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Earlier this month, the California Department of Water Resources announced a new round of funding for desalination projects in the state.

The industry has been hurt by shrinking real estate, more affordable land in other states and the shortage of water and other natural resources.

Three House Democrats in environmental leadership positions on Tuesday called on the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to strengthen standards for voluntary carbon offsets. In the letter, Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.), the chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee; Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), the chairman of the House Natural Resources Water, Oceans and Wildlife Subcommittee; and...

In a future ravaged by climate change, wildfires will strain resources. Bringing back every town will only put people in mortal danger once again.

The California Air Resources Board proposal would require all new medium- and heavy-duty trucks sold in the state to be zero-emission by 2040.

One Wednesday evening, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee released long-awaited text for permitting reform legislation sponsored by Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV).

This is not the first time the Russians have transparently lied about energy infrastructure damage to weaponize their energy resources or geographical position as a transit country.

This documentary explores the formation of the Maui Nui Marine Resources Council and their community-based efforts to restore vibrance and abundance to Maui's reefs. Past Presentation

Moving Mountains tackles the destructive effects of large-scale mining on the lives, culture and environment of communities in the Cordilleras. After playing host to these big mining companies, they remain poor, their resources depleted and their communities destroyed. The film also presents the inspiring story of an indigenous tribe in Kalinga province that has kept large mining companies away from the area and has allowed the community to determine how to manage its mineral resources. Past Presentation

Thirst – Daaham (India-subtitled, 4 min). Water Award Directed by Siva Nageswara Rao – Water is a precious resource which humanity should use responsibly. Our relationship with Nature should always be guided by reciprocity. Nature protects us all and we in turn should protect natural resources and be sympathetic to the needs of fellow human beings. Now Playing

"Again, Together" is a film created in partnership with Ronald L. Jones, bringing stories from communities across Houston that have been impacted by environmental racism — namely redlining, segregation, underinvestment, exposure to pollution, gentrification, inequitable disaster recovery resources and freeway development. Now Playing

The people of Florida and Sarasota have repeatedly voted to support acquiring and sustaining environmentally sensitive lands. These precious natural resources have not gone unnoticed by those who could profit from them. A battle is ongoing waging private profit against public parks. Past Presentation

Using stunning high resolution images from a DSLR camera, this team of high school students show the change in our relationship to Hawaiʻi's natural resources over time. Part of the story is told from the perspective of an endemic Koa tree in Waikamoi Forest Preserve. Past Presentation

From Farm To Table is an Eco-documentary film showcasing a school's commitment to integrating stewardship of our earth's resources into its curriculum. The film follows students working in their school garden and sustainable organic farm from planting to harvesting and demonstrates the link between fresh locally grown sustainable products and healthier eating while simultaneously building community and promoting the stewardship of our earth's resources. The important issues of conservation, preservation, biodiversity and animal welfare are addressed. In conclusion, as a call to action we are encouraged to learn more, ask questions and take action by growing our own food and buying local food. Past Presentation

The United States appointed a new advocate for issues relating to animal and plant species conservation.  Monica Medina will serve as a special envoy for biodiversity and water resources, working on global matters related to these issues, the State Department said Wednesday. Medina is currently the State Department’s assistant secretary for oceans and international environmental...

This story was originally published by Wired and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. Lawns began as a flex by the uber-wealthy in 17th-century England. (Look how many resources I can waste to replicate nature, when actual nature is right next to my palatial home!) Today, turfgrass has spread like a green […]

If we observe and listen closely, our world communicates to us. The director with producer Tessa Skiles, travelling the Springs Heartland for a year, explored the hidden gems of Florida and consulted with leading experts on the current state of Florida's water resources. From springs hunting to mystical mermaids to interviews with National Geographic explorers, this film educates us on the threats facing the water Floridians consume every day and how Florida springs are a looking glass into the health of our most vital natural resource. Past Presentation

Exploring the beauty, rigor, and impact of socially engaged art, these short vignettes were made possible by A Blade of Glass (ABOG), which provides resources for artists reaching beyond boundaries and into communities to contribute creatively to social change. ABOG supports this work through a national fellowship program and related programs such as short documentary films. Past Presentation

Green Acre Park is an important stop along the creek’s journey and another example of how a community exists side by side with the natural resources that sustain it. For the residents that live near the park, and for the city of Gainesville as a whole, the protection and preservation of Hogtown Creek is vital to ensuring that future generations will have clean drinking water for years to come.

