Tag Archives: environment

New York State Readies For March 1st Plastic Bag Ban

The West Side Rag reports: If you don’t own reusable shopping bags, now is the time to invest in some. You may also want to stockpile your favorite take-out plastic bags. Starting March 1, stores in New York State will be banned from giving single-use plastic bags to customers at checkout as the New York State Bag Waste Reduction Law …

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NOAA: January Was Hottest Ever In Recorded History

From the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration: In the span of 141 years of climate records, there has never been a warmer January than last month, according to scientists at NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information. What’s more, the temperature departure from average was the highest monthly departure ever recorded without an El Niño present in the tropical Pacific Ocean. …

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Interior OKs Mining, Drilling In National Monuments

Roll Call reports: Mining, logging and drilling in areas of southern Utah once part of two national monuments would be allowed under plans finalized Thursday by the Interior Department, igniting the anger of conservation groups and congressional Democrats. President Donald Trump drew the ire of tribes and environmentalists when he issued proclamations in December 2017 significantly reducing the size of …

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Scientists Report Antarctica’s Highest-Ever Temperature

The Washington Post reports: Just days after the earth saw its warmest January on record, Antarctica has broken its warmest temperature ever recorded. A reading of 65 degrees was taken at Esperanza Base along Antarctica’s Trinity Peninsula on Thursday, making it the ordinarily frigid continent’s highest measured temperature in history. The Argentine research base is on the northern tip of …

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Climate Change Models Are “Running Very Hot”

Bloomberg Green reports: There are dozens of climate models, and for decades they’ve agreed on what it would take to heat the planet by about 3° Celsius. It’s an outcome that would be disastrous—flooded cities, agricultural failures, deadly heat—but there’s been a grim steadiness in the consensus among these complicated climate simulations. Then last year, unnoticed in plain view, some …

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Trump Admin To Gut Protections For Migratory Birds

The New York Times reports: The Trump administration will move on Thursday to weaken a century-old law protecting migratory birds by dropping the threat of punishment to oil and gas companies, construction crews and other organizations that kill birds “incidentally” in the course of their operations. With the outcome of November’s presidential election uncertain, the Trump administration is moving quickly …

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Trump Admin To Finalize End To Wetlands Protections

Time Magazine reports: The Trump administration on Thursday will finalize a rule to strip away environmental protections for streams, wetlands and other water bodies, handing a victory to farmers, fossil fuel producers and real estate developers who said Obama-era rules had shackled them with onerous and unnecessary burdens. From Day 1 of his administration, President Trump vowed to repeal President …

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SPAIN: Govt Declares National Climate Emergency

The Associated Press reports: Spain’s new government declared a national climate emergency on Tuesday, taking a formal first step toward enacting ambitious measures to fight climate change. The declaration approved by the Cabinet says the left-of-center Socialist government will send to parliament within 100 days its proposed climate legislation. The targets coincide with those of the European Union, including a …

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Reindeer Herds Imperiled By Climate Change

The Associated Press reports: Inga is troubled: His reindeer are hungry, and he can do little about it. Climate change is altering weather patterns here and affecting the herd’s food supply. “If we don’t find better areas for them where they can graze and find food, then the reindeers will starve to death,” he said. Already pressured by the mining …

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Nation’s Largest Private Coal Producer Goes Bankrupt

The Columbus Dispatch reports: Murray Energy Corp., the U.S. coal giant that had pressed the Trump administration for help, has filed for bankruptcy. The largest closely held coal miner in America failed to make multiple payments to lenders this month, prompting a deal with creditors that will see them make a “stalking horse” bid under Chapter 11 bankruptcy to exchange …

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CANADA: Oil Truckers Convoy Against Greta Thunberg

The CBC reports: A group of oil and gas supporters is planning a counter-rally when Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg shows up at the Alberta legislature in Edmonton on Friday. Glen Carritt, who organized the United We Roll convoy that travelled to Ottawa in February, said a similar convoy will start in Red Deer, Alta., on Friday morning and make …

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Trump Orders Lift On Logging Ban In Alaska Rainforest

The Washington Post reports: The Trump administration Tuesday proposed allowing logging on more than half of Alaska’s 16.7 million-acre Tongass National Forest, the largest intact temperate rainforest in North America. President Trump instructed federal officials to reverse long-standing limits on tree cutting at the request of Alaska’s top elected officials, on the grounds that it will boost the local economy. …

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Trump Seeks To Gut Restrictions On Mining Companies

Trump’s rape of the environment proceeds unchecked: “The Trump administration is dedicated to enhancing the exploration and development of federal solid mineral resources in an environmentally conscious manner,” said Interior Secretary David Bernhardt in a statement. “By eliminating burdensome regulations, the U.S. will have a stronger foothold to compete globally in non-energy, solid, leasable commodities markets and increase job opportunities …

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Trump Admin Finalizes Repeal Of Clean Water Rules

The Washington Post reports: Weakening the Obama-era water rule had been a central campaign pledge for Mr. Trump, who characterized it as a federal land-grab that impinged on the rights of farmers, rural landowners and real estate developers to use their property as they see fit. Environmentalists say Mr. Trump’s push to loosen rules on clean water regulations represents an …

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Trump Rolls Back Rules On Light Bulbs To Spite Obama

Bloomberg reports: The Trump administration is rolling back Obama-era rules that expanded energy-use requirements to some of the most commonly used light bulbs. The Energy Department made public a final rule Wednesday that withdrew a requirement that light bulbs commonly used in recessed lighting, track lighting, bathroom vanities and decorative fixtures meet the same energy efficiency standards that effectively phased …

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Groups Sue EPA Over Approval Of Bee-Killing Pesticide

Bloomberg Environment reports: A pair of environmental groups are challenging the Trump administration’s decision to approve use of a bee-killing pesticide on more than 190 million acres of crops. The Center for Biological Diversity and Center for Food Safety filed a petition in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on Aug. 20, over the Environmental Protection Agency’s …

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ALASKA: EPA Approves Mining Project In Wild Salmon Fisheries After Trump Meets With Republican Governor

CNN reports: The Environmental Protection Agency told staff scientists that it was no longer opposing a controversial Alaska mining project that could devastate one of the world’s most valuable wild salmon fisheries just one day after President Trump met with Alaska’s governor, CNN has learned. The EPA publicly announced the reversal July 30, but EPA staff sources tell CNN that …

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VIRAL VIDEO: Spain Fines Man $50K, Forces Him To Retrieve Fridge He Tossed Off Cliff As “Recycling Joke”

The Guardian reports: Authorities in Spain have ordered a man to pay a hefty fine after he was caught throwing a refrigerator off a cliff for a joke about recycling. In footage shared by the Asociación Unificada de Guardias Civiles, or the Unified Association of Civil Guards Spain, last week that has been going viral online, the man could be …

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Holiday Inn Parent To Drop Mini Shampoo Bottles

The Associated Press reports: The fight to save the seas from plastic waste may mean the end for mini bottles of shampoo and other toiletries that hotel guests love to stuff into their luggage. The owner of Holiday Inn and InterContinental Hotels says Tuesday that its nearly 843,000 guest rooms are switching to bulk-size bathroom amenities as part of an …

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BRAZIL: Amazonian Rain Forest Loss Accelerates After Bolsonaro Allows Exploitation By Logging And Mining

The New York Times reports: While campaigning for president last year, Mr. Bolsonaro declared that Brazil’s vast protected lands were an obstacle to economic growth and promised to open them up to commercial exploitation. Seven months into his term, that is already happening. Brazil’s part of the Amazon has lost more than 1,330 square miles of forest cover since Mr. …

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