Our Neighborhood Earth - Environmental Impact

Our Neighborhood

Earth

Keeping It Green

(There's No Planet B)

Atmospheric CO2 Levels

(Monthly Averages)

August 26, 2026: 428.5 ppm
10 years ago: 396 ppm
Pre-industrial base: 280
Safe level: 350 ppm

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT

Page Updated:
Sept. 8, 2026

US Emissions by Sector Chart

Where is all that CO2 coming from? This graph breaks it down by economic sector.
Greenest U.S. Cities
Safe Water in Pictures
U.S. WEA Grassroots Accelerator
Safer Habitats

Environmental Impact News - Within the Past Month (Latest Dates First)
• Hurricane Lowell Expected to Pass Near One Hawaiian Island and Cause Major Rains Statewide See the Sattelite Image Sept. 8, 2026 -Hawaii Gov. Josh Green closed schools and government offices on the westernmost islands of Kauai and Niihau and on Oahu for Tuesday as Hurricane Lowell was expected to pass nearby, bringing damaging winds, mudslides, possible tornadoes, dangerous rip currents and as much as 24 inches (about 60 centimeters) of rain to some areas on Kauai. The closures, which include community colleges and state and county offices, were put into effect for Oahu and Kauai County, which was under a hurricane warning issued by the National Hurricane Center. Kauai County includes the major islands of Kauai, which has a population of over 73,000, and Niihau, where there are fewer than 100 residents. • Large, Fast-Burning Wildfires Are Making It Hard For Colorado Forests to Recover When Fires Burn Hot and Fast They Can Destroy Tens of Thousands of Acres in a Single Day {The Denver Post} Sept. 8, 2026 -Large, fast-moving wildfires are devastating Colorado’s forests and they may not be able to recover to become the dense, dark-green habitats that people are used to seeing in the mountains, according to a recently published study. Scientists at Colorado State University and Western Colorado University collected data from 3,500 wildfires that burned in conifer forests in the American West between 2012 and 2023 and found that fast fires — fueled by a hotter, drier climate — may cause long-term ecological damage. The study was published last month in the journal Science Advances. • Rescuers Look For Survivors After Delhi Hostel Collapse Kills 7 Search and Rescue Teams Combed Through the Debris of a Collapsed Building in New Delhi on Monday as the Death Toll Climbed to Seven Sept. 7, 2026 -The five-story building, which housed a boys’ hostel, collapsed on Sunday in Satya Niketan, a densely populated neighborhood known for its private student accommodations near a Delhi University campus. Police, firefighters and crews from India’s disaster response agency continued their search for a second day as earthmovers cleared debris and sniffer dogs worked the site to help rescuers reach those still trapped inside. • These Wolves in Alaska Ate All the Deer Then, They Did Something Unexpected {ZME SCIENCE} Sept. 6, 2026 -Pleasant Island in Alaska is not exactly befitting of its name. The frigid, 20-square-mile island is uninhabited by humans, but it hosts a remarkably large and rich ecosystem that features deer, otters, red squirrels, and even brown bears. But in 2013, the island got a new addition: wolves. When wolves colonized the island in 2013, it set up a natural experiment. “This provided a great opportunity to study predator-prey dynamics of wolves and deer,” says Gretchen Roffler, a wildlife research biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. • Storm Creates Huge Waves and Dangerous Currents At Southern California Beaches Surf Conditions Are Very Dangerous, Specifically the Rip Currents Sept. 6, 2026, -Hurricane Marie, well out in the Pacific, created flooding and dangerous conditions at some southern California beaches over Labor Day weekend, with strong currents and huge waves presenting a threat to swimmers and surfers. Rose Schoenfeld, a National Weather Service meteorologist, said Sunday that Marie stirred up “life-threatening” conditions as it churned in the ocean hundreds of miles off California’s Pacific coast. Some south-facing beaches have seen surf up to 10 feet (3 meters) high, she said. • Vermont House Explosion Kills 2, Injures 3 Preliminary Investigation Reveals the Fire is Not Suspicious, According to Police {WCVB5} Sept. 6, 2026 -Vermont State Police are investigating a house explosion in Granville that killed two people and injured three others. According to Vermont State Police, the explosion was reported at around 7:45 p.m. on Saturday. One man was pronounced dead at the scene, and a woman died after being taken to Gifford Medical Center, police said. • A Cloud-Seeding Company Claims It Added 2 Billion Gallons of Water in Utah Experts Have Their Doubts {THE COLORADO SUN} Sept. 6, 2026, -Kevin Clyde’s mind is always in the clouds. As a water district board member in southeastern Utah, he’s constantly checking a patch of sky near the La Sal Mountains. He swears he’s seen more wisps of white near a new cloud seeding station in the area — one that, he hopes, has prompted more rain and snow in his region. “It may be just wishful thinking, but it looks to me like it’s working,” said Clyde, who serves on the board of the Grand County Water Conservancy District based in Moab. • Volcanic Island in Indonesia Erupts Forcing the Cancellation of Hundreds of Flights {PBS NEWS} Sept. 6, 2026, -A volcano erupted in Indonesia early Sunday, prompting the cancellation of all flights at Jakarta's Soekarno-Hatta International Airport and disrupting other domestic airports as ash drifted across western parts of the country. The volcanic island of Anak Krakatau, located in Indonesia's Sunda Strait between the main Java and Sumatra islands, had showed signs of activity since Friday before erupting for 30 seconds at 3:53 a.m. Sunday and for 16 seconds about three hours later, Indonesia's Geological Agency said. Closed-circuit camera footage showed lava flares from the volcano. • Firefighters Work to Put Out Giant Blaze After Railroad Ties Catch Fire In Southern Colorado So Far It's Not Clear How Much Damage the Fire Has Done {CBS NEWS} Sept. 5, 2026 - Fire officials in southern Colorado sent out a warning to residents on Saturday after a large fire started in an industrial area in the city of Pueblo. Firefighters were working to try to put out a huge amount of burning railroad ties. No structures were threatened by the fire, according to the Pueblo Fire Department. A post on the agency's Facebook page in the early afternoon showed towering flames and dark black smoke, and firefighters spraying water on the fire. • Mudslide Kills 1 and Leaves 11 Missing in China This, After Heavy Rain Brought By Tropical Storm Saudel Sept. 5, 2026, -A mudslide on Saturday killed one person and left 11 others missing in eastern China, damaging a dozen houses following days of torrential rain brought by tropical cyclone Saudel, authorities said. The mudslide hit part of a village in Suichuan County in Jiangxi province in the early hours, prompting rescuers to rush to the scene and relocate residents to safer ground to prevent further danger, authorities said in a statement. One person pulled out was found dead, while two others were rescued alive and in good condition, it said. • World’s First Heat-Powered Cooling System Turns Waste Heat Into Cold Researchers Have Developed the World’s First Heat-Driven Elastocaloric Cooling System, Using Waste Heat And Solar Energy to Support Sustainable Cooling {SciTechDaily} Sept. 4, 2026, -A cooling system powered directly by heat rather than an electric motor has worked in laboratory tests, offering a possible way to turn waste heat or solar energy into cooling. The prototype, developed by researchers at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and the University of Tsukuba, uses two ultrathin nickel-titanium films that convert heat first into mechanical motion and then into cold. The concept addresses a limitation of elastocaloric cooling, an emerging solid-state alternative to conventional refrigeration. Shape-memory alloys cool when a mechanical load applied to them is released, but existing elastocaloric systems still need electrically powered actuators to supply that force. The new design instead uses heat itself to drive the process. • Bird Flu Kills First Dolphin in Australia Raising Fears for Its Wildlife {ZME SCIENCE} Sept. 4, 2026 - The virus has moved quickly from seabirds into marine mammals across Australia’s southern coast. Australia spent years preparing for the highly contagious H5N1 to arrive. The virus mainly affects birds, causing a type of influenza that is extremely fatal. That moment finally came in June, when migratory seabirds along the country’s southern coast tested positive for the virus. In a little more than two months, H5N1 has already moved beyond birds, infecting fur seals, a fox, and now a dolphin. • CPW Investigating Bear Attack in Steamboat Springs The 8th This Year {FOX31} Sept. 4, 2026 -Just a day after Colorado Parks and Wildlife shared preliminary numbers for bear incidents thus far in 2026, the state has now seen its eighth bear attack of the year. According to CPW, this one occurred on Thursday in Steamboat Springs, when an adult was napping in a backyard patio chair, and they noticed a bear approaching. • The 17-Year-Old Who Wants to Clean Up Plastic by Making It Magnetic His Strange “Black Goo” and the Robot He Built Could Point Toward a Smarter Way to Clean Polluted Water {ZME SCIENCE} Sept. 4, 2026 - Most plastic-cleanup machines try to catch trash. But Moroti Adegboyega thought it about changing the trash instead. The 17-year-old Canadian student built an autonomous robot that finds plastic with artificial intelligence, coats it with a magnetic liquid, and then pulls it from the water with magnets. The prototype is still crude, and its best-known tests took place in a small, controlled pool. But the idea was compelling enough to win him the 2026 Stockholm Junior Water Prize, beating national winners from more than 40 countries. • Record Fuel Prices Pose Fresh Challenge For Trump Ahead of Midterms Diesel Hits an Average $5.85 a Gallon on Friday, an All-Time High That Surpasses the Previous Record From 2022 {THE WALL STREET JOURNAL} Sept. 4, 2026, -President Trump came into office pledging to lower energy prices for Americans. Instead, he is presiding over a historic run-up in fuel prices. Diesel prices hit an average $5.85 a gallon on Friday, according to OPIS, a Dow Jones company. It is a new record that surpasses the previous one from 2022, when Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sent energy markets into a tailspin. • Trump Administration Moves to Drop Protections for More Wetlands The Proposed Rule Could Strip Federal Protections From Most U.S. Wetlands, Many of Which Help Feed Drinking Water Systems Sept. 4, 2026, -The Trump administration on Friday took another step toward stripping federal protections from millions of acres of wetlands, which help filter drinking water for many communities and provide critical habitat for birds, fish and other wildlife. The proposed rule from the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers would significantly narrow the definition of “waters of the United States,” or WOTUS, that are protected from harmful pollution under the Clean Water Act of 1972. • New Mexico Bans Uranium Leasing on State Lands The Move to Block New Mining Projects Comes As the Trump Administration Seeks to Revive American Uranium Production Sept. 4, 2026 -Officials in New Mexico, the nation’s largest historic producer of uranium ore, banned new leasing of state lands for uranium mining on Friday. State Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard signed the executive order at a press conference in Sante Fe as the Trump administration seeks to revive American uranium mining and rebuild a domestic supply chain for nuclear fuel. • Farmed Salmon May Not Be as Nutritious as It Once Was Reason? A shift in the Fish’s Diet, With Significant Downstream Impacts On the Environment and Climate Sept. 4, 2026 -Eat more fatty fish. That dietary advice has changed the way the world consumes salmon, pushing consumer demand ever upward and production to higher and higher levels. Most of that demand is being met with farmed salmon: Today, nearly 70 percent of the salmon consumed on the planet are raised in pens and cages. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend eating at least 8 ounces of fish a week, and urges people to choose salmon or other species that are similarly high in “heart-healthy” Omega-3 fatty acids. But • Federal Disaster Funds Approved For Aspen Acres Fire, Flood Recovery Effort The Gold Mountain Fire Has Burned 39,744 Acres Northeast of Ouray. Crews Said the Fire is 92 Percent Containeds {KKTV11ALERT} Sept. 4, 2026, -The governor’s had initially requested three forms of FEMA support: Individual Assistance (IA) for Pueblo and Custer Counties: IA would provide direct support to eligible primary households for needs such as temporary housing, home repairs, and essential personal property. The request also includes crisis counseling, disaster care management, disaster unemployment assistance, and disaster legal services. Public Assistance (PA) for Pueblo, Custer, and Ouray Counties: PA would help state and local governments, public utilities, and certain nonprofit organizations cover eligible costs for debris removal, emergency protective measures, and repairs to roads, water systems, electric grids, and other critical public infrastructure. The request also seeks support for private-property debris removal in Pueblo and Custer Counties. • Nearly 300 Bears Euthanized Across Colorado As Sightings Spike Statewide Bear Sightings and Conflicts Have Increased Dramatically This Year As Drought Drives Bears Closer to Humans In Search of Food {The Denver Post} Sept. 4, 2026, -Colorado Parks and Wildlife has euthanized nearly 300 black bears this year, more than three times those euthanized in 2025, as bear sightings and conflicts spike across the state. The state wildlife agency announced Thursday that it had killed 294 bears and relocated 98 others from Jan. 1 through Aug. 31. That’s up from 83 euthanizations and 33 relocations during the same period last year. • Nine Days After Disaster, Two Pulled Alive From Nepal Hydropower Tunnel Floods Caused Nepal At Least $2.5 Billion in Losses, Disaster Authority Chief Says Sept. 4, 2026, - Rescuers pulled two survivors from a tunnel linked to a ?hydropower station on Nepal's Trishuli River on Friday, nine days after a wall of ice, rock and mud tore through its valley, killing more than 1,300 people and leaving over 5,600 missing. Officials and rescue workers say they believe the August 26 collapse of a glacier on the upper reaches of the river trapped at least 900 people in tunnels related to six hydropower projects. • Salmonella-Contaminated Broccoli Sprouts Sicken People in WA Two People Statewide Have Been Hospitalized Sept. 4, 2026, -The Washington state Department of Health is warning residents not to eat broccoli sprouts from Evergreen Fresh Sprouts, which are suspected in the salmonella illnesses of 13 people in the state. The state does not have a complete distribution list for the product, but cases are spread across the state. They include four cases in King County, three in Whatcom County, and one each in Skagit and Snohomish counties. • The Behind-The-Scenes Effort to Contain the Nation’s Worst Ongoing Measles Outbreak Public Health Workers Are Relying On Word of Mouth to Fight the Largest Ongoing Outbreak in the U.S. Sept. 4, 2026, -Pennsylvania health workers confronting the country’s largest ongoing measles outbreak have been trying a behind-the-scenes strategy: administering vaccines around a family’s kitchen table, inside the privacy of their own home. The approach is deliberate, doctors say, relying on word of mouth for some immunization clinics rather than advertising locations that may draw reporters or protesters. Pop-up clinics are happening inside fire stations, places of worship and on a neighbor’s front porch. The effort reflects the great lengths officials are taking to contain an outbreak flaring in a state where officials say two people who died, including a newborn, were infected with measles. • What Bedbug Bites Look Like And 4 Other Signs of an Infestation Sept. 3, 2026, -If you’re sleeping somewhere you normally don’t — a hotel, vacation home or even a dorm or other shared living space — waking up to a mysterious new bug bite could raise your concern about bedbugs. Small, reddish-brown parasites, bedbugs are similar to lice and fleas in that they feed on the skin’s outer surface. Bedbugs don’t fly and can’t crawl long distances, so they end up on your body in one of two ways: By catching a ride on clothing, luggage, furniture, bedding or similar items that you bring into your home, or possibly crawling through common walls, ceilings or shared pipes in large buildings, said Changlu Wang, an extension specialist in entomology at the Department of Entomology at Rutgers University. • Residents Urged to Kill the Invasive Spotted Lanternfly as the Pest Spreads Across Mass. Where To Report Lanternfly Sightings {WCVB5} Sept. 3, 2026, -Spotted lanternflies, an invasive pest first detected in Massachusetts in 2021, are spreading across the state, with sightings reported from Worcester to Natick, and residents are being urged to squash them to help curb their growing population. Tom Glenn of Natick has taken the call to action seriously. "Gotta be 200-300," Glenn said when asked how many he has killed. • Is Your City Prepared for Climate Disaster? A New Report Ranks the World’s Large Cities On How Well They Have Adapted to Face Climate Risk Sept. 3, 2026 -When it comes to the effects of hostile climates — flood, fire and more — what matters isn’t just inherent risk, but rather the ability of a place to withstand that risk. AlphaGeo, a geospatial A.I. company that analyzes and predicts location risk, ranked the resilience of 72 of the world’s largest cities. Some of those cities exhibit “a dangerous gap between their exposure and their capacity to cope,” the company stated in a report. • Bird Flu Kills First Dolphin in Australia Raising Fears for Its Wildlife {ZME SCIENCE} Sept. 2, 2026, -Australia spent years preparing for the highly contagious H5N1 to arrive. The virus mainly affects birds, causing a type of influenza that is extremely fatal. That moment finally came in June, when migratory seabirds along the country’s southern coast tested positive for the virus. In a little more than two months, H5N1 has already moved beyond birds, infecting fur seals, a fox, and now a dolphin. The common dolphin was found dead near Goolwa, about 70 kilometers south of Adelaide. Tests confirmed H5N1, making it Australia’s first documented case in a dolphin. The discovery is yet another warning that an outbreak that began in birds is becoming a broader wildlife problem. • Cities Are Full of Unknown RNA Viruses Many Are Even Unknown to Science {ZME SCIENCE} Sept. 2, 2026, -Cities are excellent at bringing people together. It turns out, they’re pretty good at collecting viruses, too. Scientists sampling subways, hospitals, streets, wastewater, soil, and other urban environments across 102 cities have assembled a catalog of 54,945 RNA viruses. Most of them (roughly 77%) had never been observed before.. • What Will It Take to Fix Sloan’s Lake? $50 Million {THE COLORADO SUN} Sept. 2, 2026, -Denver officials have proposed a $50 million project to help Sloan’s Lake, a popular recreation spot in west Denver where toxic algae blooms have killed fish in recent years. Every year, Sloan’s Lake sees about 2 million visitors who come for everything from paddling to fishing and walking dogs around its 2.6-mile perimeter. But over the years, stormwater has carried more and more sediment into the urban lake, causing problems for water quality and the lake’s ecosystem. • Dirty Ice Could Be Fueling Himalayan Disasters Darkened By Soot From Vehicles and Factories, the Region’s Glaciers Are Absorbing More Heat and Melting At Dangerous Rates Sept. 2, 2026, -Himalayan glaciers, once blazingly white, are increasingly coated in pollution from car exhaust, coal plants and factories. As that black cover