#nepa

[vuelode-irbis]

Little thing I made for the anniversary of my cat's death. Every year I wanted to make something for her, but I could never think of anything, I had this dream some days ago and I decided that was it. I learned the lesson long ago, and I'm glad I could combine it in a comic.

I drew many cats, hehe, drawing them my whole life with her being my favorite model has brought me to this moment and I think that's great.

The ID is in ALT but I'll put it below a cut here + a bonus image of the last page in which my cat is not transparent, since I remembered how much I liked her pelt while painting it.

[ID:

Two drawings made with watercolor texture. The first one shows a white cat nursing five kittens that were just born, they're all close to her belly: two white ones, a black and white one, a completely black one and a tortoiseshell with white paws and nose. Text above reads: "I dreamt that you were born again. You and your whole litter". The second drawing shows two hands holding the tortoiseshell kitten, which is asleep. Text above says "I was very happy because I'd be able to look out for you like I couldn't when I was six years old".

Two drawings with a harsher texture. First one shows the palm of a hand, empty, with a grey cloud as background. The text above this reads: "I realized when I woke up". The drawing below shows a person sitting down in their bed, their hair messy, looking down at the plushes in the bed: a white cat holding a red heart, a black-footed ferret, a plant cell and a tortoiseshell cat with white nose and paws. The text says: "That kitten wasn't you".

The first drawings casts a plush cat, tortoiseshell with white paws, belly and nose, she has green eyes and a name plate with the shape of a heart that reads "Manchitas", she also has her toy tag behind her hind leg. The text reads: In esence, it was you, Nepabla, but that was not your pelt, but Manchitas'". The drawing below is a table with some keys, headphones and the photo of a cat lying down in the grass, her pelt is black, grey and brown and she has white legs and muzzle. Text above this says: "That was dissapointing, it's been a while since I last dreamt of you, even though I remember you everyday".

The drawing above shows two cats, one black with green eyes, looking up at the viewer, and a slender, tortoiseshell-and-white one also with green eyes, this one is looking at something in front of her. The text says "I don't believe dreams have a meaning, but if I had to interpret this one,"

The drawing below shows the same person from before, walking in the street and running into a white cat with long fur, which looks a little dirty and is rising their tail. The person stops to pet them, smiling. Text above continues "I'd say I do have the opprtunity to take better care of all the cats I haven't owned yet, although they're not you".

A single drawing that shows the legs of the person, in which a ghostly cat is rubbing herself against. This cat, Nepabla, is the one from the photo: a black, grey and brownish one with white legs, belly and muzzle. She lifts her front legs as she rubs herself in my legs and her tail is up. There's text above and below that reads "And you will be with me even though I can't pet you anymore. I miss you".

End ID.]

I really liked her pelt, her name is an acronym for Black with White Paws in Spanish because that's what my father said she looked like when she was born, but as she grew her pelt showed itself and we relized whe was not entirely black lol. I also really loved how not all of her legs were equally white, me and my brother would say she had a shoe, a long sock and two boots.

[ID: the same drawing from the last panel, except the cat is not transparent. End ID]

[the-gone-ton]

Wyoming Valley Mall is a Crown American mall out in Wilkes-Barre. The interior isn't anything too special in my opinion, but that Sears exterior is great! The Bon-Ton was renovated shortly before they went out of business, but originally it was an Allentown-based Zollinger-Harned department store, then Hess's, then Bon-Ton. Last pic is a closed Orange Julius, one of my faves.

[thebohemianloner]

Bushkill Falls • “Niagara of Pennsylvania”

[preservationofmoments]

[yumekuimono]

NEPA is not being rescinded & that rule doesn't mean what you think it does

you may have seen this post going around claiming that USAmericans have until March 27 to comment before NEPA laws will be rescinded and we will lose clean air and water protections

this is wildly incorrect

the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) is statutory law enacted by Congress. it cannot be rescinded by administrative agency action (the thing OP asks you to comment on is a proposed agency action)

also, clean air and clean water are regulated under the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act, respectively. these are separate laws from NEPA. they are not at stake here.

