Tag: Environment and nature
The problem within: Biden targets lead pipes, pushes equity
CHICAGO (AP) — In the modest bungalows and two-flats of Chicago's Little Village neighborhood, there’s never a shortage of needed home repairs staring residents...
Mercedes rolls out luxury electric car in duel with Tesla
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Daimler AG on Thursday unveiled a battery-powered counterpart to its top Mercedes-Benz luxury sedan as German carmakers ramp up their...
California power regulators cast doubt on utility’s plans
SAN RAMON, Calif. (AP) — California power regulators are poised to reprimand Pacific Gas & Electric for continuing to neglect its electrical grid that...
Growers fret as Mexico moves to legalize marijuana
BADIRAGUATO, Mexico (AP) — For the first time that María can remember, half of her marijuana harvest is still in storage on her ranch...
St Vincent fears COVID-19 outbreak with volcano evacuations
KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent (AP) — Officials in St. Vincent said Thursday that they were extremely worried about a COVID-19 outbreak given the lack of...
Google Earth adds time lapse video to depict climate change
SAN RAMON, Calif. (AP) — The Google Earth app is adding a new video feature that draws upon nearly four decades of satellite imagery...
Sydney man finds snake in lettuce bought at supermarket
CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Alex White thought he was watching a huge worm writhing in plastic-wrapped lettuce he’d just brought home from a Sydney...
‘Hillbilly Elegy’ author J.D. Vance quits firm after tweets
MOREHEAD, Ky. (AP) — “Hillbilly Elegy” author J.D. Vance has resigned from the board of a company that uses green technology to mass-produce food...
Epic drought means water crisis on Oregon-California border
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Hundreds of farmers who rely on a massive irrigation project that spans the Oregon-California border learned Wednesday they will get...
Capsized ship off Louisiana: 12 missing, 1 dead, 6 rescued
PORT FOURCHON, La. (AP) — Coast Guard boats and aircraft have covered an area larger than the state of Rhode Island to search for...
Humanitarian crisis feared in St. Vincent amid eruptions
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Ongoing volcanic eruptions have displaced about 20% of people in the eastern Caribbean island of St. Vincent as...
After months on lam, slaughterhouse escapee beefalo caught
PLYMOUTH, Conn. (AP) — After more than 250 days on the run, an 800- to 900-pound (360- to 410-kilogram) beefalo that has been roaming...
Biden taps ex-Obama official as Interior Department deputy
WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House is naming Tommy Beaudreau, a former Obama administration official, to be deputy secretary at the Interior Department after...
Tiger sharks eat whale carcass that drifted ashore in Hawaii
HONOLULU (AP) — Officials are warning people to stay out of the water after sharks were seen eating the carcass of a whale that...
Powell defends Fed’s consideration of climate change risks
WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Wednesday defended the Fed's increasing scrutiny of the threat that climate change could pose to...
Kerry heads to China for climate talk between top 2 emitters
U.S. climate envoy John Kerry is heading to China for talks between the world's two biggest carbon emitters ahead of President Joe Biden's climate...
St. Vincent seeks water, funds as volcano keeps erupting
KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent (AP) — Leaders of volcano-wracked St. Vincent said Tuesday that water is running short as heavy ash contaminates supplies, and they...
Fracking ban fails to advance in California Legislature
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California lawmakers Tuesday rejected a bill that would have banned fracking in the state, succumbing to pressure from the powerful...
California targets urgent projects as wildfire season looms
OROVILLE, Calif. (AP) — California is in such an urgent race with another devastating wildfire season that officials began soliciting local project ideas even...
Florida to close wastewater reservoir with leak history
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Florida is moving to permanently close the leaky Piney Point wastewater reservoir that poured millions of gallons of water...
Business leaders urge Biden to set ambitious climate goal
WASHINGTON (AP) — More than 300 businesses and investors, including such giants as Apple, Google, Microsoft and Coca-Cola, are calling on the Biden administration...
Artist gives nature a `cosmic’ twist in big NY garden show
An expansive new show featuring works by Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama, famous for mesmerizing polka dots, speckled pumpkins and fascination with the natural world,...
Spain’s PM wants EU recovery funds to create greener nation
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Spain's left-wing government wants the massive coronavirus windfall it will be receiving from the European Union to transform the nation...
Japan to start releasing Fukushima water into sea in 2 years
TOKYO (AP) — Japan's government announced Tuesday it would start releasing treated radioactive water from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean...