The U.N. nuclear chief warned that Europe’s largest nuclear power plant in Ukraine “is completely out of control” and issued an urgent plea to Russia and Ukraine to quickly allow experts to visit the sprawling complex to stabilize the situation and avoid a nuclear accident.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres voiced support for that idea Monday, saying, “any attack to a nuclear plant is a suicidal thing.”

Massive event’ reported at Macquarie Harbour, near Strahan, a day after mass stranding at King IslandFollow our Australia news live blog for the latest updatesGet our free news app, morning email briefing or daily news podcastA mass whale stranding has occurred at Macquarie Harbour on Tasmania’s west coast, near the town of Strahan, just a day after a separate mass stranding on King Island.The latest stranding was confirmed by a spokesperson for the Tasmanian department of natural resources and environment, who could not yet provide more details. Continue reading...

Towering stands of old ­growth longleaf pine (pinus palustris) once covered over 90 million acres while stretching from southern Virginia to eastern Texas. Today, the total acreage is about two million, with only about two thousand of that considered old growth. As the South was settled and Northern timber supplies were exhausted, this incredible natural resource was very nearly extirpated from the South's landscape and collective consciousness. LONGLEAF: THE HEART OF PINE is a cultural and natural history of the South's ancient primeval forest and how it might still be saved. Past Presentation

The project Towards Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) in the binational Sixaola River Basin shared by Costa Rica and Panama seeks to improve water management in the Sixaola River Basin shared by both countries. This is an international cooperation project where the Ministry of Environment and Energy (MINAE) and the Ministry of National Planning and […] The post Improving Water Management in Costa Rica’s Sixaola River Basin appeared first on The Tico Times | Costa Rica News | Travel | Real Estate.

As the globe decarbonizes, a possible resource crisis is on the horizon. According to a recent study led by University College London (UCL) scientists, a...

Co-executive producer, Jill Heinerth, who hails from Alachua County, has dived deeper into caves than any woman in history. Her accolades include being named a "Living Legend" by Sport Diver Magazine and being in the inaugural class of the Women Divers Hall of Fame. Imaginative, entertaining, and enlightening, We Are Water illustrates the fragile relationship between our planet's endangered freshwater resources and the ever increasing needs of more and more people: For the first time in history, fresh water has become a finite resource. Without big changes in water policy and use, wars of the future may be fought, not over oil, but water. This movie will show us how we can help Jill Heinerth to keep that from happening. Past Presentation

Filmed in a fly-on-the-wall style, this raw and inspiring documentary follows 26-year-old Manoj Gautam, a modern day, third world hero on a passionate quest to protect animals and wildlife from cruelty and extinction. Inspired by the work of his mentor, Dr. Jane Goodall, and with minimal resources and no formal training, Gautam is creating a network of allies across the country, busting animal smugglers, protecting fragile ecosystems, rescuing abused animals, and galvanizing an environmental movement. Past Presentation

Almost entirely self funded, this film is the director’s gift to the world. The award-winning filmmaker and producer also spent 4 years as a one­ woman ­crew exploring why and how we have inadvertently put our planet in peril. The film examines how our economic and production systems connect to climate change, species extinction, depletion of critical natural resources, and industrial control of food production. Solutions that could be implemented immediately are illustrated, from practical everyday fixes to rethinking the overarching myths of our time. While this film is intended to challenge viewers on many levels, it most of all offers hope. Past Presentation

A fast-growing population – 50% bigger than it was in 1990 – is causing, directly or indirectly, all of Australia’s serious environmental problems. These impacts must be central to decision-making.