settles on glacier surfaces, it’s causing them to absorb more heat from the sun and melt faster, scientists warn. It’s especially true in high-mountain regions like Langtang in Nepal, where a recent glacier collapse triggered devastating flash floods. Despite the region’s picturesque setting, it sits downwind from some of the most heavily polluted corridors in South Asia. • Almost Half of World’s Farmers Poisoned By Pesticides Every Year Pesticide Poisoning Kills 11,000 People Each Year, With India Accounting For Nearly 60% of Fatalities Sept. 2, 2026, -Almost half of the world’s farmers are poisoned by pesticides every single year, a study has found. Using publicly available data from 2006-2023, the study, which was commissioned by Pesticide Action Network, found there to be an estimated 402-433m cases of unintentional acute pesticide poisoning of farmers and farm workers every year. • Explosion at Bolivia Military Base Kills at Least 2, 14 Missing The Blast Occurred At Around 2:30 p.m. In ?an Area Used to Store Pyrotechnic Material Sept. 1, 2026, -At least two people were killed and dozens injured on Friday after an explosion at a military barracks in the Bolivian municipality of Viacha, about 30 km (20 miles) from La Paz, Defense Minister Ernesto Justiniano said. His ministry said in a statement that 14 people were ?missing. • The Collapse of a Mountainside Triggered Nepal’s Devastating Floods. As the Region’s Mountains Heat Up It Won’t Be the Last {THE CONVERSATION} Sept. 1, 2026, -On the morning of August 26, a section of mountain near Langtang Lirung peak in Nepal suddenly collapsed. A huge mass of rock, ice and debris plunged roughly 1,200 metres into the valley below, producing a hugely destructive flood on the Lhende Khola river. The flow travelled almost 100 kilometres downstream, washing villages and bridges away. Almost 1,000 people died and thousands more are still missing across the Nepal-China border. • The Trump EPA Is a Toothless Friend of Polluting Industries The EPA’s Retreat From Its Role Guarding Clean Air and Water Will Have Lasting Effects On Public Health Sept. 1, 2026, -By its own account, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is doing a fantastic job. In a March report on its performance in the last fiscal year, the agency boasted that it had concluded 2,127 civil enforcement cases, “the highest in nine years.” That number wasn’t wrong, but it was very misleading, an Inside Climate News analysis of EPA data reveals. • Northern Colorado Health Officials Confirm First West Nile Virus Case In Weld County Health Officials In Northern Colorado Confirmed the First Case of West Nile Virus Found In Weld County This Year {CBS NEWS} August 31, 2026, -The Weld County Department of Public Health and Environment says the first case of 2026 comes one month later than it did in 2025. Health officials said they investigated 35 cases of West Nile in Weld County last year. Fortunately, the number of trapped Culex mosquitoes responsible for transmitting the virus is at a five year low. However, approximately 80% of the ones captured have been in three zones which cover areas including:The Greeley, Evans, Kersey, LaSalle area,The Johnstown, Milliken and Platteville area, The Firestone, Dacono and Fort Lupton area • Flash Flooding Causes Major Damage to the Grand Canyon’s Critical Water Pipeline Not Over Till It's Over August 31, 2026 -The sole pipeline that supplies water for millions of Grand Canyon visitors was badly damaged by weekend flash flooding, setting up a tricky repair scenario and upending a yearslong construction project to upgrade the line laid over terrain so rugged helicopters are often required to make basic fixes. “We anticipate miles of the pipeline being destroyed,” Grand Canyon Deputy Superintendent Brian Drapeaux said, but a full survey of the devastation won’t be completed until Tuesday at the earliest. • Kids in This City Are Breathing Easier and Growing Stronger Wholesome Health Win {HEALTHY HAPPY NEWS} Sept. 1, 2026, -A Major City’s Air Quality Initiative is Delivering Heartwarming Results For Its Youngest Residents, with children experiencing noticeably healthier lung development. The positive health impact demonstrates how environmental improvements can create real, measurable benefits for families. . London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone (Ulez) has been connected to improved respiratory health in children across the city. Research findings reveal that youngsters are experiencing better lung growth since the implementation of stricter emissions standards designed to reduce harmful pollutants. • ‘They Take the Water, the Springs Dry Up’ Fear As Guatemalan Goldmine Plan is Revived Sept. 1, 2026, -In the community of La Lima in Guatemala, Elda Dinora Ramírez, 58, looks towards a small well at the back of her home. Dusty wooden planks lie across the opening, concealing the faint gleam of water far below. “The well is drying up again,” she says. Ramírez’s home lies less than a mile from Era Dorada – a goldmining project acquired by the Canadian multinational Aura Minerals in January 2025. After years of inactivity, the project was reactivated this year when the Guatemalan government granted Aura a construction licence. • What the Floods Tell Us About the Future of India’s Himalayas As Families Await News of Missing Loved Ones, the Disaster is a Stark Reminder of How the Climate Crisis is Creating a Fast-Growing Threat Sept. 1, 2026, -It has been hard not to despair while watching the ruinous floods swallow parts of Nepal, and harder, still knowing that the agony compounds each passing day for dozens of Indian families whose members remain unaccounted for. Social media is awash with desperate pleas, photos and details of the young and old, men and women, from Mumbai to Kolkata, posted by families searching for traces of life. The disaster unfolded when a melting glacier slammed into the valley below, unleashing a deadly cascade of rock and ice down the Bhote Kashi River, which flows from Tibet into Nepal. • ‘Breakthrough’ As Turkmenistan Starts Fixing ‘Mindboggling’ Methane Mega-Leaks Secretive State Begins Repairs On Ageing Facilities After Being Revealed As Worst Country For Leaks of Potent Greenhouse Gas August 31, 2026, -Turkmenistan has started plugging the mega-leaks of methane that spew from its ageing oil and gas facilities, the latest UN data shows, in a move hailed as a breakthrough. Methane, also called natural or fossil gas, is a potent greenhouse gas. It traps 80 times more heat than carbon dioxide and causes 25% of global heating today. Stopping leaks can be quick and cheap and, because methane breaks down in the atmosphere far quicker than CO2, this has a rapid impact, with some experts calling it the climate “emergency brake”. • Power-Hungry Data Centers Are Expanding in Europe So is the Resistance {POLITICO} August 31, 2026 - One sleepy village nestled in the foothills of the Alps may soon devour more electricity than all the households of Vienna. It is all thanks to Google. The American tech giant is building Austria’s first hyperscale data center on the outskirts of tiny Kronstorf, a two-hour drive from the capital. The site could eventually consume the equivalent of 7 percent of the country’s current power demand. • How a South African Town Cleaned Up Its Polluted River Using Stones, Wood and Sand Scientists Say System to Treat Contaminated Wastewater Offers a Model For Ensuring Food Security in a Fast-Warming Climate August 31, 2026, -All it took to turn the murky, heavily polluted waters of South Africa’s Stiebeuel River into a resource clean enough for irrigating a community’s vegetable plots was a collection of stones, heat-treated wood and sand. Without chemicals and using renewable energy, researchers from the University of Cape Town are cleaning 36,000 litres of water, polluted by sewage, chemicals, and traces of drugs and medication, every day to make it usable for growing food in a fast-expanding informal settlement along the course of the river. • Teen In Critical Condition With Infection From Warm Freshwater 1 Week After 8-Year-Old Girl Died From Brain-Eating Amoeba Be Careful Where You Swim {DAILY CALLER} August 31, 2026 -A North Carolina teenager is critically ill after contracting a rare brain-eating amoeba found in warm freshwater, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) said in an Aug. 27 press release. The teenager, not identified, has been infected with Naegleria fowleri and is receiving medical care, according to the same press release. The brain-eating amoeba is typically found in warm freshwater such as lakes, rivers, and hot springs, according to the NCDHHS’s website. It can also be found in poorly maintained swimming pools, splash pads, and tap water, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states. • Is It Safe to Eat Lettuce Yet? What to Know as cyclosporiasis Outbreak Lingers {CNN Health} August 31, 2026, - As federal health officials continue to investigate this summer’s outbreak of cyclosporiasis tied to iceberg lettuce, many people are left wondering: Is it safe to eat lettuce yet? For now, the answer seems to be generally yes – with an important caveat. In an update last week, the US Food and Drug Administration said it “remains confident that all recalled iceberg lettuce related to this specific Cyclospora outbreak is off the market” and that “product should no longer be available in stores or restaurants.” • At Least 1 Dead, More Than a Dozen Missing At Grand Canyon After Extreme Flash Flooding Authorities Are Searching For Hikers and Campers Who May Have Been Trapped in the Area {NBC NEWS} August 31, 2026 -At least one person is dead and more than a dozen others are missing or unaccounted for, park officials said, after flash floods overwhelmed a remote area of the Grand Canyon Sunday. Forecasters warned that more flash flooding was possible on Monday. The biggest threat of flash flooding on Monday is set to be just north of the Grand Canyon. • Nearly 20 People Still Missing After Ferry Capsizes Off Northern Cyprus Divers Join Search Teams Scouring Deep Waters For ?Any Survivors... August 31, 2026 -Nearly 20 people are still missing after a ferry capsized off northern Cyprus, killing at least eight, as divers join search teams scouring deep waters for ?any survivors. The bdouble-hulled ?ferry with 267 people onboard took in water and flipped over on Sunday just off the port city ?of Kyrenia, leaving survivors clinging to the upturned hull. They were rescued by passing vessels and members of the coastguard. • Japan is Using AI, Drones and Wolf Robots to Keep Bears At Bay The "Bear" "Facts {CNN World} AUG. 31, 2026, - Bear attacks in Japan have hit a record high, with 13 deaths and more than 220 injuries recorded between April 2025 and March 2026. It is a sharp increase from the same period the previous year, when three people died and 82 were hurt, and as fall approaches, the bears’ peak feeding season, authorities are on high alert. The rise in human-bear encounters in Japan can be traced back to shrinking rural communities following the World War II when millions of young people began moving to cities. “With the loss of farmland that once buffered settlements from bears, the boundary between towns and forests became more blurred for them,” explained Liam Adcock, a wildlife researcher at the Nagano-based Picchio Wildlife Research Center. • The Summer That Scorched French Grapes, English Gardens—and Europe’s Economy Record Heat Withered Crops, Strained Businesses and Upended Everyday Life {THE WALL STREET JOURNAL} August 30, 2026 -For 700 years, Château Carbonnieux relied on rainwater to nourish its grapes, a tradition that preserved the vineyard’s connection to the local terroir. Then temperatures rose to a record-breaking 108 degrees Fahrenheit in June, and co-owner Philibert Perrin noticed the leaves of his Cabernet Sauvignon grapes turning yellow and shriveling, an ominous sign. So he did the unthinkable: He sent a tractor rigged with a water tank and hoses into the vineyard to hydrate his most vulnerable vines. • Nepal 'Intensifying' Efforts to Free Hundreds Believed Trapped in Hydropower Tunnels Hundreds of the 2,500 People Reported Missing Are Believed to Be Employees of Nepal's Hydropower Site {BBC NEWS} August 30, 2026 -Nepal says it is "intensifying" efforts to free hundreds of people trapped in a tunnel at the country's Trishuli-3A hydropower site following Wednesday's flash floods. Crews - including experts from China and India - have been attempting to make contact but have so far received no response from inside the tunnel, officials say. • North Carolina Wasted the Chance To Fix Hog Pollution A Pact Between the State and Smithfield Foods “Failed Miserably.” August 30, 2026, -Thousands of dead and bloated pigs floated down country roads, buoyed by floodwaters. Tens of millions of gallons of feces and urine spilled over the brims of lagoons and contaminated everything in their path, including rivers, streams and private drinking water wells. It was September 1996, when Hurricane Fran pummeled eastern North Carolina and unleashed an environmental catastrophe, the first of several that would occur over the next two decades. • Tropical Storm Karina Strengthens Into a Hurricane in the Pacific Could Be a Major Storm This Week {WCVB5} August 30, 2026 -Tropical Storm Karina strengthened into a hurricane in the Pacific Ocean on Sunday and could become a major storm this week, forecasters said. The cyclone's center was at far out sea and was not threatening land. Karina had maximum sustained winds of 80 miles per hour (130 kilometers per hour), the Miami-based National Hurricane Center said, making it a Category 1 hurricane. A major hurricane is Category 3 or greater. • California Lawmakers Strike Wildfire Deal That Leaves Out Most of Newsom’s Big Demands Gov. Gavin Newsom Backed Off His Plans to Ease Costs For Utilities Following Wildfires They Cause, Striking a Narrower Deal With Democratic Lawmakers {CAL MATTERS} August 29, 2026, -Gov. Gavin Newsom on Saturday backed off his proposal to reduce costs for electrical utilities after their equipment sparks wildfires, agreeing instead to a narrower deal after homeowners, insurers and fire survivors argued his original plan would have shifted those costs onto them. Instead, the governor and Senate and Assembly leaders agreed on a package of policies that includes prohibiting private equity groups from investing in wildfire claims and denying utility CEO bonuses in the years their companies cause fatal fires. • Nepal-China Flood Survivors Reach Safe Areas as Families Await News of Nearly 3,000 Missing More Than 3,700 People have Been Rescued in Nepal So Far {WCVB5} August 29, 2026 -As rescue efforts in communities buried by catastrophic flash floods along the Nepal - China border entered their fourth day Saturday, authorities were still finding survivors and transporting them to safety. At relief centers, families of missing people waited anxiously for news of their loved ones as the death toll and the number of people unaccounted for continued to rise. • This 18-Year-Old Teenager Invented a Special Plastic That Can Help Eat Other Plastic An Irish Student Turned a School Water-Monitoring Project Into An Award-Winning Attempt to Solve the Biggest Problem With Plastic Pollution {ZME SCIENCE} August 28, 2026 -What if the plastic we throw away tomorrow could help clean up the plastic we threw away yesterday? That is the unusual idea behind Eco Purge, a plant-based biodegradable plastic developed by 18-year-old Arya Satheesh in Ireland. Unlike other plastic alternatives, this material does more than simply replace conventional plastic. After use, it breaks down and releases enzymes that can attack existing PET microplastics in soil and water. • Highway Reborn as Public Park The Four-Lane Great Highway Used to Run Along the Pacific Ocean on the West Side of San Francisco, Where It Was At Risk of Flooding From Sea Level Rise {LOE.ORG} August 28, 2026, - The four lane Great Highway used to run along the Pacific Ocean on the west side of San Francisco. But in April 2025, this pavement became a little slice of paradise. Now visitors to Sunset Dunes Park can bike, walk, skate, and play next to the water. Zach Lipton is a volunteer with the nonprofit Friends of Sunset Dunes and he joins us now to talk about this highway’s transformation. • 4.25 Million Gallons of Raw Sewage Taints Arkansas River After Pueblo City Accident A Repaired Waste Pipe Broke and Dumped Untreated Sewage Straight Into the Stream... {THE COLORADO SUN} August 28, 2026 -A failed Pueblo wastewater pipe spewed 4.25 million gallons of raw sewage directly into the Arkansas River, prompting state health warnings to farmers and recreators as far east as Las Animas to avoid using or coming into contact with stream water. Department of Agriculture officials are working with the melon and other produce farmers that make up the core of the Lower Arkansas Valley economy to find alternative sources and test their water while dangerous bacteria and other germs wash through southeastern Colorado. • Strava’s Heatmap Is Accidentally Becoming a Map of Where People Want to Live People Have Discovered An Unintended Use For Strava's Heatmap {ZME SCIENCE} August 28, 2026 -A map built to help runners find their next route is starting to become a way people decide which neighborhoods might be worth living in. This week, a Strava heatmap of Chicago went viral after one user called it “a giant proxy for class and wealth.” Then someone spotted the obvious second use: “Pro tip for moving to a new city: Use Strava as a proxy for where to live.” • More Columns Lacked Support in Troubled N.Y.C. Building Drawings Show Insufficient Reinforcements On Eight More Steel Columns Than Previously Known August 28, 2026 -The Midtown Manhattan high rise that became dangerously unstable last month had more columns that were missing reinforcements than was previously known, according to documents obtained by The New York Times, and reviewed by independent engineers. The city temporarily shut down the area around the building, the former headquarters of Pfizer on East 42nd Street, because of two columns that buckled on the 21st floor as the structure was being converted to apartments. • E-Bike and Scooters' Deadly Toll: 18 Dead and 700 Injured After Battery Fires E-bikes and E-Scooters, Through Overheating Batteries, Have Been Behind More Than a Dozen Deaths in the UK and Hundreds of Injuries {Mirror} August 28, 2026 -New data has uncovered the deadly toll of e-bikes and e-scooters in the UK, with more than a dozen people killed in incidents with the bikes and several hundred injured. Recently obtained figures recorded by fire and rescue services show that 18 people have died and nearly 700 have been injured in fires caused by the vehicles. Among those deaths are people who have been trapped in their own homes like mum Gemma Germeney, 31, and her children Lilly Peden, eight, and Oliver Peden, four, who all died after a fire at a flat in Cambridge in March. • Washington Chemical Tank Was Called Unfit For Service Before Deadly Failure New Evidence From Longview Chemical Disaster Raises Maintenance Doubts August 28, 2026 -An inspection contractor found a chemical tank at a Washington state paper mill “not fit for continued service” 10 months before it failed in May, killing 11 in one of the deadliest U.S. workplace disasters in recent decades, according to a federal report released Friday. The U.S. Chemical Safety Board’s update about the May 26 failure in Longview, which expelled enough caustic liquid to blow out building walls, is part of an ongoing investigation. The federal agency said it is still determining the cause of the failure. • The World’s Mountains Are Ticking Time Bombs The Weather Phenomenon is Already Roiling Industries, From Shipping to Copper to Fish Feed {Bloomberg} August 27, 2026 -A warming planet is undermining the stability of mountains, leaving landslides, floods, and avalanches in its wake, as seen in the recent flash floods on the border between Nepal and China's Tibet region. The initial disaster may have left behind a fresh dam of material, which could prompt further flash flooding if it crumbles, and researchers must work