Environment

The Associated Press reports: Indian Point will permanently stop producing nuclear power Friday, capping a decades-long battle over a key source of electricity in the heart of New York City’s suburbs that opponents have called a threat to millions living in the densely packed region. The retirement of the Indian Point Energy Center along the Hudson River could increase New …

Via press release from Friends of the Earth: The Florida Keys Mosquito Control District (FKMCD) and Oxitec, a British biotech company, will begin the first-ever U.S. release of genetically engineered (GE) Aedes aegypti mosquitoes this week. Despite scientific concerns and public outcry over the human health and environment risks, the field trial’s first phase will release up to 144,000 GE …

The New York Times reports: A volcano in the southern Caribbean that had been dormant for decades erupted on Friday, spewing clouds of ash and smoke miles into the sky.  The volcano, known as La Soufrière, on the northern tip of the main island of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, which began showing signs of renewed activity in late December, …

Reuters reports: U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland will kicked off a two-day visit to Utah on Thursday where she will meet with tribes and political officials to discuss the potential restoration of two national monuments that were slashed in size by former President Donald Trump in order to open them to mining and drilling. The visit is the centerpiece of …

Tampa’s ABC News affiliate reports: Florida state and local leaders fear an “imminent” collapse of the retention pond at the former Piney Point phosphate processing plant in Manatee County. People who live and work in the area are told to get out and stay away. In addition to a “significant leak” at the bottom of the 700-to-800-million-gallon holding pool, several …

Miami’s NBC News affiliate reports: Officials in Florida expanded a mandatory evacuation area near a large reservoir of wastewater Saturday because of a significant leak that authorities fear could lead to floods and a collapse of a system with radioactive material. The original evacuation zone around the breached Piney Point reservoir has expanded a half-mile west and one mile southwest …

Changing America reports: New research posits that the seasons changing ahead of time could be a result of climate change and the warming of average global temperatures, resulting in a prolonged summer. These balance shifts could have dangerous implications for agriculture and natural environments, as well as human health. Published in the journal of Geophysical Research and Letters, the study …

ProPublica reports: The federal government is seeking to collect nearly $3.2 million in fines from coal companies owned by West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice after the firms violated the terms of a major water pollution settlement, according to documents filed Thursday in federal court. Justice, a billionaire listed by Forbes as the richest person in the state, owns a vast …

CNN reports: The Senate voted to confirm Michael Regan as President Joe Biden’s pick to lead the Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday, where he’ll join an administration that has pledged aggressive action on tackling the climate crisis. With a bipartisan confirmation vote of 66 to 34, Regan will become the first Black man to lead the EPA in the agency’s …

The New York Times reports: The Trump administration is rushing to approve a final wave of large-scale mining and energy projects on federal lands, encouraged by investors who want to try to ensure the projects move ahead even after President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. takes office. In Arizona, the Forest Service is preparing to sign off on the transfer of …

Australia’s ABC News outlet reports: A company commercialising seaweed feed product, which slashes the amount of greenhouse gases cattle burp and fart into the atmosphere, has won a $1 million international prize for its work reshaping the food system. According to the science agency, methane emissions from livestock make up around 15 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Future Feed …

Politico reports: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers denied a permit for the Pebble Mine in Alaska on Wednesday, effectively killing plans to build the massive copper and gold project that opponents had warned could wipe out the world’s largest sockeye salmon fishery. The decision from the Trump administration, which had reversed course several times on the issue, comes just …

Yahoo News reports: The Trump administration is advancing plans to auction drilling rights in the U.S. Arctic National Wildlife Refuge before the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden, who has vowed to block oil exploration in the rugged Alaska wilderness. The Interior Department is set to issue a formal “call for nominations” as soon as Monday, kick-starting a final effort to …

The Guardian reports: Japan’s government has reportedly decided to release more than 1m tonnes of contaminated water from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the sea, setting it on a collision course with local fishermen who say the move will destroy their industry. Media reports said work to release the water, which is being stored in more than 1,000 …

Gothamist reports: The famous clock in Union Square that has been tracking the time of day since 1999 has been reset for a new countdown: the rapidly diminishing time left for the human race to take meaningful action to avert the most horrific and deadly consequences of climate change. The Climate Clock was set up ahead of Climate Week over …

Courthouse News reports: Two weeks after the neglected storage of highly combustible ammonium nitrate caused a devastating explosion in Lebanon, six environmental groups urged the D.C. Circuit on Tuesday to stop the United States from ushering in a new era of so-called bomb trains. Federal law stipulates that liquefied natural gasses can only be safely transported in trucks and specific …

Reuters reports: The Trump administration on Monday finalized a plan to allow oil and gas drilling in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, putting it on track to issue decades-long leases in the pristine wilderness area before a potential change in U.S. leadership. The 19 million acre (7.7 million hectares) refuge is home to wildlife populations including Porcupine caribou and polar …

The New York Times reports: The Trump administration is expected in the coming days to lift Obama-era controls on the release of methane, a powerful climate-warming gas that is emitted from leaks and flares in oil and gas wells. The new rule on methane pollution, issued by the Environmental Protection Agency, has been expected for months, and will be made …

The Washington Post reports: A preliminary magnitude 5.1 earthquake occurred near Sparta, in northwestern North Carolina at 8:07 a.m. on Sunday morning, very near the Virginia border. The quake rattled the Carolina Piedmont, but was reportedly felt as far away as Atlanta, part of Tennessee, Washington D.C., and Ohio. It appears to be the strongest North Carolina quake in more …

The Guardian reports: Brazil’s government has fired an official at the national space agency Inpe whose department is responsible for satellite monitoring of the Amazon rainforest, just three days after June deforestation data reflected a continued increase in degradation. Lubia Vinhas was the general-coordinator of Brazilian space agency Inpe’s Earth Observation Institute, which is an umbrella for divisions that monitor …