so what is this proposed agency action actually about? let me explain

some disclaimers:

I am not a lawyer

I am currently taking an environmental law class, so I have some overview-level background info on NEPA and CEQ

I did read the full text of the proposed rule. I would encourage you to read it too. most of the details in this post come directly from the rule itself

here is a link to the proposed rule (OP links this as well): https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/02/25/2025-03014/removal-of-national-environmental-policy-act-implementing-regulations

to start off, some background:

there's two aspects of NEPA that are relevant here

NEPA requires federal administrative agencies to consider the impact of their actions on the environment. the big way they do this is by issuing an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and soliciting public comment on it

NEPA also created the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ). this agency does a few things, mostly related to advising the president on environmental policy

also, administrative agencies have what is called "delegated authority." they can only act in the ways that Congress or the President have expressly authorized them to. if they try to act without this permission, that is unconstitutional and that action will be reversed

so, in 1977, President Carter issued Executive Order 11991 directing CEQ to create regulations for federal agencies to follow when implementing NEPA requirements

these are procedural details. stuff like how to make the EIS process more useful to decision makers, reducing paperwork, requiring that an EIS be "concise, clear, and to the point." it's not about what agencies need to do to comply with NEPA, but how they should do it

these are the regulations that this rule is proposing to rescind

why?

well, because Donald Trump has directed CEQ to make this proposal. more importantly, he has revoked EO 11991

remember the concept of "delegated authority"? EO 11991 gave CEQ the authority to issue these regulations. without that EO in place, CEQ no longer has the necessary authority, and so the regulations cannot stand. they must be rescinded

(also it seems like there have been some recent court cases challenging CEQ's regulatory authority anyway)

if this is so cut and dry, what are the public comments for?

to quote Section III.B: "To the extent that public comment may inform CEQ as to whether it has legal authority to make a different choice than the one it has taken in this interim final rule, CEQ's solicitation of public comment ... is intended to accommodate that possibility."

basically, CEQ is acknowledging that they could be proven wrong, however unlikely that may be

but unless you're an expert on administrative law and can find some other source of delegated authority for CEQ to rely on that isn't the now-revoked EO 11991, public comment is pretty irrelevant in this case (sorry to quash your civic participation)

but...this rule is still, like, bad, right?

yeah, somewhat

it's not gonna lead to environmental catastrophe or rampant pollution

it will probably make the federal government less efficient and more difficult for other organizations to work with, as now every administrative agency will have their own rules for how they go about implementing NEPA and they'll probably all be slightly different and it'll be a pain in the ass to coordinate them all when agencies and organizations need to work together on a joint EIS

mostly, this rule is bad because it's one more instance in the ongoing pattern of Donald Trump taking authority and independence away from administrative agencies to consolidate it for himself

maybe you want to argue that he's "draining the swamp" or "fighting government overreach" or whatever, but effective leaders know how to delegate, and this is the opposite of that

I don't have a snappy, panic-inducing call to action to end this post with. the proposed rule at issue here is not a snappy, panic-inducing sort of rule. but maybe take the time to fully read and try to understand these sorts of things before you work yourself into a lather on the word of an inflammatory social media post. you might find out that it's not really what it seems

[leatherpearlslace]

Northeastern Pennsylvania February 23, 2025

[altfedarchy]

Call to Action! BLM Lithium Mining Public Comment - Due March 31st by 10:59 PM Pacific Time!

Y'all. BLM is trying to push through a FONSI (Finding of No Significant Impact) for a proposed lithium mine in eastern Oregon. First of all, I call BS on this being a FONSI. Second, they only opened a five day public comment period!

Someone created this great document to walk you through submitting your comments: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1IOoH8Atu6xJIlZSn389UuWz2mWM4vxEdgNz7U3ypW0w/edit?tab=t.0

Please go submit your comments ASAP! Anyone can do this (no identifying information is needed), so go for it non-US peeps!

[disasterblaster]

Not sure when you should start getting ready for Thanksgiving?

Here's a handy chart to help you plan for your Thanksgiving Dinner!

Please feel free to share this with your friends and family. We hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving!