fast to investigate the cause of the disaster. • The Circular Chemistry That Could Make Cement Carbon-Negative By Closing the Loop On the Same Reaction That Makes Cement, Researchers Say Plants Could Capture More CO2 Than They Release Ausust 27, 2026, -Cement is one of the most-used manmade materials in the world. And the kilns that produce this in-demand building material belch about 8 percent of the global carbon dioxide emissions. But a team from ETH Zurich and the US company Heirloom Carbon Technologies now propose a way to dramatically cut emissions from future cement factories. By employing established technologies, cement factories could not only capture their own emissions, the researchers write in the journal Chem Circularity, but also remove additional carbon dioxide from the atmosphere • Brilliant Innovation Turns Tree Scraps Into Eco-Friendly Material Will Restore Your Faith in Conservation {HEALTHY HAPPY NEWS} August 27, 2026 -A heartwarming environmental breakthrough is proving that one person’s trash truly can become another’s treasure. Researchers at the University of British Columbia have developed an ingenious solution that transforms low-value timber waste into a sustainable alternative to plastic packaging. The innovation, dubbed “wood foam,” takes scraps from one of the world’s largest timber industries and converts them into a biodegradable material that can replace polluting plastics. This feel-good story showcases human ingenuity at its finest, tackling two environmental challenges simultaneously. • Two Employees Die Of ‘Airport Malaria,’ Officials Try To Calm Fears {DAILY CALLER} August 27, 2026 -Mosquitoes carried into Germany from a malaria region have killed two workers at the country’s busiest airport. Six Frankfurt Airport employees caught malaria on the job, according to German outlet Hessischer Rundfunk. The first of the two victims died in early July. The second death came in August. All four surviving patients have since left the hospital. • Third Human Case of West Nile Virus Identified in Massachusetts Boston Health Officials On Thursday Announced the State's Third Human Case of West Nile Virus This Year {WCVB55} August 27, 2026 -The Massachusetts Department of Public Health said the West Nile virus risk level in Boston is high based on ongoing evidence of mosquitoes carrying the virus in the city. Earlier in the week, state health officials said a man in his 60s who was exposed in Middlesex County tested positive. Last week, officials announced that a man in his 90s contracted the virus in Middlesex County. • Marmots Are Terrorizing California Hikers and Stealing Their Shoes The Cute But Destructive Rodents Are Criminal Masterminds, Easily Circumventing Humans’ Meager Defenses {THE WALL STREET JOURNAL} August 27, 2026 -Andrew Reinhart was so tired after hiking up a mountain pass last month, he laid down for a nap—only to wake to a wet tongue on his ear. A marmot stared back. “It scared the s— out of me,” said the 28-year-old engineer from Livermore, Calif. “You don’t expect to get licked when you go to sleep in the woods.” Welcome to Sequoia National Park, also known as Marmot Country. Yellow-bellied marmots are stalking hikers and campers in a park more famous for its namesake giant trees. They snatch backpacks, swipe shoes and nibble on trekking poles. Some even chase humans. • The Terrifying Mechanics of the Nepali Flash Flood How a Glacial Avalanche Visits Devastation {The Economist} August 27, 2026 -One of earth’s peculiarities as a planet is that its surface temperatures hover near the melting point of water, meaning some parts of it are covered by that substance in its liquid form and some by it in its solid form, ice. One consequence is that life in the transition zone is precarious. Just how precarious, the inhabitants of the Bhote Koshi and Trishuli valleys in Nepal and Tibet discovered on August 26th, when an unheralded surge of water swept all before it. More than 1,300 people are missing. The explanation for this catastrophe seems to have been a phenomenon called a glacial avalanche. A 600-metre-wide section of a glacier in the Himalaya mountains broke free and dropped 1.2km into the valley below. The kinetic energy of the fall melted enough of the ice to create a slurry that gathered further material as it travelled, until it arrived at the bottom of the valley, which it blocked. Water then backed up behind this dam until its pressure overwhelmed the blockage, causing a surge. • Battle Over Cleaning Up Shipping Set to Resume at London Talks The US and Saudi Arabia Want to Scrap Shipping’s Net-Zero Framework and Have Swung Behind a Far Less Ambitious Alternative {CLIMATE HOME NEWS} August 26, 2026 -The US is expected to resume its attempt to sink measures for a greener global shipping sector at closed-door talks between governments at the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in early September. The US and oil-producing allies like Saudi Arabia want to weaken a proposed plan for cleaner fuels that aims to reduce planet-heating emissions from the industry, which relies heavily on dirty bunker fuels. Shipping currently represents 3% of global emissions. • FDA Approves Pancreatic Cancer Drug That Extends Patients’ Lives Revolution Medicines’ Daraxonrasib Nearly Doubled Average Survival Times For One of the Deadliest Cancers August 26, 2026 -The Food and Drug Administration has approved a new pancreatic cancer drug, a pill that nearly doubled patients’ average survival times for one of the deadliest cancers when taken instead of chemotherapy. Researchers have called the drug, known as Rasonque or daraxonrasib and taken daily, a “landmark” development. It has been one of the most closely watched experimental cancer treatments. • At Least 14 Newborn Babies Die in Fire at Pakistan Hospital’s Maternity Ward 15 Babies Were in the Ward When Fire Broke Out August 26, 2026 -At least 14 newborn babies have died in a fire that broke out in the maternity ward at one of Pakistan’s most prominent state hospitals. The blaze began in the early hours of Wednesday and engulfed the ward at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, the biggest state hospital in Islamabad. • A Rift Over a Weed Killer is Dividing a Pro-Trump Alliance Influential MAHA Activists Are Channeling Their Anger Over Pesticides at Heidi Overton, a Top Aide the President Picked to Lead the FDA August 26, 2026 -The MAGA-MAHA alliance helped carry Donald Trump back to the White House. It handed Robert F. Kennedy Jr. control of the nation’s health agencies. Now, it may fracture over a widely used herbicide. Donald Trump’s decision that expanded domestic production of glyphosate earlier this year was a national security priority and not an endorsement of the use of the weed killer, White House officials have said — part of his Make America Great Again platform. • Nearly 1,400 Missing, Mostly Tourists, After Nepal-Tibet Flash Flood Kills at Least 356 Entire Villages Swept Away After Glacial Collapse Triggers Flood in Mountainous Region Popular With Trekkers and Pilgrims August 27, 2026 -Rescuers are searching for nearly 1,400 people, most of them tourists, who are missing after a catastrophic flash flood hit Nepal and Tibet, thundering down valleys, obliterating entire villages and killing at least 356 people. Efforts to locate those missing – including hundreds of people from India, the US, UK, Australia and Canada – have been complicated by the destruction of dozens of bridges and almost 25 miles (40km) of roads in the mountainous region popular with trekkers and pilgrims. • What is "Good" Vs. "Bad" Ozone? Ground-level Ozone Basics {EPA} August 26, 2026 -Ozone is a gas composed of three atoms of oxygen. Ozone occurs both in the Earth's upper atmosphere and at ground level. Ozone can be good or bad, depending on where it is found. Called stratospheric ozone, good ozone occurs naturally in the upper atmosphere, where it forms a protective layer that shields us from the sun's harmful ultraviolet rays. This beneficial ozone has been partially destroyed by manmade chemicals, causing what is sometimes called a "hole in the ozone." The good news is, this hole is diminishing. Learn more about stratospheric, or "good" ozone. • Two Planned Datacentres Will Have Higher UK Carbon Emissions Than ExxonMobi Buckinghamshire and Bedfordshire Sites Predicted to Emit 4.5M Tonnes a Year When Fully Running August 25, 2026 -The carbon emissions from just two planned datacentres in England will exceed all of the fossil fuel company ExxonMobil’s UK emissions, analysis has revealed. Experts have said this demonstrates the “serious threat” datacentres pose to the UK’s legally binding climate goals. • Typhoon Saudel Heads West After Pounding Japan’s Southwestern Remote Islands, Injuring 2 Some 150 Flights to and From Okinawa’s Naha Airport Have Been Canceled August 26, 2026 -A powerful typhoon headed west over the East China Sea on Wednesday after slamming Okinawa and other remote southwestern Japanese islands, causing blackouts, flight cancellations and threatening landslides. Two people were slightly injured. Typhoon Saudel was about 180 kilometers (112 miles) northwest of Okinoerabu island, packing winds of up to 144 kph (89 mph) as of late morning Wednesday as it headed toward China’s eastern coast, the Japan Meteorological Agency said. • Scores Dead, Hundreds Missing In Flash Floods On Nepal-China Border An Avalanche Caused the Bhotekoshi River to Overflow, Sending Waves of Water and Mud That Swept Buildings and People Away August 26, 2026 -At least 160 people were killed in Nepal and China, and hundreds more were missing Wednesday as flash floods devastated the countries’ Himalayan border region. In Nepal, at least 157 were dead, according to the Nepali police, and 403 people, included 47 U.S. citizens, were among the missing, Nepali authorities said. In China, where the flood caused “severe casualties,” state media reported, at least three were reported dead and 265 missing. • Gas Capacity Slated for US Data Centers Nearly Doubled in the First Half of 2026 As of Mid-2026, Construction had Kicked Off On Just 14% of Proposed US Gas Projects {energy central} August 25, 2026 -Yes, you read that right: Planned on-site gas for these facilities leapt from 97 GW in 2025 to 189 GW in H1 2026, Global Energy Monitor found. Over that period, overall US gas development increased by 50% to 378 GW. The gassiest states: Texas now has more gas in development than any country (besides, well, the US). The Lone Star State upped its gas development >50% in H1 2026 to 122 GW—nearly a third of the US total. Ohio, PA, and WV also saw significant gas development boosts in the first half of the year. • A Tornado Tears Through a Village In Southern France Wrecking 300 Homes August 25, 2026 -A tornado ripped through a small village in southern France, damaging about 300 homes, destroying several cars and injuring dozens of people, authorities said Tuesday. The tornado struck Pomas, a village of about 1,000 people, on Monday and rescue teams continued their search through ruins on Tuesday, though no people were immediately reported missing. • 2 Measles-Related Deaths Reported in Pennsylvania The State’s First In 35 Years August 25, 2026 -Two Pennsylvania residents have died after contracting measles, according to the state health authorities, marking the first deaths related to the contagious disease in the state in 35 years and the first reported in the United States this year. Both people were unvaccinated residents of Lancaster County. The Pennsylvania Health Department said it is not releasing more information about the people and their families, citing privacy. • Officials Played Down Risks in Ohio Train Disaster, Residents Now Say Newly Released Government Documents Raise Questions About What the Public Was Told About Health Risks After the 2023 Norfolk Southern Derailment {THE WALL STREET JOURNAL} August 25, 2026 -Years after a Norfolk Southern train derailed and a chemical-laden black cloud hovered over this town of 4,700, new claims are emerging about risks residents faced then—and might still face now. The fiery Feb. 3, 2023, accident involved 20 cars carrying hazardous chemicals. Norfolk Southern advocated burning five tanker cars of vinyl chloride it said could explode, and the plan unfolded three days later. • Indonesia Chokes On Haze as Blazes Intensify Amid Super ‘El Niño’ Fires Have Ravaged Tens of Thousands of Acres, With Suffocating Smoke Reaching Malaysia and Putting Singapore On Alert August 25, 2026 -Suwadi can barely see five metres in front of him when he steps outside his home in Indonesian Borneo. Each breath, he says, feels “like smoking a cigarette”. It has been like this for weeks in Kalimantan, the Indonesian side of Borneo island, where fires have raged across tens of thousands of acres of land, including ancient rainforest, triggering a trans-boundary haze now threatening Malaysia and Singapore. • Invisible Changes to White Light Made Rooms Feel Cooler and Could Cut AC Energy Use by Up to 11.4% A Novel Experiment Suggests Light Spectra Could Subtly Widen Thermostat Comfort Zones {ZME SCIENCE} August 25, 2026 -A room can feel cooler even when the thermostat has not moved. The trick, a new study suggests, may lie in changing parts of white light that people cannot consciously see. In a small laboratory experiment, people sitting under blue-enriched white light tolerated air about 1.3 degrees Fahrenheit (0.7 degrees Celsius) warmer before asking for relief than they did under red-enriched white light. Both lights looked the same to the human eye. It’s the first evidence that a light’s underlying spectrum — not merely its visible color — can affect how people respond to ambient temperature. • Norway Will Drill in Arctic Regardless of EU's Position This, According to Their Energy Minister August 26, 2026 -Norway will continue developing its oil and gas resources in the Barents Sea regardless of the European ?Union's support for a moratorium on Arctic hydrocarbon supplies, and no longer sees itself as Europe's "green battery", Energy Minister Terje Aasland told Reuters. Following Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Norway has become Europe's largest supplier of natural gas, meeting around 30% of gas demand of both the European Union and Britain. • New Zealand Moves to Protect Business With Law Curtailing Climate Litigation A New Bill Prevents Corporations Being Sued For the Climate Damage Their Emissions Cause... {CLIMATE HOME NEWS} August 24, 2026 -New Zealand’s parliament has adopted a controversial new law blocking a whole avenue of climate litigation and shutting down its most advanced corporate lawsuit, which has been blamed by the government for shaking business confidence and investment. The Climate Change Response (Tort Liability) Amendment Bill, expected to take effect in the coming days after it is formally signed by the Governor-General, prevents all current and future civil claims for climate loss or harm under tort law. • Managing Forests For Washington’s Year-Round Wildfire Challenge “It'd Aready a Devastating Fire Season, and We’re Not Even in the Middle of It Yet August 24, 2026 -Washington’s 2026 fire season has already been devastating — for communities across the state and for Washington’s forests and environment. Acreage burned is more than 420% higher than at this point last year. On Aug. 1, Gov. Bob Ferguson declared a statewide state of emergency, citing drought, unusual heat and high winds. More than 1,250 fire starts have been reported statewide, and more than 800,000 acres have burned this year — the worst over the last 10-year period, according to the Department of Natural Resources. • Mexico Resumes Limited Cattle Exports to US After Screwworm Pause Relieving Ranchers August 24, 2026 - Mexico resumed live cattle exports to the United States on Monday after they were halted for nearly two years by restrictions imposed by the Trump administration following a screwworm outbreak. Even under strict limitations, the reopening of the trade channel brought relief to Mexico’s ranching industry, which was dealt an economic blow by the controls. The flesh-eating worm is now present on both sides of the border. • Homes Submerged, Tens of Thousands Relocated in China's South As Flooding Intensifies Typhoon Narra Brings Flooding to Southern China's Guangxi August 24, 2026 - Widespread floods triggered by heavy rain from Typhoon ?Narra intensified on Tuesday across southern China, with homes and shops submerged and thousands of people relocated, while another storm system made its way towards Japan and Taiwan. Authorities in Chongzuo, in China's Guangxi region, famous for its giant waterfalls and karst limestone mountains, evacuated more than 15,000 people after water levels surpassed a record high set in 2008. • Fast-Moving Wildfire Forces Thousands of Evacuations Near Reno, Nevada As of Monday Afternoon, the Hawk Fire was 27% Contained... August 24, 2026 -A fast-moving wildfire burning with high intensity near Reno, Nevada, has forced thousands of residents to evacuate and injured at least seven people, with strong, unpredictable winds complicating firefighting efforts. The blaze was caused by human activity, officials said. The Hawk Fire was first reported Saturday morning and quickly was fueled by red-flag wind conditions, Chief Richard Edwards, of Truckee Meadows Fire Protection District, said in a news conference Sunday. It spread to about 15,000 acres in about a day. • Landslide at Guinea Landfill Kills 30 The Landslide Took Place at Around 2 a.m. (0200 ?GMT) in the Gbessia Commune of Conakry August 23, 2026 -A landslide at a landfill in Guinea's capital killed 30 people, ?the government said on Sunday, after heavy rains overnight prompted the collapse of a massive mound of waste that engulfed nearby tents and shacks. The incident occurred less than a week after the government announced plans to close the site and relocate the waste ?because of the threat it posed, especially during the ongoing rainy season, ?which causes landslides and fatal flash floods each year in crowded, ?underdeveloped cities across parts of West Africa. • Bigger, Hotter Fires Are Slowly Erasing America’s Great Forest Towering Woodlands in the West Are Being Permanently Replaced By Tracts of Spiky Shrubs August 24, 2026 -On a gentle slope on the western side of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, where a towering green canopy of ponderosa pines had stood for centuries, wildfires have transformed roughly 1,700 acres into brown, bare shrubland. That forest is gone for good, scientists say. Spiky shrubs and poison oak have replaced the majestic trees. All that is left of the pines are burned logs and dead branches. • Over 50 New Wildfires Reported in PNW After Weekend Lightning, Wind The Weekend Brought a “One-Two Punch” of Lightning Followed By Gusty Winds in the Pacific Northwest August 23, 2026 -More than 50 wildfires sparked in the Pacific Northwest this weekend, including the Colwash fire, which prompted evacuations and burned over 60 square miles near Sunnyside, according to the Northwest Coordination Center. Thunderstorms worked their way across Washington and Oregon on Saturday. There were 692 lightning strikes reported in Washington and 176 in Oregon in the 24-hour period beginning 8 a.m. Saturday. The lightning definitely had an impact, said Jodie Schiffman, a spokesperson with the coordination center. • Recycling Food Waste has a Huge Climate Upside and a Surprising Downside The Clue is What Food is Wrapped In August 21, 2026 -If all food waste in the US found a second life as biogas and compost, this would almost completely offset its climate impact. But, it would also create a microplastic problem spread over a gigantic area. This is the catch-22 described in a new study from Nature Food, which explores both the massive potential and the overlooked risks of tackling food waste. There is however a solution, say its authors, which is to design packaging and get much better at separating our waste.		