are struggling to figure out how such private investment will work, and how it may impact the West's water challenges.
** New study finds living near oil and gas wells tied to low birth weights in infants
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A new study ([link removed]) out of California finds that living near active oil and gas wells may put pregnant women at higher risk of having low-weight babies ([link removed]) , particularly in rural areas. Being born low-weight can affect the development of newborns and increase their risk of health problems. The finding is especially important as
oil and gas development tends to occur closer to and more heavily impact less affluent communities ([link removed]) .
Quick hits
** Great American Outdoors Act, touted by bipartisan legislators and former Interior secretaries, expected to hit Senate floor today
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E&E News ([link removed]) | Reuters ([link removed]) | Dominion Post ([link removed]) | E&E News ([link removed]) | Wyoming Public Media ([link removed])
** Economic downturn could increase methane releases from oil and gas development
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New Mexico In Depth ([link removed])
** Tribes assail reopening of national park sites during pandemic
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Navajo-Hopi Observer ([link removed]) | Eastern Arizona Courier ([link removed]) | Cronkite News ([link removed]) | E&E News ([link removed])
** Opinion: Racism derails attempts to prevent climate change
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Washington Post ([link removed])
** Utah company mined unleased coal, suffers no penalty
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E&E News ([link removed])
** Collaborative Report: Private investors are banking on water scarcity in the West
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Aspen Journalism, KJZZ, KUNC, and Nevada Independent ([link removed])
** Wyoming may create oil and gas jobs by accelerating the cleanup of orphan wells, considers mineral tax cuts
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Casper Star-Tribune ([link removed]) | Casper Star-Tribune ([link removed])
** New study finds living near oil and gas wells tied to low birth weights in infants
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B ([link removed]) erkeley News ([link removed]) | Bloomberg ([link removed].)
Quote of the day
More than half of the renewable capacity added in 2019 achieved lower electricity costs than new coal. New solar and wind projects are undercutting the cheapest of existing coal-fired plants."
—International Renewable Energy Agency researchers
E ([link removed]) &E News ([link removed])
Picture this
** @U ([link removed]) SFWSBirds ([link removed])
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From our assistant director, Jerome Ford: My favorite bird is the wood duck. It's the first bird I ever banded early in my career, and it's the most beautiful one I had ever seen. Both hold a special place in my heart. #PostABird ([link removed]) #BlackBirderWeek ([link removed])
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