European lawmakers, executives urge US to halve emissions
BERLIN (AP) — Dozens of European lawmakers, business executives and union leaders on Tuesday urged the United States to cut its greenhouse gas emissions...
Tensions rise in water battle along Oregon-California line
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — One of the worst droughts in memory in a massive agricultural region straddling the California-Oregon border could mean steep cuts...
‘Huge’ explosion rocks St. Vincent as volcano keeps erupting
KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent (AP) — La Soufriere volcano fired an enormous amount of ash and hot gas early Monday in the biggest explosive eruption...
Man gets prison for killing California elephant seal
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A man was sentenced Monday to three months in federal prison for shooting a protected northern elephant seal to death...
Water-worried Vegas wants useless grass a thing of the past
LAS VEGAS (AP) — A desert city built on a reputation for excess and indulgence wants to become a model for restraint and conservation...
Biden sees `win’ for US in electric vehicle battery deal
WASHINGTON (AP) — Two big South Korean electric vehicle battery makers said Sunday they have settled a long-running trade dispute that will allow one...
More flee volcano on Caribbean island of St. Vincent
KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent (AP) — More people fled their homes on the eastern Caribbean island of St. Vincent on Sunday as La Soufrière volcano...
With key deals, Uganda’s nascent oil sector nears maturity
KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — Uganda, Tanzania and French oil company Total signed agreements Sunday on building a heated pipeline to carry crude oil from...
AP source: Electric vehicle battery firms settle trade spat
WASHINGTON (AP) — Two big South Korean electric vehicle battery makers have settled a long-running trade dispute that will allow one of them to...
Ash-covered St. Vincent braces for more volcanic eruptions
KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent (AP) — People who ignored an initial warning to evacuate the area closest to a volcano on the eastern Caribbean island...
Thousands rally in Serbia to protect the environment
BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Protesters in Serbia rallied Saturday demanding that the government protect the environment in a Balkan nation that has seen record...
Biden budget seeks more for schools, health care and housing
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden released a $1.5 trillion wish list for his first federal budget, asking for substantial gains for Democratic priorities...
Explosive eruption rocks volcano on Caribbean’s St. Vincent
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — An explosive eruption rocked La Soufriere volcano on the eastern Caribbean island of St. Vincent on Friday after...
Biden budget seeks more for schools, health care and housing
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden released a $1.5 trillion wish list for his first federal budget Friday, asking for substantial gains for Democratic...
Old documents fuel latest bid to halt Nevada lithium mine
RENO, Nev. (AP) — Few people had ever heard of Tiehm’s buckwheat when conservationists filed a petition two years ago to list the desert...
4 gray whales found dead in San Francisco Bay Area in 9 days
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Four dead gray whales have washed ashore San Francisco Bay Area beaches in the last nine days, with experts saying...
Arizona wildfire destroys 12 homes; 200 people evacuated
DUDLEYVILLE, Ariz. (AP) — A small community in south-central Arizona remained under an evacuation notice Friday after crews and air tankers stopped the growth...
Plan would return beachfront taken from Black family in ’20s
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Los Angeles County plans to return prime beachfront property to descendants of a Black couple who built a seaside resort...
Senegal, Spain leaders seek to encourage legal migration
DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Senegal and Spain signed a memorandum of understanding on Friday to discourage illegal migration that has been increasing amid the...
Visitors tiptoe through the tulips in Dutch virus test
LISSE, Netherlands (AP) — Finally, after bleak winter months of a coronavirus lockdown, springtime shoots of hope emerged Friday as restrictions were relaxed at...
US envoy Kerry discusses climate challenges in Bangladesh
DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — John Kerry, the special U.S. envoy on climate, said Friday that President Joe Biden is eager to work with Bangladesh...
Japan to announce Fukushima water release into sea soon
TOKYO (AP) — The Japanese government has decided to dispose of massive amounts of treated but still radioactive water stored in tanks at the...
St. Vincent to evacuate thousands under volcano threat
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Empty cruise ships were scheduled to arrive Friday at the eastern Caribbean island of St. Vincent to help...
Interior secretary steps into Utah public lands tug-of-war
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — For decades, a public lands tug-of-war has played out over a vast expanse of southern Utah where red rocks...
Grim view of global future offered in intelligence report
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. intelligence officials are painting a dark picture of the world's future, writing in a report released Thursday that the coronavirus...
Judge halts California development, citing wildfire risk
LEBEC, Calif. (AP) — A long-running plan to build a community of 19,000 homes on vast Tejon Ranch north of Los Angeles has been...
