ICN Alabama - Inside Climate News

A Gas Tanker Crashed in Birmingham and Spilled 2,100 Gallons Into Nearby Village Creek. Who Is Responsible?

By Lee Hedgepeth — Sat, 16 Mar 2024 09:10:00 +0000

Officials say they’ve worked to contain the gas spill and document a resulting fish kill. A local riverkeeper says more could be done.

By Lee Hedgepeth

BIRMINGHAM, Ala.—As Kacey Brantley entered her neighborhood earlier this month, she thought the car in front of her was having some kind of mechanical issue. A pungent smell, like gas and burnt plastic, filled her lungs.

A ‘Gassy’ Alabama Coal Mine Was Expanding Under a Family’s Home. After an Explosion, Two Were Left Critically Injured

By Lee Hedgepeth, James Bruggers — Sat, 16 Mar 2024 00:29:01 +0000

Oak Grove Mine has a long history of safety violations. In 2006, federal officials evacuated its workers because of dangerous levels of methane, a flammable gas.

By Lee Hedgepeth, James Bruggers

ADGER, Ala.—He’d said he thought his home would explode. He was right.

Across the Nation, Lawmakers Aim to Ban Lab-Grown Meat

By Wyatt Myskow, Lee Hedgepeth — Tue, 12 Mar 2024 09:10:00 +0000

Restricting the sale of protein cultured from animal cells, developed as a way to raise meat without the climate impacts of livestock, has become a trendy right-wing legislative focus in states from Arizona to Florida.

By Wyatt Myskow, Lee Hedgepeth

Months in jail and thousands of dollars in fines and legal fees—those are the consequences Alabamians and Arizonans could soon face for selling cell-cultured meat products that could cut into the profits of ranchers, farmers and meatpackers in each state.

Alabamians Want Public Officials to Mitigate Landslide Risk as Climate Change Makes Extreme Precipitation More Frequent

By Lee Hedgepeth — Mon, 11 Mar 2024 09:05:00 +0000

In Birmingham, residents want two properties shielded from development and turned into parkland. Councilors decided to protect one parcel years ago. The vote never stuck.

By Lee Hedgepeth

BIRMINGHAM, Ala.— Gary Bostany said it was like lava flowing down from above.

Alabama Supreme Court IVF Ruling Renews Focus on Plastics, Chemical Exposure and Infertility

By James Bruggers, Lee Hedgepeth — Tue, 05 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Endocrine-disrupting chemicals are making it harder for people to reproduce, driving some toward in vitro fertilization. Now, they are threatened by Republican and anti-abortion politics.

By James Bruggers, Lee Hedgepeth

BIRMINGHAM, Ala.—The politically explosive Alabama Supreme Court decision that found frozen embryos could be considered children has focused national attention on assisted-reproduction services that are needed in part because human exposure to chemicals makes it harder for people to have babies.

A White House Advisor and Environmental Justice Activist Wants Immediate Help for Two Historically Black Communities in Alabama

By Lee Hedgepeth — Sat, 02 Mar 2024 10:15:00 +0000

Robert Bullard says a federal civil rights probe shouldn’t forestall a “rapid response” to alleviate flooding and provide sewer access. After meeting with Department of Transportation officials in Washington, he’s frustrated with the administration he advises.

By Lee Hedgepeth

BIRMINGHAM, Ala.—As federal officials continue their civil rights investigation of the Alabama Department of Transportation, a White House environmental advisor says more could be done for Black Alabamians.

Q&A: Robert Bullard Says 2024 Is the Year of Environmental Justice for an Inundated Shiloh, Alabama

Interview by Steve Curwood, Living on Earth — Sat, 24 Feb 2024 10:00:00 +0000

“If we plan for environmental standards that would protect children, the most vulnerable in our society, we protect everybody. When we place the most vulnerable at risk, we place everybody at risk.”

Interview by Steve Curwood, Living on Earth

From our collaborating partner “Living on Earth,” public radio’s environmental news magazine, an interview by host Steve Curwood with Robert Bullard, a Distinguished Professor of Urban Planning and Environmental Policy at Texas Southern.

Some Americans Don’t Have the Ability to Flush Their Toilets. A Federal Program Aimed at Helping Solve That Problem Is Expanding

By Lee Hedgepeth — Wed, 14 Feb 2024 10:00:00 +0000

In Alabama’s Black Belt, the White Hall community received technical help from the EPA after local advocacy and White House help. The pilot program is now expanding to up to 150 communities.

By Lee Hedgepeth

BIRMINGHAM, Ala.—Catherine Coleman Flowers has seen it all firsthand.

During Mardi Gras, Tons of Fun Comes With Tons of Toxic Beads

By Lee Hedgepeth — Mon, 12 Feb 2024 18:15:00 +0000

New Orleans and Mobile dispute where Mardi Gras was birthed, but both Gulf Coast cities struggle with the same plastic waste. Where will a greener carnival be reborn?

By Lee Hedgepeth

MOBILE, Ala.—The trees tell the tale.

How Racism Flooded Alabama’s Historically Black Shiloh Community

By Lee Hedgepeth — Wed, 07 Feb 2024 10:00:00 +0000

Robert Bullard, the “father of environmental justice,” has pledged to bring the community’s concerns to the White House.

By Lee Hedgepeth

SHILOH COMMUNITY, Ala.—If it’s been raining, the kids bring two pairs of shoes to the bus stop.