Tag: Environment and nature
Trump administration carries out 13th and final execution
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (AP) — The Trump administration early Saturday carried out its 13th federal execution since July, an unprecedented run that concluded just...
Amazon city scrambles to provide oxygen to COVID-19 patients
SAO PAULO (AP) — Doctors in the Amazon rainforest’s biggest city are having to choose which COVID-19 patients can breathe amid dwindling oxygen stocks...
PG&E will pay up to $190M to clean up San Francisco marina
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Pacific Gas & Electric Co., the nation's largest utility, has agreed to pay up to $190 million to clean up...
Flint water charges escalate debate over officials’ failures
FLINT, Mich. (AP) — When a former Michigan public health director was charged with involuntary manslaughter in the Flint water crisis, the man who...
Apaches object to Forest Service review of huge copper mine
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — The U.S. Forest Service released an environmental review Friday that paves the way for the creation of one of the...
Federal report says pandemic hit seafood industry hard
The coronavirus pandemic has taken away about a third of the commercial fishing industry's revenue, according to a federal report released on Friday.
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Oil giant Total withdraws from US energy lobbying group
PARIS (AP) — French oil and gas company Total said it has decided to withdraw from energy association American Petroleum Institute because it disagrees...
Germany approves resuming Russia gas pipeline work
BERLIN (AP) — German authorities gave permission Friday for work to resume on a subsea pipeline bringing natural gas from Russia that's been the...
Fake US leg band gets pigeon a reprieve in Australia
CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — A pigeon that Australia declared a biosecurity risk has received a reprieve after a U.S. bird organization declared its identifying...
Search now recovery mission for Oregon woman in landslide
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Searchers used inflatable yellow rafts and drove metal poles into deep mud Thursday as they searched for a woman who...
Flint water probe brings charges against ex-governor, others
FLINT, Mich. (AP) — A new investigation of the Flint water disaster led to charges against nine people, including former Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder...
Groups ask court to restore protections for US gray wolves
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Wildlife advocates on Thursday asked a federal court to overturn a U.S. government decision that stripped Endangered Species Act protections...
For first time in 5 years, US gas mileage down, emissions up
DETROIT (AP) — A new government report says gas mileage for new vehicles dropped and pollution increased in model year 2019 for the first...
Trump administration slashes imperiled spotted owls’ habitat
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The Trump administration said Wednesday that it would slash millions of acres of protected habitat designated for the imperiled northern...
Hot again: 2020 sets yet another global temperature record
Earth’s rising fever hit or neared record hot temperature levels in 2020, global weather groups reported Thursday.
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California heat, poor planning led to August power outages
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Energy regulators on Wednesday blamed blackouts last summer that affected hundreds of thousands of Californians on poor planning, electrical market...
Environmentalists move toward lawsuit over fuel break plan
RENO, Nev. (AP) — Environmentalists have filed a notice of intent to sue the U.S government to block plans to build up to 11,000...
Ex.-Michigan Gov. Snyder charged in Flint water crisis
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Former Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder was charged Wednesday with willful neglect of duty after an investigation of ruinous decisions that...
Navajo Nation, New Mexico reach settlements over mine spill
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — The Navajo Nation’s Department of Justice announced Wednesday it has settled with mining companies to resolve claims stemming from a...
Flint families welcome water crisis charges, seek healing
FLINT, Mich. (AP) — Flint mother Ariana Hawk struggled to find words. Bittersweet came to mind, as did frustrated.
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A record year for NJ sports betting; casinos, not so much
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey took nearly $1 billion worth of sports bets in December, an encouraging finish to a year in...
Dawn fire guts building on LA’s Venice Beach boardwalk
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A two-story building on the Venice Beach boardwalk was heavily damaged by fire early Wednesday, but no injuries were reported,...
Endangered Indian rhinoceros baby is born in zoo in Poland
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — An endangered Indian rhinoceros was born last week in Poland's Wroclaw Zoo, a hopeful development in efforts to preserve the...
Climate activist Thunberg to appear on Swedish postal stamp
STOCKHOLM (AP) — Swedish teenage environmental activist Greta Thunberg will appear on a postal stamp that will be issued Thursday in her native Sweden...
Heavy snowfall hits Sweden, Finland; icy temperatures ahead
STOCKHOLM (AP) — Thousands of households across northern Sweden and southern Finland were without power Wednesday after heavy snowfall, and forecasters warned that particularly...
