Environment

Un petit point sur où on en est dans le mix énergétique.

The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) created environmental protections in areas of government and most private developments. Some advocate for rolling back CEQA to decrease housing costs. Others argue the roll back undermines California’s position as a climate leader and worsen water quality and pollution conditions. Is affordable housing worth worsening environmental conditions? Should CEQA’s roll back wording be updated to best protect California’s environment?

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A good-news story. Geopolitical enemy or not, at least someone’s doing something about the problem.

The world’s biggest polluters are also the most protected from the environmental harm they helped create, a new study finds.

Antibiotics, antidepressants and other drugs frequently leach into the environment, where they can impact ecosystems and human health.

Shell reported a malfunction April 25, and the company was later issued a notice of violation. Residents are still looking for answers.

A new study finds that 28 of the most populated cities in the U.S. are sinking, which can increase flood risks and weaken infrastructure.

The rise in e-commerce has created a commensurate rise in demand for single-use paper packaging. Fast-growing, high-yield eucalyptus has become a popular choice for paper but farming communities in Mozambique are paying the price for cheap paper according to a Mongabay documentary produced by Boaventura Monjane, Davide Mancini and Juan Maza.

Tunisian environmentalist Semia Labidi Gharbi, awarded a global prize for her role exposing a major waste scandal, has a message for wealthy nations: developing countries are “no dumping ground”.

More than 45,000 people have been affected by flash floods in Somalia since mid-April, the United Nations said, with at least four people killed.

How sound waves could help track space junk and meteors

Scientists on Union glacier in Antarctica fear the region is reaching a dangerous tipping point

As pollution levels hit record highs and fresh water becomes ‘the new oil’, is it time to radically reimagine our relationship to the natural world?

In Ecuador, Indigenous communities are fighting for stronger safeguards to protect their sovereignty as more oil drilling looms. A right to say no to unwanted development could revolutionize a consultation process used around the world.

Paper shares innovative natural capital accounting approach to valuing the benefits of ecosystems in Colombia’s Upper Sinú Basin to key economic sectors.

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MEXICO CITY — Officials have acknowledged the environmental damage caused by Tren Maya, and say they’re exploring ways to restore cenotes and rainforests disrupted by the railway’s construction through the Yucatán peninsula.

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Snowfall in Asia’s Hindu Kush-Himalayan mountain range has reached a 23-year low, threatening nearly two billion people dependent on snowmelt for water, scientists warned in a report on Monday.

The river’s health has been suffering, with a number of harrowing mass fish deaths events taking place in recent years.

archived (Wayback Machine)

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…at least on paper.

Safeguard mechanism revamp leads to overall emissions fall but 70% of coal and gas facilities covered by scheme increased direct pollution

A lawsuit charges National Grid, a major gas utility, with mismanaging a toxic industrial site near two densely-populated residential neighborhoods

Heavy metals are a silent threat to our food – here’s what we can do about it.

In the Amazon, gold mining is a thriving business, pushing deep into the rainforest and indigenous lands. Small-scale operations set up primarily illicitly and operated in the shadows use mercury, a substance with neurotoxic properties, for gold extraction. Now, a team of researchers examined if trees native to the Peruvian Amazon could be used as biomonitors for gold mining activities. By examining mercury concentrations in tree rings, they concluded that some species could bear witness to illegal mining activities.

Construction on Empire Wind, which Equinor says had a gross book value of roughly $2.5 billion, started this month and was slated to finish in 2027. Once complete, it was supposed to produce enough carbon pollution-free electricity for 500,000 homes in New York. The construction employed 1,500 people, according to Equinor. The project included an onshore staging hub at the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal, which was anticipated to create around 1,000 union construction jobs.

As trees choked by saltwater die along low-lying coasts, marshes may move in — for better or worse, scientists are learning

Rice feeds more than half of the world’s population. Climate change is loading the beloved grain with arsenic, creating a “scary” health burden.

Europe experiences hottest year, according to UN-led European State of the Climate 2024.

More info: https://www.bristol.ac.uk/news/2025/april/transpolar-drift.html

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Four judges and two lawyers in Indonesia have been charged with transacting bribes to issue a favorable ruling for palm oil giants Permata Hijau, Wilmar and Musim Mas in a high-profile corruption case.

Europe experienced “serious impacts” from extreme weather and climate change in 2024, the continent’s hottest year on record.

A sandstorm in central and southern Iraq sent more than 1,800 people to hospitals with respiratory problems on Monday, health officials said.