Southern Environmental Law Center

SELC staff attorney Josephus Allmond was recently a guest on a new podcast from GreeneHurlocker. Listen as he talks with Claire Gardener about energy legislation that he and the SELC team advanced during the most recent legislative session in Virginia: https://selc.link/3FU4sxN

Our future depends on frozen federal funding. Learn more about why we’re partnering with nonprofits and cities across the nation to sue the Trump administration: https://lnkd.in/eQyZ9AgW #ClimateChange #EnvironmentalPolicy #InflationReductionAct

Steven David Johnson pulls on his waders and lugs heavy camera equipment through the woods of the George Washington National Forest, about an hour from his home in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. These woods are home to vernal pools, temporary basins that fill up in spring from snowmelt and rainwater then dry up in summer. Johnson has fallen under the spell of this little-known type of wetland. “Vernal pools are ephemeral, that’s part of their magic,” explains Johnson, who reverently crouches down, genuflecting to the water, his voice hushed and soothing as if he’s in a baby’s nursery. Which he is. Vernal pools are basically aquatic cribs for next-gen salamanders and frogs wiggling into the world. While these types of ephemeral woodland wetlands are not explicitly protected federally or by the state, many of the endangered species dependent on them, like the tiger salamander, are. That’s why Johnson, a professor of photography at Eastern Mennonite University with a background in fine art, uses his images to raise awareness about these little-known aquatic havens. Plus, he loves the visual exquisiteness of vernal pools — how the water-filtered light imbues a Dutch Old Master quality to his artwork. “It’s a good day when I get that Vermeer lighting,” he says. Learn more about Steven David Johnson and other Southerners working to highlight the importance of our wetlands: https://selc.link/3E5LxQ5 Photos by Joel Caldwell, words by Stephanie Hunt.

The North Carolina Senate just voted to pass a bill that would undo a critical part of a bipartisan law that requires Duke Energy to reduce carbon pollution by 70% by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. The proposed bill, which now heads to the state House of Representatives, would remove the 2030 deadline and let Duke Energy increase customer rates for energy projects that are still under construction – a method that has led to massive bill increases in other states, like South Carolina – forcing customers to pay billions for cost overruns, project delays, and cancellations. Our communities deserve better than more carbon pollution and having our bills raised without sufficient customer protections and oversight. Take action by urging your representative to vote no on SB261: https://selc.link/41FmeMM. Read more: https://selc.link/4bFumRZ

?? Dr. Robert Bullard was really glad Pastor Timothy Williams, his daughter Melissa Williams and himself were able to attend the Southern Environmental Law Center Phillip D. Reed Environmental Writing Award LAST NIGHT to celebrate with Jared Kofsky, Maia Rosenfeld, and Steve Osunsami who won the award for their ABC News investigation, "Our Inheritance is Washing Away," a two-part story of highway flooding in Elba, Alabama #Shiloh community. Southern Environmental Law Center

We’re hard at work pushing the policies our communities need to address the climate crisis at that state level. Learn more about the incredible work Josephus and our Virginia team is doing:

The Trump administration’s suspension of a federal program is deeply impacting efforts to expand public access to electric vehicle charging. In Virginia, 51 of 53 planned projects are now on hold. Senior attorney Trip Pollard calls the federal funding freeze problematic and illegal and says it is creating a major roadblock to cleaner transportation. “I think there’s a real issue about the legality of what they’re doing, in addition to it being a very bad policy move,” he said: https://selc.link/4hmhvW5

We’re suing over the federal funding freeze: Since our nation’s founding, the Constitution has made it clear: Congress controls federal spending — not the president. Yet the Trump administration is unlawfully ignoring this fundamental principle. By freezing federal funding, they have blocked critical investments in energy-efficient affordable housing, food access programs, and support for local farmers — funding that is already strengthening our communities. That’s why we’re teaming up with the Public Rights Project to sue the administration on behalf of 17 nonprofits and cities across the nation that have been impacted by the unlawful freeze. This chaotic process is destroying their ability to do important work to create jobs and improve lives — it sends a message that our government can’t be trusted to honor its commitments. The administration’s wave of day-one executive orders not only halted this crucial funding but handed Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency the power to approve much of the future spending of these federal funds — a direct assault on the separation of powers that defines our democracy. We can’t afford this delay: Communities across the South are already grappling with devastating impacts from climate-driven extreme weather, and these funds are essential to providing a livable climate for future generations. The stakes are enormous: the South has received more than $20 billion in federal funding through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act. That investment has spurred an additional $78 billion in private sector growth and supports more than 432,000 jobs in our region. These essential federal funds were enacted by law. Freezing them is illegal and seeks to derail our climate progress and cause harm to our economy.

Rolling back wetland protections harms people as well as the amazing animal and plant life that depend on these special ecosystems. Here in the South, rare and common species alike live in a variety of wetland types that are being left increasingly unprotected.?Thankfully, we have strong Southern advocates standing up for wetland species--including two amazing women (Kat Diersen and Julie Moore) working on opposite ends of North Carolina to protect wetland-dwelling species. Learn more at the link below! https://lnkd.in/edR3TdYy

We've reached capacity for the in-person Reed Awards ceremony, but you can still join us virtually to celebrate some of the year's best environmental writing. Register: https://selc.link/3waMjqF