Environmental, Health and Safety News | Volunteer EHS News Network Dedicated to Protecting People & Our Planet

Macron’s green democracy experiment gets political

Emmanuel Macron asked 150 ordinary people to help figure out France’s green policies — and now this citizens’ convention is turning into a political problem for the French president.
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Veterans plant coral off Florida as NFL pursues environmental projects around Super Bowl

From tree plantings to park cleanups, NFL Green aims to use the big game in Tampa as a way to promote sustainability.
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Shell wants Biden to reverse methane emissions rollback

Royal Dutch Shell Plc will push for the reversal of President Donald Trump’s rollback of methane emissions rules and the introduction of carbon pricing when Joe Biden moves into the White House next year.
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Court ruling throws Pennsylvania smart-meter plan into turmoil

The PUC and Peco Energy asked Pennsylvania’s highest court to throw out a decision that makes smart meters optional, not mandatory, for millions of customers.
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Talen Energy to eliminate use of coal in PA, other electric generation facilities by 2025

Talen Energy Corp. announced it has committed to a strategic repositioning of its power generation fleet that will eliminate the use of coal at all Talen wholly-owned facilities.
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Biden EPA transition team member helped DuPont dodge regulations

Michael McCabe, a former EPA official and aide to Joe Biden, led DuPont’s defense of the toxic PFAS chemical PFOA.
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Biden can leverage larger trends to make climate progress

Even if Republicans hang onto the Senate, Biden can use these three strategies to make major progress on climate issues.
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‘I’ve been very, very loyal’: Marcia Fudge makes the case for ag secretary

Overlooked Army Corps rulemaking would shrink federal stream protections

Conservation groups and state regulators are alarmed by proposed changes to nationwide permits that authorize construction across streams and wetlands.
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Biden’s climate diplomacy has already begun

The president-elect elevated the issue of rising temperatures in talks with European leaders.
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How FTI drove influence campaigns nationwide for Big Oil

FTI, a global consulting firm, helped design, staff and run organizations and websites funded by energy companies that can appear to represent grass-roots support for fossil-fuel initiatives.
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Eta thrashes Florida, again

The storm, which had battered South Florida and parts of Cuba and Central America, brought high winds and tidal surge to the Tampa area as it headed north to make landfall.
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Sizing up Trump’s environmental legacy

There have always been pendulum swings of Washington, of course. But this isn’t just politics as usual. Trump’s impact on global warming has been profound.
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Where energy-efficient homes are being built

The Energy Star rating is not just for refrigerators; homes are certified for energy efficiency too.
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Warming may make hurricanes weaken more slowly after landfall

New research suggests that climate change may be causing storms to retain destructive power for longer after moving inland.
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Fishing, environmental groups sue over Umpqua River dam

The lawsuit, filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Eugene, asks a judge to order the Winchester Water Control District to build a new fish ladder and make major repairs.
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Organized crime in the fisheries sector threatens a sustainable ocean economy

The presence of organized crime in the fisheries sector hinders progress towards the development of a sustainable ocean economy
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Marine mammals may be at risk of COVID from humans; study

While there have been indications that this pandemic spread from animals to humans, a new study shows humans could spread it to marine mammals.
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Auckland cancer survivor fearful ahead of vote on use of chemical weedkiller

Cancer survivor speaking out ahead of vote on a chemical spray which is banned in parts of Europe for health reasons.
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Slag pile cleanup at Colorado smelter Superfund site in Pueblo may be delayed

The Environmental Protection Agency may not have funding next year for a portion of the cleanup.
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‘Forever chemicals’: Wisconsin recommends standards for 22 substances

The standards set limits for 12 individual PFAS compounds, 4 combined PFAS compounds and 6 pesticides in Wisconsin groundwater.
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The coronavirus opens another front: animal fur farms

Why Denmark, a global centre for farmed minks, is considering killing 17 million of them and banning the industry.
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Hurricanes could reach farther inland due to climate change, study suggests

Storms will be ‘bigger, stronger, and move longer distances,’ an ocean expert says.
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A BC rail disaster waiting to happen? Audit bolsters warnings the risk is too high

Report finds failures with Transport Canada’s oversight of shipping of dangerous goods.
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This software can track a company’s carbon emissions in real time

Emitwise wants to develop “a QuickBooks for carbon.”
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2020 election: Water a factor in Senate race in Michigan

In Michigan, clean drinking water and the Great Lakes are key issues in the tight Senate race between Gary Peters and John James.
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If Biden wins, here’s how he could undo Trump’s deregulation agenda

Biden could use Trump’s playbook to reverse his regulatory moves on pollution, worker safety, health care and more.
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How the feds could keep the bike boom rolling

In the U.S., the coronavirus pandemic has driven a surge in bicycle sales and use. A more supportive federal policy toward non-car mobility could help it roll on.
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Design ideas aim to save D.C.’s sinking Tidal Basin

