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Earth

Keeping It Green

Atmospheric CO2 Levels

(Monthly Averages)

Sept 28,, 2026: 425.9 ppm
10 years ago: 396 ppm
Pre-industrial base: 280
Safe level: 350 ppm

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT

Page Updated:
Oct. 13, 2026

• The 2024 Clean 15 (Safe Foods)
• Get the Lead Out Toolkit
• Oil Spill History
• Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act

• 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

• • Tourist Trash Has Done Weird Things
  to Yellowstone's Thermal Pools

  Sometimes, the Litter Leaves a Lasting Impact

  

  Oct. 13, 2026 -In the 1880s, a visitor to Yellowstone National Park described how the churning waters of a pool not far from Old Faithful would suck a handkerchief down and return it “nice and clean” in a few minutes. Hundreds of visitors dropped their hankies into the warm waters of the Handkerchief Pool as it was known. The pool’s trick stopped working around 1927, and in 1929, a ranger removed kerchiefs, over 100 hair pins, a horseshoe and more from the pool.

  Handkerchief Pool is no longer accessible by boardwalk, and tossing objects into hot springs is now illegal. But the problem of trash and debris in Yellowstone’s features persists, as does the park’s efforts to clean it up.

• • Cyberattack Hits Hundreds of
  Supermarket Refrigeration Systems in France

  The Attackers Have Not Been Identified

  

  Oct. 13, 2026 -A cyberattack hit refrigeration systems in more than 400 supermarkets in France this week, according to several major food retailers.

  Some 300 shops from the Intermarché and Netto chains were affected, as well as 80 from Coopérative U and 30 from Monoprix. The attack targeted systems made by three refrigeration companies that remotely control refrigerators, according to France’s National Cybersecurity Agency.

• • Powerful Panama Quake Aftershocks Rattle Communities

  Panama Declares a State of Emergency

  

  Oct. 11 2026 -The government of Panama declared a state of emergency Saturday as the aftershocks of two powerful earthquakes that roiled the country shook communities for hours. Officials did not attribute any deaths to the quakes but reported damages in all 10 of Panama’s provinces and two Indigenous territories.

  The 7.7- and 6.6-magnitude earthquakes on Friday toppled buildings near the epicenter and prompted evacuations across the Central American country. Seismologists recorded more than 100 aftershocks, including ones measuring magnitude 5.8, 5.5 and 5.2.

• • Flash Flood From Budhi Gandaki River Hits Northern Nepal

  Villages Evacuated

  

  Oct. 11 2026 -Residents along the Budhi Gandaki River in north central Nepal evacuated on Sunday as flash flooding destroyed homes and other structures in the area.

  The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority evacuated villagers and warned others to move to safer areas while remaining on alert until late Sunday.

• • Isaias Brings Threat of Floods Across the Southeast

  4 Dead From Storm

  

  Oct. 10 2026 -Isaias peeled off hotel and condominium rooftops and facades along the Florida Panhandle before charging north Saturday, dishing out torrential rains and the threat of flash floods and tornadoes across the Southeast.

  At least four deaths were linked to the storm, including two people killed when trees fell onto homes in Florida and Alabama. Forecasters warned that flooding could stretch into the Appalachians.

• • Hurricane Simon Crawls Along Mexico's Pacific Coast

  Bringing Floods and Evacuations

  

  Oct. 9, 2026 -Hurricane Simon crept northwest just ?off Mexico's Pacific coast on Monday, lashing western states with dangerous winds, heavy rain and flooding that put riverside communities on alert for possible evacuations.

  The US National Hurricane Center said Simon was about 55 miles (90 km) west-southwest of Cabo Corrientes in Jalisco state at 8 a.m. (1400 GMT), packing maximum sustained winds of 110 mph (175 kph), making it a Category 2 hurricane.

• • 2 Dead, Hundreds of Thousands Without
  Power As Hurricane Isaias Sweeps Inland

  The Category 2 Hurricane Made Landfall In Florida Late Friday, Packing Wind Gusts Over 100 Mph and a Storm Surge of Up to 6 Feet

  

  Oct. 10, 2026 -Two people were killed by falling trees, and nearly 900,000 customers were without power after Hurricane Isaias roared ashore near Destin, Florida, late Friday night as a Category 2 hurricane, packing wind gusts over 100 mph and a storm surge of up to 6 feet.

  A wind gust to 117 mph was recorded in Pensacola Beach, Florida, while nearby Santa Rosa Beach gusted to 116 mph. The town of Milton gusted to 115 mph in the Florida Panhandle, and several other gusts to 105 mph were clocked nearby — ferocious winds driving power outages across Florida, Alabama and Georgia as of early Saturday, according to poweroutage.us.

• • Heavy Rain Batters Chile’s Capital

  Sweeping Away Cars and Flooding Homes

  

  Oct. 9, 2026 -Heavy rains drenched Chile’s capital and the surrounding region Thursday, triggering mudslides that swept cars through streets, flooded homes, forced residents to evacuate and injured at least six people, authorities said.

  President José Antonio Kast declared a state of emergency for Las Condes, a wealthy suburb east of Santiago, giving government agencies more power to respond as torrential rains turned key roads into impassable waterways. The district’s mayor, Catalina San Martín, said 14.4 centimeters (5.7 inches) of rain had fallen in recent days — about nine times the average October rainfall — leaving the area “totally saturated.”

• • South Baltimore Residents Grapple
  With Contradictory Incinerator Decisions

  Residents Expressed Confusion and Frustration As Regulators Shut Down One Incinerator and Considered Extending the Lifespan of Another

  

  Oct. 9, 2026 -Around 100 Baltimore residents packed a community hall in the Curtis Bay neighborhood on the evening of Oct. 1. One after another, they implored the Maryland Department of the Environment not to renew the air permit for the city’s largest trash incinerator.

  The speakers—young residents and retirees, longtime neighbors, doctors, students and environmental advocates—described the daily ordeal of living with asthma and other respiratory illnesses amid the industrial pollution that surrounds Curtis Bay.

• • Hurricane Simon Rapidly Strengths Off
  Mexico's Pacific Coast, Threatens Tourist Region

  Jalisco State Has Started Preventive Evacuations

  

  Oct. 9, 2026 -Hurricane Simon is rapidly intensifying off Mexico's Pacific coast, packing sustained winds of 100 mph (155 kph) as it churns toward a stretch of coastline dotted with beach resorts and fishing towns, the US National Hurricane Center said on Friday.

  Simon, currently a Category 1 hurricane, is forecast to become a dangerous Category 4 by Saturday as it nears Mexico's southwestern and west-central Pacific coast, one of the country's most popular tourist regions, the NHC said.

• • Hurricane Isaias Strengthens As US
  Gulf Coast Prepares For Landfall

  Florida Orders Evacuations; Alabama Declares Emergency

  

  Oct. 8, 2026 -Hurricane Isaias strengthened on Thursday as it barreled toward the US Gulf Coast, prompting mandatory evacuations in parts of Florida and emergency declarations in Alabama as forecasters warned of life-threatening storm surges, tornadoes and flooding.

  Isaias has already disrupted oil and gas production in the Gulf of Mexico, forcing energy companies to evacuate offshore platforms and shut down operations.

• • What to Know About the Fears of Pneumonic Plague in Russia

  Russian Plague Case Raises Concern, But Experts Say U.S. Spread Risk is Low

  

  Oct. 7, 2026 - The death of a pathogen researcher in Siberia has raised concerns about the pneumonic plague, as Russian authorities provide little information publicly.

  The severe disease is less common than the better-known bubonic plague linked to the Black Death in the Middle Ages. Pneumonic plague spreads from person to person, causing a severe form of pneumonia, but recovery rates are high if it is detected and treated in time.

• • Rainmakers: The Drones Used to Seed Clouds
  {yahoo!news}

  Oct. 7, 2026 -On 23 August, Cooper Freeman had no idea clouds above his head were being filled with a silver compound in order to cause rainfall.

  Neither did thousands of other residents in Homer, Alaska, who later discovered San Francisco start-up Rainmaker conducted an experiment in that region using cloud-seeding technology.

• • Tropical Storm Isaias Forms in Gulf,
  Could Reach U.S. As Hurricane This Weekend

  See Maps, Possible Path
  
  {CBS NEWS}

  Oct. 7, 2026 -Tropical Storm Isaias has formed in the Gulf and is expected to approach the U.S. northern Gulf Coast on Friday after becoming a hurricane, according to the National Hurricane Center.

  Isaias would be the Atlantic Basin's first hurricane of the season and is its ninth named storm. El Niño continues to bring a more active season in the Pacific. The storm formed with less than two months remaining in the 2026 hurricane season, which ends Nov. 30.

• • U.S. Escalates Pressure on Russia Over Siberia Lab Death

  State Department Urges Moscow to Carry Out Its International Health Reporting Obligations
  
  {THE WALL STREET JOURNAL}

  Oct. 6, 2026 -The U.S. has warned Moscow that its failure to disclose details about the death of a lab worker from a plague research center in Siberia runs counter to its international health obligations, U.S. officials said.

  Russia has provided the U.S. with little information about the mysterious episode, which has stirred fears that an infectious disease might spread inside Russia and beyond the country’s borders, American officials say.

• • Rubio Calls On Russia to Disclose
  More About Potential Plague Case

  U.S. Agencies Have Been Trying to Determine If the Death of a Russian Laboratory Worker is Related to Pneumonic Plague

  

  Oct. 6, 2026 -Secretary of State Marco Rubio implored Russia on Tuesday to share more about the death of a Russian laboratory worker that was potentially related to pneumonic plague.

  “It’s incumbent upon Russia to obviously share more information with the world,” Rubio told reporters during a news conference in Iceland, using the most forceful language so far by President Donald Trump’s administration over the emerging health concern.

• • New York Governor Declares State of
  Emergency After Spike In Measles Cases

  The Deadly Outbreak In Pennsylvania is Its Largest In More Than Three Decades, and Confirmed Cases in New York Are Up

  

  Oct. 6, 2026 -The New York governor, Kathy Hochul, declared a state of emergency on Monday in response to a dramatic spike in measles cases in the state.

  Hochul’s administration said the emergency declaration was in response to a “growing number of measles cases across rural areas of New York and neighboring states”, including Pennsylvania, which has been grappling with a deadly outbreak that is its largest in more than three decades.

• • Trump Rescued These Fossil Fuel
  Power Plants. Americans Are Paying For It

  The Must-Run Orders Have Kept Alive Aging Generators That Are Costly to Run — and Produce Plenty of Pollution
  
  {PLITICOPRO}

  Oct. 6, 2026 -The Trump administration’s orders requiring six aging fossil fuel power plants to stay online have cost utilities and consumers hundreds of millions of dollars and released millions of tons of planet-warming gases even though most of the plants have barely run, a POLITICO analysis found.

  The Energy Department edicts issued since May 2025 to keep running the plants are part of President Donald Trump’s efforts to buoy coal and protect against potential power outages, according to Energy Secretary Chris Wright. But they carry environmental and financial consequences by raising electricity rates and exacerbating air pollution in battleground states ahead of midterm elections in November.

• • Medford High School Evacuated Due to Sewage Smell

  The School Said a Company Located and Unclogged The Backup
  
  {WCVB5}

  Oct. 5, 2026 -Medford High School will reopen Tuesday after a sewage backup forced an evacuation and early dismissal on Monday morning.

  Students and staff were evacuated this morning and sent home for the day due to the issue.

• • New York Public Service Comission
  Approves Meter Socket Adapter Pilot

  Have You Ever Used One?
  
  {energy central}

  Oct. 5, 2026 -Meter socket adapters might not sound exciting—but these small gadgets have big potential. They’re making it easier (and cheaper) to install home solar, batteries, and EV chargers. Now, New York is getting in on the adapter action with a two-year pilot, which launches next June.

• • Scientists Created a Computer Inside a Water Drop
  Using Billions of DNA Molecules and It Worked

  DNA Molecules Can Turn Even a Tiny Drop of Water Into a Computer
  
  {ZME SCIENCE}

  Oct. 5, 2026 -To you or me, a tiny drop of water looks ordinary. There seems to be nothing special about it. However, some researchers see a whole computing device inside a drop. There is no silicon processor inside, but they claim that the billions of DNA molecules in a water drop can interact, process information, and produce an answer.

  The researchers at Maynooth University have turned these interactions into a programmable Scaffolded DNA Computer (SDC) that can perform calculations, including 100-bit computations.

• • Colorado’s Bears Are Feasting On Porch Pumpkins This Fall

  Keep Jack-O’-Lanterns Inside This Year to Avoid Bear Encounters During Colorado’s Historic Drought Year...
  
  {THE DENVER POST}

  Oct. 5, 2026 -As Coloradans decorate for Halloween this year, they should leave jack-o’-lanterns inside, state wildlife officials say. To humans, they’re a fun decoration and a mark of the season, but to Colorado’s hungry bears? A big, orange, high-calorie snack.

  Pumpkins left in yards or displayed on porches can attract wildlife, and that is more likely this year, Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials said.

• • Heavy Rains Lead to Senegal Floods

  Government Reports Several Deaths

  

  Oct. 5, 2026 -Flash floods in the capital Dakar and elsewhere disrupted traffic, testing the West African country's infrastructure weeks before it hosts the 2026 Summer ?Youth Olympics, starting on October 31.

  Local media reported that a mother and her child had been killed in the Parcelles Assainies area of Dakar after their home was flooded.

  The Interior Ministry reported deaths and injuries in Dakar and the northeastern town of Matam. It said a building had collapsed in the southern ?town of Kaolack.

• • Westport Breaks Ground On 1,000-
  Person Tsunami Evacuation Tower

  In the Event of a Tsunami Warning, Nearby Residents Will Be Able to Reach the Tower Within 15 Minutes

  

  Oct. 5, 2026 -The town of Westport has broken ground on an evacuation tower capable of holding more than 1,000 people in the event of a devastating tsunami.