• Fast-Moving Wildfire Amid Shifting Winds Threatens Reno, Nevada Forcing Thousands to Evacuate August 21, 2026 -Typhoon Maysak, which hit China more than a month ago, killed at least 159 people, with 10 still missing, state media reported Friday. The storm, which hit China’s southwestern Guangxi province in early July, brought historic rains and severe flooding. Two cities, Nanning and Guigang, were the most heavily impacted. At the time, officials reported 39 deaths • Trump Admin Appears To Be Going Full Steam Ahead In Defying UN With Oil Drilling Site “The World Heritage Committee has Consistently Considered Extractive Activities to Be Incompatible With World Heritage Status” {DAILY CALLER} August 21, 2026 -The Trump administration is moving forward with plans to extract oil and gas near United Nations-designated historic sites, despite pleas from the international organization. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) told the Guardian that it had learned the administration intended to permit extraction within a drilling-free buffer zone that had previously been put in place to protect New Mexico’s Chaco Culture National Historical Park. • New Treatment Could Stop Deadliest Cancer Before It Starts Medical Breakthrough Leaves Scientists Hopeful {HEALTHY HAPPY NEWS} August 20, 2026 -In a development that’s bringing tears of joy to the medical community, researchers at Johns Hopkins have announced a major breakthrough in the fight against pancreatic cancer. An experimental drug has proven both safe and effective at generating immune responses that could prevent this devastating disease in people at high risk. Pancreatic cancer has long been one of the most feared diagnoses, with one of the lowest survival rates among all cancers. But this new treatment is changing the conversation from treatment to prevention — a paradigm shift that could save countless lives. • Record Cyclosporiasis Outbreak Tests the Response of a 'Weakened' Health System What Cyclospora Does Inside the Gut and How It Gets There {NPR} August 20, 2026 -Environmental health expert Bob Custard spent four decades working with local governments on things like clean water, rabies prevention and food safety. He also represents 160 others doing that kind of work as president of the West Virginia Association of Sanitarians. With the largest-ever cyclosporiasis outbreak concentrated in nearby states, Custard – now a public health consultant – said federal funding cuts have left local food safety programs across the state grossly understaffed. Health officials are unable to keep pace with the interviews and investigations needed to track and contain the diarrhea-causing bug. "It's like we have a house, and we decided to take smoke detectors out," Custard said of the current approach to foodborne illness • Cougars May Cut Deer Vehicle Collisions In the U.S. by as Much as 76% Bringing Cougars Back Could Have a Surprising Benefit For Drivers {ZME SCIENCE} August 20, 2026 -If you’re a black-tailed deer on the Olympic Peninsula in the U.S. state of Washington, you’re always surrounded by friends and family. You are free-range, with abundant food to forage in familiar woods and meadows. But you’re also vigilant because you’re a prey species and your ideal habitat is also home to your top predators: Cascade mountain wolves (Canis lupus fuscus), cougars (Puma concolor) and black bears (Ursus americanus). • Alfalfa Sprouts Linked to Food Poisoning Illnesses in Minnesota and Wisconsin Wisconsin Investigators Have Identified Another 18 Cases of Illness Tied to Alfalfa Sprouts August 20, 2026 -Minnesota health officials are warning consumers not to eat certain brands of alfalfa sprouts that have been tied to an unusual outbreak involving different disease-causing bacteria. Officials say 23 people in Minnesota have become ill with either E. coli or salmonella infections, with two of them hospitalized. • Without Action Wildfires in Europe Will Increase 39% Even in Best-Case Climate Scenario Improvements in Fire Management However Could Mitigate Increases By More Than 70% August 20, 2026 -Wildfires are projected to burn 39% more of Europe by the end of the century even in the best-case scenario for stopping the planet from heating, a study has found, unless action is taken to manage them better. The increase in hot, dry and windy weather that leads to small fires turning into raging infernos is to engulf more of Europe as carbon pollution pushes temperatures higher. In the worst-case scenario the researchers modelled, which would see global heating reach 3.6C above preindustrial levels, the burnt area would almost triple. • A Magnitude 6.7 Earthquake Shakes Peru’s Southern Andes Injuring At Least 2 and Damaging Homes August 20, 2026 -A magnitude 6.7 earthquake shook Peru’s southern Andes Mountains on Thursday, injuring at least two people and damaging homes, health centers and schools, authorities said. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the quake occurred at 1 p.m. local time (18:00 GMT) and was centered 38 kilometers (24 miles) northwest of the city of Upahuacho, in the Parinacochas province of the Ayacucho region. It had a depth of 66 kilometers (41 miles). • These Trees Are Making Air Quality in Cities Worse They Release Compounds That Contribute to Ozone Emissions, and Rising Temperatures Could Exacerbate the Problem {Nature} August 20, 2026 -Across Beijing, millions of weeping willows and poplar trees turn the megacity into a green metropolis. But compounds released by these trees are becoming a major contributor to air pollution1, finds a study. Beijing is not alone. Many trees planted in urban areas — species that are often chosen for their quick growth and climate resilience — are worsening ozone emissions, suggests the study published in Science Advances today. Rising temperatures from global warming could exacerbate the problem. • Tick-Borne Meat Allergy Leaves Restaurants On Wealthy Island Scrambling Symptoms May Vary Among People, With Some Experiencing Digestive Discomfort and Others Experiencing Anaphylaxis {DAILY CALLER} August 18, 2026 -Restaurants on Martha’s Vineyard are adapting their menus to keep dining safe amid a rising number of alpha-gal syndrome cases — a tick-borne illness that causes a meat allergy. A total of 416 positive alpha-gal tests have been reported on Martha’s Vineyard as of June 2026, according to N Magazine. Martha’s Vineyard previously reported 742 positive alpha-gal tests in 2025, compared with only two positive cases in 2020. Alpha-gal syndrome can cause an allergy to meat from hoofed animals or to dairy, according to N Magazine and the Vineyard Gazette, respectively. • Firefighting Resources Are ‘Critically Low’ in Record Fire Year Memos Show a Federal Group Cannot Meet “All Requested Resources” to Fight Wildfires and “No Immediate Relief” is Expected {E&E NEWS} August 18, 2026 -Wildfires across the West have left a national group unable to fill all local requests for firefighting help and have plunged resources to a “critically low” level, according to memos by a federal group that coordinates national fire response. The National Multi-Agency Coordinating Center said in an Aug. 14 memo that it cannot “provide all requested resources for every fire” and on Aug. 11 said there is “no immediate relief anticipated.” The center helps agencies cooperate on wildfire response and dispatches people, equipment and firefighting aircraft to state and local fire firefighting crews that need help. • How Hard Would an Alaskan Tsunami Hit WA? New Model Full of Surprises August 19, 2026 -Twenty-foot waves cresting off Westport. Swift and dangerous currents coursing through Hood Canal. Tsunami water pushing down to Olympia and up to Washington’s northern border with Canada. For the first time, state researchers have modeled the impact of a tsunami sparked by a magnitude 9.2 quake along the Alaska-Aleutian subduction zone, and they’ve found some surprises. • NW Nature Seems to Be Squealing Now a River Stopped Flowing? August 19, 2026 -“Something is going terribly wrong here.” This is the uneasy feeling Jule Schultz walks around with. A marine biologist by training, he now works on river science in Spokane. Only the river isn’t rivering. And the science, for now, is a mystery. “You think you can depend on the flow of a river,” he told me. “It’s completely disorienting when all of a sudden, it stops.” • California Passes the Toughest Wildfire Rules in the U.S. For Home Landscaping Heard on Morning Edition {NPR} August 19, 2026 -As severe wildfires burn across the Western U.S., California has adopted the toughest rules in the country to help protect communities from burning. Homeowners in wildfire-prone areas will be required to limit plants within 5 feet of their house, a protective measure that wildfire experts say can help prevent homes from igniting. Research shows that dry, dense vegetation around buildings can cause wildfires to spread. In extreme conditions, high winds carry a deluge of tiny, burning embers far beyond the fire itself. When those embers get caught in vegetation, they can ignite, spreading flames to nearby buildings and homes. • Kenya Triples Its Power Target, Aiming to Expand Use of Nuclear and Geothermal Energy Cheaper Electricity is Needed August 19, 2026 -Kenya has tripled its long-term target for expanding its renewable energy capacity to meet surging demand and support its industrialization, but that might not result in more affordable power for consumers. The plan calls for renewable power generating capacity of 5,500 megawatts, up from about 1,500 MW now. That would include 2,000 MW of nuclear power alongside 700 MW of hydropower and new geothermal projects. • Overloaded Boat Capsizes in Nigeria At Least 50 Killed, Mostly Children August 19, 2026 -Kenya has tripled its long-term target for expanding its renewable energy capacity to meet surging demand and support its industrialization, but that might not result in more affordable power for consumers. The plan calls for renewable power generating capacity of 5,500 megawatts, up from about 1,500 MW now. That would include 2,000 MW of nuclear power alongside 700 MW of hydropower and new geothermal projects. • Court Allows Sable Offshore to Keep Carrying Oil A Federal Judge Agreed to Modify a Consent Decree Governing the Restart of a Pipeline That Had Stopped Operating After a 2015 Oil Spill {E&E NEWS} August 19, 2026 -A federal judge in California is allowing oil to keep flowing through Sable Offshore's contentious onshore pipeline, dealing a blow to California regulators and environmental groups who have sought to reverse the Trump administration's resurrection of the conduit. On Wednesday, Judge Stephen Wilson for the U.S. District for the Central District of California< agreed to modify a consent decree governing how the onshore pipeline could resume operations after it spilled more than 120,000 gallons of crude oil on Refugio State Beach, causing significant ecological damage in 2015. • Australia Braces For Bushfires In Almost Every State as El Niño Strengthens Dry Conditions in the East and Heavy Fuel Loads Across Central and Northern Australia Are Driving the Picture {INDEPENDENT} August 19, 2026 -Australia is facing a heightened risk of bushfire in almost every state and territory this spring, the country’s fire authorities have warned, as an El Nino dries out the east of the country. The seasonal outlook published by the Australian and New Zealand Council for Fire and Emergency Services covers the three months from September, when the southern hemisphere spring begins, and identifies elevated risk everywhere except the Australian Capital Territory, the small district around Canberra. • Tens of Thousands in Indiana Are Still Without Power a Week After Deadly Storms Full Restoration is Not Expected There Until Aug. 25 {FACTOR THIS} August 19, 2026 -Tens of thousands of people in northwest Indiana remained without power Wednesday, more than a week after deadly storms leveled trees and knocked down power lines across the region. Northern Indiana Public Service Co. said crews were working nonstop to fix the outages, but 75,000 customers still lacked electricity by late afternoon, mostly in Lake County next to the Illinois border. They included more than 20,000 customers in Gary, where residents lined up again at community centers for hot meals and a place to charge phones. • Fire In a Building Housing Several Hotels In Eastern India Kills 9 and Injures 6 Those Killed Included Two Women and a Four-Year-Old Child August 19, 2026 - A fire broke out in a five-story building that houses several hotels in Kolkata in the early hours Wednesday, killing at least nine people and injuring six others in the capital of India’s West Bengal state, police said. The blaze erupted around 1:45 a.m. in the building close to the West Bengal Fire Department headquarters in central Kolkata, the Press Trust of India news agency reported, describing the building as “dingy.” • Ebola Outbreak Hits Record Setting Pace With Over 5,000 Cases And Nearly 2,500 Dead {DAILY CALLER} August 19, 2026 -An Ebola outbreak tearing through eastern Congo has become the fastest-spreading the world has ever recorded. Congo’s Ministry of Health reported the outbreak had climbed to 5,021 cases and 2,378 deaths as of Sunday, according to CBS News. The virus has sickened and killed people faster than any previous Ebola epidemic. • Firefighting Resources Are ‘Critically Low’ in Record Fire Year A Federal Group Cannot Meet “All Requested Resources” to Fight Wildfires and “No Immediate Relief” is Expected {E&E NEWS} August 19, 2026 -Wildfires across the West have left a national group unable to fill all local requests for firefighting help and have plunged resources to a “critically low” level, according to memos by a federal group that coordinates national fire response. The National Multi-Agency Coordinating Center said in an Aug. 14 memo that it cannot “provide all requested resources for every fire” and on Aug. 11 said there is “no immediate relief anticipated.” The center helps agencies cooperate on wildfire response and dispatches people, equipment and firefighting aircraft to state and local fire firefighting crews that need help. • Tick-Borne Meat Allergy Leaves Restaurants On Wealthy Island Scrambling Symptoms May Vary Among People, With Some Experiencing Digestive Discomfort and Others Experiencing Anaphylaxis {DAILY CALLER} August 18, 2026 -Restaurants on Martha’s Vineyard are adapting their menus to keep dining safe amid a rising number of alpha-gal syndrome cases — a tick-borne illness that causes a meat allergy. A total of 416 positive alpha-gal tests have been reported on Martha’s Vineyard as of June 2026, according to N Magazine. Martha’s Vineyard previously reported 742 positive alpha-gal tests in 2025, compared with only two positive cases in 2020. Alpha-gal syndrome can cause an allergy to meat from hoofed animals or to dairy, according to N Magazine and the Vineyard Gazette, respectively. • Steamboat Resort Clears 4,500 Wind-Felled Trees to Reduce Wildfire Risk, Repurpose Wood Steamboat Uses Helicopters to Clear Thousands of Trees Felled By Winter Winds, Reducing Wildfire Risk and Repurposing Wood For Trail Signs and More {9NEWS} August 18, 2026 - Steamboat Resort crews are spending this week using a helicopter to remove thousands of trees knocked down by high winds last winter, reducing wildfire danger while repurposing the wood for use on the mountain. "It was a pretty massive wind event," said Steamboat Resort Director of Slope Maintenance Jake Ingle. "We have 4,000 to 4,500 trees knocked down all over the forest." • Gold Mine Collapses in Central African Republic Killing at Least 30 Miners August 18, 2026 -A gold mining site collapsed Tuesday in the western part of Central African Republic, killing at least 30 miners and leaving others trapped, authorities and residents said. The low-tech, artisanal mine collapsed Tuesday morning in the Abba region of the Nana-Mambere prefecture, according to Florian Gaguende, one of the surviving miners. He said rescuers were searching for additional miners believed trapped, but that the chance of finding them alive “is getting slimmer.” • Flight Attendants and Pilots Have Highest Risk of Dying From Radiation-Linked Cancers This, According to a New Study August 18, 2026 -Flight attendants and pilots are at the highest risk of dying from radiation-related cancers — even more than people who work with radioactive materials, according to a new study. Cosmic radiation comes from space. Only a small amount reaches the Earth’s surface, but exposure is greater for people flying at high altitudes. • Every Country Needs a Model to Help Optimise Its Energy Transition National Pledges and Platforms Alone Won’t Lead to Secure and Affordable Decarbonised Energy Systems {CLIMATE HOME NEWS} August 18, 2026 -The case for global energy transition has rarely been clearer. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz earlier this year exposed the cost of unplanned, fossil-dependent systems, while the falling cost of renewables, the rising penetration of electric vehicles, and the growing value of demand flexibility have made the direction of travel obvious. The benefits of a clean, secure, integrated system are no longer in dispute. What remains unclear is how to build it. Countries around the world have called for faster renewable energy deployment and alternative energy arrangements. A secure, affordable, resilient, decarbonised system requires specific investments in specific places in a specific sequence, optimised across sectors and borders • Trump Administration Moves to Allow Logging in Pristine National Forests The move Would Pave the Way For Road Construction and Logging In Nearly 45 Million Acres of Untouched Back Country August 18, 2026 -The Trump administration on Tuesday advanced a plan to open nearly 45 million acres of wilderness in national forests to road construction and logging, removing protections that had been in place for a quarter century. The proposal by the U.S. Forest Service would repeal the 2001 “roadless rule,” enacted during the Clinton administration to preserve the wild nature of forest land. It comes as President Trump pressures the agency to increase logging and to thin forests to reduce wildfire risk. • In Mayotte, Young People Learn to Know the Sea in Order to Protect It The Lagoon of Mayotte is One of the Largest and Most Biodiverse in the Indian Ocean {EARTH.ORG} August 18, 2026 -In Mayotte, the sea is everywhere. It surrounds the island, shapes the villages, follows the roads, feeds families and draws the eye. From the hillsides, the lagoon appears vast, luminous, almost self-evident. Yet for many young Mahorais, it remains close but unfamiliar, admired from land, sometimes feared, and rarely explored. Karimou, 16, was among them. “I had a phobia of the sea,” he told Earth.Org. That fear is not anecdotal. In Mayotte, drownings leave deep marks on communities. Access to swimming lessons remains uneven. The sea, which could be a refuge, a playground or a source of pride, remains for some a boundary. • A Weather Scientist Got Trapped in a Tornado Here's What He Saw {NPR} August 18, 2026 -What's the dumbest thing Perry Samson says he's ever done? Getting caught inside a tornado. But when you're an atmospheric scientist who studies supercell thunderstorms—with a special interest in the ones that cause tornadoes—that sort of thing is a bit of an occupational hazard. Lucky for Perry, the split-second decision he made while in the tornado, which allowed him to live to tell the tale, may be the smartest thing he's ever done. So today on the show, what we can learn from nature at its wildest. • New Tremors Jolt Spain's Granada Injuring Three and Damaging Some Buildings August 18, 2026 - Tourist access to the medieval Alhambra complex was restricted on Tuesday after three more earthquakes shook Spain's southern Granada province, causing some damage ?to buildings in the region and forcing the closure of some museums and sport facilities. At least three people were lightly injured, Andalusia's regional official Antonio Sanz told reporters, adding that one of them, a minor, was taken to hospital. • Canada Bets Big on Hydro and Wind Power, But... The Country Touts Plans For What Could Be North America’s Largest-Ever Clean Energy Investment, While Doubling Down On Oil August 17, 2026 -Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said the country will build the largest clean energy