Indian partying hotspot Goa counts losses, braces for change
GOA, India (AP) — The sun’s golden rays fall on Goa’s smooth, sandy beaches every evening, magical as ever but strangely quiet and lonely....
California toxics agency may take aim at zinc in tires
LOS ANGELES (AP) — California is considering asking tire manufacturers to look at ways of eliminating zinc from their products because studies have shown...
Michigan plans to charge ex-Gov. Snyder in Flint water probe
FLINT, Mich. (AP) — Former Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder, his health director and other ex-officials have been told they’re being charged after a new...
Sage grouse review done, but scant time for Trump’s changes
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — The Trump administration has completed a review of plans to ease protections for a struggling bird species in seven states...
5 CES Trends to Watch
CES, the annual gadget show that showcases the buzziest and brightest tech, looks different this year — less Vegas glitz, more internet efficiency. With...
Divers recover crashed Indonesian plane’s data recorder
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesian navy divers searching the ocean floor on Tuesday recovered the flight data recorder from a Sriwijaya Air jet that...
Mexico sees holiday bump in tourism amid pandemic surge
TULUM, Mexico (AP) — The friends from Jackson, Mississippi, relaxed on lounge chairs dug into a white sand beach and romped in the turquoise...
Recovered Midwestern bird soars off endangered species list
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — The interior least tern, a hardy Midwestern bird that survived a craze for its plumage and dam-building that destroyed...
Volkswagen triples electric car sales ahead of climate rules
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Europe's push into electric cars is gathering speed — despite the pandemic.
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Scientists decry death by 1,000 cuts for world’s insects
The world’s vital insect kingdom is undergoing “death by a thousand cuts,” the world’s top bug experts said.
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26 missing, at least 13 dead in Indonesia landslides
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Rescuers are searching for 26 people still missing after two landslides hit a village in Indonesia’s West Java province over...
Snow and ice disrupt lives, vaccine rollout in Spain
MADRID (AP) — The Spanish capital of Madrid was still trying to get back on its feet Monday after a 50-year record snowfall that...
Gorillas test positive for coronavirus at San Diego park
SAN DIEGO (AP) — Several gorillas at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park have tested positive for the coronavirus in what is believed to...
US triples daily numbers allowed at Southwest hike The Wave
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Outdoor enthusiasts and landscape photographers hoping to land one of the elusive permits needed to explore the colorful, contoured...
Study: Wildfires produced up to half of pollution in US West
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Wildfire smoke accounted for up to half of all health-damaging small particle air pollution in the western U.S. in recent...
Native American land activist Carrie Dann dies in Nevada
RENO, Nev. (AP) — Carrie Dann, a Native American land rights activist, Nevada rancher and longtime leader of the Western Shoshone Nation, has died.
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50 countries vow to protect 30% of land and sea by 2030
PARIS (AP) — At least 50 countries committed to protecting 30% of the planet, including land and sea, over the next decade to halt...
Snow, heavy rain in Balkans cause floods, disrupt traffic
BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Days of heavy rain and snow across the Balkans left homes and fields flooded Monday, disrupted traffic on highways and...
Germany’s Merkel: Trump’s Twitter eviction ‘problematic’
BERLIN (AP) — German Chancellor Angela Merkel considers U.S. President Donald Trump's eviction from Twitter by the company “problematic,” her spokesman said Monday.
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China’s Geely, Baidu announce electric car ventures
BEIJING (AP) — Chinese automaker Geely says it will form an electric car venture with tech giant Baidu, adding to a flurry of corporate...
South Korean diplomat in Iran over seized ship, frozen funds
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — A South Korean diplomatic delegation arrived in Iran on Sunday to negotiate the release of a vessel and its crew...
US Consulate a turning point for disputed Western Sahara
DAKHLA, Western Sahara (AP) — Trawlers pack the bustling Western Saharan port of Dakhla, where fish scales glisten from workers’ arms as they roll...
6 rangers killed in latest attack at Congo’s Virunga park
KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — Gunmen have killed at least six rangers in Virunga National Park, the latest attack in the part of eastern Congo...
Bald eagle lays egg in Southern California mountains
BIG BEAR LAKE, Calif. (AP) — A bald eagle has laid an egg in a Southern California nest and nature lovers will watch for...