Washington, D.C.’s 140-year-old Tidal Basin is sinking. Five architects offer radical redesigns for preservation in a new climate reality.
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West Virginia’s surprising boom, and bust, tells story of Trump’s promise to help the ‘forgotten man’

Under Trump, the once-forgotten Ohio Valley boomed — until this year.
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Georgetown University to power campus with electricity from solar plants

The announced measure signals the campus’s first shift from traditional electricity.
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Biden seeks youth vote on climate change with animated ad on Adult Swim

It’s part of an October push to appeal to the youngest bracket of voters.
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How Montana’s governor, angling for a Senate seat, made an unapproved Trump official a campaign issue

Gov. Steve Bullock (D) won a lawsuit saying that the ultraconservative public lands official violated federal law.
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Death rates have dropped for seriously ill COVID patients

Survival rates have improved with medical advances and less crowded hospitals, studies say. But the latest record-breaking surge in infections could reverse the gains.
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Slump in air travel hindered weather forecasting, study shows

A decline in air traffic during the coronavirus pandemic sharply reduced the amount of data routinely collected by commercial airliners.
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China’s leaders vow tech ‘self-reliance,’ military power, and economic recovery

The Communist Party’s Central Committee endorsed an ambitious policy program that looks far beyond the coronavirus pandemic.
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These zombies threaten the whole planet

Canada’s oil patch has nearly 100,000 suspended wells, neither active nor capped, and they’re a worrying source of planet-warming methane.
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Wolves to drop from Endangered Species List

Populations have rebounded in recent decades, but some scientists on the panel that evaluated the proposal said it was deeply flawed.
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Make Science Great Again: U.S. researchers dream of life after Trump

From his lab in Toulouse, France, Benjamin Sanderson models the range of extreme risks to humans from climate change, research he hopes can inform policymakers planning for worsening wildfires and floods. It is the kind of work he once performed in the United States – and hopes to again soon.
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2020 likely to be one of warmest years on record despite La Niña

La Niña climate event is under way, heralding a colder and stormier winter than usual across the northern hemisphere, but 2020 remains likely to be one of the warmest years on record.
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Which Pittsburgh buildings emit the most greenhouse gases? See how they compare

We charted building emissions across building categories to compare the main sources of greenhouse gases in Pittsburgh buildings.
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Hormone-mimicking chemicals harm fish now—and their unexposed offspring later

Fish exposed to endocrine-disrupting compounds pass on health problems to future generations, including deformities, reduced survival, and reproductive problems, according to a new study. The study, published in Environmental Science and Technology, is the first of its kind in a fish that can live in freshwater, brackish water or salt water, and suggests that...
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Casey says mitigating climate change should be political priority

Bold action needed to mitigate impacts of changing climate already felt in urban and rural areas, and agricultural, forestry and recreation industries.
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Without a ‘Right to Garden’ law, it may be illegal to grow your own food

How one Illinois family’s backyard hoop house put them at odds with city officials.
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The man who took on the Irving Oil refinery and won

When Gordon Dalzell learned the Irving Oil refinery’s air quality permit was up for review, he got to work.
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“Over half of the people who used to grow crops here can’t do it anymore”

Canyon de Chelly, part of Navajo Nation lands in Arizona, has been suffering from worsening droughts.
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Restoring the American Chestnut with Genetic Engineering Splits the Conservation Community – The Allegheny Front

Scientists are hoping a genetically modified American chestnut can restore the iconic tree. Some groups say it could be a Trojan horse for more GMO trees.
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Climate change brings up some hard emotions, but there can be joy in the struggle

A psychologist explains how people can cope with the feelings of sadness, fear and anxiety around climate change by looking for solutions and meaning in their lives.
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Palm oil giant Korindo accused again of illegally burning Papuan rainforest

JAKARTA — Palm oil giant Korindo Group is alleged to have set fires to clear rainforest in Indonesia’s easternmost region of Papua, a practice that is banned by law....
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Scientists in Costa Rica are growing new corals to save reefs

Like a mermaid on an underwater picnic, she floats gently in the current as slivers of sunlight reveal a garden of corals in the Golfo Dulce, in southern Costa...
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Entangled: How a global seaweed ‘plague’ threatens West Africa’s coastline

From the Gulf of Guinea to the mouth of the Senegal River, a sprawling shroud of seaweed is choking coastal ecosystems and the fishing communities that depend on them....
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Podcast: Lemur love and award-winning plant passion in Madagascar

Madagascar is known for its lemurs, and we’ve got some recordings of Madagascar’s most famous fauna to listen to on this episode of the Mongabay Newscast. But today we’re...
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One year on: Insects still in peril as world struggles with global pandemic

A green hoverfly in Malinidi, Kenya. Image by Dino J. Martins. In the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, in the heart of a what was increasingly a global lockdown,...
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“Men Sentenced For Cooking Chicken In Yellowstone Hot Spring”