The story of a community’s successful fight to protect their water from the oil and natural gas industry. In 2013, Texas-based SWN Resources arrived in New Brunswick, Canada, a region known for forestry, farming, and fishing, both commercial and small-scale subsistence operations that the rural community depend on. A multicultural group of unlikely warriors united and set up road blockades to prevent oil exploration. After months of resistance, their efforts not only halted drilling, they elected a new government and won an indefinite moratorium on fracking. Past Presentation

Earth Speaks is a short documentary about the Earth as Mother and the impacts of oil and gas drilling on tribal lands in the United States, particularly the Blackfeet Reservation in North Central Montana. Outside entities promise economic wealth and prosperity to territories whose unemployment rate hovers at 70%. Exploitation of people, land, and resources is not new to the Native American. How does seeing the Earth with a "spiritual eye" affect the oil and gas industry of Native Lands? Is there a connection between those views and others that are more pragmatic, and what alternative is there for a world dependent on fossil fuels? Past Presentation

The Environmental Protection Agency's effort to secure the country's water supply from cyberattack faces giant hurdles.They include: The water system's low government funding and staffing levels, a heavy reliance on legacy IT, and the patchwork nature of the tens of thousands of local U.S. water authorities.Driving the news: The EPA submitted its initial plan for tackling water security to Congress last month, laying out which systems it would slot for technical assistance first during a cyberattack.The agency is expected to roll out new rules this fall requiring state officials to include cybersecurity concerns in their existing water inspections, an official told E&E News. Between the lines: The EPA faces different challenges than other agencies writing cybersecurity rules for the utilities they regulate because the U.S.'s water systems are so widely distributed and isolated. The country has roughly 148,000 public water systems. Most of those water systems operate through state and local governments that have their own budget constraints and priorities.Those states and cities need to have the resources and motivation to prioritize water cybersecurity to make any blanket EPA federal regulations effective, says Padraic O'Reilly, co-founder and chief product officer at critical infrastructure cyber firm CyberSaint Security.Bryan Ware, former assistant director of cyber at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, tells Axios that water system operators in small to medium-size towns have small IT teams, making it difficult for them to prioritize cyber protections.Threat level: While the distributed water system makes it nearly impossible for a malicious hacker to take down the entire U.S. supply in one fell swoop, hackers can still wreak havoc on small to medium-size towns' water supplies.In February 2021, a hacker was able to break into the computer system running the water system serving 15,000 people in Oldsmar, Florida, and tamper with the amount of sodium hydroxide in the supply.Last month, a U.K. water supplier serving 1.6 million people said its offices were disrupted after a cyberattack. The intrigue: The EPA faces its own resource shortages, hindering its ability to establish and enforce tough cybersecurity rules for water systems. At least one estimate suggests the agency spends $7 million on cybersecurity operations within the Office of Water. Experts say that's nowhere near enough.The EPA has asked Congress for more in next year's budget, including $25 million for a new grant program to build out and improve water cybersecurity infrastructure. Yes, but: The EPA can still get creative with its regulatory approach.In its August report to Congress, the agency said that it plans to work with CISA to help water systems mitigate and recover from a cyberattack.Politico reported last month that the agency is eyeing rules similar to the TSA guidelines for pipelines, which are more flexible and allow operators to submit their own plans for addressing common cybersecurity problems.Industry groups like the American Water Works Association have been pushing the EPA to lean more on CISA’s free resources for critical infrastructure providers, including providing cyber hygiene scans. A spokesperson for the National Security Council tells Axios the White House and EPA are working with Congress on solutions to help better train and staff water security professionals.What's next: The EPA is still mulling what form broad federal rules for water operators should take, as federal officials work to help low-resourced water operators make cybersecurity a higher priority.As Congress returns from summer recess this week and begins budget talks, funding the EPA's cybersecurity efforts will be one item on the long agenda.