Spain shovels out of snowdrifts left by Storm Filomena
MADRID (AP) — Emergency crews in central Spain cleared 500 roads and rescued over 1,500 people stranded in their vehicles, allowing Madrid and other...
Albania helps families in flooded areas with food, water
TIRANA, Albania (AP) — Albanian authorities said Sunday that military troops have supplied food and water to families in the northwest isolated from the...
UN envoy: Britain is `gung ho’ about world role after Brexit
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Britain’s new U.N. ambassador says the government is feeling “gung ho” about continuing its role as an important player on...
Alaska governor plans appeal of mine project denial
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy said the state will appeal the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' rejection of a key permit...
California governor’s budget booms despite pandemic problems
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California is again swimming in money.
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Data shows 2020 was Europe’s warmest year on record
BERLIN (AP) — 2020 was the warmest year in Europe since records began, according to data published Friday by the EU climate monitoring service.
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Australia sweltered through its 4th-hottest year in 2020
CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australia sweltered through its fourth-hottest year on record last year despite the recent return of the usually cooling La Nina...
Deal reached on project to protect lakes from invasive fish
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — Michigan, Illinois and a federal agency have agreed on funding the next phase of an initiative to keep Asian...
Stunned EU leaders yearn for Biden presidency — ASAP
BRUSSELS (AP) — For European Union nations, Joe Biden's Jan. 20 inauguration as the next U.S. president cannot come fast enough.
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One-third of America’s rivers have changed color since 1984
America’s rivers are changing color — and people are behind many of the shifts, a new study said.
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Indonesia’s Merapi volcano spews hot clouds, 500 evacuate
YOGYAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesia's Mount Merapi volcano spewed avalanches of hot clouds Thursday morning as hundreds more residents were evacuated from its fertile...
US holds first oil lease sale for Alaska’s Arctic refuge
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The U.S. government held its first-ever oil and gas lease sale Wednesday for Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, an event...
Elusive Catalina Island Shrew spotted for 1st time in years
AVALON, Calif. (AP) — A tiny mouse-like animal has been spotted on Santa Catalina Island off Southern California for the first time since 2004,...
Major construction done at Hanford waste treatment plant
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — A gigantic nuclear waste treatment plant in eastern Washington state that has been under construction for 18 years is largely...
Judge drops suit since Corps reconsidering plastics complex
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A federal judge has dismissed a challenge to a Taiwan-based conglomerate’s plans for a $9.4 billion plastics complex in Louisiana...
Arizona border deaths hit 10-year high after record heat
PHOENIX (AP) — A project that maps the bodies of border-crossers recovered from Arizona’s inhospitable deserts, valleys and mountains said it documented 227 deaths...
On the llam: ‘Very chill’ llama found wandering off highway
NEWBURYPORT, Mass. (AP) — A passerby spotted a wandering llama in a field off an interstate in Massachusetts and with the help of an...
Judge allows oil, gas lease sales in Alaska’s Arctic refuge
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — A U.S. judge on Tuesday refused to halt an oil and gas lease sale for Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge...
California governor plans $4 billion for economic recovery
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — After spending most of 2020 telling small businesses to close and limit their customers, California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday...
A final EPA rollback under Trump curbs use of health studies
The Environmental Protection Agency released one of its last major rollbacks under the Trump administration on Tuesday, limiting what evidence it will consider about...
Regulators get plan for undoing the Atlantic Coast Pipeline
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — The developers of the now-canceled Atlantic Coast Pipeline have laid out plans for how they want to go about unwinding...
Trump administration scales back wild bird protections
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — The Trump administration on Tuesday finalized changes that weaken the government's enforcement powers under a century-old law protecting most American...
Trump administration announces $3.7 billion for Puerto Rico
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration announced Tuesday that it will award a $3.7 billion grant to help Puerto Rico rebuild water and wastewater...
Islands of garbage clog rivers, threaten dam in Balkans
VISEGRAD, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP) — Huge islands of garbage floating on some rivers in the Balkans are causing an environmental emergency and threatening a regional...
A final EPA rollback under Trump curbs use of health studies
The Environmental Protection Agency has completed one of its last major rollbacks under the Trump administration, changing how it considers evidence of harm from...
Rescuers in Norway lose hope of finding landslide survivors
COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Norwegian authorities said Tuesday they have given up hope of finding survivors of a landslide that swept away homes in...