  Officials in the small coastal town in Grays Harbor County have worked for years to secure funding for the tower, but the project was thrown into doubt in 2025 after the Trump administration abruptly cut a key federal grant.

• • Gang of Eight Sperm Whales Sink Yacht
  After Ramming Boat in South Pacific

  Crew Described Terrifying Encounter As They Were Woken Up By “Loud Thud” As the 52ft Vessel Was Struck
  
  {INDEPENDENT}

  Oct. 5, 2026 -A pod of sperm whales cracked the hull of a yacht in the remote South Pacific forcing the crew to abandon ship.

  The crew onboard the 52ft boat have described the terrifying encounter, which happened 250 nautical miles north of Norfolk Island.

  “There was sort of a loud thud. The whole boat was pushed sideways,” said Australian Jemma Cooper, who was flung from the steering wheel by the force of the blow.

• • How a Farmer Ended Up With 1,600 Tons of Unwanted Grapes

  Falling Demand For Juice Has Left Lake Erie Grape Growers With Fruit They Can’t Sell

  

  Oct. 4, 2026 -Mark Terrell knows when it’s time to harvest because the air starts to smell like a freshly opened jar of grape jelly.

  That’s usually when Terrell drives his harvesting tractor through his 200-acre vineyard on the shores of Lake Erie, shaking millions of concord grapes from the vines to be processed into juice.

  But after a juice company abruptly canceled its contract with Terrell and about 125 other grape farmers in northwest Pennsylvania and western New York, Terrell’s farm vehicles remain parked.

• • U.S. Shipwreck, Laden With World War II
  Munitions, is a Time Bomb Near London

  A Salvage Crew Has Been Working to Stabilize the SS Richard Montgomery, Which Sank a Few Months After D-Day In 1944 With 1,500 Tons of Explosives in Its Holds

  

  Oct. 4, 2026 -In the mouth of the River Thames, just downstream from London, a team of elite marine salvors has been busy trying to stabilize one of the world’s most dangerous shipwrecks.

  The SS Richard Montgomery, a U.S. military cargo ship, dragged anchor, broke its back on a sandbar, flooded and sank in late summer 1944, a few months after D-Day, with 1,500 tons of explosives still in the holds.

• • Colorado Officials Want to Require
  Utilities to File Wildfire Mitigation Plans

  But, With Just Three Months Remaining Until the Deadline, Only Eight Out of 161 Utilities Have Done Their Homework
  
  {energy central}

  Oct. 4, 2026 - New requirements? Under proposed rules from the Colorado PUC, Black Hills Energy and the Public Service Company of Colorado would have to file wildfire mitigation and public safety power shutoff plans every three years. Why? This would help the state 1) Assess the risks of wildfires sparking from utility equipment 2) ensure prevention efforts are effective and 3) communicate progress with the public.

  The background: These two orgs have already voluntarily rolled out WMPs. PSCo has filed plans with the state since 2020, and Black Hills last updated its plan in June (but hasn’t submitted it directly to the commission). Now, these new rules would create uniform requirements for the IOUs—and Colorado would join the nine states that order utilities to file these plans.

• • If King County Needs Mines to Build

  Who Gets Them ‘In Their Backyard’?

  

  Oct. 4, 2026 -Less than an hour away from Seattle’s skyline — tucked between state parks and snaked by the Green River — sits a tiny, unincorporated community in South King County.

  Cumberland is green, blue and wild, home to sprawling forests, a gorge with a waterfall fed by a crystalline mountain spring and a few hundred people with a fierce love for the land.

• • Two dead In Flooding in Spain's Catalonia Region

  Two People Have Died and Another Was Missing After Heavy Rains and Flooding In Spain's Catalonia Region

  

  Oct. 4, 2026 -Catalan leader Salvador Illa confirmed the death of a man after a wall collapsed in Tordera, a town to the north of Barcelona, in a message on his social media account on Sunday.

  Another person died in Montornès del Vallès, firefighters said on ?Sunday, while emergency services were searching for a missing person in Pineda de Mar, a town 52 km (32 miles) to the north of Barcelona.

• • Devon Community Tracks River Dart Sewage Spills

  Citizen Environmentalists Create Online Platform That Flags Spills In Real Time and Highlights Repeatedly Polluted Spots

  

  Oct. 3, 2026 -The easy thing for the people who live on the banks of the River Dart in Devon might have been to grumble and groan about the sewage spills that blight their beloved waterway.

  Instead, citizen environmentalists in the area have created a unique online platform that flags up spills in real time, highlights spots that are repeatedly polluted, and sets out where improvement work is planned – and where it isn’t.

• • Decades of Dedicated Reclamation Transform
  Former Copper Mine into Environmental Triumph

  Community Celebrates Environmental Stewardship and Long-Term Commitment
  
  {HEALTHY HAPPY NEWS}

  Oct. 2, 2026 -In the serene landscapes of British Columbia, an inspiring story of environmental stewardship unfolds where former mining operations have blossomed into a remarkable example of nature’s recovery. For thirty years, dedicated professionals have poured their hearts into transforming a once-industrial site into a thriving ecosystem that now stands as a testament to what thoughtful reclamation can achieve.

  The commitment to ongoing monitoring and substantial investment in environmental restoration has not gone unnoticed by industry leaders and environmental advocates alike. This dedication showcases how traditional industries can embrace their responsibility to future generations while maintaining the values of hard work and stewardship that have defined Canadian communities for generations.

• • Interior Department Mourns Loss of Iconic American Landmark

  A 90-Foot Sea Arch That Stood For More Than Five Centuries On Hawai’i’s Big Island Has Toppled Into the Pacific Ocean.
  
  {DAILY CALLER}

  Oct. 2, 2026 -The H?lei Sea Arch stood intact on Sept. 23, according to a news release from Hawai?i Volcanoes National Park. By the night of Sept. 27 it was gone. The exact time of the collapse remains unknown.

  The U.S. Department of the Interior acknowledged the loss on X with a short message that read “Yes, it’s true. RIP H?lei Sea Arch,” according to the agency’s post.

• • Ebola Death Toll In Congo Tops 4,000 In
  Fastest-Growing Outbreak of the Disease On Record

  Congo Announced an Outbreak on May 15, Caused By the Rare Bundibugyo Virus, Which Has No Known Treatment Or Vaccine
  
  {CBS NEWS}

  Oct. 2, 2026 -Congo's Ebola outbreak has now recorded more than 4,000 deaths, authorities said as they struggle to contain the spread of the virus.

  The latest figures were released by the health ministry on Thursday. They show that 4,018 people have died from among 8,300 confirmed cases in what has become the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak in history.

• • Long-Awaited Senate Deal to Speed
  Permitting Faces Familiar Hurdles

  Amid Skepticism From Some Environmentalists, Clean Energy Advocates See the Reforms As Crucial For a Transition From Fossil Fuels

  

  Oct. 2, 2026 -The so-called “lame duck” session of Congress after November’s midterm elections could be momentous for clean energy as lawmakers are set to consider a long-sought bipartisan deal to speed permitting of large energy and infrastructure projects.

  Clean energy advocates and policy experts view the bill as a rare opportunity to deal with a major clean energy roadblock—long queues for interconnection to the grid. But division emerged immediately among environmental advocates, with some arguing the measure would weaken state and tribal government authority and allow pipelines and other fossil fuel projects to take advantage of a streamlined process.

• • Tiny Island Emerges From Sea

  In Joyful Reminder of Nature’s Creative Power
  
  {HEALTHY HAPPY NEWS}

  Oct. 2, 2026 -Six decades ago, the sea itself became an artist. Off the coast of Faial in the Azores, a submerged volcano named Capelinhos stirred to life and began building land where only water had been.

  The eruption lasted thirteen months, yet every human life was protected. Families watched from a safe distance as lava and ash slowly sculpted a brand-new shoreline they later named Ilha Novo.

• • Dangerous Heat Wave Reaches Los Angeles

  Here’s How Long It Will Last
  
  {Los Angeles Times}

  Oct. 2, 2026 -Southern California is about to experience at least a week of extreme heat, according to the National Weather Service.

  An extreme heat advisory is in effect for many areas from 10 a.m. Friday through 8 p.m. Thursday and may be extended. People are advised to remain hydrated, avoid the sun, stay in an air-conditioned room and check on loved ones.

• • Jordan’s Mega-Plan For Water Security
  Risks Locking In Fossil Gas Demand

  A Giant Desalination Plant Will Help Jordan Confront Water Scarcity, But...
  
  {CLIMATE HOME NEWS}

  Oct. 2, 2026 -On the desert shores of the Red Sea, Jordan plans to build a vast desalination plant to send drinking water hundreds of kilometres across its arid interior to the capital, Amman - bolstering climate resilience and reducing reliance on Israel for the vital resource.

  As climate change exacerbates water scarcity in Jordan, a deterioration in the country’s already prickly ties with Israel since the start of the Gaza war has underscored the strategic importance of the roughly $6-billion desalination initiative, billed by its backers as a strategic climate adaptation project.

• • Robots Replacing Herbicides:The Future of Food:

  Built by Farmers. Backed byIndustry. Ready to Scale
  
  {start engine}

  Oct. 2, 2026 Founded by a third-generation Kansas farmer, Greenfield Robotics is building autonomous robots to remove chemicals in agriculture. Manufactured with Amity Technology and already deployed on farms across 16 states, Greenfield is scaling robotics assembled in America for the future of farming.

• • Nepal Plans to Drain Four
  Glacial Lakes After Deadly Floods

  Nepal to Drain Four Glacial Lakes to Reduce Flood Risk

  

  Oct. 2, 2026 -Nepal will kick off a high-stakes effort this fiscal year to drain four glacial lakes perched high in the mountains, as it scrambles to reduce flood risks, officials said, after a recent disaster that killed more than 1,400.

  Rescuers are still searching for more than 5,000 people missing in the border region with China after August's glacier collapse unleashed landslides and a flash flood that tore through valleys.

• • Colorado House Republicans Urge CPW
  to Reconsider Suspended Wolf Directive

  Major Agricultural Groups Condemn Suspension of Colorado Wolf Removals
  
  {FOX21}

  Oct. 2, 2026 -Members of the Colorado House Republican Caucus< sent a letter to Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW), voicing strong opposition to the decision to suspend its chronic wolf depredation directive due to the declining gray wolf population.

  Members of the Colorado House Republicans said wolf reintroduction has resulted in repeated livestock losses, disrupted operations, and a lack of trust in government procedures. Recognizing that one action will not eliminate all conflict, the members oppose the removal of lethal measures when non-lethal measures have failed to stop depredations.

• • Federal Disaster Funds Approved For Aspen
  Acres Fire, Flood Recovery Effort

  Federal Disaster Funds Are Coming to Help Colorado Communities Ravaged By Summer Wildfires and Floods
  
  {KKTV11}

  Oct. 2, 2026 -In a release sent out Friday morning, the governor’s office announced President Trump approved Public Assistance for Colorado’s Major Disaster Declaration (MDD) request to support communities recovering from the Aspen Acres Fire and Gold Mountain Fire.

  According to the governor’s office, the Aspen Acres Fire destroyed 324 homes in Pueblo and Custer Counties, making it the most destructive wildfire in the state since the 2021 Marshall Fire. Almost 12,000 people had to evacuate because of the flames. At last update on August 27, the fire had grown to 102,004 acres and was 82 percent contained.

• • Can a Web Browser Help Clean the Ocean?

  Inside Wave Browser’s Eco Mission
  
  {ZME SCIENCE}

  Oct. 2, 2026 -Most people open a web browser many times a day without considering whether that routine can support work beyond the screen.

  Wave Browser links this ordinary digital activity to documented removal of plastic and trash from our ocean, rivers, and coastlines through its role as a 4ocean Certified Cleanup Partner.

• • When Data Centers Cluster Together, How Dirty Are They?

  One County Wants Answers

  

  Oct. 1, 2026 -Across the United States, thousands of data centers are seeking to break ground — sometimes forming clusters when several are planned near one another. How much pollution might big groups of data centers like these create?

  Typically, local zoning boards or planning commissions consider each data-center proposal individually, not as a group. But in one corner of Pennsylvania — where more than a dozen data centers and power plants are being proposed — officials are trying to change that by studying the total air-quality and health effects of all the proposed projects together, before approving them.

• • ‘Mega-Industrial’ Trawlers Threaten Europe’s Ocean Health

  They Cause the Majority of Environmental Damage

  

  Oct. 1, 2026 -For Europe’s fishing industry, it turns out size does matter.

  Of 60,000 European-flagged fishing boats, just 638 are responsible for most of the harm, according to a new report by French non-profit BLOOM. The largest in the fleet, at 108 feet or longer, pose the greatest threat to food security, cost taxpayers the most and cause unparalleled environmental harms.

  As the European Union decides how to spend its almost $8 billion fisheries budget for 2028-2034, environmentalists are calling for the dismantling of these “mega-industrial” ships.

• • What El Niño 2026-27 Could Mean
  For Utilities and the Power System

  El Niño’s Value Lies Not In Predicting Specific Storms, Droughts, Or Grid Events, But In Helping Energy Planners Ask Better Questions Earlier
  
  {FACTOR THIS}

  Oct. 1, 2026 -As climate scientists continue to track a strengthening El Niño into late 2026, familiar headlines are surfacing in the United States: wetter winters in some regions, fewer Atlantic hurricanes, and renewed drought concerns in parts of the West. Internationally, as Europe endures record-breaking summer heatwaves, the United Kingdom’s national meteorological service predicts this El Niño could be the strongest in living memory.

  For the power sector, the question is not whether El Niño will produce a single, predictable outcome. It will not. A strong El Niño does not guarantee extreme weather, nor does it affect every region in the same way. Instead, it shifts the odds of certain weather patterns, providing a seasonal climate signal that utilities can incorporate into planning alongside other risks.