investment in North America’s history—a package of hydropower, onshore wind and transmission projects aimed at meeting electricity needs while also exporting power to Massachusetts and New York. The investment of about $70 billion Canadian (U.S. $50 billion) announced on Monday is notable for its contrast with the fossil-fuel-centered priorities of the Trump administration, but Carney and Canada have a mixed record on the transition to cleaner energy sources. Carney’s government also is taking steps to boost production in the oil sands of the western province of Alberta, alongside plans to build additional pipelines to get the oil to market. • How AI’s Climate Framing Lets Big Tech Off the Hook “Dangerous Consequences” {CLIMATE HOME NEWS} August 17, 2026 -As tech giants race to build out AI and the sprawling infrastructure it depends on, climate concerns have tended to focus on one thing: power-hungry data centres. Their electricity use is growing so fast that by 2030, it's projected to be nearly three times more than the combined annual consumption of Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nigeria. With the explosion in the construction of data centres driving new investment in fossil fuels, especially in the US, greenhouse gas emissions generated by data centres - now standing at less than 1% of the global total - are set to soar. • Residents Jeer French PM On Visit to Fire-Hit Region Earlier, Dozens of Residents Heckled the Premier As He Arrived In the Region {THE STRAITS TIMES} August 17, 2026 -French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu on Aug 17 announced measures to help residents of the south-west hit by wildfires rebuild their lives, after being jeered by locals dissatisfied by the government’s response to the disaster. Help will include some €12 million (S$17.8 million) of aid for the Gironde and Landes regions of south-west France worst hit by the fires, as well as fast-track processes to rebuild homes. • Crews in Longview Begin Removing Failed Tank Months After Disaster The Company is Also Installing Temporary Tanks to Hold the White Liquor and Another Chemical, Known as “Black Liquor" August 17, 2026 -Work crews took the first steps Monday toward restarting the Longview paper mill that closed after a fatal chemical spill in May, even as questions about the accident and the mill’s future remain unanswered. Nippon Dynawave Packaging Co. said crews have started dismantling the massive “white liquor” storage tank that collapsed May 26, killing 11 and injuring at least 8. • Elementary School, High School in Aurora Closed Due to Flooding CCSD Says the Closure Will Also Impact the Before and After School Program, HICEP {CBS NEWS} August 16, 2026 -The Cherry Creek School District is temporarily closing an elementary school and a high school in Aurora due to flooding that took place over the weekend. Saturday's storms brought localized flooding and hail throughout many areas across the Front Range. The district says the area around Highline Community Elementary School was also impacted by flooding, and officials have decided to keep the school closed on Monday while they clean and sanitize the building. • A Temple Stampede and a Hotel Fire in Eastern India Kill 14 and Injure Several Stampede May Have Been Caused By Snapped Wire August 17, 2026 - A deadly stampede broke out at a Hindu temple in eastern India’s Bihar state Monday, hours after a fire swept through a hotel housing pilgrims in West Bengal state. Seven people were killed and more than a dozen injured in the stampede, while the blaze left at least seven people dead and several others critically injured, police said. The incident in Bihar occurred near Ashok Dham Temple in Lakhisarai district, as thousands of devotees gathered to offer prayers on the third Monday of Shravan, one of the holiest months in the Hindu calendar. The period, which usually falls between July and August, is dedicated to the worship of Hindu god Lord Shiva and is marked by fasting, prayers and colorful monsoon festivals across India. • Lake Powell Hits Record Low, Threatening Key Water and Electricity Supply For Millions Lake Mead, Also Hit a Historic Low. {SciTechDaily} August 17, 2026 -The water level at Lake Powell, the United States’ second-largest reservoir, has fallen to a record low, heightening concerns about the ongoing crisis in the Colorado River system. The alarming milestone at Lake Powell, reached Saturday, comes about a week after the river’s other major reservoir, Lake Mead, also hit a historic low. Plummeting water levels pose a major threat to the Colorado River Basin, which is a key resource for wildlife, hydropower and more than 40 million people in seven U.S. states. • Search for Indonesia Earthquake Victims Underway on Independence Day Quake damages around 500 homes and blocks roads with landslides, disaster agency chief says August 16, 2026 - Residents of villages in eastern Indonesia hit by a deadly earthquake that killed at least 68 people were awaiting aid on Monday as rescuers combed through collapsed buildings in search of people trapped beneath the rubble. Late on Monday, the death toll was raised to 68 from 54 previously, said Berton SP Panjaitan, an official at Indonesia's disaster mitigation agency, adding that more than 200 have been injured. • Tropical Storm Lala Kills 1, Sweeps Away Homes as Flooding Hits Hawaii At Least One Person Was Killed in a Storm-Related Car Crash on Hawaii’s Big Island {NEW YORK POST} August 16, 2026 -Gov. Josh Green confirmed the death, along with 19 roofs ripped off buildings after what he described as an “enormous storm.” Powerful waves pounded the Big Island’s coast as Lala slowly passed by. Howling winds whipped palm trees and waterways swelled with fast-moving runoff from relentless rain that blew nearly sideways. • N.Y.C. Congestion Pricing Has Little Effect on Air Quality Pollution Improved Slightly In Manhattan and Did Not Worsen In Other Boroughs August 15, 2026 -Since New York introduced congestion pricing on its streets last year, the divisive tolling program has had little effect on air pollution anywhere in the city, according to a report that provides the first snapshot of the initiative’s environmental consequences. The study, from the city’s Health Department, noted that pollution within Manhattan’s congestion pricing zone had, at most, slightly improved. Perhaps most notably, the tolling program didn’t lead to dirtier air in neighborhoods where drivers may have headed to circumvent the tolling zone, such as the South Bronx and parts of Staten Island. • More Than 180,000 Without Power in Hawaii 100 Homes Damaged as Lala Weakens to Tropical Storm {CNBC} August 14, 2026 -More than 180,000 utility customers remained without power across Hawaii on Sunday afternoon after Hurricane Lala brushed the Big Island before being downgraded to a tropical storm. Some 183,123 customers across Hawaii were without power as of 3:30 p.m. HST (0130 GMT), according to poweroutage.us.Outages in Oahu, the most populated island, had dropped from more than 220,000 to about 130,000 as of Sunday morning, state officials said during a press conference. • Torrential Rain Floods Roads, Strands Drivers Across South Metro Denver More Rain in the Forecast Sunday {DENVER7} August 16, 2026 - Torrential rainfall caused widespread flooding in parts of the southern metro Denver area Saturday, prompting emergency responses and disrupting travel. South Metro Fire Rescue and the Douglas County Sheriff's Office responded to stranded motorists at multiple flooded intersections in Meridian Village, where rainfall gauges recorded up to 2 inches of rain in a short period. • 1 Dead, Thousands Without Power as Tropical Storm Lala Lashes Hawaii The Island of Oahu, Including the State’s Capital Honolulu, is Under a Flash Flood Warning Sunday Morning {CNN Weather} August 16, 2026 -One person is dead and tens of thousands have lost power after Hurricane Lala moved past parts of Hawaii overnight, before weakening slightly Sunday morning to a tropical storm with 70 mph sustained winds and heavy rain. Nearly 130,000 customers are without power across the islands. Nearly 70% of the Big Island is without power. Hurricane-force wind gusts were reported in Hawaii, Honolulu and Maui counties, with the mountainous island terrain amplifying winds at higher elevations. • Magnitude 7.7 Earthquake Strikes Off Indonesia's Coast Killing at Least 47 and Toppling Buildings {WCVB5} August 15, 2026 -A powerful magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck off the coast of Indonesia early Saturday, killing at least 47 people, collapsing buildings and causing panic in a region prone to deadly quakes. Authorities said dozens more residents were injured and warned that the death toll would almost certainly rise. Authorities issued a tsunami warning and urged coastal residents to move to higher ground, but later lifted the warning when Indonesia’s meteorological agency said monitoring showed no significant sea-level changes that posed a threat to coastal communities. Some smaller tsunamis were reported. • Officials Suspect Rip Current Led to 3 People Being Pulled Into the Water in Provincetown A Rip Current May Have Led to Three People Being Swept Into the Water Off Herring Cove in Provincetown Friday Afternoon {WCVB5} August 15, 2026 -First responders were called to Herring Cove for three people in distress in the water around 3 p.m., according to officials. Officials said emergency crews were able to pull all three from the water. Two people were in stable condition while a third was taken to Cape Cod Hospital in critical condition. • This Flesh-Eating Fly Is Back in the U.S. Scientists Are Tracking Where It Could Strike Next {SciTechDaily} August 15, 2026 -A female New World screwworm fly can deposit hundreds of eggs at a time in an animal’s or person’s wound. When those eggs hatch, the larvae do something most maggots do not: they burrow into healthy flesh and begin feeding. A single female may lay as many as 3,000 eggs during her lifetime. For decades, the United States had largely escaped that threat. An ambitious eradication campaign eliminated New World screwworm from the country and eventually forced the parasite south to Panama. But after spreading north through Central America and Mexico, the fly has returned. • Beijing’s Voyage Through Frozen Waters Could Change Shipping Forever Sea Legend Line Tested the Concept in 2025 With the Istanbul Bridge {DAILY CALLER} August 15, 2026 -China is preparing to establish a regular commercial shipping route through the Arctic, potentially giving Beijing a dramatically shorter path to Europe while reducing its dependence on some of the world’s most volatile maritime chokepoints. Chinese shipping company Sea Legend Line plans to operate eight consecutive voyages between China and Europe through Russia’s Northern Sea Route during this year’s Arctic navigation season, according to the Financial Times. The first mainline vessel was initially scheduled to depart Ningbo-Zhoushan Port on Aug. 15, although Sea Legend said weather conditions had forced it to adjust the schedule, the Global Times reported. • How to Beat an Earthquake: The Colombian City Where No One Died August 15, 2026 -Humberto Reyes, leaving for work, was saying goodbye to his wife when the earth began to tremble. The shaking Monday morning thrust the 70-year-old university professor immediately back to 1999, when a 6.2-magnitude earthquake brought down 60 percent of the buildings in Armenia, Colombia, killing nearly a thousand people. But he also remembered the drills this city in Colombia’s coffee-growing region has rehearsed at least twice a year since. • A Week of Rain Displaces Thousands in Midwest Floods Evacuations Orders Continue to Be Issued in Ohio Following Days of rain that's Washed Out Roads and Caused Widespread Flooding Across Indiana and Illinois {NPR} August 14, 2026 -At least five states across the Midwest are reeling after storms that started dumping heavy rain early this week, causing significant flooding. Illinois, Iowa and Indiana are among the hardest hit. Indiana Governor Mike Braun declared a state of emergency and mobilized the National Guard after his state received once-in-a-thousand-year rainfall. Nick Swartsell from member station WVXU in Cincinnati spoke to people displaced in communities straddling the Indiana-Ohio state line last night by the flooding Whitewater River. • Burnham Criticised for EV and North Sea Approach Amid Climate Crisis Cut in Electric Vehicle Sales Targets Could Add Millions of Tonnes of CO2 to Emissions in UK August 14, 2026 -Andy Burnham has been criticised for moving to cut electric vehicle (EV) sales targets and accept North Sea drilling at a time of devastating wildfires caused by the climate emergency. The prime minister for the first time acknowledged on Friday that the climate crisis was behind hundreds of wildfires that have ripped across the parts of the UK. • NOAA to Study Environmental Effects of Deep-Sea Mining The Agency Will Conduct a Study of Potential Environmental Harms Associated With a Nascent Mining Industry That has Been Supported by the Trump Administration {GREENWIRE} August 14, 2026 -NOAA plans to analyze the environmental effects that deep-sea mining exploration could have in international waters. NOAA plans to prepare an environmental impact statement to examine the impacts of granting a 10-year exploration license to the Metals Co., which has been pushing to move forward with commercial production in an area of the central and eastern Pacific Ocean. • Wildfire Descends On Croatian Tourist Town, Injures 36 Emergency Shelters, Opened in Several Towns On the Stretch ?Form Omis to Split, Accommodated About 1,000 People Overnight August 14, 2026 -A wildfire in Croatia driven by strong winds descended on the tourist ?town of Omis overnight, engulfing houses, forcing about 1,000 people to evacuate and injuring dozens, fire brigade and health officials said on Friday. Flames enveloped settlements and trees over 1,000 hectares, turning the night sky red above Omis, a scenic town on Croatia's prized Dalmatian coast surrounded by trees ?and rocky hills. • How to Fix New York City’s $500 Million Trash Problem The Big Apple's trash Problem {THE WALL STREET JOURNAL} August 14, 2026 -The City of New York handles nearly 3 million tons of municipal waste every year. The majority of that gets shipped to landfills outside the city, costing taxpayers around $500 million every year. But the Sanitation Department wants to modernize New York’s outdated trash system — can they? To find out, we asked an expert in environmental policy Can they do it? • Federal Job Cuts Are Making Wildfires Harder to Fight The Trump Administration Pushed Out Thousands of Veteran U.S. Forest Service Staff August 14, 2026 -At the start of what is becoming an intense wildfire season this year, federal officials warned of a 15 percent decrease in available “hotshot” teams, the elite squads that fight complex blazes in the most rugged areas. In Washington State, officials had to call in the National Guard and 250 active-duty U.S. Army soldiers to help extinguish embers because they didn’t have enough firefighters. • Hawaii Braces For Direct Hit From Tropical Storm Lala Storm Expected to Strengthen to Hurricane as State of Emergency Declared Amid Danger of ‘Life-Threatening’ Floods August 14, 2026 -Tropical Storm Lala is set to hit Hawaii’s Big Island with hurricane force in a matter of hours, bringing dangerous winds, heavy rainfall and high surf in a sign of what a strengthening “super” El Niño in the Pacific may bring. The tropical storm is currently about 420 miles (675km) south-east of Hilo on the archipelago’s largest island, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said in its latest advisory, packing winds of 60mph (97km/h). Lala is forecast to strengthen into a hurricane as it approaches the Big Island. • Devastating Start to PNW Fire Season Offers a Warning Massive Wildfires Are Burning Across the Pacific Northwest, Etching a Path of Destruction August 14, 2026 -Flames thrashed in the crowns of the ponderosas, spewing chunky embers as a family fought to halt the fire’s spread toward their home. The Modrite fire raced toward Inchelium along the Columbia River on the Colville Reservation in late July, consuming homes and just about everything else in its path. It was only as Frankie Seymour huddled her children in a shed near their home that she questioned why she had stayed to fight. • Sand Mining Is Quietly Reshaping Rivers Around the World The Environmental Problem You’ve Never Heard About {ZME SCIENCE} August 13, 2026 -The Environmental Problem You’ve Never Heard About Now scientists warn that this ordinary material has become the center of an extraordinary environmental problem. A major review analyzed 411 studies spanning more than five decades and found that in most cases, miners remove sediment much faster than rivers can replace it. • How a Long-Shot Project Is Shaking Up Greenland Oil, Hunters and Dr. Phil: August 13, 2026 -In one of the most remote towns on earth, on the frozen crust of Greenland’s east coast, the American oilman made his pitch. Near to the very room where they were all sitting, he told a crowd of Greenlanders, could be as much as 13 billion barrels of oil. His company planned to drill two exploratory wells, and if it struck oil, it could be a major worldwide discovery bringing much-needed jobs, loads of tax money and relief to world energy markets. • Will the World’s Drying Lands Get Relief From COP17 in Mongolia? Governments Will Discuss Ways to Combat Drought and Protect Herders and Their Pastures From Land Degradation in a Warming World {CLIMATE HOME NEWS} August 13, 2026 -Starting on Monday, about 10,000 government negotiators, scientists, journalists and campaigners will gather at a purpose-built venue in a national park in Mongolia’s capital Ulaanbaatar to discuss how to stop land turning into desert as the world warms. Drought is currently sweeping much of the Northern hemisphere, leaving normally green urban parks looking like dry savannah, causing crops to fail, food prices to rise and billions to be shaved off economic output. • Squeezed by EU Rules and Threat of Illegal Mining, Cocoa Farmers in Ghana Face a Turning Point As Illegal Gold Mining Destroys Thousands of Hectares of Ghanaian Forest, a New EU Deforestation Law Aims to Clean Up the Chocolate Supply Chain {EARTH.ORG} August 13, 2026 -At daybreak in Begoro, in Ghana’s Eastern Region, Sammy Takyi walks slowly between rows of young cocoa trees. The soil is still cool. Broad plantain leaves hang above the tender seedlings, filtering the early morning light and shielding them from the heat that will come later in the day. For five years, his two-hectare farm has tested his patience. Cocoa is not a crop that yields rewards quickly. It requires four to five years of care before the first meaningful harvest. During those long waiting seasons, Sammy plants plantain among the cocoa trees. • Japanese Start-Up Creates Drone That Hunts Mosquitoes and Zaps Them Mid-Air We’re Not Convinced Yet {ZME SCIENCE} August 13, 2026 -Humans have spent centuries inventing new ways to kill mosquitoes. We drain the water where they breed, we spray them with insecticides, lure them into traps, zap them with electricity, sleep beneath treated nets, and engineer sterile mosquitoes that can’t reproduce. But they keep coming back. Annoyingly, dangerously, buzzing around our bedrooms and spreading diseases that still kill hundreds of thousands of people each year. Now a startup wants to add something new to that arsenal: a tiny autonomous flying robot. The start-up Tornyol is developing a 40-gram micro-drone that uses sonar to detect flying insects, chase them through the air and kill them with its propellers. The company has already demonstrated its robot making an autonomous midair kill — although its victim was a moth, not a mosquito. • Hundreds of Flights Canceled in Sicily as Mount Etna Spews Volcanic Ash Etna Erupts Often, But It Usually Doesn’t Release This Much Ash August 13, 2026 -One of Sicily’s busiest airports has canceled more than 700 flights in the past week because of steady eruptions from Mount Etna, a volcano that has spewed millions of