The Appalachian Trail Conservancy changes leadership
The Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC) has announced that current President and CEO, Suzanne Dixon, will resign from her position at the end of August. Dixon joined ATC in 2017 and says she is leaving after “deep reflection on my personal and professional needs.”
ATC’s new President and CEO will be Sandra Marra, who served as Chair on ATC’s Board of Directors. She has been on ATC’s Board of Managers since 1999. She joined ATC’s first Stewardship Council in 2005 and the ATC’s Board of Directors in 2008. She is also past president and honorary life member of the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club.
Marra has hiked over 1,200 miles of the Appalachian Trail and personally oversees three miles of the trail in Northern Virginia with her husband. “I am committed to fulfilling ATC’s mission to manage, protect and promote the Appalachian Trail, and to ensuring the trail is protected forever and for all.” Marra said in a statement. “I particularly look forward to the development of a new strategic plan that focuses on the issues the Appalachian Trail faces today.”
Trump’s drilling leases on public land could create more emissions than the entire EU produces
Since Donald Trump took office through April 2019, the United States has leased more than 378 million acres of public land and water for oil and gas drilling, The Guardian reports. A report by The Wilderness Society estimates that the emissions generated from drilling for and burning those fossil fuels could range between 845 million and 4.7 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent. The entire European Union produced about 4 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent during 2014, the last year when such figures were reported. Additionally, the Wilderness Society report states that the Trump administration has offered more public land for drilling than any other previous administration.
Arkansas is the latest state to ban calling veggie burgers and soy milk by their names
Arkansas is the latest state to forbid grocery stores from calling veggie burgers “veggie burgers” and soy milk “soy milk.” The ban also includes terms such as “veggie sausage,” and “vegan bacon.”
Supporters of the law say that it is necessary to clear up any consumer confusion. A shopper may see the word bacon, for example, and believe they are buying a meat-based product instead of a plant-based product. Opponents of the law say that the claim of consumer confusion is unfounded and that the real reason behind the ban is to support the meat and dairy industry by regulating their competitors.
The ACLU and the CEO of Tofurky are suing the state of Arkansas over the new law. Other states, including Mississippi and Louisiana, have passed similar laws and statutes.