• • Water Contamination and Cancer Concerns

  An Unexpected Campaign Issue

  

  Oct. 1, 2026 -We’ll look at how Iowa's soaring cancer rates have become a campaign issue ahead of November’s midterm elections. Many voters fear that the state's worsening water pollution from nitrates and other chemicals may be to blame for a spike in cases.

  Then we’ll unpack a legal showdown pitting more than 6,500 people in Madagascar against mining group Rio Tinto. The islanders have filed a claim in London’s High Court, alleging that contamination from the company's mineral sands operation exposed them to dangerous levels of lead and uranium.

• • ‘Explosion of Melt Rates’:
  20% of Swiss Glaciers Lost in Five Years

  Alpine Regions in Europe Experiencing Extreme Glacier Collapse Due to Heat-Trapping Effects of Fossil Fuel Pollution

  

  Oct. 1, 2026 -Switzerland has lost almost one-fifth of its ice in just five years, research has found, in a dramatic reshaping of the Alpine country whose big white glaciers have been reduced to moonlike rock deserts, scientists say.

  Swiss glaciers shrank by 5.5% in the first eight months of 2026, according to an annual monitoring report, after a summer of scorching heatwaves that followed a winter with little snow. The reduction in ice volume falls just shy of the record set in 2022 and brings the total loss of glacier ice since 2021 to 19.4%.

• • Kelvin Wave May Bring Sustained
  High Sea Levels on WA Coast

  What's Next For Puget Sound?

  

  Oct. 1, 2026 -A giant pulse of warm water is surging toward the West Coast, and it’s expected to hit California in days, lifting sea levels by a half-foot or more and lingering for months.

  Known as a Kelvin wave, it doesn’t present a severe threat to Washington yet, but the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will be monitoring it with caution in October.

• • Activists Block Attempt to Burn More
  Tires at Seattle Cement Plant

  Old Tires, Cheap and Plentiful, Are Commonly Used in Cement Production Across the Country and Are Often Portrayed As an Alternative to Other Fossil Fuels

  

  Sept. 30, 2026 -In a win for Duwamish Valley environmental justice advocates, the Ash Grove Cement Co., in Seattle will not be allowed to burn more tires to produce cement.

  The news comes years after the company initially sought a permit from the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency to burn more tires in its kiln, and after around a year of protest from the advocacy group, Duwamish River Community Coalition.

• • Half a Million Trees to Be Planted in
  England In Three Years, Says Government

  Environment Secretary Angela Eagle to Make Pledge As Part of Efforts to Protect Against Extreme Weather

  Sept. 30, 2026 -Half a million trees will be planted across England in the next three years to protect against extreme weather, the environment secretary, Angela Eagle, will pledge on Wednesday morning.

  Mayors, local authorities, charities and grassroots groups will be given new funding and responsibilities for restoring natural landscapes such as wetlands, river edges and meadows, which can provide natural flood management and reduce the damage done by droughts.

• • Meta Announces Large Solar Purchase Agreement in Texas, But...

  It’s Powering Some Data Centers With Gas

  

  Sept. 30, 2026 -Apex Clean Energy and Meta have entered into a power purchase agreement that allows the technology company to financially benefit from energy generated from a solar project in Gonzales County, Texas.

  The 144-megawatt project wouldn’t have been built without Meta’s backing, the energy developer said. But the partnership comes after the parent company of Facebook quietly exited a corporate renewable energy initiative following a decade of membership earlier this year, raising questions about the company’s commitment to renewable energy as Meta builds an expansive portfolio of energy-hungry data centers, totaling 28 sites in the United States as of April.

• • Viruses Run Rampant Across Havana As Water Power Fails

  This Scenario Plays Out in Neighborhoods Across Cuba's Capital of Havana Daily

  

  Sept. 30, 2026 -Cuban housewife Yuamilka Hechavarria was asleep last Tuesday when water rushed into the cistern of the crumbling tenement where she lives in old Havana.

  She jumped from bed, scrambling in the darkness of a blackout to top off a bucketful before the tap went dry. It was the first time her building had seen water in two months.

• • Long After Wildfire Smoke Is Gone, Heavy
  Metals Could Still Be Harming Survivors’ Lungs

  A New Study Links Metals Found in the Ash of the 2023 Maui Wildfires With Impaired Lung Function

  

  Sept. 29, 2026 -After three years helping Maui wildfire survivors track their health progress, Dr. Martina L. Kamaka is used to seeing high levels of heavy metals in their bodies.

  A family medicine doctor, Kamaka is one of the physicians helping with the Maui Wildfire Exposure Study, a multi-year effort from the University of Hawai‘i to chronicle the immediate and long-term health impacts of one of the deadliest wildfires in U.S. history.

• • UN Warns of ‘Narrowing Window’ to Restore World’s Forests

  Alpine Regions in Europe Experiencing Extreme Glacier Collapse Due to Heat-Trapping Effects of Fossil Fuel Pollution

  

  Sept. 29, 2026 -The world faces a “narrowing window” to restore forests essential for food security and resistance to the climate emergency, a United Nations report has warned.

  More than 489m hectares (1.2bn acres) of forests have been cleared since 1990, while an even greater area is degraded, the world body said in a call for governments to make forest restoration a national priority.

• • Why Are Europe's Methane Emissions Rules Being Delayed?

  What Are Those Rules?

  

  Sept. 29, 2026 -The European Commission is considering a postponement of the EU's methane emissions rules for oil and gas imports, responding to calls from the French, US and other governments that fear they could undermine energy security.

  The world's first law targeting methane emissions from imported fossil fuels is due to take effect in January 2027, requiring foreign oil and gas producers that supply the EU to monitor and report their methane emissions.

• • Ghana's Environmental Authority Targets Chinese-
  Owned Cardinal and Others In Mining Crackdown

  Authority Considering Whether Further Engagement With Gold Fields is Needed

  

  Sept. 29, 2026 -Ghana's Environmental Protection Authority has issued a pre-closure notice to Chinese-owned Cardinal Namdini Mining over an alleged unreported accident as it ramps up enforcement across the mining sector, a senior regulator said.

  EPA Deputy Chief Executive for Operations Michael Ayamga also told Reuters the authority is reviewing findings from a recent inspection of South African miner Gold Fields' (GFIJ.J), Tarkwa operation and shut down Chinese-owned Earl International Group last week over what he described as a legacy compliance issue linked to illegal gold mining activity.

• • Texas Politics Could Delay Data Center Investment Decision

  Permitting-Reform Progress
  
  {SEMAFOR Energy}

  Sept. 29, 2026 -Project Kilby, a joint venture between Chevron and the newly-formed energy project developer Joulent, is set to use nearly 3 gigawatts of “behind-the-meter” gas turbines — that is, unconnected to the state grid — to power a massive Microsoft data center in West Texas. Preliminary earthmoving work is already underway at the site while the developers finalize construction contracts and await final state permits.

• • Italy and Czech Republic to Call For Softer
  EU Rules On Carbon Permits, Energy Supply

  They Aim to Present the Reform Package At an October 15-16 EU Summit, the Italian Officials Said

  

  Sept. 29, 2026 Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and her Czech counterpart Andrej Babiš will agree joint proposals to curb energy costs and overhaul the European Union's carbon market, officialsv from Rome said ahead of a meeting of the leaders in Prague on Tuesday.

  Global supply disruptions due to the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East are fuelling voter discontent over rising cost of living. Parliamentary elections are due next year in Italy, France and Spain among others.

• • The Pragmatic Conservationist

  An Interview With Palau President Surang
  
  {EARTH.ORG}

  Sept. 29, 2026 -Surangel Whipps Jr. has served as the President of the Republic of Palau since 2021, winning reelection in 2024 for a second term. The Republic of Palau – a tiny archipelago nestled in the Western Pacific – has made serious waves in ocean conservation. Under Whipps’ leadership, Palau became the first nation in the world to officially ratify the UN High Seas Treaty, the world’s first treaty to protect and conserve marine biodiversity, in 2023.

• • Hurricane Polo Heads for Mexico's Sonora State

  After Drenching Baja California Sur

  

  Sept. 29, 2026 -Hurricane Polo brought heavy rains to the southern half of Mexico's Baja California peninsula early Tuesday and forecasters expect it to make landfall in the state of Sonora in the next few hours.

  Polo, a category 1 hurricane, is forecast to hit the Sonoran coastal city of Guaymas between 8 and 9 a.m. local time (1400-1500 GMT), the head of Mexico's civil protection agency, Laura Velazquez, said at a press conference.

• • Denver Water Warns Customers of Heavy
  Fines For Lawn Watering After Sept. 30

  Penalties For Violating the Ban Begin At $500 For Single-Family Customers
  
  {DENVER WATER}

  Sept. 28, 2026 -As Denver Water prepares to enforce a prohibition on lawn watering beginning Oct. 1 in response to severe drought conditions, the utility is warning customers of heavy fines for those found in violation of the ban.

  Penalties for single-family residential customers begin at $500 for the first violation. A second violation will result in a $1,000 fine. Subsequent violations will be subject to a $1,000 fine and the customer’s water service will be shut off.

• • Brazil Bets On Cocoa to Save the Amazon

  Sweet Spot Or New Threat?

  

  Sept. 28, 2026 -After driving 90 kilometres on Brazil’s Trans-Amazonian highway, the little town of Medicilandia, population 23,000, comes as a surprise. An arch over the dusty road depicts a giant cocoa pod, and a sign welcoming visitors to Brazil’s “capital do cacau”.

  Since leaving the sprawling city of Altamira in the state of Para, there had been little to see but rolling hills and denuded pastureland, interspersed with the occasional township, as the highway, known as the BR-230, turned from tarmac to red clay to plough through the heart of Brazil cattle country.

• • EU to Delay Methane Emissions Rules
  After Pushback From Governments

  The Rule is Supposed ?to Enter Into Force ?on January 1, 2027

  

  Sept. 28, 2026 -The European Commission plans to postpone the European Union's landmark law to reduce methane emissions, a spokesperson said on Monday, following calls from governments including France and the U.S. to pause or roll back the policy.

  "The Commission plans to propose a postponement of the entry into force of the methane regulation," a European Commission spokesperson said, without ?specifying the length of the postponement.

• • Trump Administration to Slash Clean Car
  Rules Aimed At Cutting Climate Emissions

  Environmentalists Decry Move That Relaxes Requirements On Automakers to Control Pollution From Gas-Powered Car

  

  Sept. 28, 2026 -The Trump administration on Monday announced it was slashing clean car rules that had been aimed at reducing planet-heating emissions and boosting electric vehicles.

  The move, which was criticized by environmentalists, relaxes requirements on automakers to control pollution from gasoline-powered cars and light trucks for model years 2022 through 2031.

• • OpenAI Scraps Release of New AI Model Over Safety Concerns

  Model Dubbed GPT-6.1 Astra Was Due to Make Its Debut Inside ChatGPT and Codex in October
  
  {THE WALL STREET JOURNAL}

  Sept. 28, 2026 -OpenAI says it is scrapping the release of its next-generation AI model over safety concerns that researchers raised during internal testing, in one of the clearest signs so far that agent misbehavior could stymie the industry’s rapid progression.

• • The Amazon Could Hold $215 Billion
  Worth of Undiscovered Medicines

  Can We Find Them Before Deforestation Claims Them?
  
  {ZME SCIENCE}

  Sept. 28, 2026 -An analysis by the London-based group Zero Carbon Analytics (ZCA) supports a claim conservationists have made for decades: Tropical forests are worth more standing than cleared, with the Amazon as the world’s “crown jewel” in this context.

  According to the ZCA analysis released in July, tropical forests worldwide could hold a median of $714 billion — within a range of $382 billion to $1.176 trillion — in potential commercial value from undiscovered drugs based on flowering plants.

• • Thousands Huddle in Bangkok Shelters As
  Thai Flood Damages Seen At Over $320 Million

  Floods Kill Eight, Affect Hit Over 580,000 Homes

  

  Sept. 28, 2026 -Residents of the Thai capital waded through waist-deep waters in some areas on Monday, while thousands sheltered in evacuation centres following flooding brought by weekend rains, as swelling reservoirs in an eastern province prompted evacuations.

  Entire neighbourhoods in Bangkok were inundated and the drainage network swamped after 320 mm (12.6 inches) of rain fell during two or three days last week, or nearly as much as the sprawling low-lying city usually gets in all of September.

• • Floods, Landslides Kill 56 in India and 14 in Nepal

  Rivers Rise Above Danger Levels Across Parts of India and Nepal

  

  Sept. 27, 2026 -Heavy rain and storms have triggered floods and landslides that killed 56 people in India, while in Nepal, 14 have died and another 11 are missing, with authorities there warning on Sunday that more flash floods are possible.

  India's northern state of Uttar Pradesh recorded 66.5 mm of rain between September 25 and the morning of September 27, compared with a ?normal 7.6 mm for the period, Hrishikesh Bhaskar Yashod, the state's relief commissioner, said on Sunday.

• • EU Commission Calls On Countries to
  Cut Energy Demands As Costs Surge

  Energy Commissioner Dan Jørgensen Asked Ministers to Introduce New Measures “in the Context of Constrained Global Supply.”
  
  {POLITICO}

  Sept. 27, 2026 -The European Commission has told capitals to reduce demand for gas and electricity in a bid to tame prices amid a global energy crunch.

  "In the context of constrained global supply and high price volatility, demand reduction can be an effective tool to contain prices," EU Commissioner for Energy and Housing Dan Jørgensen wrote in a letter to EU ministers, dated Sept. 25.

• • One Dead as Powerful Nor’easter Causes Flooding
  and Knocks Out Power to Parts of East Coast

  The NYC Housing Authority Said One of Its Employees Was Killed By a Fallen Tree in Brooklyn
  
  {NBC NEWS}

  Sept. 27, 2026 -A powerful, slow-moving storm creeping along the coast of the Northeast brought high winds that have caused power outages, while whipping up big waves and heavy rains.