California plans $536M for forests before wildfire season
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California will authorize $536 million toward forest management projects and efforts to reduce wildfires before the worst of the fire...
IMF policy panel endorses $650 billion increase in resources
WASHINGTON (AP) — The International Monetary Fund on Thursday authorized a $650 billion expansion of the 190-nation lending institution's resources with the aim of...
Industry foe charged under Iowa’s new food trespassing law
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — An animal rights activist whose investigations and pranks have made him a leading foe of the livestock industry has...
Steep decline in giant sea turtles seen off US West Coast
MONTEREY, Calif. (AP) — Scientists were documenting stranded sea turtles on California's beaches nearly 40 years ago when they noticed that leatherbacks — massive...
Salvage crews tow drifting Dutch freighter to port in Norway
HELSINKI (AP) — Despite heavy seas, a joint Norwegian-Dutch salvage operation managed to safely tow to land Thursday an abandoned Dutch cargo ship that...
Netflix scores streaming rights to new top Sony films
NEW YORK (AP) — Netflix further beefed up its film catalog on Thursday in a multi-year deal that will make it the new streaming...
Monkey business: 2 dozen monkeys escape German zoo for a day
BERLIN (AP) — About two dozen monkeys broke out of a southwestern German zoo and spent the day lolling in the sun near a...
Russia wants Slovakia to return its Sputnik V vaccines
PRAGUE (AP) — Russia asked Slovakia on Thursday to return its Sputnik V vaccines it has received “due to multiple contract violations.”
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Poor rains bring optimism African locust outbreak will fade
BARAKA, Kenya (AP) — In a convoy of pickup trucks fitted with spray guns, soldiers zoom through Baraka' s hills leaving a trail of...
India reaffirms pledge to Paris accord in meeting with Kerry
NEW DELHI (AP) — Prime Minister Narendra Modi told U.S. climate envoy John Kerry that India was committed to meeting its climate change pledges,...
GOP lawmakers slam EPA chief over firing of science advisers
WASHINGTON (AP) — Two House Republicans are demanding that the Environmental Protection Agency provide records related to a decision by the agency's new leader...
Discarded masks litter beaches worldwide, threaten sea life
SANDY HOOK, N.J. (AP) — To the usual list of foul trash left behind or washed up on beaches around the world, add these:...
Celebrity zookeeper Jack Hanna diagnosed with dementia
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Celebrity zookeeper and animal TV show host Jack Hanna has been diagnosed with dementia and will retire from public life,...
Pharrell wants federal probe into police shooting of cousin
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (AP) — Grammy award-winning musician Pharrell Williams has called for a federal investigation into the fatal police shooting of his cousin...
Biofuels producers, farmers not sold on switch to electric
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The president and auto industry maintain the nation is on the cusp of a gigantic shift to electric vehicles...
Salvage of Dutch ship adrift off Norway postponed for a day
HELSINKI (AP) — Bad weather conditions have postponed efforts to salvage a Dutch cargo ship that's been drifting off the coast of Norway for...
Germany’s Greens to pick candidate for chancellor April 19
BERLIN (AP) — Germany's environmentalist Greens will decide later this month which of their two co-leaders will make the party's first run for the...
Divers rescue Thai Buddhist monk trapped in flooded cave
BANGKOK (AP) — A Buddhist monk who was trapped by floodwaters inside a cave in northern Thailand for four days has been rescued by...
Greenland election shows divide over rare-earth metals mine
HELSINKI (AP) — Greenland is holding an early parliamentary election Tuesday focused in part on whether the semi-autonomous Danish territory should allow international companies...
Study: Drought-breaking rains more rare, erratic in US West
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Rainstorms grew more erratic and droughts much longer across most of the U.S. West over the past half-century as climate...
Evacuation order lifted at Florida leaky phosphate reservoir
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — A mandatory evacuation order near a leaking Florida wastewater reservoir that affected more than 300 homes and additional businesses...
Suit seeks to reverse Trump changes to sea turtle protection
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Conservation groups sued on Tuesday to reverse changes made under former President Donald Trump to rules protecting sea turtles, even...
Czechs partially ease lockdown; kids to return to school
PRAGUE (AP) — The Czech government on Tuesday approved the first easing of its tight lockdown in one of the European Union's hardest-hit countries,...
Correction: Big Tree-No More story
KENSINGTON, N.H. (AP) — In a story April 5, 2021, about a sugar maple tree being removed, The Associated Press misspelled the name of...
Detroit’s Ilitch family buying half of Atlantic City casino
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — A New York hedge fund said Tuesday it is selling as much as half its ownership of Atlantic City's...
