Happy Eco News: French Fast Fashion Law Could Reshape European Clothing Market
The French fast fashion law passed the Senate with 337 votes in favour with only one opposed, targeting companies like Shein and Temu with environmental penalties up to 50 percent of product prices. France moved closer to becoming the first European country to regulate ultra-fast fashion companies like Shein and Temu.
Canary Media: America’s offshore wind farms get back to work after court victories
Offshore wind developers are back to building three major U.S. projects nearly a month after the Trump administration ordered them to pause construction. Ørsted, Equinor, and Dominion Energy all got the green light from federal judges last week to resume work on their massive, multibillion-dollar wind farms off America’s east coast….
Happy Eco News: Biochar Water Purification Destroys Toxins without Chemicals, Study Finds
Biochar water purification works more powerfully than scientists realized, with new research showing the material actively destroys pollutants rather than simply trapping them. Biochar water purification has long been understood as a filtration process….
Canary Media: California bills would cut red tape for balcony solar and heat pumps
California lawmakers are considering two bills that would slash red tape for households looking to add certain types of clean tech. Earlier this month, state Sen. Scott Wiener (D), whose district includes San Francisco, introduced legislation that would make it easier for individuals to adopt all-electric, super-efficient heat pumps (SB 222) and plug-in solar panels (SB 868).
California Academy of Sciences: Scientists Identified 72 New Species in 2025
Researchers at the California Academy of Sciences described 72 new animal, plant, and fungi species in 2025, enriching scientists’ understanding of Earth’s biodiversity and propelling our mission to regenerate the natural world. The new species include 15 beetles, 12 bush crickets, 11 sea slugs, seven fishes….
Inside Climate News: New Climate Reports Show ‘Unprecedented Run of Global Heat’
Several annual international climate reports released Tuesday indicate that relentless human-caused warming continued in 2025, especially in the oceans and at the poles. For the third year in a row, Earth’s average temperature ran close to 1.5 degrees Celsius hotter than the climate that sustained human civilizations…
Sierra Club: Environmental “Protection” Agency to Stop Considering Health Impacts of Pollution
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…
AP: How Guatemala, Mexico, and Belize plan to protect 14 million acres of Mayan forest
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).
Canary Media: The biggest US solar-storage project yet takes shape in California
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.
Inside Climate News: How Does Nature Contribute to the Economy? These Environmental Accountants Are Trying to Find Out
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 …
Heatmap: The House Just Voted Against Life-Saving Standards for Mobile Homes
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
Earthjustice: Electric Postal Service Vehicles Delivered Holiday Cheer and Clean Air
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 …
Inside Climate News: Ocean Warming Breaks Record for Ninth Straight Year
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..
Happy Eco News: Scientists Create Durable Biodegradable Bamboo Plastic That’s Stronger Than Petroleum-Based Materials
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…
Happy Eco News: Whalespotter AI Whale Detection for Ships Reaches Maritime Industry
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
Colorado Department Of Transportation: Construction Completed on I-25 Greenland Wildlife Overpass
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…
Lookout: Latest Version of County’s Proposed Battery Storage Rules
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…
Newsweek: USDA’s Regenerative Agriculture Program Doesn’t Add Up - Opinion
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….
Climate Action Now: Bill McKibben's New Book - Here Comes The Sun
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…
Optimist Daily: California leads the charge - Why banning polystyrene foam is a game-changer
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.”