  The New York City Housing Authority said one of its employees was killed by a fallen tree in Brooklyn, as the storm pelted the city with rain and strong winds on Saturday.

• • Category 3 Hurricane Polo Threatens Mexico’s Coast

  Landfall Expected Monday

  

  Sept. 27, 2026 -Forecasters said Hurricane Polo, which has weakened to a Category 3 storm, is expected to make landfall on the Pacific coast of Baja California Sur on Monday night, bringing sustained winds of 60 to 80 mph and heavy rain to the popular tourist destination.

  As of 11 a.m. EDT on Sunday, the ?hurricane was about 200 miles off the Baja California coast, moving north-northwest at 12 mph with sustained winds of 125 mph, according to the US National Hurricane Center.

• • Roads Food in New Jersey, Inundate Some Homes

  As Major Signs of Nor’easter Take Shape

  

  Sept. 26, 2026 -More than 70,000 customers were without electricity in the U.S. Northeast on Saturday, the sign of a powerful nor’easter expected to create dangerous conditions through the weekend. Forecasters warned of gale winds that could down trees and heavy inundations that could put roads underwater.

  Tens of millions of people are in the path of the storm already beginning to lash the region with strong winds and rain as the region braces for much more. Dangerous flooding is expected along the Mid-Atlantic coast, particularly near New Jersey and Delaware, according to the National Weather Service.

• • Contaminated Marijuana Vapes Sold
  At More Than 400 Colorado Stores

  Health Advisory Issued
  
  {DENVER7}

  Sept. 26, 2026 -The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) has issued a health and safety advisory after contaminated "Regulated Marijuana Vaporizer Delivery Devices," commonly known as cartridges or disposables, were sold at hundreds of stores across Colorado.

• • California Needs Water

  El Niño Might Bring Too Much

  

  Sept. 26, 2026 -El Niño threatens to dump torrential rains on California this winter. With a megadrought in the American West since 2000, that water should be welcome.

  But there’s such a thing as too much water. All that rainfall can outpace the state’s ability to capture and store it for when the dry years return, gushing into the Pacific Ocean but not before causing floods and mudslides.

• • Heavy Rain and Wind Batter Northeast

  Bringing Coastal Flooding

  

  Sept. 26, 2026 -Fierce winds and rains from a strengthening nor’easter lashed the Northeast on Saturday as the storm crawled up the coast, flooding low-lying coastal areas, knocking out power and canceling flights and events.

  The combination of strong winds and exceptionally high tides caused flooding in coastal areas of New Jersey and New York City, submerging streets, cars and the first floors of some buildings.

• • Flood Watch Issued As Nor'easter Bringing Gusty
  Winds, Bands of Heavy Rain to Massachusetts

  High Wind Warnings Along the Coast and Wind Advisories Inland Are in Place Through Sunday Morning
  
  {WCVB5}

  Sept. 26 2026 -Other concerns with this storm include power outages, coastal flooding and coastal erosion. A coastal flood warning is in effect through Sunday night.

  A flood watch has been issued for Middlesex, Worcester, Suffolk, Essex, Norfolk, Bristol, Plymouth, Dukes, and Barnstable Counties through Tuesday at 2 a.m.

• • Peaches Put This Town On the Map. The Colorado
  River Drought Could Wipe It All Away

  Like Much of the Southwest, the Home of the “Perfect Peach” is Facing the Greatest Colorado River Crisis In Recent Memory

  

  Sept. 26, 2026 - Ask almost anyone in this tiny desert town, and they will tell you providence has endowed their valley with three attributes that produce the world’s most perfect peach.

  The first is a warm wind that blows out of neighboring De Beque Canyon in springtime, dispelling frosts that could damage delicate blossoms. Next are the sunny days and cool nights of high-altitude summers, which encourage production of sugars and other compounds that make the fruits teasingly tangy and blissfully sweet.

• • Roads Flood in New Jersey, Inundate Some Homes

  Major Signs of Nor’easter Take Shape

  

  Sept. 26, 2026 -More than 70,000 customers were without electricity in the U.S. Northeast on Saturday, the sign of a powerful nor’easter expected to create dangerous conditions through the weekend. Forecasters warned of gale winds that could down trees and heavy inundations that could put roads underwater.

  Tens of millions of people are in the path of the storm already beginning to lash the region with strong winds and rain as the region braces for much more. Dangerous flooding is expected along the Mid-Atlantic coast, particularly near New Jersey and Delaware, according to the National Weather Service.

• • Rising Sea Destroys Homes, Erases Beaches in California

  Is Worse to Come?

  

  Sept. 25, 2026 -In Malibu, the Pacific Ocean opened a sinkhole near the home of movie star Nicolas Cage and wreaked havoc on beachfront property. Along Beach Road in the city of Dana Point, waves destroyed one home and forced the city to vacate or restrict occupancy to 16 others.

  Such damage up and down Southern California this summer was provoked by a series of Eastern Pacific cyclones and hurricanes, enhanced by the weather phenomenon known as El Niño. Although the hurricanes did not make landfall in California, they generated swells that slammed into the coast, denuding beaches of sand and transforming a coastline that is as much a part of California's identity as Hollywood or Silicon Valley.

• • Nepal PM Urges Climate Justice After
  ‘Himalayan Tsunami’ Devastates Country

  The Devastation, He Added, Extended Across Nepal’s Border With China and Downstream Towards India
  
  {UN News}

  Sept. 25, 2026 -Addressing the general debate of the Assembly’s 81st session, Mr. Shah said the Bhotekoshi-Trishuli disaster four weeks earlier in northern Nepal had swept through mountain communities with a ferocity described as a “Himalayan Tsunami”.

  More than 6,000 people remain missing and damage is estimated at around 10 per cent of Nepal’s gross domestic product (GDP).

  “The Bhotekoshi-Trishuli disaster was not just a local tragedy, it was a warning to the world,” he said. “And I ask you today: have we really heard that warning?”

• • A Nor’easter is Strengthening Near the East Coast

  These Cities Will Be Hit Hard

  

  Sept. 25, 2026 -A nor’easter was gaining strength around 200 miles east of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, early Friday.

  The intensifying storm is forecast to slowly move north in the days ahead and may approach or push ashore in New Jersey on Sunday — while lashing the stretch from the Carolinas to Maine with rain and strong winds as 15-to-25-foot waves tower offshore. That will contribute to potentially serious coastal flooding and beach erosion.

• • Thousands In Thurston County Without Power

  Wind Advisory Issued

  

  Sept. 25, 2026 -Nearly 40,000 Puget Sound Energy customers, were without power as of 8:30 p.m. Friday as downed power lines and trees affected roads and travel.

• • Blast Near Acropolis in Greece
  Injures 2, Collapses a Building.

  Gas Leak Suspected

  

  Sept. 25, 2026 -A powerful blast shook the Greek capital’s tourist district of Plaka, near the ancient Acropolis, on Friday morning, causing a building to collapse and injuring at least two people who were rescued from an adjacent building, authorities said.

  The cause of the explosion wasn’t immediately clear, but local media said that a gas leak was suspected.

• • Salmon Are Thriving After Klamath River Dam Removals

  The First Fall Runs of Chinook Salmon Since the Project in California and Oregon Was Completed Have Surpassed Researchers’ Expectations

  

  Sept. 25, 2026 -The Klamath River, cleared of big barriers for the first time in more than a century after the largest dam removal project in American history, is experiencing a significant rebound of native chinook salmon, according to a new study.

  Thousands of the salmon were recorded passing a former dam site in 2024 and 2025, researchers say, and have reoccupied nearly the full extent of their known historical range.

• • Why Did Every Fish in This Idyllic Lake Perish Overnight?

  ‘The Eels Were Climbing Out of the Water to Die’

  

  Sept. 24, 2026 -When Alistair and Diane Gould bought Furnace Brook in 2013, they had big plans. It was an idyllic spot: a stream-fed fishing lake nestled in a secluded valley in the High Weald, East Sussex, surrounded by woodland and fields. “People loved to come fishing here because it’s so beautiful,” says Diane. “Some of them had been coming for so many years that they got to know the individual fish.”

• • At the UN, Panama Champions a Universal
  Declaration on the Rights of Nature

  Panama’s Center-Right President Called On World Leaders to Adopt a New Non-Binding Treaty, Building On His Nation’s Own National Rights of Nature Laws

  

  Sept. 24, 2026 -From the podium of the United Nations General Assembly, Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino called on fellow leaders to support a treaty affirming that nature has inherent rights.

  “Today I am announcing that Panama will lead internationally an effort to recognize the universal rights of nature. And I ask all of you to support us in this initiative,” Mulino said.

• • Congo is Running Short of Health Workers

  As Ebola Remains Out of Control

  

  Sept. 24, 2026 -Congo is running short of health workers to staff treatment centers for history’s fastest-growing Ebola outbreak, particularly in the eastern province of North Kivu where cases have surged 73% over three weeks, the World Health Organization said Wednesday.

  The warning came despite signs of improvement in other provinces, including Ituri, the outbreak’s epicenter. The outbreak has spread to seven provinces, with 7,773 confirmed cases and 3,759 deaths, according to the latest government figures.

• • Mass Immigration Drastically Altered
  California’s State Landscape

  Immigration Cost California Much of Its Agricultural Land and Had Devastating Consequences On Its Natural Resources Over the Past 50 Years
  
  {DAILY CALLER}

  Sept. 24, 2026 -NumbersUSA conducted Paving Paradise, a research analysis study examining the loss of California’s agricultural and natural land due to development from rapid population growth. The September report measured city expanse data from 1970 to present day and found that 91% of land development was caused by steady population increases — mostly driven by immigration.

  The number of people living in California has doubled over the past five decades, necessitating development of land to accommodate crowding, the study shares.

• • The Wildfires Choking Indonesia

  ‘All We Could See Was Red’

  

  Sept. 24, 2026 -Staring out at the charred cemetery about 100 feet behind his house in Indonesian Borneo, Trovimus Akoi told of the sleepless Sunday night he spent battling an inferno far too close to home.

  He first spotted the wildfire about half a mile away while feeding his chickens. Within hours, the fire tore across the parched terrain at terrifying speed. As the blaze closed in on his community, he and his neighbors armed themselves with hoses, buckets and hand pumps and started a desperate fight to save their homes.

• • Colorado Rural Neighbors Say Trash
  Collection Changes Are Attracting Bears

  Some Coloradans Say Their Trash Provider Makes It Difficult For Them to Protect Their Trash From Bears
  
  {CBS NEWS}

  Sept. 24, 2026 -This year's drought has pushed hungry bears closer to humans, leading to record bear sightings, conflicts and even attacks in Colorado. Colorado Parks and Wildlife has already euthanized hundreds of bears this year.

  "We moved out here because of the wildlife," says Larkspur neighbor Craig LeGrotte. "We love this area. We love the community. We love the wildlife. Everything about it. We just want to coexist with the nature that was here before we were."

• • China Seeds Overseas Renewables
  Growth But Coal Ban Gaps Persist

  Five Years On
  
  {CREA}

  Sept. 24, 2026 -September 2026 marks five years since Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged that “China will step up support for other developing countries in developing green and low-carbon energy, and will not build new coal-fired power projects abroad.” (Xi, 2021). Since then, the Chinese government has formalised the pledge through the 14th Five-Year Plan for a Modern Energy System, while developing a strong green overseas investment policy framework (NDRC, 2022).

• • Australia Says Rogue OpenAI Model
  Hacked Into Its Healthcare System

  Global Worries About the Power of Advanced AI Tools Are Mounting
  
  {CBS NEWS}

  Sept. 24, 2026 -A rogue OpenAI model bypassed safeguards during training and hacked an Australian government website, the country's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Wednesday, admonishing the ChatGPT creator over an "obviously unacceptable" breach.

  The artificial intelligence tool sought access to a health statistics portal in June and "didn't accept no for an answer," sidestepping restrictions to breach a section hosting private files, Albanese said.

• • More than 160,000 Pounds of Meat Bearing
  False USDA Inspection Labels Recalled

  Food Produced Without Inspection May Contain Undeclared Allergens, Harmful Bacteria, Or Other Contaminants

  

  Sept. 24, 2026 -More than 83 tons of meat are being recalled across the U.S. because the products were not properly inspected by federal authorities and were shipped out with falsified inspection stickers, the Department of Agriculture said.

  Star Meat Delivery Inc., based in Lucama, North Carolina, is recalling more than 167,000 pounds (75,750 kilograms) of raw pork, beef, and goat nationwide. The USDA said that number could grow as it continues its investigation.

• • ‘Extreme Concern’ Over First Known
  AI Hack of a Government System

  The Disclosure is the Latest Example of AI Agents Going Rogue and Acting In Ways Beyond What Their Human Handlers Intended
  
  {CNN Business}

  Sept. 24 2026 - An OpenAI agent hacked into an Australian national healthcare database in the first known case of AI hacking a government network, the country’s prime minister said Wednesday.

  “The AI agent accessed both public and non-public files” of the country’s Medicare statistics database, and even wrote files into it, Anthony Albanese told reporters on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York.

• • How Can Utilities Best Approach
  Wildfire Risk in the Northeast?

  Challenging and Ever-Changing Weather Patterns Mean That Utilities Across the U.S. Must Adopt Wildfire Strategies and Technologies That Are Specific to the Geography of Their Region
  
  {FACTOR THIS}

  Sept. 24, 2026 -While the recent Wildfire & Resiliency Strategy Summit highlighted how PNM leverages Firescape technology for 100-meter line-segment simulations in the Southwest, DTECH Northeast will examine how similar data-driven frameworks can apply to the distinct challenges of the Northeast.

  The Approaches to Wildfire Risk in the Northeast: Situational Awareness and Emergency Management session will detail how Avangrid successfully adapted western wildfire risk models for northeastern environments. To get a better sense of what’s in store for attendees, we caught up with Holly Eagleston, CEO and Founder of Firescape. We explored how Firescape technology is being applied in the Northeast, why localized risk modeling is becoming so important for utility resilience, what’s in store for attendees at DTECH NE, and much more.

