Environment

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — As climate change pushes states in the U.S. to dramatically cut their use of fossil fuels, many are coming to the conclusion that solar, wind and other renewable power sources might not be enough to keep... Read More

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Their state budgets flush with cash, Democratic and Republican governors alike want to spend some of the windfall on projects aimed at slowing climate change and guarding against its consequences, from floods and wildfires to dirty... Read More

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — An undersea volcano erupted in spectacular fashion Saturday near the Pacific nation of Tonga, sending large tsunami waves crashing across the shore and people rushing to higher ground. A tsunami advisory was in effect for... Read More

WASHINGTON — California fire officials this week accelerated calls for drastic action to confront global warming when they blamed overhead power lines for the second biggest wildfire in the state’s history. The Dixie Fire burned nearly 1 million acres last... Read More

WASHINGTON — The blue economy is a critical subset of the ocean economy, according to Jason Scorse, director of the Center for the Blue Economy. And while some people may use the terms blue economy and ocean economy synonymously, he... Read More

WASHINGTON — Over 227 million Americans play video games, according to a survey of the Entertainment Software Association. But while people want to play games for fun, industry sees games as a powerful communication tool that can inspire players to... Read More

WASHINGTON — With little doubt some version of the Build Back Better Act will win final approval within days, on Thursday a congressional panel discussed how to get the greatest environmental benefit from it. Democrats said that after the infrastructure... Read More

WASHINGTON — It wasn’t noted on his public schedule today, but President Joe Biden on Wednesday rolled out a plan to make the federal government carbon neutral by 2050. “The federal government faces broad exposure to the mounting risks and... Read More

RESERVE, La. (AP) — Michael Coleman's house is the last one standing on his tiny street, squeezed between a sprawling oil refinery whose sounds and smells keep him up at night and a massive grain elevator that covers his pickup... Read More

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court ruled this week that Tennessee and Mississippi must limit their use of water from an underground aquifer to give each other a chance at it. The ruling takes on added significance as global warming... Read More

WASHINGTON — A new, groundbreaking study suggests not only is there strong bipartisan support for corporate efforts to address environmental, social and governance challenges, but that the bipartisan appeal of these initiatives dramatically increases among Americans under the age of... Read More

WASHINGTON — Representatives from more than 100 countries recently gathered in Glasgow, Scotland, for the COP26 climate conference in an effort to pledge commitments and action against climate change, especially actions to prevent temperatures from rising above 2 degrees Celsius,... Read More

WASHINGTON — House Democrats succeeded in including a proposed fee on methane emissions in the Build Back Better Act, but the measure will have to endure scrutiny from centrist Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., before it becomes law. The Democrats' framework... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats brushed aside months-long divisions and approached House passage of their expansive social and environment bill Friday, as President Joe Biden and his party neared a defining win in their drive to use their control of government... Read More

LOS ANGELES — Research published this week by scientists from UCLA and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory explains that the main cause of increasingly frequent wildfires throughout the western United States is human-made climate change. The researchers identified vapor pressure deficit... Read More

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court is headed toward a landmark decision on greenhouse gas emissions as climate change moved to the forefront of international politics Monday. The Supreme Court plans to hear a case that contests the authority of the... Read More

GENEVA (AP) — Greenhouse gas concentrations hit a new record high last year and increased at a faster rate than the annual average for the last decade despite a temporary reduction during pandemic lockdowns, the World Meteorological Organization said in... Read More

This article is by Prachi Patel and was originally published by Anthropocene magazine. Plastics are not just smothering our lands and oceans, they are also in the air we breathe. Microscopic pieces of plastic get swept up from the Earth’s surface into the atmosphere... Read More

This week, the Environmental Protection Agency released a new roadmap to accelerate efforts to protect Americans from per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, a class of toxic chemicals found in food packaging and other common commercial products that can cause severe health... Read More

LONDON (AP) — The world needs to cut by more than half its production of coal, oil and gas in the coming decade to maintain a chance of keeping global warming from reaching dangerous levels, according to a U.N.-backed study... Read More

Scott Breneman told a congressional subcommittee Monday about how his fishing business was upended by the Orange County oil spill discovered off California’s coast on October 1. After a day of fishing 90 miles off the coast, “We were coming... Read More

This article is by Prachi Patel and was originally published by Anthropocene magazine. The world was already drowning in plastic when the Covid-19 pandemic hit. The use of protective equipment and surge in takeout and home delivery more than doubled the world’s plastic... Read More

HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. (AP) — A Southern California beach that was closed more than a week ago because of a leak of crude oil from an undersea pipeline reopened on Monday, far sooner than many expected, Huntington Beach's city and... Read More

WASHINGTON -- More than 20 federal agencies released their plans Thursday to adapt to climate change in response to an order from President Joe Biden. The plans explain how they will maintain the continuity of government service despite rising temperatures... Read More

WASHINGTON -- The White House Council on Environmental Quality is restoring provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act set aside by the Trump administration to bolster the environmental review process for a wide range of projects. The former president, a... Read More

DETROIT - General Motors and GE Renewable Energy, a subsidiary of the General Electric Co., have signed an agreement to develop supply chains supporting the manufacturing of electric vehicles and renewable energy equipment. What both companies are calling a “non-binding... Read More

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California has been a leader in restricting offshore oil drilling since the infamous 1969 Santa Barbara spill that sparked the modern environmental movement, and the latest spill off Huntington Beach is prompting fresh calls for an... Read More

LOS ANGELES (AP) — An anchored cargo ship in the Pacific is not a fixed point — it's different than parking a car. Even then, with a multi-ton anchor and brawny steel chains resting on the seabed, the massive vessels... Read More

BENICIA, Calif. (AP) — The machine Ted Bowman helped design can make water out of the air, and in parched California, some homeowners are already buying the pricey devices. The air-to-water systems work like air conditioners by using coils to... Read More

WASHINGTON -- Forestry industry executives told a congressional panel Wednesday many of the solutions to climate change lie in the woodlands but public policy sometimes puts an environmental fix out of reach. Part of the answer could be as easy... Read More