Environmental news from mainstream news sources Reuters, CNN, New York Times, Washington Post, Associated Press USA Today and BBC America.
- Are you Gen Z and concerned about money? We want to hear from you. Nearly three quarters of Gen Zers say this rough economic environment (aka higher debt, record housing costs, and punishing inflation) has made it harder to save money. But even as economists warn of a bumpy road ahead, some Zoomers are just saying This is Fine.
- The Sierra Club Tries to Move Past John Muir, George Floyd and #MeToo After a public reckoning and the departure of its executive director, the nation’s largest environmental organization has tapped Ben Jealous as its new leader.
- Meet the New Guardian of the Amazon Marina Silva, Brazil’s environment minister, has brought down deforestation rates before. Can she do it again?
- Depleted Under Trump, a ‘Traumatized’ E.P.A. Struggles With Its Mission Despite an injection of funding, the agency still has not recovered from an exodus of scientists and policy experts, both insiders and critics say.
- ESG beat Wall Street in one important way last yearESG funds — investments that evaluate companies using environmental, social and governance factors — just survived a tumultuous 2022. They also managed to perform in line with the general market while doing so, and attract new money — a good sign for the future of responsible investing.
- No One Is Coming for Your Gas Stove Anytime SoonSwitching from gas to electric stoves is seen as good for the environment — which has inspired a conservative backlash. But New York City’s prewar buildings make upgrading to nobler electric appliances challenging.
- Why Some Executives Wish E.S.G. ‘Just Goes Away’The environmental, social and corporate governance investment trend is booming, but it has also become a big distraction for business leaders.
- The future for gas stoves should be dimWarming oceans caused by fossil fuels endanger us all.
- Locally caught fish are full of dangerous chemicals called PFAS, study findsFish caught in the fresh waters of the nation's streams and rivers and the Great Lakes contain dangerously high levels of PFOS, short for perfluorooctane sulfonic acid, a known synthetic toxin phased out by the federal government, according to a study of data from the US Environmental Protection Agency.
- Can humanity's new giant leap into space succeed?Humanity is set for its next big leap into space with nations and private companies racing to build outposts on other worlds
- Why Michigan is trying to shut down Canada's Enbridge Line 5 pipelineAn ageing pipeline is at the centre of a heated debate about environmental and energy concerns.
- A Faked Kidnapping and Cocaine: A Montana Mine’s Descent Into ChaosThe Signal Peak Mine was embroiled in a web of criminal activity. Now, environmental groups want to shut it down.
- Your Gas Stove May Be Killing You. How Much Should You Worry?Cooking with gas may be unhealthy and bad for the environment, but it’s not clear induction is worth the cost. And have you considered a heat pump?
- Environmentalists have a blind spot in the debate over gas stovesBanning gas stoves is a boneheaded approach to the real, but modest, problems they present.
- Korean Solar Company Plans to Build $2.5 Billion Plant in GeorgiaHanwha Qcells expects to make solar panels and their components in the United States to take advantage of President Biden’s climate policies.
- England set to ban plastic cutlery to cut back on waste and marine environment pollutionA ban on single-use plastic cutlery and utensils in England will be announced this week, the Department for Environment Food & Rural Affairs said.
- Inside plans for Copenhagen's divisive artificial storm-absorbing peninsulaIn January 2022, a team of developers, architects and environmental consultants began work on a 50-year project that — if completed — will become one of Denmark's most ambitious and controversial infrastructure schemes to date: A 271-acre man-made peninsula devised to shield its capital, Copenhagen, from rising sea levels.
- Why Are Energy Prices So High? Some Experts Blame Deregulation.California and the 34 other states that have deregulated all or parts of their electricity system tend to have higher rates than the rest of the country.
- Is a Dam in Rural Portugal a Key to Our Alternative Energy Future?When the Portuguese electric power grid needs more electricity, a large multinational power company releases millions of gallons of water from a dammed reservoir.
- Why you should avoid online returns, according to the experts
- For Democrats, Spending Package Marked One Final OpportunityFor all their accomplishments in the past two years, Democrats face a far tougher environment to see most of their priorities through.
- Covid, chaos, cut corners: 22 ways flying had a bumpy ride in 2022It's been another tough year for aviation, as the world returned to flying after the Covid-19 pandemic, only for the industry to be beset by chaos and cancellations. There were silver linings, however, as the industry slowly recovered and progress was made in terms of more environmentally sustainable flying. Here are the highs and lows of what's been a bumpy ride.