• • Germany Unveils Plan to End Use of
  Fossil Fuels in Energy Sector By 2045

  It Became the Third Country to Publish a Roadmap to Phase Out Fossil Fuels After France and the Netherlands
  
  {CLIMATE HOME NEWS}

  Sept. 24 2026 - Germany wants to stop using fossil fuels in its energy sector by 2045 at the latest, with plans for how to do that set out in the country’s transition roadmap published on Wednesday on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.

  The blueprint focuses on electrifying transport, home heating and industry, while gradually replacing fossil fuel power generation with renewables. Renewables supplied about 55% of Germany's electricity last year and the government wants that to reach at least 80% by 2030.

• • Corporate Coalition Joins Hands
  to Restore Colorado River Flow

  Partnerships with Water Resilience Coalition and The Climate Pledge Amplify Impact
  
  {HAPPY HEALTHY NEWS}

  Sept. 24 2026 -Good news is flowing along the Colorado River this week as a coalition of major companies steps up to ease pressure on the vital waterway.

  Amazon announced a $20 million investment on Monday to fund irrigation upgrades and leak repairs throughout the drought-stressed basin. The initiative launches the Colorado River Basin Collaborative, which teams Amazon with the Water Resilience Coalition and The Climate Pledge.

• • Colorado Selected for $250 Million to Strengthen Electric Grid

  Lowering Costs, and Preventing Outages
  
  {COLORADO}

  Sept. 24 2026 - Today, Governor Jared Polis announced that the Colorado Energy Office (CEO), in partnership with Xcel Energy Services, Inc., has been selected to receive a $250 million investment from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to strengthen a key transmission connection between Colorado and Texas, linking the Western and Eastern grids. The project will help Colorado meet growing electricity demand, improve reliability, and expand access to lower-cost power.

• • Push For Cooking to Be Part of COP31’s Electrification Agenda

  Kenya’s President and Britain’s Climate Envoy Said Africa Should Use the Global Electrification Push To Roll Out Clean Cooking
  
  {CLIMATE HOME NEWS}

  Sept. 24 2026 -President William Ruto of Kenya has called for COP31’s electrification agenda – a flagship initiative to expand the use of electricity to power the global economy – to include a push for electric cookers to replace polluting firewood and charcoal.

  The Turkish and Australian co-hosts of the November summit want governments to sign up to a pledge to increase electricity’s share of final energy consumption to 35% globally by 2035 and 50% by 2050. It is currently around 23%.

• • The Push to Make Beef Deforestation-Free

  Following the Herd

  

  Sept. 23, 2026 -It is not often that an exposé by an NGO triggers legislation to be enacted in just five years, but Colombia has achieved exactly this with its cattle traceability law.

  Cattle ranching is estimated to account for 80% of deforestation in the Amazon rainforest, and an investigation in 2025 by the US-based Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) linked cattle ranching to deforestation in three of Colombia’s national parks in the biome. An earlier investigation in 2025 revealed that Colombian supermarkets purchased beef from ranchers illegally raising livestock inside national parks.

• • Sen. Bernie Sanders Unveils Bill
  to Ban Artificial Superintelligence

  And Create Department of AI

  

  Sept. 23, 2026 -Two leading progressive lawmakers, Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Greg Casar, are unveiling legislation Wednesday that would ban artificial superintelligence and create a federal agency to oversee advanced AI as some of the industry’s own leaders urge Congress to impose guardrails on the advancing technology.

• • Countries Still Way Behind on UN Biodiversity Targets

  This, Accorrding to the Latest Research

  

  Sept. 23, 2026 -Governments are set to fall well short of meeting a major UN ?target to protect and conserve biodiversity in at least 30% of the world's land and seas by 2030, research published on Wednesday showed.

  As part of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework agreed in late 2022, nearly 200 countries signed on to the "30 by 30" goal and pledged to mobilise at least $200 billion a year to reverse decades of biodiversity loss.

• • How Could AI Actually Wipe Out Humanity?

  An Expert Breaks Down the 5 Biggest Scenarios
  
  {ZME SCIENCE}

  Sept. 23, 2026 -Earlier this month, artificial intelligence (AI) researcher Jacob Coxon resigned from Anthropic after just four months. In an announcement on X, he stated:“The people building AI earnestly believe that it could kill us all by the end of the decade.”

  A senior member of Anthropic’s staff, Evan Hubinger, actually agreed with Coxon, adding he personally thinks the chance of this happening in the next decade is more than 10%.

• • Hurricane Polo Fuels Fears of Landslides in
  Mexico as Nolo Closes in On Hawaii

  Southwestern Mexico Braced For Heavy Rain and Mudslides Wednesday After Polo, a Powerful Pacific Cyclone, Became a Major Hurricane
  
  {npr}

  Sept. 23, 2026 -Hurricane Polo, an "extremely dangerous" storm, is expected to skirt Mexico's Guerrero state, submerging coastal areas with 4 to 6 inches (10 to 15 centimeters) of rain through Thursday, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami. Guerrero has been repeatedly pummeled by hurricanes in recent years.

  Farther out in the Pacific, Tropical Storm Nolo was churning about 295 miles (475 kilometers) south of South Point, Hawaii. The storm is forecast to become a hurricane by Thursday night and is expected to approach the Big Island as early as Friday.

• • The Group Chat Where World Leaders
  Are Racing to Create AI Controls

  An Island Meeting, Texts Between the Leaders of Canada, France and Norway Reveal an Emerging Alliance: ‘We’re In’
  
  {THE WALL STREET JOURNAL}

  Sept. 23, 2026 -Norway’s prime minister thumbed out a text message to an increasingly familiar contact on his phone—a fellow head of government he hoped would join a nascent plan of Western leaders to design a new framework to regulate artificial intelligence.

  Jonas Gahr Støre said that within 10 minutes, Canada’s Mark Carney had texted back: “Of course. We’re in.”

• • Boston Summit Focuses On Using AI to Fight Rat Problem

  Boston Hosted Its Second National Urban Rat Summit, Where Experts and City Leaders Discussed Innovative Strategies to Measure and Reduce the City's Rodent Population
  
  {WCVB5}

  Sept. 23 2026 -City leaders explained that artificial intelligence-assisted cameras are being used to measure rodent populations, establishing a baseline to track progress. Alongside tracking, Boston is implementing various methods to address the infestation.

  "So, we're going to be reactive and not thinking prevention at all? No, we have to be preventive and reactive," said Bobby Corrigan, Ph.D., an urban rodentologist.

• • Germany Maps Out Fossil Fuel Exit

  Backing EVs and Heat Pumps

  

  Sept. 23, 2026 -Germany's cabinet approved a roadmap on Wednesday to phase out coal, oil and gas by 2045, reaffirming a climate strategy focused on electrification despite a minister's call for more flexibility on cars, heating and carbon pricing.

  An environment ministry spokesperson said the plan would be presented at the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

• • Scientists Built a Paper-Based Battery You Can Swallow

  It Could Power Medical Pills for Days
  
  {ZME SCIENCE}

  Sept. 23, 2026 -Swallowing a battery is usually a medical emergency. But what if you could swallow one that powers a medical device inside your body and then safely dissolves when its job is done?

  Researchers have developed a tiny, paper-based battery that could make this possible. In experiments with pigs, it powered a wireless device that tracked a swallowed capsule and another that delivered electrical stimulation to the stomach, triggering the release of a hormone that regulates hunger.

• • 'Super' El Niño Could Cause
  451,000 Excess Deaths

  This, According to New Research

  

  Sept. 23, 2026 -Extreme heat caused by this year's "super-El Niño" could result in as many as 451,000 excess deaths across the globe from June this year to February 2027, researchers with the University of Chicago's Climate Impact Lab said on Wednesday.

  The number ?of extremely hot days is likely to rise by 44% compared to normal years, Climate Impact Lab said in ?a report, opens new tab.

• • UN Backs Push to Upgrade Grids Slowing
  Clean Power Uptake in Africa and SE Asia

  It Will Help Turn National and Regional Plans to Expand Electricity Infrastructure into Viable Projects On the Ground
  
  {CLIMATE HOME NEWS}

  Sept. 23 2026 -The UN has rallied behind plans to accelerate investment in electricity infrastructure in Africa and Southeast Asia, boosting efforts to tackle one of the biggest bottlenecks holding back the shift to clean energy.

  UN boss António Guterres launched the Global Grids Accelerator on the sidelines of the UN Climate Summit in New York on Wednesday. The initiative aims to turn government plans to expand and modernise grids into investment-ready projects and bring together the expertise, finance and support needed to build them.

• • What’s the Better Bargain, Protecting
  a Rainforest Or Regrowing It?

  New Study Finds That Stopping Logging and Wildfires Could Do More For Rainforest Wildlife Than Halting Deforestation

  

  Sept. 23, 2026 -Planting a tree in the Amazon does a lot less for the rainforest than simply leaving one alone. That’s the uncomfortable arithmetic in new research on Brazil’s jungles.

  Faced with a dollar to spend on the rainforest, scientists found, you’re almost always better off protecting what’s already standing than paying to regrow what’s gone. The gap isn’t small: preventing deforestation or stopping logging and fires delivered far more carbon storage and biodiversity than restoration did, for a fraction of the cost, according to new research in Science.

• • EU and Canada Secure €211 Million
  For Ocean Observation Activities

  A Partnership's New Beginnings

  

  Sept. 23, 2026 -The European Commission and Canada have secured at least €211 million ($240 million) in funding pledges for a newly launched ocean observation initiative,European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Wednesday at the UN General Assembly in New York.

  The OceanEye International Alliance for the Global Ocean Observing ?System, which so far comprises 30 country members and the European Union, aims to support safe navigation, weather forecasting, climate prediction, coastal protection and the naval economy.

• • China's Clean Tech Exports Avoided More
  CO2 Than UK Emitted Last Year

  China, Heading in the Right Direction

  

  Sept. 23, 2026 -China's clean technology exports last year avoided carbon emissions greater than those produced by Britain, according to new analysis highlighting the growing climate impact of China's green technology boom.

  Chinese exports of batteries, wind turbines, electric vehicles and, above all, solar panels avoided 374 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions (MtCO2) last year, according to analysis by Lauri Myllyvirta, co-founder of the Helsinki-based Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air.

• • Chemicals Linked to Breast Cancer Are ‘Ubiquitous,’

  Hundreds of potential Breast Carcinogens Taint Everyday Consumer Products, Food, Drinking Water, Medicines, Building Materials and Pesticides

  

  Sept. 23, 2026 -The more scientists look for chemicals that can increase breast cancer risk, the more they find.

  Hundreds of potential breast carcinogens lurk in consumer goods, food, drinking water, pesticides, drugs and building materials, scientists reported in a peer-reviewed study published Wednesday in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives.

• • Where a Powerful Nor’easter
  Could Hit Hardest This Weekend

  Wind Gusts of 50 to 70 MPH and Waves of 10 to 15 Feet Could Pound Parts of the Coast

  

  Sept. 23, 2026 -This weekend is shaping up to be a stormy one for millions of people living in the Northeast.

  The forecast is trending toward a powerful, slow-moving and rare September nor’easter that tracks closer to the coast. Because the storm will coincide with higher-than-normal tides, concerns about dangerous coastal flooding and beach erosion are rising.

• • COP31 Electrification Pledge Leaves
  Out Clean Power Commitment

  Campaigners and Experts Say the Goal’s Effectiveness In Reducing Emissions May Be Limited Unless Countries Agree to Meet It Using Only Clean Energy
  
  {CLIMATE HOME NEWS}

  Sept. 22, 2026 -COP31’s flagship initiative to accelerate the electrification of the world’s economy has been criticised for failing to include a commitment to produce the power from clean energy.

  Governments that sign the voluntary pledge at this year’s UN climate summit will commit to increasing electricity’s share of total energy consumption to 35% globally by 2035 in line “with pathways consistent with keeping 1.5C alive”, the text unveiled by the Turkish presidency on Tuesday says.

• • Colorado Sen. and County Officials Call On
  ICE to Release Information On Tuberculosis Reports '

  CBS Colorado Reached Out to the Department of Homeland Security For Comment, But Has Not Yet Received a Response
  
  {CBS NEWS}

  Sept. 22, 2026 - Colorado legislators and health officials are asking for answers after recent reports of another case of tuberculosis exposure at the Aurora ICE Detention Facility.

  A report by the Denver Post says that an entire pod inside the facility was placed in quarantine after they were exposed to tuberculosis, but ICE has not confirmed those reports.

• • Plastic Has Fused With Coral in Okinawa
  and Could Enter the Rock Record '

  Rise of the Plasticorals
  
  {ZME SCIENCE}

  Sept. 22, 2026 -Future geologists may one day find an unmistakable signature of human activity in old reef sediments: coral rubble shot through with melted plastic.

  On Okinawa, Japan, researchers surveying beach litter found 5 pieces of dead coral fused with bright blue, green, yellow, or red plastic. In a new study, scientists from the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology and the University of the Ryukyus call the hybrids “plasticorals”—a new member of a growing family of materials in which synthetic polymers become physically incorporated into stone, sediment, or biological remains.

• Iowa Has a Staggering 11,000 Factory Farms
Their Manure Is Fueling a Growing Water Crisis '

Iowa is the U.S. State With the Most Factory Farms: 10,830 of Them, to Be Exact

{ZME SCIENCE}

Sept. 22, 2026 -This has a devastating effect on the state’s water. When too much manure is spread on fields, nitrates run off into the groundwater and nearby streams and lakes.

Small towns in Iowa can face months-long stretches when their water is undrinkable. Des Moines, the state capitol and largest city, operates a massive system to remove nitrate pollution from its water to the tune of $10,000 a day, the largest such system in the world when it was built. More than half of Iowa’s rivers and streams, and more than 60% of its lakes and reservoirs, failed water quality standards in 2024.

