Environment

The Pew Charitable Trusts—together with fiscal conservatives, engineers and architects, emergency managers, and insurance representatives—sent a letter to the White House Monday urging tougher standards for building or rebuilding homes and other structures in areas at risk of flooding. The recent devastation caused by Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria underscores that now more than... Read More

From centuries-old redwood forests to panoramic deserts and Arctic tundra, America’s public lands are among the most beautiful and diverse in the world. They filter our air, preserve clean drinking water, and provide vital habitat for bears, birds, salamanders, and many other species. As President Teddy Roosevelt noted, “We have fallen heirs to the most glorious heritage a people ever... Read More

The United States needs a national discussion on how to prevent the level of devastation in Houston and Florida from happening again. With large swaths of the South still flooded, that conversation should begin now. Better storm preparedness could have helped lessen the damage from Harvey and Irma, and governments at all levels should invest in readying vulnerable American cities for severe... Read More

Today, when fishing nations negotiate catch quotas for Atlantic and Pacific bluefin tuna, they generally assume that more fishing is always better for the industry. However, a new study underscores what producers of other commodities, such as corn or oil, already know: Increased global supply can mean less revenue. In this case, those who fish for these valuable bluefin species would make less... Read More

In April, President Donald Trump directed the Department of the Interior to review 27 national monuments, designated since 1996, for possible reduction or elimination. During the 120-day review, the department announced that it would recommend no changes for six of them.  Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke was expected to publicly reveal in late August his recommendations for the remaining 21... Read More

The Pew Charitable Trusts—together with fiscal conservatives, engineers and architects, emergency managers, and insurance representatives—sent a letter to the White House Monday urging tougher standards for building or rebuilding homes and other structures in areas at risk of flooding. The recent devastation caused by Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria underscores that now more than... Read More

From centuries-old redwood forests to panoramic deserts and Arctic tundra, America’s public lands are among the most beautiful and diverse in the world. They filter our air, preserve clean drinking water, and provide vital habitat for bears, birds, salamanders, and many other species. As President Teddy Roosevelt noted, “We have fallen heirs to the most glorious heritage a people ever... Read More

The United States needs a national discussion on how to prevent the level of devastation in Houston and Florida from happening again. With large swaths of the South still flooded, that conversation should begin now. Better storm preparedness could have helped lessen the damage from Harvey and Irma, and governments at all levels should invest in readying vulnerable American cities for severe... Read More

Today, when fishing nations negotiate catch quotas for Atlantic and Pacific bluefin tuna, they generally assume that more fishing is always better for the industry. However, a new study underscores what producers of other commodities, such as corn or oil, already know: Increased global supply can mean less revenue. In this case, those who fish for these valuable bluefin species would make less... Read More

In April, President Donald Trump directed the Department of the Interior to review 27 national monuments, designated since 1996, for possible reduction or elimination. During the 120-day review, the department announced that it would recommend no changes for six of them.  Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke was expected to publicly reveal in late August his recommendations for the remaining 21... Read More

Superlatives can only begin to capture the severity of this hurricane season. Hurricane Irma churned for days as the strongest storm ever recorded in the Atlantic Ocean. It drenched states in the Southeast after leaving a trail of destruction across the Caribbean and Florida. This latest catastrophe comes only two weeks after Hurricane Harvey redefined flooding disasters in the United States. Read More

The Pew Bertarelli Ocean Legacy Project applauds the Chilean government’s declaration today of the Rapa Nui (Easter Island) Rahui Marine Protected Area (MPA) to safeguard the waters surrounding the iconic Pacific Ocean island, which is known—as are its inhabitants—as Rapa Nui. Read More

The Pew Charitable Trusts expressed concern today about the Bureau of Land Management’s recommendations for changes in the management of sage-grouse habitat on public lands across the West. These recommendations stem from Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke’s order in June that directed an agency review team to assess federal and state conservation efforts that were the result of years of... Read More

The public comment period on 22 national land monuments proposed for possible modification or elimination has ended. Now Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has the task of weighing the enormous outpouring of submissions as he considers his recommendations to President Donald J. Trump, expected by the end of August. Read More

Please join The Pew Charitable Trusts for an online briefing of research examining the flood risk faced by public schools. Flooding is the most common and costly natural disaster in the United States and affects nearly every facet of a community’s infrastructure. Read More

The devastating floods from Hurricane Harvey have left thousands of Texas residents homeless. As the recovery begins, we’re rebroadcasting a recent conversation at Pew between Joseph Riley, the former mayor of Charleston, South Carolina, who’s now a Pew distinguished fellow, and Jim Brainard, six-term mayor of Carmel, Indiana, in which they discussed their cities’ experiences... Read More

Forage fish, the small, often schooling species that support the marine food web, are now protected from unsustainable fishing along the U.S. Atlantic coast. Here are a just a few of the species safeguarded and the marine predators that depend on them. Read More

Coastal counties are home to 39 percent of the nation’s population and are at risk for floods and hurricanes, the fastest-growing and costliest disaster threats in the U.S. In Part 2 of “The Financial Toll of Flooding,” learn more about what happens after flooding occurs, as Pew’s Fred Baldassaro travels to Norfolk, Virginia, to speak with Skip Stiles, founder and... Read More

It’s hurricane season—and extreme weather events are on the rise. Along with the catastrophic losses that families face after the flood is the economic burden on taxpayers through the National Flood Insurance Program. It’s the financial lifeline for those who carry flood insurance and an essential funding source for both disaster preparation and recovery efforts. However, the program is also $25... Read More

The nation’s 96,000 public schools are more than places of learning for the 50 million students who enter their doors each day. They often provide meeting space for community groups and shelter residents during and after severe storms. More than half were built in the last century for the baby boomer generation and were not designed for today’s changing weather conditions. When communities flood,... Read More