- Electric Cars Are Taking Off, but When Will Battery Recycling Follow?Many companies and investors are eager to recycle batteries but it could take a decade or more before enough used lithium-ion batteries become available.
- Maine lobstermen could get a lifeline from the federal spending billLobstermen and women could be thrown a lifeline from the annual federal spending bill after the Maine congressional delegation secured a provision that puts a six-year pause on some stronger environmental regulations.
- Uranium mining is too risky for VirginiaThe reward of making a few rich is not worth the risk to our environment.
- Amazing US natural wonders not in national parks"National parks are the best idea we ever had," declared American writer and environmentalist Wallace Stegner. And like many great inventions, the park system became wildly popular.
- Company creates candy that contains 96% real fruit and vegetablesAmy Keller, the CEO of Climate Candy, shares why her company turns unharvested produce and other food waste into edible candy and how it can help protect the planet.
- GOP vs. ESG: Why Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Republicans are fighting 'woke' ESG investingWhy red states are pulling billions in pension funds from BlackRock and piling on investigations: ESG or environmental, social, governance principles.
- Canada's polar-bear capital Churchill warms too fast for bearsThe amount of time without sea-ice is becoming too long for the bears to survive, experts say.
- Congress Passed an $858 Billion Military Bill. Here’s What’s in It.Lawmakers approved an 8 percent overall budget increase, funding for Taiwan and Ukraine, and a slew of provisions focused on judicial security and environmental protections.
- Financial penalties might get companies to protect the environmentIt is a sad reality that certain businesses must be paid to do the right thing.
- Virgin to fly 'net-zero' transatlantic Boeing 787Virgin Atlantic plans to operate a Boeing 787 from London to New York, powered solely by waste oils and fats, a move hailed as a step toward reducing aviation's significant environmental impact.
- California Reduces Subsidies for Homes With Rooftop SolarThe decision, which would reduce the incentive for homeowners to install solar panels, could influence other states to make similar changes.
- Breakthrough in nuclear fusion energy announcedUS researchers have overcome a major barrier to achieving low-carbon nuclear fusion.
- Here's how many times you need to reuse your reusable grocery bagsThe battle against the single-use plastic bag may not be won but it's definitely under way.
- Nasa's Orion capsule makes safe return to EarthAfter a 26-day flight around the Moon, Nasa's future astronaut ship parachutes into the Pacific.
- Do you really need a new phone every 2 years? How to get more out of your devicesIf you're looking to replace or upgrade your smartphone in the coming year, take a beat and think it over. Do you really need a new phone, or do you simply have the urge to get the new, shiny tech? There are some issues to consider besides the new device's affordability.
- A lost ecosystem revealed in Greenland by oldest environmental DNAThe past is an ever-changing story, and this week, myriad discoveries added new details.
- Ski resorts are melting. Here's what that means for winter vacationsHow do you turn a ski resort "green?" The easy answer is to wait until summer.
- Qatar Extends Its Natural Gas Dominance at Russia’s ExpenseAs its influence grows, the country is poised to become a big energy supplier to Europe, which has turned away from Russia after its invasion of Ukraine.
- Covid-19 Isn’t a Pandemic of the Unvaccinated AnymoreThe uncomfortable truth is that it’s now more of a pandemic of the old.
- Period underwear is better for the environment, but does it work? Experts weigh inA period product that's eco-friendly, stylish and easy to use might sound impossible. But period underwear might be just that.
- U.S. Gas Prices Are Now Lower Than a Year AgoA visible symbol of inflation for much of the year, prices at the pump have been driven down by reduced global demand and tumbling oil prices.
- The Italian city where the houses are fit for royaltyIt's the Italian city home to palaces so spectacular that they're UNESCO World Heritage sites. A city that was once home to so much wealth that the local aristocracy lived in environments literally fit for a king, and the place where Rubens began his great artistic career.
- Opinion: The fear for our LGBTQ family that never goes awayThere is a pit that sits in my gut. I always feel it. It's a ball of anxiety that is proportionate to the sociopolitical environment and the perceived safety of my LGBTQ family at any given time.
- As Climate Protests Get Bolder, British Police Strike Back With New PowersNew rules curtailing protests have alarmed some who fear an erosion of civil rights. They come as environmental protesters have intensified their tactics to draw attention to climate change.