In Peru, the headwaters of the Amazon River cut through the Andes Mountains and help sustain resident communities as well as the most diverse ecosystem on Earth. As the energy demands of Peru increase, the currently free flowing Marañón River faces over 20 proposed dam projects, two of which have already been approved. Our international team of scientists and river experts spent 28 days rafting the Marañón while documenting the natural and cultural resources that would be eminently impacted by proposed dam projects. Past Presentation

A short documentary discussing the drought in California, particularly how water shortages are affecting Southern California farmers, local relationships with policy-makers, and the environment. Through interviews and verite scenes with a local Ventura County farmer, with The California Secretary of Natural Resources, and with an environmental activist from The Surfrider Foundation, this film delves into a deeper understanding of how the drought is affecting Californians on a personal level, and how they plan to address the drought as it comes closer to a point of no return. Past Presentation

For months, Duke Energy has been defending its carbon-cutting plans for its core Carolinas service territory against critics who say the utility’s energy forecasts deliberately understate how much solar power and battery storage will be available to the grid. Now, the utility is making its case in person to an…

A short animation based on Richard Heinberg’s book with the same title. It insists that humanity has reached a fundamental turning point in its economic history, and that the expansionary trajectory of industrial civilization is colliding with non-negotiable natural limits. Past Presentation

A look at environmental and human impact of the oil sands in Alberta’s northern territory. Tipping Pointtells the story of the remote community of Fort Chipewyan, down the Athabasca River from the oil sands, and the serious health risks that are plaguing the residents. Past Presentation

The Pipe is a thrilling documentary, portraying the story of a community tragically divided, and how they deal with an oil pipe that could bring economic prosperity or destruction of a way of life shared for generations. Past Presentation

In all its stages, from the production of weapons through combat to cleanup and restoration, war consists of elements that pollute land, air, and water, destroy biodiversity and entire ecosystems, and drain our limited natural resources. Yet the environmental damage occasioned even by preparation for war, not to mention war itself, is routinely underestimated, underreported, and even ignored. This outstanding, timely, new film explores the crucial need for public scrutiny of the ecological impact of war and reminds us of the importance of accountability and sustainability not in spite of global conflict, but because of it. Past Presentation

In a country where one liter of 95 grade car fuel costs less than 25 cents, a man rides a tricycle to get through traffic. Past Presentation

Amidst national controversy surrounding the potential dangers of hydraulic fracturing, or 'fracking,' environmental activist Pauline Matt stands alone to protect her native homeland - the Blackfeet Reservation of northern Montana. Past Presentation

Essential viewing for those who care about the Floridan environment, Florida Lawmaker Carter Lord highlights the irreversible environmental and economic destruction that follows phosphate mining in southern Florida. Past Presentation

A film about our love affair with carbon. Past Presentation

In the Paraguayan Chaco region, the area with the fastest deforestation in the world, aboriginal communities see the source of their foodstuffs, their pharmacopoeia, and their mythological tales disappear before their eyes. An unflinching exposé of the effects of uncontrolled settlement on one of the last virgin territories of the planet. Past Presentation

15 per cent of food currently given to livestock and farmed fish is suitable for human consumption. By replacing this with food system by-products, we could feed more people without needing more farmland

British Columbia is one of the last places on earth logging old growth forests. In the face of climate change, old growth forestry isn’t just a threat to species living in the area–it’s a threat to the world itself. Past Presentation

Eligio Eloy Vargas, alias Melaneo, a Dominican Park Ranger in the Sierra de Bahoruco National Park was found brutally murdered by machete. At the time, he was believed to have been on patrol investigating an illegal charcoal production site often run by Haitians coming across the border into protected Dominican forests. This murder becomes the metaphor for the larger story of increasing tension between Haiti and the Dominican Republic over illicit charcoal exploitation and mass deforestation. Past Presentation