• • The Texas Trader at War With His
  Electric Company Over Power Poles '

  Texas Resident Salem Abraham is Fighting in Court to Obtain and Publicize Xcel Energy’s Power Pole Inspection Records Following a Massive 2024 Fire
  
  {THE WALL STREET JOURNAL}

  Sept. 22, 2026 -Salem Abraham made his fortune trading stocks and commodity futures from the high plains of the Texas Panhandle. The self-described data junkie now has a new obsession: the wooden poles that carry power lines.

  Ever since an aging pole snapped in high winds about 60 miles from his ranch and sparked what ballooned into the biggest wildfire in Texas history, Abraham has been studying the metal tags nailed on poles that indicate when they were last inspected.

• • Researchers Had a Hunch About How to Solve
  the Climate Problem Caused By Wastewater Treatment

  Scientists Expected Their Artificial Floating Wetland to Help Only After Cleaning the Water...

  

  Sept. 22, 2026 -Wetland plants grown on the surface of wastewater treatment lagoons can reduce greenhouse gas emissions from these water bodies by more than one-quarter, according to a new study. These so-called “floating wetlands” may be an elegant solution that works with existing infrastructure to address a growing emissions hotspot.

  Wastewater treatment is responsible for 1.6% of global greenhouse gas emissions. As economic development brings better sanitation to more of the world’s population, this climate impact is also increasing. “Wastewater treatment solves one environmental problem by cleaning dirty water, but creates another by emitting greenhouse gases,” says study team member Lukas Schuster, who studies nature-based climate solutions at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia.

• • EPA Announces $93.4M Plan to Rid California
  Superfund Site of Dangerous Chemicals

  The EPA Never Acknowledged Their Proposal

  

  Sept. 22, 2026 -The EPA has released a 53-page, $93.4 million plan to remove dangerous chemicals from Richmond’s Heckathorn Superfund site, but community members who’ve long advocated for a more extensive cleanup aren’t impressed.

  While there may be some aspects of the EPA’s United Heckathorn Superfund Site plan that the Richmond Shoreline Alliance (RSA) might agree with, said coordinator Janet Johnson, they don’t consider it a complete cleanup. The RSA and its partner agencies became so frustrated with the EPA last year that they wrote their own cleanup plan, one that has been endorsed by the city of Richmond and Sen. Jesse Arreguín.

• • ‘Planetary Boundaries’ Necessary For Flourishing
  of Life Have Been Massively Breached, Scientists Warn

  New Report Shows Key Indicators of Earth’s health are ‘outside the Safe Operating Space’ As Climate Disaster Looms

  

  Sept. 21, 2026 -The planetary life support systems relied upon by humans have deteriorated to their worst levels ever recorded amid ongoing pollution and habitat destruction, according to a key yet grim annual update by scientists.

  Of the nine “planetary boundaries” that help determine whether life can flourish on Earth, seven are being breached at their highest ever levels of transgression, according to the latest planetary health check, a process that was established in 2009.

• • Virginia Has Unveiled the Country’s
  ‘Highest Standards’ For Data Centers

  Posted in Energy and Grid Management
  
  {energy central}

  Sept. 20, 2026 -VA Gov. Abigail Spanberger announced a sweeping plan to rein in data centers, including 1) directing utilities to “allocate a more equitable share” of generation and transmission costs to these facilities 2) ordering a review of the emissions and air quality impacts from diesel generators and 3) requiring local approval of projects >25 MW.

  But that’s not all: Next year, Spanberger said she wants the Democrat-controlled VA legislature to limit the amount of power that data centers can generate from gas and incentivize them to bring their own clean energy.

• • How Indonesia’s Fire Haze Affects Millions

  ‘The Physical Toll is Visceral

  

  Sept. 20, 2026 -For months, parts of Indonesia’s Borneo and Sumatra islands have been ablaze. The fires are sometimes lit illegally as a cheap way to clear land for plantations of oil palm, of which Indonesia is the world’s largest producer.

  So prevalent is the technique that it even has a special term: slash and burn.

  Many of the fires begin as small-scale blazes. But in hot, dry conditions, can easily spiral out of control, sending toxic smoke across borders and affecting the air quality of millions in Indonesia and beyond.

• • Drones and Korean Pilots Deliver Lifesaving
  Warnings in Mozambique Flood

  Zero Lives Lost in Mozambique’s Worst Flood in Decades
  
  {HEALTHY HAPPY NEWS}

  Sept. 19, 2026 -In January, a northern Mozambique community faced one of its fiercest floods in decades. Rushing waters rose fast, yet not a single life was lost.

  Small, agile drones piloted by Korean specialists gave search-and-rescue teams live aerial views. Swift warnings reached every household in time.

• • Macron Asks EU to Relax Energy and
  Climate Rules to Ease Soaring Fuel Prices

  The French President Wants the European Commission to Delay a Law That Would Fine Oil and gas Companies Which Fail to Report Methane Emissions
  
  {POLITICO}

  Sept. 22, 2026 -French President Emmanuel Macron has asked European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to ease EU rules on the make-up of fuel and on methane emissions in a bid to keep soaring energy prices under control.

  The call comes as the conflict in the Middle East pushed oil prices to around their highest point since May, while gas prices were more than double their level before the U.S. and Israel bombed Iran in February, prompting the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

• • The Big Threat Has Been Climate Change. Now Comes A.I.

  Both Are Human-Caused, Both Are Frightening, And...

  

  Sept. 22, 2026 -New warnings that humans are flirting with out-of-control artificial intelligence raise an uneasy question: has A.I. surpassed climate change as one of humanity’s gravest risks?

  Though the danger of the technology is hard to assess, the worst-case scenario — human extinction — makes other earthly concerns seem small.

• Coastal Massachusetts Towns Urge Storm Preparations

Towns Are Urging Residents and Boat Owners to Prepare For a Potential Storm By Securing Property and Taking Safety Measures

{WCVB5}

Sept. 22, 2026 -In Scituate, a boater was seen pulling his vessel from the water, saying he would rather be safe than sorry.

"Last year we had some decent swells that came through the inlet here and kind of rocked the marina a little bit, so just to be safe I thought, pull it out early," said boat owner Mike Gaudette.

Scituate Town Manager Jim Boudreau encouraged residents to act now.

• • Bear Encounters Are Rising Across the United States

  Here’s Why

  

  Sept. 22, 2026 -Agencies in at least 15 states have reported increased calls this year, as drought and population growth drive the animals closer to people in search of food.

  They climb through bedroom windows and open car doors. They sneak into restaurants, fire stations and vacation rentals. Across the country, black bears are foraging for food.

• • Japan Braces For Heavy Rain, Strong
  Winds As Typhoon Nears Eastern Coast

  Why Was a Level 5 Landslide Warning Issued For Izu Oshima?
  
  {Bangkok Post}

  Sept. 21, 2026 -A large typhoon was moving towards eastern Japan's Pacific coast Monday, with the weather agency issuing a top-level warning for landslides in the northern part of the Izu island chain.

  Typhoon Dujuan was projected to pass near the Boso Peninsula in Chiba Prefecture, east of Tokyo, from the evening to late Monday, the Japan Meteorological Agency said. Downpours could also occur in the Kanto-Koshin region, which includes Tokyo, as well as the Tokai region in central Japan.

• • Extinction Scenarios Are Taking Over the AI Debate

  Is This How the World Ends?

  

  Sept. 21, 2026 -At a beachfront resort in San Juan, Puerto Rico, SpaceX founder Elon Musk joined a three-hour discussion on humanity’s dire fate if artificial intelligence started to rapidly improve.

  The afternoon panel was part of a private conference hosted in early 2015 by the Future of Life Institute, a new nonprofit whose founders — mostly outsiders to AI — believed the nascent technology would grow so powerful it could render humans extinct.

• • EU to Keep Opposing New Arctic Oil
  Drilling, Despite Pressure From Norway

  Norway Wants EU to Drop Its Opposition to New Arctic Oil and Gas Drilling

  

  Sept. 21, 2026 -The European Union will maintain its opposition to new oil and gas drilling in the Arctic, a European Commission spokesperson said on Monday, despite Norwegian pressure to drop the EU ban.

  The EU currently supports a ban on new drilling in the Arctic, over environmental concerns, including the risk posed to sensitive Arctic ecosystems by industrial activities and pollution.

• • How Saudi Oil Scientists Ended Up Working
  On the World’s Most Important Climate Reports

  Fossil Fuel Links of IPCC Authors, With Experts Declaring the Body’s Conflict of Interest Policy ‘Not Fit For Purpose’

  

  Sept. 21, 2026 -On her first day as an expert author on the world’s most important climate reports, Prof Julia Steinberger knew nobody else, so she sat down at a stranger’s table for breakfast.

  “Hi, I’m Julia. I’m from the University of Lausanne,” she said. The man across the table replied: “I’m Mustafa Babiker. I work with Saudi Aramco.”

  Aramco, Saudi Arabia’s state oil company, is responsible for more of the carbon emissions driving the escalating climate crisis than any other company in history, and the kingdom has long been a major blocker of climate action.

• • Flights Resume At Philadelphia International Airport
  After Equipment Outage Led to Delays, Cancellations

  There's Still a Long List of Delays and Cancellations at PHL
  
  {CBS NEWS}

  Sept. 21, 2026 -Flights resumed at Philadelphia International Airport Monday night after an equipment outage prompted ground stops at airports across the Northeast, leaving travelers in limbo.

  The ground stop at PHL expired at 5 p.m., and a ground delay issued by the FAA is no longer in effect.

• • Ebola Vaccine Trial Begins in DR Congo

  Involving Frontline Health Workers and Others Involved in the Response
  
  {United Nations}

  Sept. 21, 2026 -The UN World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday that 20,000 doses of the Ervebo vaccine have been allocated for the research vaccination programme in Ituri province.

  The aim of the trial is to improve understanding of how effective the vaccine is against Ebola Bundibugyo virus – and to protect individuals most exposed to it.

• • OpenAI Urges Washington to Lead Global
  Effort to Create AI-Safety Standards

  Trump Says He Won’t Stifle Growth and That Justice Department Can ‘Rein in Things’ If Needed
  
  {THE WALL STREET JOURNAL}

  Sept. 21, 2026 -OpenAI is asking the U.S. government to lead an effort with other countries to develop global safety and security standards for building cutting-edge artificial-intelligence systems.

  In a proposal published Monday, the company suggested that countries worldwide should set common measures for evaluating forthcoming self-improving AI systems and establish secure channels to share emerging threats.

• • A Carbon-Credit Land Rush is
  Hollowing Out New Zealand Farm Country

  From Feral Goats to Falling Power Lines, the Pine-Planting Boom is Upending Rural Life

  

  Sept. 21, 2026 -At the start of lambing season, Fiona Ramsden’s farm near the New Zealand village of Pongaroa is a picture of rural life: newborn lambs trailing their mothers across steep pasture, fields dotted with spiky native palm trees, and a pretty white homestead that dates back about a century.

  But pine trees are closing in.

  On neighboring land once grazed by sheep and cattle, young Monterey pines – also known as radiata pines – carpet the hills, planted to earn carbon credits under the country’s emissions trading scheme.

• • Climate Super-Pollutant from China’s
  Electric Grid Is Cooking the Planet

  The Nation’s Electric Utilities Release Vast Quantities of the World’s Most Potent Greenhouse Gas

  

  Sept. 20, 2026 -China’s electric grid has a dirty secret: Despite leading the world in renewable energy expansion, it is also the largest emitter of the planet’s most potent greenhouse gas.

  Sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) is a synthetic chemical that plays a critical role as an electrical insulator in high-voltage equipment. The gas is odorless, invisible, non-toxic and non-flammable. But it is also a climate killer, 24,300 times more effective at warming the planet than carbon dioxide on a pound-for-pound basis. Once released, sulfur hexafluoride remains in the atmosphere for 1,000 years.

• • How Indonesia’s How Indonesia’s Fire Haze Affects Millions

  ‘The Physical Toll is Visceral

  

  Sept. 20, 2026 -For months, parts of Indonesia’s Borneo and Sumatra islands have been ablaze. The fires are sometimes lit illegally as a cheap way to clear land for plantations of oil palm, of which Indonesia is the world’s largest producer.

  So prevalent is the technique that it even has a special term: slash and burn.

  Many of the fires begin as small-scale blazes. But in hot, dry conditions, can easily spiral out of control, sending toxic smoke across borders and affecting the air quality of millions in Indonesia and beyond.

• • Colorado Parks and Wildlife Lifts
  Fishing Closures On Three Rivers

  Back At Last
  
  {CBS NEWS}

  Sept. 20, 2026 -Colorado Parks and Wildlife says cooler water temperatures have allowed it to lift voluntary fishing closures on three rivers in the state's northwest region.

  High water temperatures and low flow have affected rivers and lakes across the state, leading to both mandatory and voluntary fishing closures in order to protect and conserve fish populations. As conditions improve, CPW says these closures have been lifted:

• • 4-Alarm Fire At Rockport, Mass.
  Business Displaces Families, Businesses

  Two Families Living in Upstairs Apartments Were Able to Escape
  
  {WCVB5}

  Sept. 20, 2026 -A four-alarm fire at a mixed-use building in Rockport, Massachusetts, left two families and several businesses displaced, the town's fire department announced.

  Just before 10 a.m., fire crews were called to 19 Broadway Ave. for a report of a strong gas odor throughout the building.

• • China’s Stranglehold On Rare Earths Must Be Ended

  Says Hopeful Supplier to EU

  

  Sept. 20, 2026 -The head of a mining company hoping to supply the EU with rare earths in two years’ time has said it is “paramount” to end China’s stranglehold on the supply of the raw materials used in everything from cars to wind turbines and military jets.