- CNN reporter dives with sharks with no cageCNN's Patrick Oppmann explores Cuba's efforts to protect sharks and attract visitors through shark tourism.
- Jackson, Mississippi, city council approves agreement with EPA to establish federal oversight of long-term water crisis solutionsThe Jackson, Mississippi, city council voted Thursday to approve a legal agreement with the Environmental Protection Agency which aims to find a long-term solution to the city's water crisis.
- Inside the effort to rehabilitate Brazil's forestsCNN's Paula Newton goes inside the effort to restore Brazil's Atlantic Forest, and reports that after years of deforestation under President Jair Bolsonaro, environmentalists are hopeful President-elect Lula Da Silva will reverse the trend.
- The Global Carbon Surveillance State Is ComingThe conventional picture of climate change and what is causing it is about to change.
- Nasa's Artemis Moon rocket lifts off EarthNasa launches the most powerful rocket in its history as it kick-starts efforts to get humans back to the Moon.
- Paying for Climate Damage Isn’t CharityThey’re a down payment on a more stable future.
- Price of Diesel, Which Powers the Economy, Is Still ClimbingRussia’s invasion of Ukraine is one reason that the fuel is scarce. Another is a series of yearslong, intertwined events that cover the globe.
- Herman Daly, 84, Who Challenged the Economic Gospel of Growth, DiesPerhaps the best-known ecological economist, he faulted his mainstream peers for failing to account for the environmental harm growth can bring.
- Smartphones Are Like Cars. So Why Don’t We Maintain Them?Regularly replacing our phones takes a toll on our wallets and the environment. We should instead take care of them as we do our cars.
- Who’s Driving Climate Change? New Data Catalogs 72,000 Polluters and CountingA nonprofit backed by Al Gore and other big environmental donors says it can track emissions down to individual power plants, oil fields and cargo ships.
- Analysis: A dispirited nation worn down by crises votes todayA dispirited nation worn down by crises and economic anxieties votes Tuesday in an election that is more likely to cement its divides than promote unity.
- For many Americans, this election is differentA teacher at a community college in Texas working, in her words, "in an environment that feels more and more like a prison." A lawyer from Massachusetts whose pregnant girlfriend got an abortion many decades ago and now -- on the flip side of the separate, successful lives they both went on to live -- says the "thought of women of reproductive age being forced to birth an unwanted child into almost inevitable poverty and abuse by an uncaring government is not a part of my vision of what America is about." A New Yorker who after losing her father…
- How human composting could reduce death's carbon footprintYou probably know that composting banana peels and eggshells can help reduce your negative impact on the environment. But did you know that, once you die, you can do that with your body, too?
- Officials say tribute to Dobby the house elf can stay -- so long as visitors stop leaving socksWelsh environmental officials have asked dedicated Harry Potter fans to please stop leaving socks on the grave of Dobby the house elf.
- Battle Over Deep-Sea Mining Takes on New Urgency as Trial Run Winds DownA Canadian company is testing mining equipment in the Pacific Ocean in its quest for metals needed for electric vehicles. Environmentalists oppose the mining, which could begin in 2024.
- China Is Burning More Coal, a Growing Climate ChallengeThe country’s emissions of greenhouse gases rose last year at the fastest pace in a decade. Beijing is looking for alternatives.
- 'Compostable plastic' doesn't live up to its environmental claimsIt's no longer a secret that single-use plastic is harming the planet. Not only does the process of creating these materials emit enormous amounts of planet-warming gases, but they also can take centuries to decompose in a landfill.
- Why Election Experts Are So Confused About the 2022 Turnout MysteryIt’s a unique midterm year, with a Republican-friendly environment, an abortion ruling energizing Democrats, and increased partisanship in how people cast ballots.
- Analysis: The bottom is dropping out of the 2022 election for DemocratsWith just a week left until the 2022 midterm elections, the political environment appears to be eroding rapidly for Democrats -- especially in areas where the party has long held sway.
- Underwater real estate? A piece of submerged land in Florida is selling for $43 million.Buying and selling submerged land is not for the faint of heart with years-long legal battles and environmental pushback derailing many new projects.
- Kanye West's antisemitism did what his anti-Blackness did not. And some people have a problem with that• Exclusive: A former executive alleges Kanye West created a hostile work environment, in part over his Hitler 'obsession'