One man will risk it all to stop tar sands oil from crossing his land through the Keystone XL pipeline. Shot in the forests, pastures, and living rooms of rural East Texas as David Daniel he rallies neighbors and environmental activists to join him in a final act of brinkmanship: a tree-top blockade of the controversial pipeline. What begins as a stand against corporate bullying becomes a rallying cry for climate protesters nationwide. Past Presentation

A touching and encouraging story about a miner’s young daughter and her battle against one of the world's largest mining companies. The film depicts the destiny of an invaluable protected mine in Finnish Lapland. Is everything for sale when the bid is high enough? A film about exceptional determination, courage and love for one’s own roots and home village. Past Presentation

In the 1970s the start of oil extraction in the Ecuadorian Amazon engendered expectations of a new “era of prosperity.” But now, in a David-and-Goliath struggle for environmental justice, the negative impacts of oil production are being captured through a project combining citizen science, scholarly activism, indigenous and mestizo mobilization, and the use of frugal but advanced GIScience, drones, smartphones and bespoke apps. Past Presentation

A Wild Idea is a documentary about the Yasuni-ITT Initiative-Ecuador's unprecedented proposal for fighting global climate change: In exchange for payments from the world community, the country will leave untouched its largest oil reserves. Past Presentation

Cuba is the only country that has faced the massive reduction in fossil fuel availability. The "lm documents the struggles and creative solutions of the Cuban people as they faced a life without oil. Directed by Faith Morgan for Community Solutions Past Presentation

After his father's death, Yusuf goes back to his village, which he has not been to for years, and learns that a geothermal company wants to buy his father's agricultural lands and drill a well. He wants to solve problems without disrespecting his father's memory, but things don't go as he hoped. Now Playing

Though focused on West Virginia, this film serves as a cautionary tale for a world heavily relying on fossil fuels and the hefty price it exacts from society. Responding to one of the worst yet least publicized industrial contamination disasters in the US, courageous Appalachians fight to defend their human right to clean water and persevere in their quest for truth and justice. Coal Rush dramatizes the human and societal costs to a democracy of relying on cheap energy and the environmental hazards that can affect any of us - rural or urban. Past Presentation

What happens to people when their mining town is forced to shut down because of environmental concerns? What if they don't want to leave? Do they still receive water, heat and ambulance service? Death of an American Town follows one man as he tries to answer these questions and reconnect with his roots before his hometown is closed forever. Past Presentation

Exposes how impending tar sands and oil shale mining would destroy massive landscapes in Utah and put the already imperiled Colorado River Watershed at risk. Utah has approved the USA’s precedent-setting tar sands mine despite widespread health impacts of similar projects in northern Canada. Past Presentation

On Coal River takes viewers to the Coal River Valley of West Virginia — a community surrounded by lush mountains and a looming toxic threat. The film follows four longtime residents as they confront their local school board, the state government, and a notorious coal company — Massey Energy — for putting their families and community’s health at risk. Past Presentation

Prolific author and expert on the history of energy Vaclav Smil on why the transition from oil and gas will be tougher than most people think.

The story of Dr. Riki Ott, a whistleblower who predicted the Exxon Valdez oil spill hours before it happened. A toxicologist, author, and activist, Ott helped organize Gulf coast communities after the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster. She is also helping to spearhead a campaign along with Ultimate Civics to introduce a Constitutional amendment to end corporate personhood. Other citizens have been following Ott’s example in efforts to curb oil pollution of America's lands, rivers, and coastal waters. Past Presentation

The story of the worst environmental disaster you’ve never heard of: the Tar Creek Superfund site. Once one of the largest lead and zinc mines on the planet, Tar Creek is now home to more than 40 square miles of environmental devastation in northeastern Oklahoma: acid mine water in the creeks, stratospheric lead poisoning in the children, and sinkholes that melt backyards and ball fields. As Tar Creek reveals, America’s Superfund sites aren’t just environmental wastelands; they’re community tragedies, too. Until the community fights back. Past Presentation