  As Donald Trump and China’s president, Xi Jinping, prepare to meet on Thursday in their second summit of the year, Rafael Moreno said it was also “imperative” that they do a deal for Beijing to ease up, once again, on its threat to ban exports of rare earths.

• • The September 11 Cancer Wave Ahead

  Despite Official Assurances At the Time, the Dust Was Toxic
  
  {CTV NEWS}

  Sept. 19, 2026 -After the collapse came the dust. It billowed across Lower Manhattan in the wake of the 2001 World Trade Center terror attacks, turning people into ghosts as they trudged to safety.

  It blew into buildings through broken windows and air intakes, settling into carpets, curtains and upholstery and leaving a fine powder on surfaces. People wrote messages in the dust coating the windows of buildings.

• • Oil Interests Threaten Life in Arctic
  Refuge’s Fragile Coastal Plain

  The Coastal Plain, At 1.5 Million Acres, is Not Very Big, Just a Slice of the 20-Million Acre Refuge

  

  Sept. 19, 2026 -Over twining rivers and gray-visaged mountains we fly, peak after peak, until suddenly the land lies down, verdant and soft.

  Water pocks the tundra with lakes and ponds, marshes and rills. Streams rush to the sea, which shimmers blue where it meets the shore but is frosted white in the distance with pack ice on the Beaufort Sea. With a thump, our bush plane lands on a gravel patch, and we spill out the door like laundry, uncrumpling from the tiny plane.

• • The Sheep That Stop Wildfires

  Herds of Livestock Are Munching Through Overgrown, Hard-To-Reach Vegetation That Could Otherwise Become Fuel For Firestorms

  

  Sept. 18, 2026,By Ingfei Chen -Late one night in October, 2017, Jane Marx, a landscape architect in the wine country of Northern California, woke up to the smell of smoke and the sound of an eerie, howling wind. She dialled 911. “There are three fires in your area, and we’re on it,” a dispatcher told her. But the blazes, sparked by downed power lines, quickly spread. Fire raced up a thickly forested mountainside and moved west into Bennett Ridge, the idyllic rural development where Marx lives. Soon her subdivision was engulfed in flames. Propane tanks were exploding nearby. Marx and her husband, David, had recently returned from a trip. They threw their still packed luggage into two vehicles and fled. “It was just ‘Run for your life,’ ” she told me.

• • Colorado Approves New Methane
  Regulations For Oil-And-Gas Producers

  Colorado Air-Quality Regulators Approved a Third and Final Set of Rules Friday to Reduce Methane Emissions Released in Oil and Gas Production
  
  {THE SUM SUBSTANCE}

  Sept. 18, 2026 -State leaders considered and passed the rules in three phases over the past 19 months. In February 2025, the Colorado Air Quality Control Commission established a timeline to phase out natural-gas-driven compressors and pumps by 2029. Then, earlier this year, commissioners created a crosswalk between federal requirements and Colorado’s decade-old methane regulations that helped to inform producers on how to meet the federal standard.

• • Spanberger Slaps New Guardrails On Data Centers

  Her Actions Friday Follow a Contentious Fight With State Legislative Leaders Over Data Center Tax Incentive
  
  {POLITICO}

  Sept. 18, 2026 - Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D) on Friday unveiled what she called the “highest standards in America” for data centers, including what she said is the country’s first crackdown on on-site power plants using natural gas.

  “Starting today, this industry won’t have carte blanche to play by their own rules in Virginia,” Spanberger said at a press conference in Richmond.

• • California Adopts New Limits to Rein in Dairy Manure
  Pollution and Its ‘Outsized’ Groundwater Impacts

  Central Valley Dairies Are Long Overdue to Face Stricter Regulations Over Their Nitrate Pollution...

  

  Sept. 18, 2026 -The California valley with the most dairy farms in the state will follow stricter water pollution requirements following years of advocacy and a marathon six-hour meeting this week.

  The State Water Resources Control Board unanimously agreed to adopt the regulations under what several environmental groups call a long overdue dairy order.

• • New Membrane Removes Nearly 100%
  of Ammonia From Wastewater in Minutes

  A New Electrically Powered Filter Can Strip Nearly All Ammonia Nitrogen From Wastewater in Just Over a Minute While Also Breaking Down Carbon-Based Pollution
  
  {SciTechDaily}

  Sept. 18, 2026 -Researchers have developed an electro-filtration process that uses chlorine oxide radicals (·ClO) generated inside a specialized membrane to remove nitrogen and organic contaminants simultaneously. Reported in Engineering, the technology could provide a faster and more efficient way to treat complex wastewater without adding chemical precursors.

  Wastewater treatment plants often rely on separate biological, chemical, and physical steps to control different pollutants. Ammonia can damage aquatic ecosystems by consuming oxygen and promoting excessive algal growth, while organic contaminants contribute to the chemical oxygen demand (COD) of discharged water.

• • Foreign Actors’ Briefly Hacked Two Small
  Colorado Water Utilities Last Month

  Governor’s Office Says It’s Unclear Who Was Involved, But Iran-Backed Group Was Linked to Similar Attacks
  
  {Denver Post}

  Sept. 18, 2026 -Foreign actors gained access to two small water utility systems in Colorado late last month, state officials confirmed, just weeks after hackers with suspected links to Iran had attempted to access similar systems elsewhere in the United States.

  It’s unclear who the actors were or if the attempted interference was related to the July hacking attempts that affected at least seven states. Gov. Jared Polis’ office told The Denver Post that the computer systems for two Colorado utilities — both of which are private and serve fewer than 200 people — were targeted in late August.

• • Magnetic Textile Dyes Promise Cleaner Fashion Future

  A French Startup’s Innovative Dyes Slash Water and Energy Use in Fashion
  
  {HEALTHY HAPPY NEWS}

  Sept. 18, 2026 -Hope is blooming in the fashion world thanks to a clever new dyeing method that could dramatically cut pollution from one of the industry’s dirtiest steps.

  The French startup EverDye has developed a line of non-toxic textile dyes that attach to fabric through magnetism instead of harsh chemicals or extreme heat.

• • Fight Intensifies Over the Fate
  of Homes Falling Into The Sea

  California Homeowners Are Building a Costly Rock Wall to Hold Back the Ocean, Escalating a Battle Over Private Property and What to Do About Years-Long Beach Erosion Amid Storm Damage and Higher Tide

  

  Sept. 18, 2026 -Natalie Driessen drove down Beach Road on a mission, past neighbors whose houses fell into the sea and others now scrambling to prevent their property from collapsing next.

  She had a video she wanted everyone to see and spotted an Orange County supervisor outside what was left of one mangled kitchen and living room. Driessen pulled out her phone to play a March 2026 clip of the California Coastal Commission — the powerful state agency tasked with preserving beaches — discussing a home in her gated community.

• • Senators Not Keen On Banning AI From Surpassing Humans

  Despite Alarm Bells
  
  {DAILY CALLER}

  Sept. 18, 2026 -Senators wouldn’t commit Thursday to supporting possible legislation that would ban artificial intelligence (AI) technologies that could someday surpass human intelligence and act independently.

  Tech engineers and prominent AI researchers resigned from major labs and warned that AI development must be slowed to prevent the technology from killing humanity. Senators wouldn’t commit to banning AI superintelligence outright when asked by the Daily Caller News Foundation despite warnings from researchers and prominent Big Tech CEOs.

• • Is Beef the Next Internal-Combustion Engine?

  Americans, Faced With Rising Prices and Another Climate Warning, Might Want Something Else For Dinner

  

  Sept.17, 2026 -Until recently, beef was considered aggressively normal. In 1992, after all, when the National Live Stock and Meat Board launched an advertising campaign, the slogan it chose was “Beef: It’s What for Dinner,” which is a bit like the Council of Fashion Designers of America proclaiming, “Clothes: They Cover Your Body,” or the National Association of Home Builders announcing, “Roofs: They’re What Keeps Rain from Falling on You While You Sleep.” All of a sudden, though, this particular protein is a star: our nation’s chief health officer, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., put a fatty cut of beef near the top of the newly revised, inverted food pyramid, and told an interviewer that he usually eats beef twice daily; his preferred cut is a grass-fed strip steak.

• • Locals Call It the World’s Largest Cesspool

  And Blame It for Surging Cancer

  

  Sept.17, 2026 -Yury Uribe traced an invisible map of death in her neighborhood, pointing to house after house, nearly all of them touched by cancer, she said.

  On that corner lived Doña Agustina, claimed by cancer in her stomach just like Coco, her neighbor across the street. Farther down was Eva, whose death from a ruptured throat tumor left her autistic son on his own. Colon cancer took Doña Juanita, who went to the hospital on a Friday and died the following Monday. And Estela lived over there until about two years ago, when lung cancer spread through her body.

• • Colorado Agencies Call For Removal of Roan
  Plateau Parcels From Federal Oil and Gas Lease Sale

  The Bureau of Land Management Has Proposed Leasing Four Parcels On Top of the Roan Plateau, Which Advocates Have Long Fought to Keep Free From Energy Development
  
  {THE ASPEN TIMES}

  Sept. 17, 2026 -Two Colorado agencies are asking the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to reconsider offering several parcels — including several atop the Roan Plateau — for oil and gas leasing in December, citing concerns about potential impacts on wildlife and water quality.

  The BLM has proposed leasing 114 parcels for oil and gas development during its fourth-quarter sale in December . The parcels cover 126,744 acres in Garfield, Rio Blanco, Gunnison, Weld, Arapahoe, Archuleta, La Plata and Las Animas counties.

• • Rivers Are Delivering a Staggering
  Amount of Microplastics Into the Ocean

  Nearly All of the Pollution Comes From Rivers In Developing Countries

  

  Sept. 17, 2026 -Up to a quarter of all plastic flowing from rivers into the ocean are microplastics — delivering more than 260,000 metric tons in 2022, according to a new study published last week in Science. The staggering amount suggested there was more plastic pollution carried by rivers than previously estimated, researchers said.

  Almost all — 96 percent — of the pollution was from rivers in developing countries, with more than half it coming from Southeast and East Asia, according to the study. The Yangtze River in China, for example, is the largest contributor, releasing an estimated 43,000 tons of microplastic per year, despite contributing only 2 percent of global freshwater discharge.

• • Texas Coastline Under Alert Following
  Detection of Toxic Red Tide

  State Authorities Are Warning Beachgoers Along The Texas Shoreline After Detecting an Algal Bloom Known As Red Tide
  
  {DAILY CALLER}

  Sept. 16, 2026 -According to Texas Parks and Wildlife, red tide is a naturally occurring surge of microscopic algae capable of harming marine wildlife and causing respiratory irritation in humans.

  Department personnel are currently taking water samples and tracking reports of dead fish across an area stretching from Crystal Beach and the Bolivar Peninsula down to the north jetty at Bolivar Roads.

• • Another Black Bear Encounter Injures 2 Near Lake Whatcom

  The Agency Sent Out an Alert About the Incident Tuesday

  

  Sept. 16, 2026 -A man and a child Sunday evening were injured in an encounter with a black bear in Whatcom County — the second incident in about a month on the outskirts of Bellingham.

  The incident happened on the property of a home north of Lake Whatcom, according to the state Department of Fish and Wildlife. The agency received a report around 11:30 a.m. Monday, learning both a man and child were treated at a hospital for injuries in the encounter.

• • Sudan Gold Mine Collapse Kills At Least 82 People

  With Many More Missing
  
  {NBC NEWS}

  Sept. 16, 2026 -The death toll from the collapse of an informal gold mine in a remote area of Sudan has risen to 82, according to local officials and activists, as rescuers struggled on Wednesday to search for the missing with limited equipment.

  It’s the latest tragedy in a nation mired in a devastating war.

• • Texas Coastline Under Alert Following
  Detection Of Toxic Red Tide

  State Authorities Are Warning Beachgoers Along After Detecting an Algal Bloom Known As Red Tide, Which Can Trigger Severe Breathing Issues
  
  {DAILY CALLER}

  Sept. 16, 2026 -According to Texas Parks and Wildlife, red tide is a naturally occurring surge of microscopic algae capable of harming marine wildlife and causing respiratory irritation in humans.

  Department personnel are currently taking water samples and tracking reports of dead fish across an area stretching from Crystal Beach and the Bolivar Peninsula down to the north jetty at Bolivar Roads.

• • Squirrel Causes Power Outage Affecting
  Thousands of Customers in Colorado

  There Was a Nuttier Reason For the Lights Going Out in Castle Rock
  
  {9NEWS}

  Sept. 16, 2026 -Power outages aren't unusual; they can pop up during severe weather or equipment failures – but, Tuesday, there was a nuttier reason for the lights going out in Castle Rock.

  The town soon learned the culprit responsible for the substation explosion over the scanner – Castle Rock resident Clair Whitehead heard the call come in.

  "We first heard about an explosion, that's how it came in over the radio," she said. "Something about a squirrel."

• • States Delayed in Getting Covid Shots
  For Children’s Immunization Program

  CDC Hasn’t Opened Up Ordering Process, Raising Concerns About Delays As Vaccination Programs Kick Off
  
  {THE WALL STREET JOURNAL}

  Sept. 16, 2026 -States haven’t yet been able to obtain Covid-19 shots from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, delaying their distribution to millions of children through federal programs, according to people familiar with the matter.

  The em>CDC hasn’t initiated the process states use to place orders for the Vaccines for Children program, which covers around half of the country’s youths, the people said, causing a delay in the typical fall immunization schedule for Covid.

• • Trump EPA’s Arguments For Letting Power
  Plants Spew Unlimited Pollution ‘Dead Wrong’

  Claims That Dismantling Pollution Rules Will Lower Energy Bills and Have Little Climate Impact Are Far From Convincing

  

  Sept. 16, 2026 -In allowing US power plants to emit any amount of planet-heating pollution they wish to, the Trump administration made two striking claims – that this will cut Americans’ electricity bills and that the pollution itself doesn’t really matter anyway. Both claims struggle to stand up to even basic scrutiny.

