Environment

Pittsburgh’s CBS affiliate reports: The Ohio village upended by a freight train derailment and the intentional burning of some of the hazardous chemicals on board has invited affected residents to a town hall meeting Wednesday evening to discuss lingering questions. Hours before the town hall meeting, rail operator Norfolk Southern said it will not be in attendance. In a statement …

Politico reports: Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) is looking to permanently repeal the Biden administration’s waters of the U.S. — or WOTUS, which Republicans say is overreaching and will burden farmers and businesses. The WOTUS rule determines which waters and wetlands fall under federal protection, and is a decades-long battle in Congress, the courts and federal agencies. Capito expects a …

The New York Times reports: A new study published Thursday in the journal Science found that over the decades, Exxon’s scientists made remarkably accurate projections of just how much burning fossil fuels would warm the planet. Their projections were as accurate, and sometimes even more so, as those of independent academic and government models. Yet for years, the oil giant …

The New York Times reports: The world remained firmly in warming’s grip last year, with extreme summer temperatures in Europe, China and elsewhere contributing to 2022 being the fifth-hottest year on record, European climate researchers said on Tuesday. The eight warmest years on record have now occurred since 2014, the scientists, from the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service, reported, …

The BBC reports: Single-use items like plastic cutlery, plates and polystyrene trays will be banned in England, the government has confirmed. It is not clear when the ban will come into effect but it follows similar moves by Scotland and Wales. Environment Secretary Thérèse Coffey said the move would help protect the environment for future generations. Campaigners welcomed the ban, …

The New York Times reports: The protective ozone layer in the upper atmosphere could be restored within several decades, scientists said Monday, as recent rogue emissions of ozone-depleting chemicals from China have been largely eliminated. In a United Nations-sponsored assessment, the scientists said that global emissions of CFC-11, a banned chemical that has been used as a refrigerant and in …

NOAA reports: A typhoon, smoke from wildfires and increasing rain are not what most imagine when thinking of the Arctic. Yet these are some of the climate-driven events included in NOAA’s 2022 Arctic Report Card, which provides a detailed picture of how warming is reshaping the once reliably frozen, snow-covered region which is heating up faster than any other part …

The CBC reports: According to Earthquakes Canada, three seismic events were recorded Tuesday: a 5.8-magnitude quake and two 5.2-magnitude quakes. “A series of earthquakes has occurred in northwestern Alberta. The largest, a M 5.8 earthquake, was preceded by two M 5.2 earthquakes, and followed by several felt events,” reads a post on the Earthquakes Canada website. Earthquake reports are often …

Via press release from the United Nations: On 15 November 2022, the world’s population is projected to reach 8 billion people, a milestone in human development. This unprecedented growth is due to the gradual increase in human lifespan owing to improvements in public health, nutrition, personal hygiene and medicine. It is also the result of high and persistent levels of …

Variety reports: Robbie Coltrane, who played the lovable half-giant Rubeus Hagrid in the “Harry Potter” franchise, has died, his agency WME confirmed on Friday. He was 72. Coltrane featured in every “Harry Potter” movie, from “Sorcerer’s Stone” in 2001 to “Death Hallows -Part 2” in 2011, and was much beloved for bringing the character from J.K. Rowling’s book series to …

The Washington Post reports: Joseph Hazelwood, captain of the tanker Exxon Valdez when it ran aground in Alaska’s Prince William Sound in March 1989, leaking 10.8 million gallons of crude oil in a massive environmental catastrophe that ravaged maritime habitats and brought sweeping inquests into who was to blame, died on July 21. He was 75. The toll to the …

The Associated Press reports: Zombie ice from the massive Greenland ice sheet will eventually raise global sea level by at least 10 inches (27 centimeters) on its own, according to a study released Monday. Zombie or doomed ice is ice that is still attached to thicker areas of ice, but is no longer getting fed by those larger glaciers. That’s …

Reuters reports: Cineworld Group, the world’s second largest cinema chain operator, is preparing to file for bankruptcy, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, just days after warning that a lack of blockbusters would hit its liquidity in the near term. Shares in the London-listed company slumped more than 81% to a record low of 1.8 pence after the WSJ …

Bloomberg News reports: So you think it’s hot out there now? Consider the summer of 2053. That’s what researchers at First Street Foundation, a New York nonprofit that studies climate risk, have done in a report published today. They predict that in three decades, more than 100 million Americans will live in an “extreme heat belt” where at least one …

Science News reports: The Arctic is heating up at a breakneck speed compared with the rest of Earth. And new analyses show that the region is warming even faster than scientists thought. Over the last four decades, the average Arctic temperature increased nearly four times as fast as the global average, researchers report August 11 in Communications Earth & Environment. …

Brooklyn Paper reports: The group gathering in the water between piers 2 and 3 at Brooklyn Bridge Park were taking part in a .8-mile open water swim to Pebble Beach Cove organized by the group Urban Swim. The group hosts several open water swims around New York Harbor to raise awareness of water accessibility and water health in the city. …

Changing America reports: As record-breaking heat waves continue to grip the country, a new Economist/YouGov poll finds 53 percent of U.S. adults report personally having felt the effects of climate change. Findings were based on responses from 1,500 individuals between July 23 and 26. Of those surveyed, 23 percent said they have not felt the effects of climate change, 18 …

Salt Lake City’s Fox affiliate reports: The Great Salt Lake has dropped to a new historic low, FOX 13 News has confirmed. The imperiled lake has dropped to 4,190.1, below last year’s record low of 4,190.2 feet. The Great Salt Lake has already dropped 11 feet since it was first measured in the 1800s as a result of water diversion, …

USA Today reports: The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled against an Environmental Protection Agency effort to regulate power plant emissions, dealing a blow to the Biden administration in one of the most significant climate cases decided by the high court in more than a decade. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the opinion for a 6-3 majority. The court’s three liberal …

Bloomberg News reports: New Jersey became the first state to ban both plastic and paper bags on Wednesday, leaving companies and shoppers to find creative workarounds to get their groceries home. ShopRite, with more than 100 New Jersey stores, will charge a flat $1.50 per order for reusable bags. Instacart Inc., which fulfills shoppers’ lists for Aldi Inc., Lidl Ltd., …