Climate change

Inside Climate News - President Joe Biden’s administration unveiled its long-awaited proposal to protect workers from extreme heat at what might appear to be an appropriate time—amid a record-hot summer with millions of Americans sweltering under heat advisories. But the Occupational Health and Safety Administration proposed the nation’s first heat injury and illness protection standards on the heels of Supreme Court decisions that sharply limit the power of federal regulatory agencies. And the worker protection proposal—which Biden had promised during his first months in office—is coming so late in his first term that it is unlikely to be finalized by the end of the year.

Inside Climate News -  The National Inventory of Dams, a database managed by the Army Corps of Engineers, classifies the 114-year-old Rapidan as having a “significant” hazard potential while being in “poor” condition. Hazard potential indicates how likely a failure at a dam would threaten human life or cause property damage, with “significant” indicating a moderate risk and “high” indicating a high risk. Inside Climate News’ analysis of that database found that nearly 4,100 dams nationwide are in poor or unsatisfactory condition while also posing a potential threat to human life or property. In Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan, nearly 200 dams are in poor condition, and 13 are in poor condition while also posing a “high” hazard risk if any of them fail.

 

That means the plan could be stopped in its tracks if former president Donald Trump is elected in November. And even if Biden should gain a second term, the heat rule will be vulnerable to legal challenges by businesses or Republican-led states.