George Whitmore, legendary climber of El Capitan, dies at 89
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — George Whitmore, a member of the first team of climbers to scale El Capitan in Yosemite National Park and a...
Iran starts 20% uranium enrichment, seizes South Korean ship
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran began enriching uranium Monday to levels unseen since its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers and also...
Study: Warming already baked in will blow past climate goals
The amount of baked-in global warming, from carbon pollution already in the air, is enough to blow past international agreed upon goals to limit...
Ranchers whose case sparked standoff may get grazing rights
SALEM, Ore. (AP) — The federal government has proposed awarding grazing allotments to an Oregon ranching family whose members were convicted of arson in...
Fast rollout of virus vaccine trials reveals tribal distrust
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — The news came during a hopeful time on the largest Native American reservation.
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Amazon’s Bezos tops list of richest charitable gifts in 2020
SILVER SPRING, Md. (AP) — The world's richest person made the single-largest charitable contribution in 2020, according to The Chronicle of Philanthropy's annual list...
Aquarium agrees to delay beluga whale delivery amid lawsuit
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — A Connecticut aquarium has agreed to delay its acquisition of five beluga whales for research amid a lawsuit by an...
New this week: Morgan Wallen music, tiger cubs and ‘Herself’
Here’s a collection curated by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists of what’s arriving on TV, streaming services and music platforms this week.
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Lava spatters, flows inside crater of Hawaii volcano
HONOLULU (AP) — Lava spattered and flowed over the weekend inside the crater of a Hawaii volcano that began erupting in December.
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Hope fades in Norway landslide that left 7 dead; 3 missing
COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Norwegian officials insisted Monday that there was “still hope” in finding survivors in air pockets five days after a landslide...
3rd body found after landslide in Norway; 7 still missing
HELSINKI (AP) — Rescue teams searching for survivors four days after a landslide carried away homes in a Norwegian village found no signs of...
Watch out LA: Feds calculate riskiest, safest places in US
Spending her life in Los Angeles, Morgan Andersen knows natural disasters all too well. In college, an earthquake shook her home hard. Her grandfather...
Bolsonaro’s tough 2021 balance between ideology, pragmatism
BRASILIA (AP) — Brazil’s pugnacious president, Jair Bolsonaro, survived 2020 in surprisingly good shape personally and politically, with buoyant popularity ratings despite his own...
Trump vetoes Calif. fishing bill over seafood trade deficit
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump vetoed a bill Friday that would have gradually ended the use of large-mesh drift gillnets deployed exclusively in...
‘Our children die in our hands’: Floods ravage South Sudan
OLD FANGAK, South Sudan (AP) — On a scrap of land surrounded by flooding in South Sudan, families drink and bathe from the waters...
Restoration plan for Los Angeles County wetlands advances
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A plan to restore the largest coastal wetlands complex in Los Angeles County has received state approval as it advances...
New Year’s fireworks could degrade Southern California air
LOS ANGELES (AP) — An advisory for likely pollution from New Year’s Eve fireworks went into effect Thursday in a large portion of Southern...
Increased testing needed as Africa sees rise in virus cases
DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — As a result of holiday gatherings, African officials warn of a resurgence of COVID-19 on the continent and urge increased...
Well-preserved Ice Age woolly rhino found in Siberia
MOSCOW (AP) — A well-preserved Ice Age woolly rhino with many of its internal organs still intact has been recovered from permafrost in Russia's...
Water content of California’s early winter snowpack lagging
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The amount of water in California’s mountain snowpack is only about half of average for early winter, a state Department...
Eastern Caribbean issues rare alerts for rumbling volcanoes
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Volcanoes that have been quiet for decades are rumbling to life in the eastern Caribbean, prompting officials to...
Southern California mountains glisten with heavy snow
MOUNT BALDY VILLAGE, Calif. (AP) — Southern California’s snowcapped mountains glistened early Wednesday under the light of the last full moon of the year...
COVID cluckers: Pandemic feeds demand for backyard chickens
ROSS, Calif. (AP) — The coronavirus pandemic is coming home to roost in America’s backyards.
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Young sea lion recovers from shark bite, returns to ocean
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A feisty young sea lion is back in the Northern California wild after five weeks of rehabilitation to treat a...
Southern California mountains coated in snow after storm
MOUNT BALDY VILLAGE, Calif. (AP) — Southern California’s mountains sported a substantial coat of snow Tuesday after the region’s first significant storm of the...