#thanksgiving #thanksgiving2024 #thanksgivingdinner #turkey #turkeyday #happyturkeyday #home #house #fire #cook #cooking #realestate #realtor #DisasterBlaster #scranton #wilkesbarre #hazleton #nepa

[elymaiis]

So, what part of Pennsylvania are you from?

photos from Benton, PA

[rjzimmerman]

Excerpt from this New York Times story:

The Biden administration on Tuesday released rules designed to speed up permits for clean energy while requiring federal agencies to more heavily weigh damaging effects on the climate and on low-income communities before approving projects like highways and oil wells.

As part of a deal to raise the country’s debt limit last year, Congress required changes to the National Environmental Policy Act, a 54-year-old bedrock law that requires the government to consider environmental effects and to seek public input before approving any project that necessitates federal permits.

That bipartisan debt ceiling legislation included reforms to the environmental law designed to streamline the approval process for major construction projects, such as oil pipelines, highways and power lines for wind- and solar-generated electricity. The rules released Tuesday, by the White House Council on Environmental Quality, are intended to guide federal agencies in putting the reforms in place.

But they also lay out additional requirements created to prioritize projects with strong environmental benefits, while adding layers of review for projects that could harm the climate or their surrounding communities.

“These reforms will deliver smarter decisions, quicker permitting, and projects that are built better and faster,” said Brenda Mallory, chair of the council. “As we accelerate our clean energy future, we are also protecting communities from pollution and environmental harms that can result from poor planning and decision making while making sure we build projects in the right places.”

The move comes as President Biden rushes to push through a slew of major environmental rules ahead of November’s presidential election, including policies to limit climate-warming pollution from cars, trucks, power plants and oil and gas wells; to protect the habitats of the sage grouse and other endangered species; to ban asbestos; and to remove so-called forever chemicals from tap water.

[obsessore]

NEPA just got fucked 😭😭😭

us court rulings are ruining everything 😭

[roomselfcontain2]

First apartment tips 2 bed for rent visit website brand new small room ideas on a low budget cute modern home with pop false ceiling interior only two tenants in the compound already painted white pay and parking immediately located at igwuruta area in port Harcourt city rivers state Nigeria

[the-gone-ton]

As a fake skylight enjoyer, Laurel Mall is right up my alley. It's obviously a very old mall with few updates since it opened, but it still does good business. Here we have a very exciting relic, a back door plaque that still says McCrory's! Also we have a former Kmart anchor that has a Little Caesars labelscar on it, and a FYE converted into a performing arts center. The Kmart closing picture isn't mine, it's just here for comparison.

[thebohemianloner]

Resica Falls • Delaware Water Gap, PA • January 2024

[marywoodartdept]

Barbie Letterpress

This summer Becca is doing an internship at The Workshop letterpress studio in downtown Scranton, PA. On the first Friday of each month, the shop opens its doors to visitors for an art walk. Check out her Barbie letterpress #MarywoodArt #Printmaking

[iamcinema]

Hey, everyone. Here's the newest update about the film festival that Bill is going to be at in a few weeks.

I know I was curious about the merch table this year so I know how prepared to be. If the event runners announce what everything looks like, I'll drop photos. The same goes for swag bag stuff for the event, like shirts, pamphlets, stickers, magnets, and whatever those rascals have up their sleeve.

If you want to know more, check out the event's page on Facebook because they announced whose going to be there as far as food vendors goes. You may be interested in hitting up a particular vendor since they may or may not have Bill merch of their own. I will say, I'm a bit sad that a local horror diner, Choptop's isn't showing up. But they're about ten or so minutes north of the location.

Also, I'm not too sure whose going to be playing this year and those will likely be announced over the next few weeks. So if you're up for seeing what that's like, stay tuned on the event page. Most of the bands have always been relatively local or Pennsylvania based, but last year we had one act who came from Baltimore, so what do I know.

Make your summer spooky and consider coming by if you're free or looking for something to do. If you're in the area, there's going to be a pre-event the night before on the 16th at, I believe, The V-Spot, showcasing some of the musical acts and local artists.