  On Monday, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said it would erase any limits on emissions from coal and gas plants that are dangerously heating up our planet. This move, which follows a similar dismantling of pollution limits from cars ands trucks, is part of a broader push to eliminate the longstanding legal authority of this, or any future, US administration to deal with the climate crisis.

• • Air Pollution Spiked After the Trump
  Administration Stopped Embassy Monitoring

  Heard on All Things Considered
  
  {npr}

  Sept. 15, 2026 -Growing up in Shanghai in the early 1990s, Eric Zou remembers the air.

  "I lived a couple of miles next to a chemical plant and it was just really bad, really foggy," he says. "It's the middle of the day, but you can't see the sun."

  Intensive industrial activity blanketed many cities in China during the 1990s and 2000s with extremely hazardous air. But Zou, now an environmental economist at the University of Michigan, says that many people didn't really understand this smog as air pollution, or something that could harm them.

• • Denver Water Can Finish and Fill Gross
  Reservoir, US Appeals Court Rules

  10th Circuit Court Lifts an Injunction Barring the Filling of the Expensive, Controversial Dam Expansion in Western Boulder County
  
  {THE COLORADO SUN}

  Sept. 15, 2026 -Denver Water can finish its Gross Dam expansion and fill the controversial reservoir in western Boulder County, the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday, lifting an injunction by a lower court judge and confirming the dam’s permits as sound.

  The appeals court said the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers had acted responsibly in issuing construction permits for the $600 million expansion, which is largely complete and will be filled using water rights Denver holds in the Colorado River basin on the western side of the Continental Divide.

• • Suspected Sabotage Triggers a Major
  Dutch Rail Outage During Rush Hour

  A 'Rail' Problem to Deal With

  

  Sept. 15, 2026, -A major outage hit parts of the Dutch railway system Tuesday and the company that maintains the nation’s rail infrastructure said it was treating the cause as possible sabotage. Police launched an investigation but had no immediate comment on possible suspects or motives.

  Hundreds of thousands of passengers use the Dutch train network each day. The stoppages on Tuesday affected thousands of passengers mainly in the central and eastern areas of the Netherlands, but the problem also affected some services in the busiest western regions of the country.

• • How the End of USAID Eroded Global Environmental Goals

  An Analysis Finds the Cancellation of $1 Billion In Annual Funding Weakened Protections Around The World And Undermined U.S. Interests.

  

  Sept. 15, 2026 -Before its abrupt dismantling last year, the U.S. Agency for International Development was one of the world’s largest funders of conservation, climate resilience and other environmental programs. The money aimed to curb deforestation in the tropics, help farmers and communities cope with extreme weather, increase clean energy development and more.

  Now, a year and a half after its shuttering by the Trump administration, few if any funders are filling the gap. Deforestation and illicit activity have spiked.

• • Lead You Absorbed As a Child
  May Cause Dementia As You Age

  Americans Born Between 1951 and 1980 Are Invisibly Scarred By Lead Exposure That Embedded the Toxic Metal Into Their Bones

  

  Sept. 15, 2026, by Michael J. Coren and Aaron Steckelberg -When I was a child, a speck of lead escaped the tailpipe of a passing car, drifted through the air and lodged deep in my lungs. There it dissolved across a tissue-thin membrane into my bloodstream. Then the toxic metal atoms became microscopic wrecking balls in my body.

  Some, hitching a ride on red blood cells, slipped past the blood-brain barrier, tangling neural switches and repaving neurons. Others lodged deep inside my kidneys, liver and heart, leaving behind injured cells and blood vessels. But the vast majority, masquerading as calcium, were entombed in the mineral lattice of my growing skeleton.

• • EPA Finalizes Repeal of 2024 Power Plant Regulations

  Proposes Repeal of All Remaining Greenhouse Gas Emissions Standards for Power Plants
  
  {U.S. EPA}

  Sept. 14, 2026 -At the G20 Energy Abundance Ministerial today in Houston, Texas, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin announced the repeal of the majority of the Biden administration's greenhouse gas requirements for U.S. power plants, an action the agency projects will save $310 billion, and proposed rescinding every remaining greenhouse gas standard for the power sector. If finalized, the new proposal would save an additional $370 million in direct compliance costs, in addition to the billions more American families and businesses can expect to see saved across the economy.

• • Computer Error At NJ Data Center Blamed For 5,500 Fuel Spill

  A Computer Glitch is Being Blamed For 5,500 Gallons of Diesel Fuel Spilling into Secaucus’s Anderson Creek
  
  {PIX11}

  Sept. 14, 2026 -The fuel came from a storage tank that powers backup generators at Equinix, a data center that has been in Secaucus since 2001.

  “We’ve never had a problem before this,” said Secaucus Mayor Michael Gonnelli.

  Equinix tells PIX11 News it immediately stopped the leak and began remediation efforts when it detected a fuel release on Friday. The company is conducting a full investigation to determine the root cause and prevent recurrence and “remains committed to resolving this quickly, transparently, and responsibly.”

• • US ‘Super-Emitters’ Of Planet Heating
  Methane Identified By Satellite Analysis

  Energy Transfer, Whose CEO is a Major Trump Donor, Named As Biggest Single Methane Producer in New Rankings

  

  Sept. 14, 2026 -Down a short gravel track in a largely nondescript corner of Louisiana sits a gas processing facility, operated by a company whose chief executive is a major donor to Donald Trump. It may be the largest emitter of methane in the US.

  The Energy Transfer site, located near the city of Shreveport, is named as the biggest single “super-emitter” in new rankings of US oil and gas operations for the largest releases of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas that is rapidly overheating our planet, according to a new UCLA study, which is based on satellite data.

• • The Incredible Journey of a Migratory Shorebird

  Godwits Make the Longest Non-Stop Migration in the Bird World

  

  Sept. 14, 2026,By Rivka Galchen -On a sunny June morning, in a bog outside Beluga, Alaska, I met a Hudsonian godwit. She had inky eyes and a long, slightly upturned beak that was pinkish-orange at its base and brownish-black at its tip. The feathers on her back were of mottled sepia tones, and those on her belly were rusty brown and painterly white. Her legs reminded me of the slender inserts of spring-loaded ballpoint pens, and her feet were refined pterodactyl claws. Her name (among humans) was A34, and she was about the size of a city pigeon. She was in the hands of Nathan Senner, a conservation biologist, who removed and replaced her geotag; measured her head, beak, wing, and leg; weighed her; and took two tail feathers and a sample of her blood. From that small number of data points, he can deduce where she’s been, how her feathers have grown, what genetic subgroup she belongs to, and her degree of exposure to mercury.

• • Tiny Nation’s Health Victory Just Freed
  2 Billion People From Blinding Disease

  Timor-Leste Just Became Officially Trachoma-Free, Completing Southeast Asia’s Incredible Health Milestone
  
  {HEALTHY HAPPY NEWS}

  Sept. 14, 2026 -The World Health Organization just delivered news that will restore your faith in global cooperation and human progress. Timor-Leste has been officially certified as having eliminated trachoma as a public health problem—and with this achievement, the entire Southeast Asian region is now free from the leading infectious cause of blindness.

  This isn’t just a victory for one small island nation. It’s a triumph that protects over 2 billion people across Southeast Asia from a disease that once robbed countless individuals of their sight and independence.

• • Trump Administration Removes Climate
  Pollution Limits On Power Plants

  The Announcement Was Made Monday at a Meeting of G20 Energy Ministers In Houston, Texas.
  
  {CNN Climate}

  Sept. 14, 2026, - The Trump administration has finalized the repeal of regulations that limit the amount of planet-heating pollution coal and gas-fired power plants are allowed to produce, the latest step in a sweeping effort to dismantle climate and clean air protections.

  “For over 15 years, the Obama and Biden administrations implemented a war on coal to destroy reliable and affordable energy. The Trump Administration has come in to protect American energy and to make sure you can afford to keep the lights on,” said Lee Zeldin, the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.

• • Trump Says AI Doesn’t Need More
  Guardrails and Calls Safety Fears a Hoax

  President Alleges That a Conspiracy is Undermining Support For AI and Data Centers As Industry Leaders Raise Alarms About the Technology’s Risks
  
  {THE WALL STREET JOURNAL}

  Sept. 14, 2026 -President Trump pushed back on the need for tighter federal regulations on artificial intelligence and dismissed safety concerns as a hoax that would leave the industry in financial ruin and hand China a competitive edge.

  The president’s forceful messaging on AI comes as industry leaders sound increasingly urgent warnings about the need for regulation to guard against potential dangers from their own technology, while public backlash builds to the construction of the data centers needed to power it.

• • The EPA is Reversing Biden-Era Limits
  On Coal and Gas Plant Emissions

  The Rule Was Predicted to Prevent 1.2K Premature Deaths In 2035 Alone, and Rack Up $120B in Health Benefits Through 2047
  
  {energy central}

  Sept. 14, 2026, -The EPA said it’s scrapping a requirement for existing coal and new natural gas plants to cut or sequester 90% of their carbon emissions by 2032 (using tech like carbon capture). The 2024 rule recently sparked criticism from electric co-ops facing mounting power demand.

  Plus: The agency is also looking to strip its own power to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from generators, a shift that would affect future administrations.

  The impacts: The EPA said repealing the Biden-era rule would save the energy industry more than $300B (which would trickle down to utility customers).

• • EPA Eliminates Rule That Limits Planet-Warming
  Greenhouse Gas Emissions From Power Plants

  A Fundamental Shift From Efforts By Democratic Presidents Joe Biden and Barack Obama to Address Climate Change and Regulate Carbon Dioxide and Other Heat-Trapping Greenhouse Gases

  

  Sept.14, 2026 -The Environmental Protection Agency said Monday it is repealing rules that limit planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions from power plants fueled by coal and natural gas and announced it is taking a separate but related step to prevent future administrations from regulating climate pollution from power plants.

• • Athens’ Abandoned Airport Becomes a Green Paradise

  This Inspiring Transformation Will Make You Believe in Urban Renewal
  
  {HEALTHY HAPPY NEWS}

  Sept. 14, 2026 -In a heartwarming display of urban renewal, Athens is breathing new life into its former airport site with one of Europe’s most ambitious greening projects. The transformation promises to deliver not just beauty, but hope and respite to a city in need of shade and natural spaces.

  The Ellinikon Park will stretch across an impressive 400 acres, creating an unforgettable green sanctuary in the birthplace of democracy. For residents of Europe’s hottest city, this isn’t just about aesthetics—it’s about quality of life and community well-being.

• • Aurora City Council Approves Data Center Regulation

  The Council Unanimously Passed an Ordinance That Prohibits Permits For Evaporative Cooling Systems In Future Commercial, Industrial and Multifamily Buildings
  
  {9NEWS}

  Sept. 14, 2026, -Aurora City Council unanimously approved an ordinance banning evaporative cooling systems for new industrial, commercial and multifamily developments. This would impact future data centers as city leaders seek to reduce water consumption amid ongoing drought concerns.

  The ordinance applies to future projects and is not retroactive. Aurora officials said all new data centers are already required to use closed-loop cooling under the city's large water user guide and the measure reinforces those standards.

• • Indonesia Intensifies Search Effort For 129
  People Missing After Ferry Capsized in Java Sea

  The Virgo Transport 8 Was Carrying More Than 240 People When Its Captain Issued a Distress Call On Sunday

  

  Sept. 14, 2026 -The search for survivors of a capsized ferry in Indonesia intensified Monday as 17 ships and aircraft from the military, police and other agencies were deployed to join the search for 129 missing after a ferry overturned in the Java Sea on Sunday.

  The bodies of six passengers and 108 were rescued Sunday by search teams, which increased to 655 personnel on Monday, National Search and Rescue Agency chief Mohammad Syafii said.

• • Southern California Hit With Over 70 Earthquakes

  Experts Warn ‘Big One’ May Strike Sooner Than Previously Thought
  
  {DAILY CALLER}

  Sept. 14, 2026, -A swarm of earthquakes rattled Southern California Saturday, with much of the seismic activity centered directly beneath South Los Angeles.

  The flurry included a 2.7-magnitude earthquake that hit Westmont at approximately 2:30 a.m. Saturday, and then around 14 hours later at roughly 4:30 p.m., the same area endured a 2.6-magnitude quake, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

• • Nevada’s First Wastewater-to-Drinking-
  WaterPlant Breaks Ground In Reno

  By the Early 2030s, Water That Once Went Down a Drain In North Valleys Could Be Flowing Back Out of a Kitchen Tap

  

  Sept. 14, 2026, -The City of Reno and Truckee Meadows Water Authority (TMWA) broke ground last week on an Advanced Purified Water Facility, a plant that will treat roughly 2 million gallons of wastewater a day to make it compliant with drinking-water standards and send it into a groundwater aquifer near Stead Airport, a first for Nevada.

  The groundbreaking capped more than 15 years of research, testing and planning, and once complete, officials say the facility will reduce the region’s reliance on the Truckee River and provide a locally controlled water source for residents. Construction is expected to continue through the fall of 2029, and an on-site education center is planned to open alongside the plant.

• • The Trump Administration is Set to
  Eliminate a Rule Curbing Greenhouse
  Gas Emissions From Power Plants

  The Administration Also Stalled a Survey of PFAS In Wastewater
  
  {PBS NEWS}

  Sept. 14, 2026 -The Environmental Protection Agency is expected to repeal rules that limit planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions from power plants fueled by coal and natural gas, an action that Administrator Lee Zeldin has said would remove billions of dollars in costs for the industry and help "unleash" American energy.

  The rule change, proposed last year, could be announced as soon as Monday, according to two people familiar with the proposal, and represents a fundamental shift from efforts by Democratic Presidents Joe Biden and Barack Obama to address climate change and clean up industrial pollution, often in low-income and majority Black or Hispanic communities.