cubic yards of ash through eastern Sicily and its airspace. Etna is one of Europe’s most active volcanoes, and its eruptions are frequent, said Salvatore Gambino, the director of a National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology observatory, which is situated on the mountain. But he said the current spell, which began on Aug. 6, was unusual because of the “sustained and continuous emission of ash.” • Midwestern US Utilities Focus On Restoration After Severe Storms and Near-100 MPH Winds Leave Hundreds of Thousands in the Dark Largest-Ever Outage Event {FACTOR THIS} August 13, 2026 -Severe storms that rolled through the Midwestern United States this week knocked out power for hundreds of thousands of customers, and utilities are still scrambling to deploy response teams to fix downed utility poles and lines affected by fallen trees after winds of up to 99 miles per hour ripped through the region. The storms began on Monday evening, knocking out power for tens of thousands of customers throughout the Midwest, with the majority in Ohio. By Tuesday, even stronger storms arrived, leaving hundreds of thousands of additional customers without power. • Residents in Beulah Area Will Have Access to Clean Tap Water Again ‘Aspen Acres Fire’ Remains at 102k Acres, 72% Contained {KJCT8NEWS} August 13, 2026 -The Aspen Acres Fire remains at 102,004 acres Friday morning and 72 percent contained, according to the Wyoming Type 3 Incident Management Team 5. There are 135 personnel working on the fire. The Pine Drive Water District announced Thursday evening that crews can reopen taps in the district once again for customers after a bottled water advisory was issued by health officials. Command of the Aspen Acres Fire will transfer command to another Wyoming Type 3 Team on Saturday, fire officials said. • Scientists Discover a Hidden World of Fungi 1,640 Feet Beneath Michigan Fungal Colonies Cultured From Deep Subsurface Water Samples Reveal a Surprisingly Diverse Community of Fungi Living Hundreds of Feet Beneath Earth’s Surface {SciTechDaily} August 13, 2026 -A hidden ecosystem beneath Michigan contains abundant fungi and other complex life that may affect underground carbon. Far beneath Michigan, water trapped inside ancient rock contains a dense and unexpectedly diverse community of fungi. A University of Michigan study suggests that these organisms are far more abundant in the deep subsurface than scientists once assumed, forming ecosystems hundreds of feet below the surface. • Rescuers Evacuate More Than 200 From a Ferry Fire That Left at Least 1 Dead Near Bali 1 of 5 \| Indonesian Search and Rescue Teams Were Conducting a Large Evacuation Operation Wednesday After a Ferry Carrying 131 People Caught Fire... August 11, 2026 -Crews rescued 211 people and recovered the body of a passenger from a ferry that caught fire in rough seas Wednesday near the Indonesian tourist island of Bali, authorities said. Videos released by the National Search and Rescue Agency showed people wearing life jackets crowding an inflatable life raft in choppy waters during a rescue operation at sea, as thick black smoke billows from the ferry. • New Plastics Treaty Text Dims Hopes For Production Curbs “We’ve Gone Backwards” {CLIMATE HOME NEWS} August 12, 2026 -A new draft text to revive deadlocked UN plastics treaty talks does not include specific measures on managing runaway plastic production, a growing source of greenhouse gas emissions, drawing criticism from some countries and campaigners that ambition for the global pact is shrinking. After diplomats met in Nairobi early in July for the first time since negotiations fell apart a year ago, Chilean ambassador Julio Cordano, who is chairing the talks, released a first document last weekend, setting out elements of a possible treaty to tackle plastic pollution. • Squeezed by EU Rules and Threat of Illegal Mining, Cocoa Farmers in Ghana Face a Turning Point A New EU Deforestation Law Aims to Clean Up the Chocolate Supply Chain {EARTH.ORG} August 12, 2026 -At daybreak in Begoro, in Ghana’s Eastern Region, Sammy Takyi walks slowly between rows of young cocoa trees. The soil is still cool. Broad plantain leaves hang above the tender seedlings, filtering the early morning light and shielding them from the heat that will come later in the day. For five years, his two-hectare farm has tested his patience. Cocoa is not a crop that yields rewards quickly. It requires four to five years of care before the first meaningful harvest. During those long waiting seasons, Sammy plants plantain among the cocoa trees. • Earthquake Response Strains Colombia’s New Government and Rescuers as They Race Against the Clock De la Espriella Said At Least 265 People Died in the 7.4 Magnitude Earthquake August 12, 2026 -Tons of aid from regional partners began to roll into Colombia on Wednesday, as the search for survivors in the rubble of a powerful earthquake grew more desperate after the temblor razed buildings, buckled roads and crushed cars. The devastation has tested Colombia’s new president, Abelardo de la Espriella, and his government as it scrambles to respond to the disaster and civil society as it pushes to provide aid to the most affected communities. • Bulldozing Begins at Big Bend National Park For Border Construction Environmentalists Say the Planned Patrol Roads, Vehicle Barriers and Cameras Will Irreversibly Reshape the Renowned Park in Texas August 12, 2026 -Government contractors are bulldozing parts of the iconic and environmentally sensitive Big Bend National Park as the Trump administration pushes forward with a $46.5 billion effort to expand a massive wall and other security infrastructure along the border with Mexico. Last week, heavy machinery began clearing the path for a future patrol road that will eventually run the length of the park. Images show vehicle treads left behind on the dusty terrain as animals such as hoofed javelinas wander past. Construction crews were spotted surveying the land and marking the road’s planned route. • The Divisive Plan to Build a Gold Mine in the Middle of a Pristine National Park Wildlife-Seeking Tourists Travel to Alaska’s Lake Clark National Park. Now, a Proposed Mine is Splitting the Community {THE WALL STREET JOURNAL} August 12, 2026 -Lake Clark National Park, a one-hour bush-plane flight from Anchorage, is known for its abundance of brown bears, horned puffins and critically endangered beluga whales. Now, an American mining company, Contango Silver & Gold, is pushing to build a mine for gold and other metals on private land in the middle of the park. While the Native corporation that owns the land supports the venture, many tribal members and business owners oppose it. • Thousands Flee Yearslong Drought in Somalia as Hunger Deepens and Aid Shrinks About 2 Million People in Somalia Face Emergency Levels of Food Insecurity August 12, 2026 -After nearly two weeks on the road with her five children, Luul Mohamed finally arrived in the southwestern Somali city of Baidoa with no food and little sense of what would happen next. Drought conditions had forced Mohamed and her family to leave Saakoow, a town in the Middle Jubba region more than 300 kilometers (186 miles) away. They moved from village to village before arriving in Baidoa, now a major hub for people fleeing drought, insecurity and food shortages, on Aug. 3. • In the Second Quarter of 2026, Clean Energy and Transportation Investment in the U.S. Totaled $75 Billion A 22% Increase From Q1 2026 and a 4% Jump From Q2 2025 {Clean Investment Monitor} August 11, 2026 -In the second quarter of 2026, clean energy and transportation investment in the United States totaled $75 billion, a 22% increase from Q1 2026 and a 4% jump from Q2 2025. This marks the second-highest quarter of investments on record behind Q3 2025, largely driven by retail investments (56%). Clean investment accounted for 5.2% of total US private investment this quarter in structures, equipment, and durable consumer goods nationwide, increasing nearly a full percentage point from Q1 2026 (Figure 2). • Pennsylvania Coke Plant Explosion ‘Should Never Have Happened’ Federal Chemical Safety Investigators Faulted U.S. Steel for the Explosion at Its Clairton Coke Works Facility That Killed Two Workers {GREENWIRE} August 11, 2026 -A deadly explosion at a coke manufacturing facility last August was the product of improper maintenance, inadequate siting and decades of ignored safety concerns, according to a federal investigation released Monday. The Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board's report comes one year after an explosion at the U.S. Steel Clairton Coke Works facility near Pittsburgh killed two workers and injured 11 others. • AI’s Potential Climate Benefits Outweighed By Role in Boosting Fossil Fuels Modelling Finds AI-Driven Productivity Gains in Coal, Oil and Gas Enable More Emissions Than Applications in Renewables Avoid August 11, 2026 -AI-driven productivity gains enable more planet-heating pollution from fossil fuels than they avoid from renewables, a study has found. Researchers modelled the technical potential for AI to boost clean power generation along with projections for how it can help produce coal, oil and gas. Across 64 scenarios, they found net yearly carbon pollution rose by 0.47-1.8 gigatonnes, or about 1-5% of the energy sector’s annual emissions. • We Are Chasing Ebola Virus - It's Ahead of Us A Warning From the WHO {BBC} August 11, 2026 -The latest Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo began at least three months before it was officially declared - meaning the health authorities are still playing catch-up, the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned. More than 1,900 people have died from the virus since that declaration on 15 May, making this the second-worst Ebola outbreak ever. • Evacuations Lifted In El Paso County After ‘Rapidly Growing Fire’ Contained Closures In Place On Bradley Road, Grinnell Boulevard and Goldfield Drive {The Denver Post} August 11, 2026 -Evacuation orders were lifted for homes near Colorado Springs after a ‘rapidly growing fire’ was contained on Monday, according to the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office. Mandatory evacuations were issued shortly after 3 p.m. Monday for homes on Passing Sky Drive, and road closures were in effect for Bradley Road, Grinnell Boulevard and Goldfield Drive, according to the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office. The evacuations and closures were lifted less than an hour later. The cause of the fire remains under investigation, but a “loud lightning strike” was reported in the area shortly before the flames were spotted, Security Fire Department officials said. • Over 160 People Killed In Colombia’s Strongest Earthquake In Years The 7.4-Magnitude Earthquake Caused Serious Damage to Infrastructure and Left People Trapped In Collapsed Buildings {NBC NEWS} August 11, 2026 -At least 169 people were killed Monday in a 7.4-magnitude earthquake that shook western Colombia, collapsing hospitals, schools and other buildings and leaving people trapped under the rubble. The worst-hit cities include Pereira, Cali, Quibdó, Manizales and Armenia, all of which remain under “red alert,” the nation’s highest-level disaster threat level, according to Colombia’s nonprofit Association of Capital Cities, which provided the death toll. • Spokane Confronts Housing Crisis as Wildfires Ease “It’s Been a Rough 10 Days in Spokane” August 10, 2026 -Local and state officials are working to prevent Spokane’s devastating wildfires from becoming an extended housing crisis as thousands of displaced residents face a shortage of places to stay. The Old Trails, Autumn Lane and Fairview fires tore through the Spokane area after igniting Aug. 1, forcing tens of thousands of people to evacuate and destroying hundreds of buildings. As evacuation orders ease, officials are confronting the challenge of finding housing for people who cannot yet return to their homes. Some areas remained closed Monday because of hot spots, damaged utilities and hazardous debris. • Wildfire Smoke is Once Again Pouring Across the United States A Total of 11 New Fires Were Reported Across British Columbia Over the Weekend August 10, 2026 -Wildfire smoke is once again pouring across the United States following a weekend of new blazes across Canada’s British Columbia. A total of 11 new fires were reported across that province, where a state of emergency was declared on Saturday, with thousands forced to evacuate near Summerland, located about 40 miles north of the British Columbia-Washington state border. • 72 Fall Ill, 7 Hospitalized At Colorado Springs Festival More Heat Advisories Issued For Colorado Springs On Monday, Tuesday {The Denver Post} August 10, 2026 -Dozens of people fell ill in the heat over the weekend at a taco-themed festival in Colorado Springs, according to the fire department. Temperatures in Colorado Springs hit a record-tying 97 degrees on Saturday, according to the National Weather Service. The heat caused 72 people at the Tacos and Tequila Festival to fall ill, and paramedics took seven people to the hospital for severe dehydration or intoxication, the Colorado Springs Fire Department wrote on Facebook. • Forecasted Storms Cloud Colorado’s Chances to See Perseids Meteor Shower The Meteor Shower Will Peak Wednesday Night Into Thursday Morning, But Visibility Will Be Limited {The Denver Post} August 10, 2026 -The Perseids meteor shower will peak this week against a new moon sky, which is expected to allow sky gazers to see up to 100 meteors per hour where the viewing is clear. Unfortunately for Coloradans, the forecast is calling for clouds as monsoonal moisture increases the chances for storms mid-week. The Perseids shower will peak on Wednesday night into the morning hours before sunrise on Thursday. Locals living south of Denver have the best chance for seeing meteors streak across the sky at 3 a.m. Thursday when cloud coverage is expected to diminish to 30% to 40%, said Kenley Bonner, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Boulder. • Water Systems Are Ripe For Cyberattacks, Experts Warn After Suspected Iranian Hacks As Lawmakers Call For Protections After Incidents In 12 States, an EPA Rule That Republicans Fought Would “Remove Most of the Low-Hanging Fruit” August 10, 2026 -In late 2022, Microsoft detected the hack of a water system in Guam that U.S. intelligence agencies in the following months determined was orchestrated by China. The idea wasn’t new. The spy agencies had long watched as Iran targeted Israeli water systems. “That another nation state was doing it to us — that was unsettling,” recalled one former U.S. official, who, like several others interviewed for this story, spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the matter’s sensitivity. • Explosive Wildfire in British Columbia Leaves 1 Dead About 20,000 People Were Ordered to Evacuate Over the Weekend From the Bald Range Fire August 10, 2026 -At least one person died in an explosive wildfire in British Columbia that prompted evacuation orders for roughly 20,000 people over the weekend, the authorities said on Sunday, as more than 100 blazes burned across the Canadian province. The Bald Range fire had consumed more than 33,000 acres as of Sunday night, according to the British Columbia Wildfire Service. The fire was out of control, and dozens of firefighters and other personnel were at the scene, the agency said. • Plastics Contamination an ‘Overlooked’ Concern in Food Waste Schemes Researchers Find Microplastics Can Persist in Compost, Leaching Into Agricultural Soils August 9, 2026 -Plastic contamination should be a central concern in efforts to deal with food waste, which campaigners call one of the most overlooked problems of the climate crisis, researchers have said. This is despite the fact that, as the chef, author and activist Max La Manna puts it, food waste management is “one of the few climate problems where everyone wins”. • Plastics Contamination an ‘Overlooked’ Concern in Food Waste Schemes Researchers Find Microplastics Can Persist in Compost, Leaching Into Agricultural Soils August 9, 2026 -Plastic contamination should be a central concern in efforts to deal with food waste, which campaigners call one of the most overlooked problems of the climate crisis, researchers have said. This is despite the fact that, as the chef, author and activist Max La Manna puts it, food waste management is “one of the few climate problems where everyone wins”. • Dozens Fall Ill, 7 Hospitalized at Festival in Colorado Springs 72 People Became Ill, and Seven Were Taken to the Hospital During the Tacos and Tequila Festival {CBS NEWS} August 9, 2026 -The event, held at UCHealth Park on Tutt Boulevard, is a throwback hip-hop and R&B festival with multiple stops across the country. It features live music and creations from local taco spots and comfort food vendors. But the festival is an outdoor event, and Colorado Springs is under a Heat Advisory throughout the weekend. The CSFD says many people began experiencing symptoms of heat-related illness yesterday. More than 60 of those patients were treated at the scene, but the fire department says seven of those people suffered serious symptoms and were taken to area hospitals for treatment. • Map Shows Where Millions of Americans At Risk as Canadian Wildfires Explode Click Now For the Map {Newsweek} August 9, 2026 -Millions of Americans could face deteriorating air quality as massive wildfires continue to rage across Canada, with officials warning that smoke from some of the largest blazes is capable of traveling hundreds of miles across the border and into the United States. The latest emergency has centered on British Columbia, where a fast-moving wildfire near Summerland and Peachland triggered one of the province's largest evacuation events of the year. • It's Been a Record Summer for Foodborne Illness Heat and Tainted Produce Have Made This a Record Summer for Foodborne Illness {NPR} August 9, 2026 -What happens when you're washing your clothes or just trying to get a sip of water and the tap runs dry? Stay with us. In today's program, we'll hear from our reporter in Puerto Rico about the impact of water rationing there. First, though, we'll turn to NPR science correspondent Yuki Noguchi to talk to us about what has made this a record summer for food-borne illnesses. This week, confirmed cases of cyclosporiasis, which causes diarrhea, topped 10,000. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have also traced several hundred cases of salmonella to Mexican jalapeno peppers. Yuki, these illnesses sound pretty worrisome. How bad is this year compared to others? • Spokane Wildfires Raise Homeowner Fears Over Insurance Coverage A Wildfire Season That Has Only Just Begun In Washington Has Already Proved Devastating August 9, 2026 -At the ash-covered site where she lost her home to a June wildfire, Andren Moyer can still see signs of an old normalcy. The folded metal of patio furniture she and her husband, Chris, put up the night before the fire. The burned-out frame of her PT Cruiser convertible. The melted remains of a bass clarinet and two saxophones — just a few of the musical family’s vast collection of instruments. • Lake Mead, the Nation’s Largest Reservoir, Is Smaller Than Ever A Continued Drop Would Imperil Water Supplies For Millions and Cut Electricity From the Dam August 9, 2026 -Lake Mead, the nation’s largest reservoir and a vital source of water for more than 25 million people across the Southwest, has dwindled to its lowest levels ever as the region struggles through a punishing drought. The record, first broken on Thursday night and then again on the following days as the water level continued to fall, is the latest warning of the Colorado River’s dire condition. • WA Wanted Clean Energy. But... Utilities Plan Fleet of Gas Plants August 9, 2026 -By 2045, state law requires all electricity sold in Washington to be carbon-free, one of the most aggressive deadlines in the country. But to meet skyrocketing electricity demand, utilities are preparing to build a fleet of power plants fueled by natural gas. This contradiction is setting the stage for a renewed battle over Washington’s clean-energy transition.

