Jan 12 - The New York Times reported that the Environmental Protection Agency would cease to calculate the negative health impacts of air pollution in its future rule-making process and only consider industry costs. On the EPA’s website, the mission of the agency is to “protect human health and the environment.” Between 1999 and 2020, air pollution…

Last year, Mexico, Guatemala and Belize announced plans to create a huge reserve of tropical forest spanning across the three countries. The nature reserve was named the Great Mayan Jungle Biocultural Corridor and will stretch across jungle areas of southern Mexico and northern parts of the two Central American nations, encompassing more than 14 million acres (5.7 million hectares).

Westlands Water District approved 21 gigawatts of solar and batteries on water-parched fields in the Central Valley, giving farmers a way to profit from fallow land. “The real benefit to us is that it gives our growers another crop to grow, which is the sun,” she said.

In an era of rapid globalization, economic growth has come with trade-offs. To make room for urban development or fossil fuel extraction, countries often clear forests, pollute water and decimate wildlife populations. But it wasn’t until fairly recently that experts formally started to catalogue the environment’s financial contributions …

Manufactured homes, also called mobile homes, are particularly lethal in extreme heat. During the 2021 Pacific Northwest heat dome, 20% of the 96 people who died in Oregon lived in such housing…. In Phoenix in 2024, a full quarter of heat-related deaths occurred in mobile home parks, trailers, and RVs, which make up only 5% of the Valley’s housing stock

The U.S. Postal Service has rolled out more than 2,600 electric vehicles for mail deliveries at 65 sites around the country, including in California, Colorado, Georgia, Missouri, and New York. This is part of a historic decision in 2022 to electrify a majority of USPS mail trucks after sustained Earthjustice litigation and a wave of advocacy …

Jan 9 - Scientists warn the ocean’s accumulation of energy is fueling extreme weather patterns and destabilizing marine ecosystems. Global ocean heat content (OHC) increased for the ninth consecutive year in 2025, according to a report released Friday in Advances in Atmospheric Sciences. The study—a collaboration involving more than 50 scientists from 31 international institutions..

A new biodegradable bamboo plastic could replace conventional plastics, offering a fully biodegradable alternative that is durable, recyclable, and easy to manufacture at scale. Chinese researchers have developed a biodegradable bamboo plastic that not only rivals but surpasses traditional petroleum-based plastics…

Matson, Inc., a Hawaii-based shipping company, has purchased and will deploy the AI-powered Whalespotter whale detection system developed by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, making it the first container shipping company to adopt this marine protection technology. The WhaleSpotter system combines thermal imaging with artificial intelligence to detect whales up to three nautical miles away

Douglas County - Elk, pronghorn, mule deer, black bears, mountain lions and a variety of other species are now able to cross the I-25 Greenland Wildlife Overpass near Larkspur, which is North America’s largest wildlife overpass. The project was completed in less than a year, ahead of schedule and on budget. This overpass spans six lanes of interstate traffic…

Ahead of a Santa Cruz County hearing on Jan 13, County staff shared the latest version of proposed regulations for battery storage facilities, which would require ongoing soil and water monitoring, emergency access and insurance bonds for developers. The new draft ordinance requires developers to use the safest and latest technology available commercially…

The Trump administration has been working overtime to portray itself as the savior of America’s farms and food security when, in fact, it’s become our food system’s greatest threat. The Trump administration has caused or worsened the biggest problems our food system faces today. It has rolled back environmental regulations that safeguard clean water….

As climate change intensifies, we’re simultaneously seeing an incredible worldwide flowering of the technologies we need to fight it: heat pumps, EVs, wind turbines, batteries, and most importantly solar panels, all different ways of soaking up, storing, and using the incredible bounty of energy provided for free every day by our Sun. McKibben’s prose is scintillating as usual, providing…

As of January 1st, California, the fifth-largest economy in the world, officially banned the use of most polystyrene foam food containers. This move, part of the state’s broader fight against plastic pollution, targets items like clamshell containers and cups, commonly (and incorrectly) referred to as “Styrofoam.”

When rain falls, light showers can usually be handled by the complex network of sewer pipes that run beneath the NYC. But during heavy downpours, water can accumulate, posing a danger to the residents and their homes, especially if they live in basement apartments. Around 30 years ago, on Staten Island, the city tried something new to address flooding — "bluebelts"…

Diane Wilson, the prominent Gulf Coast environmentalist, filed a legal notice of intent on Wednesday to sue Dow for alleged large-scale discharges of plastic pellets from its 4,700-acre petrochemical complex outside Seadrift, Texas. Wilson, a 77-year-old former shrimper from Seadrift, sued another Gulf Coast petrochemical giant..

When the Vistra battery storage facility in Moss Landing caught fire on January 16 (and again on February 18), the AMLT Native Stewardship Corps and staff joined a coalition of local scientists to respond to the potential threats to sea life and environment. The fire burned for 3 days with a plume of smoke settling directly on "Locuyusta" (Elkhorn Slough), leaving behind a layer of ash leaden with heavy metals which canvassed the estuary habitats.

In response to a lawsuit by conservation groups, a federal court today struck down a U.S. Forest Service plan to log more than 16,500 acres of pine forests just outside Yellowstone National Park, in the Custer Gallatin National Forest. The court found that the agency violated the National Environmental Policy Act, National Forest Management Act and Endangered Species Act.

A wild valley in Chilean Patagonia has been preserved for future generations and protected from logging, damming and unbridled development after a remarkable fundraising effort by local groups. The 133,000 hectares (328,000 acres) of pristine wilderness in the Cochamó Valley was bought for $63m (£47m) after a grassroots campaign led by the NGO Puelo Patagonia.