Climate Change

Federal environmental regulators Thursday repealed the bedrock finding that climate change endangers human health. It authorized the EPA to regulate planet-warming emissions as part of the Clean Air Act and to limit greenhouse gas emissions from cars and trucks. Experts say the repeal will worsen climate change and have a negative impact on industries across the state.

Montana’s largest utility is planning how it’s going to generate power and meet rising demand in the era of data centers. The company is now soliciting public feedback on that draft plan. MTPR’s Ellis Juhlin attended a recent meeting in Missoula and reports.

In this episode of “Grounding” season two, Sarah Aronson talks to Hannah Dusek and Jonathan Marquis, two artists who turned to their respective media—dancing and drawing—to help them make meaning during the climate crisis. Aronson’s been searching for names for our feelings, like “dissonance” and “the myth of apathy.” It turns out that a lot of people have experienced these sensations but just haven't been able to name them. Sometimes, when words aren’t enough, Aronson, too, turns to art to face the dissonance that comes with watching a world she loves change—complex feelings that are intensified as animals, plants and glaciers disappear.

In this episode of “Grounding,” season two, Sarah Aronson talks to Renee Lertzman and Panu Pihkala, two experts in the field of climate emotions, who offer models for processing our feelings as well as understanding why we assume people don’t care about the environment when they actually might. Aronson explores how language can be helpful in identifying what we’re feeling.

In this episode of “Grounding,” season two, host Sarah Aronson talks to Peter McDonough—director of the Climate Change Studies Program at the University of Montana—his students, and another educator at the intersection of climate change and mental health at UM, Jen Robohm, about the dissonance of climate change. Aronson explores this friction in order to better understand the times we’re living in, and how to live well in spite of compounding stressors. Though there might end up being more questions than answers this season, it’s clear that the answer to the central question, “Are we alone?” is unequivocally, “no.”

The Montana Supreme Court has rejected a petition from young climate activists to strike down several environmental laws.

Last week’s atmospheric river dropped over 12 inches of rain across northwest Montana, melting snow and triggering flooding across the region. December rains are more likely as a result of human-caused climate change, says State Climatologist Kelsey Jencso.

A group of young Montanans are asking the state Supreme Court to overturn new laws that weaken the state’s ability to regulate planet warming emissions, and exclude some fossil fuel projects from environmental review. This filing comes a year after they won a landmark ruling over Montana's constitutional right to a "clean and healthful environment."

Federal officials have rejected an offer to mine coal on federal lands in southeastern Montana. It was the only bid for the lease following the Trump administration's push for increased fossil fuel extraction.

A federal judge Wednesday dismissed a climate lawsuit brought by a group of young people in Missoula. In their case, they requested the court strike down Trump administration executive orders promoting fossil fuel development.