The Issues: What We Need to Know
Lead Poisoning Details Help End Food Wast Global Sand Mining Carbon Offset Credits Air Pollution and PM2.5 Breaking Down Toxic PFAS Ethylene Oxide Exposure Chicago Urban Agriculture Clean Up Your Cleaning Act Arsenic In Our Babies’ Cereal Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) Paying Back Koch Industries Radon's Impact on Our Lungs The Guardian Climate Pledge About Those Toxic Chemicals A Cleaner Way to Remove CO2 Dos and Don’ts of Pesticide Use Danger: Seismic Airgun Blasting Confronting Ocean Acidification What Our Agencies Don’t Tell Us Avoid Hurricane Surge Flooding Map Showing the Lost Rainforests Toxic Release Inventory Program Fossil Fuel Facts You Should Know Pesticides and Farm Worker Safety What to Know About Ground Water The Mushroom That Can Eat Plastic Bali Fights For its Beautiful Beaches Your Car Needs a Professional Wash Can We Restore the Gulf of Mexico? The Fossil Fuels Behind Forest Fires The PFAs in Clark's Marsh, Michigan Know The Clean Drinking Water Facts Wipes Are Tearing Up Our Sewer Systems Green Ammonia fo a Sustainable Future Companies Reducing Their CO2 Footprint Derailed Train Ordered Pay Cleanup Costs Lifestyle Changes to Shrink Carbon Footprint	• What Will Power the A.I. Revolution? It Could End Up Increasing Emissions, at Least in the Short Term Jan. 7, 2025 - Last week, Microsoft announced that it would spend approximately $80 billion during this fiscal year to build data centers for its booming artificial intelligence business. That gargantuan sum is a testament to the opportunity that Microsoft and other tech giants see in A.I. It also has the makings of a climate conundrum. • ‘Forever Chemicals’ Reach Tap Water via Treated Sewage Wastewater, Even After Treatment to Make it Drinkable, Contains High PFAS Levels Jan. 6, 2025 - As the world grapples with climate change, population growth and dwindling supplies of fresh water, more people are set to rely on treated wastewater to sustain their daily lives. But wastewater, even after treatment, contains high levels of harmful “forever chemicals” that are already contaminating the drinking water of millions of Americans, researchers said in a study published on Monday that analyzed wastewater samples nationwide. • Heavy Snow and Ice Move From Midwest to Mid-Atlantic Hundreds of Thousands of Customers from Missouri to Virginia were Suffering Power Outages... Jan. 6, 2025 - A wide-reaching winter storm dropped more than a foot of snow and closed major highways in parts of the Midwest as it continued its trek eastward Monday. In parts of the Great Plains, snow totals exceeded anything that had been seen in decades. At least three fatalities were reported in two traffic incidents in the Midwest. Click now for more of the story. • Biden to Block Oil Drilling Across 625 Million Acres of U.S. Waters Affecting Future Oil and Gas Leasing Across Parts of the Atlantic Ocean, the Pacific Ocean, the Eastern Gulf of Mexico and the Northern Bering Sea Jan. 4, 2025 - President Joe Biden will move Monday to block all future oil and gas drilling across more than 625 million acres of federal waters — equivalent to nearly a quarter of the total land area of the United States, according to two people briefed on the decision who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the announcement is not yet public. Click now for additional information. • ‘A Place For Kids to Play and a Place to Store Water’ The Stormwater Capture Zone that is Also a Playground Jan. 3, 2025 - For a city that is almost small enough to fit inside Manhattan’s Central Park just a few miles away, a lot of history has played out within the narrow borders of Hoboken, New Jersey. It was the site of the first organized baseball game in 1846, home of one of the US’s first breweries in the 17th century and the place where Oreo cookies were first sold in 1912. And, as any Hobokenite will tell you, the Mile Square City, as it is called, is also known for something else. • How an Antacid For the Ocean Could Cool the Earth A New Technology Promises to Remove Carbon From the Atmosphere and Prevent Ocean Acidification Jan. 3, 2025 - The world’s oceans stow vast amounts of carbon dioxide. Now, a growing group of scientists and companies say they’ve found a way to increase that storage capacity by tweaking ocean water chemistry. The technique, known as ocean alkalinity enhancement, usually involves dissolving acid-neutralizing rocks in the ocean, allowing it to absorb more carbon dioxide. • This Hidden Mineral is Crumbling Thousands of Home Foundations Across New England Pyrrhotite Causes Cracks in Concrete. But Research on How Widespread the Issue Might Be Has Only Scratched the Surface Jan. 3, 2025 - In 2020, Karen Bilotti and her husband, Sam, started to notice fine lines in their basement’s concrete walls. Ordinarily, they might not have given them a second thought. But the Bilottis had recently heard about a growing group of nearby homeowners in Massachusetts with larger cracks in their foundations, and Sam began to worry. “‘With our luck, our house is probably affected,’” Karen recalled him saying. “And I’m like, ‘You’re crazy. You’re absolutely ridiculous. There’s no way.’” Through core testing, scientists and engineers had determined the culprit behind fissures like those in their neighbors’ homes was pyrrhotite, a mineral made up of sulfur and iron found in some concrete aggregates. • Not a Happy New Years Eve For Puerto Rico Power is Restored to Nearly All of Puerto Rico After a Major Blackout Jan. 2, 2025 - Power was restored to nearly all electrical customers across Puerto Rico on Wednesday after a sweeping blackout plunged the U.S. territory into darkness on New Year’s Eve. By Wednesday afternoon, power was back up for 98% of Puerto Rico’s 1.47 million utility customers, said Luma Energy, the private company overseeing transmission and distribution of power in the archipelago. Lights returned to households as well as to Puerto Rico’s hospitals, water plants and sewage facilities after the massive outage that exposed the persistent electricity problems plaguing the island. • Underwater Volcano Off Oregon Coast Scientists Anticipate the Submarine Volcano Will Erupt Before the End of 2025 Jan. 2, 2025 - In the depths of the Pacific Ocean, 470 kilometers off the Oregon coast, a drama is unfolding. Axial Seamount, one of the most active underwater volcanoes in the world, is swelling with magma. Scientists believe it will erupt before the end of 2025—a bold prediction, but one based on decades of monitoring and a unique volcanic rhythm. Bill Chadwick, a geophysicist at Oregon State University, likens the situation to a pressure cooker nearing its limit... • Detecting Hidden Moisture in Your Walls This Radar System Can Do Just That Jan. 2, 2025 - Mold is one of the most significant challenges for homeowners, and once it takes hold, it can be incredibly difficult to eliminate. Preventing mold is the best approach, and the cornerstone of mold prevention is managing humidity. Now, researchers from Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) have developed a method using microwave radar to monitor the moisture content in wood inside walls. “We know microwave radar shows great promise for this, because it’s well known that it can measure the moisture in wood samples,” ORNL’s Philip Boudreaux said. “But can it measure moisture in wood that is inside a wall to detect high-moisture issues before they become a big problem? That’s the challenge.” • Bird Flu Strikes Again Severe Case Confirmed in the US Jan. 2, 2025 - A patient in Louisiana has been hospitalized with a severe case of bird flu (H5N1). This is the first instance of serious illness from this virus in the United States. Although health officials emphasize that the risk to the general public remains low and the virus still isn’t transmitted from human to human, this as a stark reminder that avian influenza remains a persistent and pervase threat, especially to those in close contact with birds and other animals. Click now to read all about it. Louisiana Plastics Plant Put On Pause is a Win For Activists Parisians: Recovering a River Now Buried Under the City Cities Take Action to Limit Loud and Polluting Lawn Care Air Pollution Causes Over 1 Million Stillbirths Each Year Plastic Pellets Flow From the Mississippi Into the Gulf How About a Little Radio-activity in Your Fertilizer? Sustainable Concrete: Do What the Romans Did NY Fracked Gas Plant Rejections Set Precedent To Clear City Smog, Chile Pushes Electric Taxis • Moving Stockholm Toward an Emissions-Free Future Slaughterhouses Pollute Our Waterways Amazon and Others Destroy Unsold Products Plastic Pollution is in All Areas of the U.S. Tropicana Sued Over Malic Acid Presence Drinking Water With ‘Forever Chemicals’ Did We Really Need a Clean Water Rule? Solving the Global Cooling Problem Uranium Mining in the Grand Canyon Insects Could Vanish Within a Century Declining: The Dirt Beneath Our Feet Wiping Out the Boreal Forest - Literally Coal Ash: Hazardous to Human Health NRDC Warns of Up to 40% Food Waste Mangroves May Store More Much CO2 How Do I Reduce My CO2 Footprint? C’mon Congress - Get the Lead Out	Reinvent Cement World Oceans Day The Global Safety Net Tropical Deforestation NOAA Carbon Tracker Ocean Plastics Pollution Dirty Water = Dirty Fish The Real Cost of Carbon 16 Must-See Documentaries Going Green When You Go Your Car's Carbon Footprint Interactive Power Grid Maps Minimizing Pesticide Usage Asbestos Exposure Treatment Micro-plastics Raining Down Diesel School Buses & Health Singapore's Marina Barrage Drinking Water Report Card The Toll s Single-Use Plastics Compare Your City's Pollution What Is Amphibious Architecture? Costa Rica Reversed Deforestation Headed for the Last Roundup®? The Great Pacific Garbage Patch Head & Shoulders Above the Rest How Your State Makes Electricity Australia’s Ecosystems Collapsing The Goldman Environmental Prize Transportation Emissions in the U.S. How Fracking Threatens Our Water Air Pollution and Its Health Impacts Keeping Plastics Out of Our Oceans The World's Most Controversial Tree A Plant in Florida Emits Nitrous Oxide Who's Sueing Who Over Gulf Oil Spill? Coffee With a Side of Microplastics Affect of Abandoned Oil and Gas Wells Cancer Causing Radon in Your Home