Crew evacuated as Dutch cargo ship risks sinking off Norway
HELSINKI (AP) — An unmanned Dutch cargo ship may be in danger of capsizing in heavy seas off the coast of Norway after its...
Florida dismisses 2nd breach risk at phosphate reservoir
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Engineers and dam safety specialists evaluating the danger of a catastrophic flood from a leaking Florida wastewater reservoir determined...
Labor board says Amazon illegally fired outspoken workers
NEW YORK (AP) — The National Labor Relations Board has found that two outspoken Amazon workers were illegally fired last year.
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Hikers scramble as new fissure opens up at Icelandic volcano
REYKJAVIK, Iceland (AP) — Steam and lava spurted Monday from a new fissure at an Icelandic volcano that began erupting last month, prompting the...
Rescuers hampered by damaged roads, more rain in Indonesia
LEMBATA, Indonesia (AP) — Rescuers were hampered by damaged bridges and roads and a lack of heavy equipment Monday after torrential rains caused multiple...
New to DC, Buttigieg looks to build bridges with Biden plan
WASHINGTON (AP) — Pete Buttigieg was a few weeks into his job as transportation secretary, buried in meetings and preparing for the launch of...
Minorities in Myanmar borderlands face fresh fear since coup
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Before each rainy season Lu Lu Aung and other farmers living in a camp for internally displaced people in Myanmar's...
Florida works to avoid ‘catastrophic’ pond collapse
PALMETTO, Fla. (AP) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Sunday that crews are working to prevent the collapse of a large wastewater pond in...
Coming out of the cave: As life creeps back, some feel dread
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Dinner reservations are gleefully being made again. Long-canceled vacations are being booked. People are coming together again, in some...
Groups: Venice lagoon still at risk after cruise ship decree
ROME (AP) — Activists opposed to cruise ships in Venice are seeking a meeting with the Italian government to argue that its latest proposal...
Births among endangered right whales highest since 2015
SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — North Atlantic right whales gave birth over the winter in greater numbers than scientists have seen since 2015, an encouraging...
Biden aims to juice EV sales, but would his plan work?
DETROIT (AP) — Dangling tax credits and rebates in his drive to fight climate change, President Joe Biden wants you to trade your gas-burning...
April, the giraffe that became an online star, dies
HARPURSVILLE, N.Y. (AP) — April, the giraffe that became a sensation when a rural New York zoo livestreamed her 2017 pregnancy and delivery, was...
Republicans trod well-worn path to court to sue Biden
WASHINGTON (AP) — These are busy days for Republican state attorneys general, filing repeated lawsuits that claim President Joe Biden and his administration are...
Big effort aims to elect candidates with science backgrounds
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — An advocacy group plans to spend millions next year to elect more doctors, scientists and other professionals to office, arguing...
Western rivers face pinch as another dry year takes shape
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — As several states in the American West face intense drought, it’s shaping up to be a very difficult year for...
Biden’s ‘jobs Cabinet’ to sell infrastructure as GOP resists
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is setting about convincing America it needs his $2.3 trillion infrastructure plan, deputizing a five-member “jobs Cabinet” to...
Wildfire evacuees return to North Dakota tourist town
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Residents of a small western North Dakota tourist town forced to evacuate as a large wildfire approached have been able...
Supreme Court gives Georgia win in water war with Florida
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court unanimously dismissed Florida's water lawsuit against Georgia on Thursday, ending the long-running legal fight between the two states.
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Biden aims to juice EV sales, but would his plan work?
DETROIT (AP) — Dangling tax credits and rebates in his drive to fight climate change, President Joe Biden wants you to trade your gas-burning...
Biden’s ‘Jobs Cabinet’ to sell infrastructure as GOP resists
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden set about convincing America it needs his $2.3 trillion infrastructure plan on Thursday, deputizing a five-member “jobs Cabinet”...
California snowpack below normal with wet season ending
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The water content of California’s Sierra Nevada snowpack was measured at 59% of the April 1 average, when it historically...
New Mexico tribes sue US over federal clean water rule
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Two Indigenous communities in New Mexico are suing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency over a revised federal rule that lifts...
Study: US pesticide use falls but harms pollinators more
American farmers are using smaller amounts of better targeted pesticides, but these are harming pollinators, aquatic insects and some plants far more than decades...
Biden plan would spend $16B to clean up old mines, oil wells
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden's $2.3 trillion plan to transform America’s infrastructure includes $16 billion to plug old oil and gas wells...