India: Source of the Worst Pollution

The World Air Quality Report 2024 by AQI aims to highlight the global air quality trends in 2024 to support the progress on environmental actions globally. Thus, the report focuses on the PM2.5 concentrations and AQI (Air Quality Index) across countries and cities. To offer a comprehensive air pollution view, both real-time and historical data from AQI.in have been collected and utilized.

The report analyzes the AQI and PM2.5 levels in the air across 5,750 cities in 140 countries and regions. The data for this report was collected from more than 15,432 air quality monitoring stations operated by governmental bodies, research institutions, universities, and other organizations.

The data used in the following report was sourced from AQI.in, which monitors and collects real-time air quality. This report categorizes the data by countries, regions and cities and also includes city-wise and country-wise rankings. The Asia region has more extensive data coverage because of a higher number of air quality monitoring stations in the area. The report utilizes AQI and PM2.5 metrics to understand the air pollution risk globally. • AQI: Calculated based on the U.S. standardized measurement system. • PM2.5 Data: Reported in µg/m³ (micrograms per cubic meter), adhering to the latest World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines for PM2.5 levels. • Cigarette data is based on PM2.5 levels using Berkeley’s rule: 1 cigarette = 22 µg/m³ PM2.5.

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Oil Spill History

"Birds and Oil Don't Mix"
• The Oilspill That Never Quite Goes Away Signs of BP's Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Persist Over a Decade Later Aug. 10, 2022, -Though the leak was eventually capped (temporarily in July 2010 and permanently in September 2010), the spill damage and lingering effects didn’t end there. Even more than a decade later, some signs of the environmental catastrophe remain, according to a new study published in the journal Frontiers in Marine Science. • Massive Spill Hits Southern California’s Beaches About 3,000 Barrels of Oil Leaked from a Broken Pipeline Off the California Coast Oct. 3, 2021, (Bloomberg Green)-California beaches in Northern Orange County were closed and wetlands contaminated by a huge oil spill caused by a broken pipeline off the coast. About 3,000 barrels of oil leaked from the pipeline and washed up on beaches and wetlands in Huntington Beach, a popular spot for Southern California surfers and beach goers. The beach’s ocean and shoreline have been closed indefinitely, the city said in a statement Sunday. • Mystery: Origin of the Oil Killing Brazilian Sea Turtles? Oil Is Killing Brazil’s Turtles Where Is It From? Oct. 12, 2019 (TIME)- More than a month since oil started washing up on some of Brazil’s most touristic beaches, dotting sand with b lack patches, killing sea turtles and scaring off fishermen, the origin of the crude is still a mystery. “We don’t know the oil’s origin, where it came from or how it got here,” Energy Minister Bento Albuquerque said at an offshore exploration auction in Rio de Janeiro on Thursday Click now for more details • One Dead in Gulf of Mexico Rig Accident One dead in Gulf of Mexico Rig Accident - But No Pollution July 21, 2019 (UPI) -There is no pollution associated with an explosion on a drilling platform about 12 miles off the coast of New Orleans in the Gulf of Mexico, a regulator said. The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement said it was notified by oil and gas operator Fieldwood Energy of an explosion on its Echo Platform. Fieldwood said one contract worker was killed and three other employees were treated for injuries at an onshore medical facility. Click now for the whole story. • 14-Year-old Oil Leak in Gulf: Far Worse Than Taylor Energy Says New Estimate for an Oil Leak: 1,000x Worse Than Rig Owner Says June 25, 2020 (NY Times Climate Forward) -A new federal study has found that an oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico that began 14 years ago has been releasing as much as 4,500 gallons a day, not three or four gallons a day as the rig owner has claimed. The leak, about 12 miles off the Louisiana coast, began in 2004 when a Taylor Energy Company oil platform sank during Hurricane Ivan and a bundle of undersea pipes ruptured. Oil and gas have been seeping from the site ever since. Click now to read all about it. • It’s Been Nine Years Since the Deepwater Horizon Incident Nine Years After Deepwater Horizon April 16, 2017 (National Wildlife Federation) - It has been nine years since BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded off the coast of Louisiana, killing eleven men and unleashing an 87 day-long torrent of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico. National Wildlife Federation has taken an active role in Gulf recovery, advocating for science-based decision-making to benefit wildlife and their habitats as Gulf leaders invest recovery funds into restoration. While there are still decades of recovery ahead, significant strides have been made over the last eight years to restore the Gulf for coastal communities and wildlife. As we reflect on the lives lost and the damage wrought, we should also consider how we can prevent a similar disaster from happening in the future. Click now for the complete story • Torrey Canyon Oil Spill - Learning From History Torrey Canyon Disaster – the UK's Worst-Ever Oil Spill 50 Years On Mar. 18, 2017 (The Guardian) - “I saw this huge ship sailing and I thought he’s in rather close, I hope he knows what he’s doing,” recalled Gladys Perkins of the day 50 years ago, when Britain experienced its worst ever environmental disaster. The ship was the Torrey Canyon, one of the first generation of supertankers, and it was nearing the end of a journey from Kuwait to a refinery at Milford Haven in Wales. The BP-chartered vessel ran aground on a rock between the Isles of Scilly and Land’s End in Cornwall, splitting several of the tanks holding its vast cargo of crude oil. Click now for the complete story	• The Prospect of Cuba Drilling In The Gulf Concerns Tampa Bay Advocates of Gulf Oil-Drilling Ban Worried By Talks With Cuba Aug. 18, 2016 (Tampa Bay Times) - Progress in international talks over who owns a piece of the Gulf of Mexico has raised the specter of a Deepwater Horizon tragedy along local shores. A few hundred miles from the west coast of Florida is a 7,700-square-mile area of the Gulf of Mexico known as the Eastern Gap, thought to be rich with oil but with no clear owner. The U.S., Cuban and Mexican governments are now negotiating how to split the area among the three nations. Once that happens, each country can drill for oil in its allotted portion. • Shell Oil Mimics BP With 90,000 Gal. of Crude Shell Oil Spill Dumps Nearly 90,000 Gallons of Crude Into Gulf May 13, 2016 (EcoWatch) -An oil spill from Royal Dutch Shell’s offshore Brutus platform has released 2,100 barrels of crude into the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. The leak—roughly 88,200 gallons—created a visible 2 mile by 13 mile oil slick in the sea about 97 miles south of Port Fourchon, Louisiana, according to the U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement. Officials said that the accident occurred near Shell’s Glider field, an underwater pipe system that connects four subsea oil wells to the Brutus platform, which floats on top of the water with a depth of 2,900 feet. Click now for more (if you can bear it). • Blowout Highlights Gulf Drilling Dangers Blowout Highlights Gulf Drilling Dangers July 25, 2013 (Mother Nature Network) -Flames erupted from an offshore drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico, torching a natural gas plume that had been leaking since a blowout earlier in the day. All 44 rig workers were evacuated before the fire began, according to the U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, but the rig continued spewing gas until Thursday morning, when its scorched frame finally collapsed enough to cut off the leak. Click now for the whole story. • Obama White House Lifts Deepwater Drilling Ban Obama White House Lifts Deepwater Drilling Ban Oct. 12, 2010 (CBS News) -The Obama administration on Tuesday lifted the deep water oil drilling moratorium that the government imposed in the Gulf of Mexico in the wake of the disastrous BP oil spill. The administration has been under heavy pressure from the industry and others in the region to lift the six-month ban on grounds it has cost jobs and damaged the economy. A federal report said the moratorium likely caused a temporary loss of 8,000 to 12,000 jobs in the Gulf region. While the temporary ban on exploratory oil and gas drilling is lifted immediately, drilling is unlikely to resume immediately. Drilling companies must meet a host of new safety regulations before they can resume operations, officials said. Click now for more if you can bear it. • Enter the No-Spin Zone of the Deep: the BP Live Feed The No-Spin Zone of the Deep June 5, 2010 (Christian Science Monitor) - It was the last thing BP wanted: An open, high-definition live video feed – a "spillcam," if you will – showing in excruciating detail the massive oil geyser fouling the Gulf of Mexico, a situation admittedly caused by the giant extractive firm. But after a series of PR disasters – waffling, obfuscating, misplaced optimism, a gaffe-prone CEO – the decision by BP, under pressure from Congress, to put the live feed on the air reaped some unexpected plaudits for the company. Click now for the complete story from the archives. • Can We Restore the Gulf of Mexico? Gulf Oil Spill: Dispersants Have Potential to Cause More Harm Than Good May 11, 2010 (CISTON PR Newswire) -The chemical dispersants being used to break up the oil leaking into the gulf following the explosion of British Petroleum's Deepwater Horizon offshore oil rig have the potential to cause just as much, if not more, harm to the environment and the humans coming into contact with it than the oil possibly would if left untreated. That is the warning of toxicology experts, led by Dr. William Sawyer, addressing the Gulf Oil Disaster Recovery Group, a group of lawyers working to protect the rights and interests of environmental groups and persons affected by the Deepwater Horizon disaster. The group represents the United Fishermen's Association and the Louisiana Environmental Action Network (LEAN), among others. Click now to learn more. • Exxon Valdez: The Story That Never Goes Away 20 Years After Exxon Valdez Oil Spill, Alaskan Coastline Remains Contaminated Mar. 24, 2009 (Democracy Now) - Today marks the twentieth anniversary of the Exxon Valdez oil spill, one of the worst environmental disasters in history. The Exxon Valdez spilled between 11 and 38 million gallons of crude oil into the fishing waters of Prince William Sound. The spill contaminated more than 1,200 miles of Alaska’s shoreline and killed hundreds of thousands of seabirds and marine animals. It also dealt a staggering blow to the residents of local fishing towns, and the effects of the disaster are still being felt today. We speak with Riki Ott, a community activist, marine toxicologist, former commercial salmon fisherma’am and author of two books on the spill. Her latest is Not One Drop: Betrayal and Courage in the Wake of the Exxon Valdez Spill. Click now for the story deep in the archives.

America's Greenest Cities

Provided by Mother Nature Network
# 1 - Portland, Ore The city of microbrewery mania and home to megastore Powell's Books — one of the few remaining independent booksellers in the country — is No. 1 in sustainability. Declared the most bikeable city in the United States for its 200 miles of dedicated bike lanes, Portland certainly makes forgoing gas-powered travel easy. And for lessons in DIY sustainable food sources, classes are available for container gardening and cheese making, or beekeeping and chicken keeping.	# 2 - San Francisco, Cal. Declared by Mayor Gavin Newsom to be America's solar energy leader, this vibrant city of cultural tolerance was a 1960s icon and epicenter for the Summer of Love. But in addition to peace, love and solar power, there's also an innovative recycling program with an artist-in-residence at the recycling facility. The artist uses his work to inspire residents to recycle and conserve. San Francisco is also the first U.S. city to ban plastic grocery bags, a concept that supports its effort to divert 75 percent of landfill waste by 2010.
# 3 - Boston, Mass. It's hard to think of this city without also thinking of tea — as a commodity, not a drink. Boston ranks high among the urban green elite. Sustainability efforts include a "Green by 2015" goal to replace traditional taxi cabs with hybrid vehicles, recycle trash to power homes, use more solar panels, and use more electric motorbikes for transportation. The city's first annual Down2Earth conference was held in 2008. It's designed to educate residents about how to live the most sustainable lifestyle.	# 4 - Oakland, Calif. Residents of this port city have access to an abundance of fresh, organic food, much of which is locally sourced. It's also home to the nation's cleanest tap water, hydrogen-powered public transit and the country's oldest wildlife refuge. Oakland also plans to have zero waste and be oil-independent by 2020, and already gets 17 percent of its energy from renewable sources.
# 5 - Eugene, Ore. Known as the Emerald City for its natural green beauty, this baby boomer haven and second largest city in the state has been doing the "green" thing since the 1960s. In 2008, after only one year of service, the Emerald Express, a hybrid public transit system, won a Sustainable Transport award. Cycling is the preferred mode of transportation, made possible by the 30 miles of off-street bike paths and 29 dedicated bike routes, which total a whopping 150 miles of smog-free travel throughout the metro area.	# 6 - Cambridge, Mass. In 2008, Prevention Magazine named Cambridge "the best walking city." Thoreau's Walden Pond can be found in nearby Concord, and education powerhouses Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University are located here. In 2002, city officials implemented a major climate protection plan and today most city vehicles are fueled by B20 biodiesel or electricity. All new construction or major renovations must meet LEED standards. And a project called "Compost that Stuff" collects and processes organic waste from residents, restaurants, bars and hotels.
# 7 - Berkeley, Calif. A great place to find an abundance of organic and vegetarian restaurants is also on the cutting edge of sustainability. Berkeley is recognized as aleader in the incubation of clean technology for wind power, solar power, biofuels and hydropower.	# 8 - Seattle, Wash. The unofficial coffee klatch capitol of the country is also sustainable-living savvy. More than 20 public buildings in Seattle are LEED-certified or under construction for LEED certification. Through an incentive program, residents are encouraged to install solar panels on their homes for energy conservation. Sustainable Ballard, a green neighborhood group and sustainability festival host, offers ongoing workshops about how to live in harmony with the environment.
# 9 - Chicago, Ill. The Windy City has embraced land sustainability far longer than you may think. In 1909, pioneering city planner Daniel Hudson Burnham created a long-range plan for the lakefront that balanced urban growth, and created a permanent greenbelt around the metropolitan area. This greening of the city continues through the Chicago Green Roof Program. More than 2.5 million SQF city roofs support plant life — including Willis Tower (formerly Sears Tower) and the city hall building. Also, about 500,000 new trees have been planted.	# 10 - Austin Tex. Carbon neutral by 2020 — it's an ambitious goal, but Austin Energy is the nation's top seller of renewable energy among 850 utility-sponsored programs, which makes its goal to power the city solely on clean energy within reach. As the gateway to the scenic Texas Hill Country, acreage in Austin devoted to green space includes 206 parks, 12 preserves, 26 greenbelts and more than 50 miles of trails.

Safer Habitats Table of Contents
(Click on a link below to get the full picture.)
Clean Air Council	Climate Emergency Network	Common Dreams	Earthworks
Env. Impact Assessment	Environmental Working Group	Florida Black Bears	Fly California
Gold Rush vs Salmon Habitat	Guardian Sustainable Business	Los Angeles Mass Transit	Mass.gov
Sierra Club	UNLV Recycling	Virginia Dept of Env. Quality	Your Cities, Yourselves

Organizations for Safer Habitats

(Click on an image for more of the story)
The Guardian Sustainable Business Read articles like "Famers Turn Tobacco into Airplane Fuel," Infographics on Air Pollution and Your Health, Cardboard Boxes You Sleep In, and much, much more. Florida Black Bears are in trouble, and they can't hire their own lawyers. -but we can help.	Gold Rush vs Salmon Habitat Five major mining projects have been proposed for the transboundary watershed – the waters shared by British Columbia and southeast Alaska. The region is home to important salmon producing rivers that originate in British Columbia and run through Alaska to the sea. A number of environmental groups, Alaskan Natives and commercial fishermen strongly oppose some of these mining developments across the border. They argue mining could have negative impacts on the salmon and water quality, and irrevocably alter the region's economy, environment and way of life
Environmental Working Group Two-thirds of produce samples in recent government tests had pesticide residues. Don't want to eat bug- and weed-killers? EWG's Shopper's Guide to Pesticides in Produce helps you shop smart. We highlight the cleanest and dirtiest conventionally-raised fruits and vegetables. If a conventionally grown food you want tests high for pesticides, go for the organic version instead. And remember - the health benefits of a diet rich in fruits and vegetables outweigh risks of pesticide exposure. Dirty Dozen™ Plus highlights hot peppers and leafy greens - kale and collard greens - often tainted with unusually hazardous pesticides.	Hydraulic Fracturing (AKA Fracking). Another assault to the environment for which we can thank Haliburton and others. Read all about this extreme method of natural gas extraction , and its impact on water quality and other serious health issues (human and other species). Click the Earthworks icon to learn more.
100 Coal Plants Unplugged. This Sierra Club milestone, 100 coal plants defeated, marks a significant shift in the way Americans are looking at our energy choices. Read on and/or view video.	What Massachusetts is doing about Climate Change?
Flooded Village Files Suit, Citing Corporate Link to Climate Change. The eroding village of Kivalina in the Northwest Arctic is suing Exxon Mobil and 23 other energy companies for damage related to global warming. Read all about it.	This is the web page for Climate Emergency Network news. Click now to get there.
Impact reports for the high speed rail system. You can fly California without leaving the ground, or the carbon footprint associated with air travel. Includes maps of the extensive rail system. ALL ABOARD! The Cape Wind Project will bring clean energy to Nantucket Sound. The project has been delayed by NIMBY (not in my back yard) issues by some who claim to be environmentalists.	An Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is an assessment of the likely positive and/or negative influence a project may have on the environment. “Environmental Impact Assessment can be defined as: The process of identifying, predicting, evaluating and mitigating the biophysical, social, and other relevant effects of development proposals prior to major decisions being taken and commitments made.”[1] The purpose of the assessment is to ensure that decision-makers consider environmental impacts before deciding whether to proceed with new projects.
EIR + Facts about the Los Angeles Metro - yes, L.A. has a mass transit system. Also read about the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)	Your Cities, Yourselves Smart-growth advocates offer tips for changing your neck of the woods.
Virginia Dept. of Environmental Quality The Office of Environmental Impact Review coordinates the Commonwealth's response to environmental documents for proposed state and federal projects. The environmental impact review staff distributes documents to appropriate state agencies, planning districts and localities for their review and comment. Upon consideration of all comments, the staff prepares a single state response.	Discover how Networkfleet can help lower fleet fuel costs and greenhouse emissions with technology that combines GPS vehicle tracking with onboard engine diagnostics.
Monitoring the environmental impact of Pennsylvania's energy generation. A steward in validating the state's compliance with the Clean Air Act. What happens in Pennsylvania doesn't necessarily stay in Pennsylvania.	Between 2003 and 2006, the UNLV Rebel Recycling Program recycled 2,144.5 tons of materials. Paper/Fiber (cardboard, paper, books) recycled was 1,641.6 tons. The diversion of these materials from the Apex landfill to the manufacturing process resulted in a positive impact on the global environment. Click on the logo for more.

Companies Producing Cleaner Power

(More companies will be
added to this page shortly)

1366 One Step Closer to
Opening US Solar PV Wafer Facility

Solar silicon wafer innovator 1366 Technologies has landed new funding led by newest partner Tokayama, and is ready to scale up to a 250-MW production line ahead of an anticipated upswing in demand.

Ten months ago 1366 moved into a new 25-MW pilot facility in Bedford, Massachusetts, to nail down process and tweak equipment for its solar silicon wafering technology to take the next step toward commercialization. In June of 2013 the firm inked a R&D deal with Japanese silicon producer Tokuyama with hints that it could expand to an equity investment.

What if a cost-effective air pollution control technology could actually increase energy efficiency? What if it were possible to prevent harmful emissions from the combustion of any fuel, including gas, biomass, coal — even tire-derived fuel and municipal solid waste — in the flame, before those pollutants were ever formed?

The executives at Fulton-based Redox Power Systems are making a bold bet: The homes and businesses of the future will be powered by an extraterrestrial-looking apparatus loaded with fuel cells that convert natural gas and air into electricity.

The technology promises to be more efficient and environmentally friendly than the systems that power many buildings today, but the company has to first overcome the economic and social barriers that often beset renewable energy ventures.

Mesothelioma is a Disease Brought
On By Exposure to Asbestos

Disclaimer: There are many sites that focus on treatment, but we lack the credentials to recommend the best ones*. We've provded a short list:

• Mesothelioma Justice Network • MesotheliomaLawyerCenter.org
• Mesothelioma Staging System • Treat Mesothelioma.org
• Mesothelioma Help Now

*Always consult with a professional
before making your choice.