“Three tourists boiled dinner in national park, leading to fines, a ban and some apt puns” Food Laws & Regulations Natural Resources National (U.S.) Public Source: ,
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Whale Zone Ahead: A Cetacean Speed Trap Tags Ships Going Over The Limit

“North Atlantic right whales, a critically endangered species with fewer than 366 remaining individuals, face two main threats: fishing gear entanglements and ship strikes.” Technology Transportation Water & Oceans...
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“BP Plans Move Into Green Hydrogen Production”

“BP plans to take its first steps into the burgeoning market for green hydrogen alongside the offshore wind developer Ørsted by developing a hydrogen project at one of its...
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“US Election Result Boosts Preparations for UN Climate Summit”

“Preparations for the next vital UN summit on the climate – one of the last chances to set the world on track to meet the Paris agreement – have...
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“Shell Wants Biden to Reverse Methane Emissions Rollback”

“Royal Dutch Shell Plc will push for the reversal of President Donald Trump’s rollback of methane emissions rules and the introduction of carbon pricing when Joe Biden moves into...
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“Theta Forms as Season’s 29th Named Storm, Breaking a Record”

“Subtropical Storm Theta became the 29th named storm of the tumultuous 2020 hurricane season on Monday night, breaking a record set in 2005.” Climate Change Disasters Water & Oceans...
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“Public Lands: Concern, Anger Grow Over Outdoor Act Implementation”

“The Interior Department yesterday submitted to Congress its lists of Land and Water Conservation Fund projects to be prioritized for fiscal 2021 — a week late and amid fierce...
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“4th Circuit Freezes Key Mountain Valley Pipeline Approval”

“The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed yesterday to pause developers’ use of a streamlined water permit for the Mountain Valley pipeline, dealing another setback for a multibillion-dollar...
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Senate Would Boost Energy Spending, Level-Fund Environment Agencies

“Energy and environmental agencies avoided major cuts and most controversial policy riders in Senate spending bills released this morning. The Senate Appropriations Committee released its 12 annual government funding...
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Biden Transition Team For Environment Includes Former Obama Officials

“President-elect Joe Biden’s transition teams for the Environmental Protection Agency and Transportation Department will be run by several agency alumni who served under President Barack Obama and helped craft...
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The crypto-creature from the deep: Researchers get rare video of bigfin squid

A sighting of one of the deep ocean’s most mysterious beings, the bigfin squid, in Australian waters for the first time is creating waves among the scientific community’s squid...
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As energy needs drive demand for minerals, forests face greater threats

Mining and deforestation go hand in hand, with impacts that include displacement of species and pollution of water sources. A 2012 study attributed only 7% of global forest loss...
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Road-paving project threatens a wildlife-rich reserve in Indonesia’s Papua

JAYAPURA, Indonesia — Paving of a dirt road linking two cities in Indonesia’s easternmost Papua region could spark the destruction of a wildlife reserve whose isolation has made it...
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Major The Dog Came From Animal Shelter. Now He’s Headed To White House

“After four years of President Donald Trump’s famously pet-free tenure, Joe Biden winning the 2020 presidential election means that the patter of furred feet will likely be heard inside...
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“Wildfires Emerge as Threat to Water Quantity Across Parched West”

“As the largest wildfire in Colorado history spread beyond 200,000 acres, Mark Kempton began to worry it would incinerate so much of the Fort Collins watershed that the city...
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“U.S. Military Responsible for Widespread PFAS Pollution in Japan”

“A new book by Jon Mitchell exposes “countless” releases of PFAS chemicals by the U.S. military in Japan.” Chemicals Environmental Health Military Pollution Water & Oceans National (U.S.) Asia...
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“In First For Fed, US Central Bank Says Climate Poses Stability Risks”

“The U.S. Federal Reserve for the first time called out climate change among risks enumerated in its biannual financial stability report, and warned about the potential for abrupt changes...
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“Scientists Watch As China Remote Glaciers Melt At ‘Shocking’ Pace”

“Glaciers in China’s bleak Qilian mountains are disappearing at a shocking rate as global warming brings unpredictable change and raises the prospect of crippling, long-term water shortages, scientists say.”...
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“Ex-BLM Chief Helping Transition That Might Reverse HQ Move”

“President-elect Joe Biden’s transition team is tapping a former Obama-era Bureau of Land Management director to help reset the bureau’s priorities under the new administration.” Energy & Fuel Environmental...
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“Biden Victory to Boost DOJ’s Environmental Agenda, Enforcement”

“The Justice Department’s environment division is poised to ramp up pollution policing and sideline Trump-era policies when President-elect Joe Biden takes office in January—joining agencies across the executive branch...
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“9 Things the Biden Administration Could Do Quickly on the Environment”

“President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. campaigned on the most ambitious climate platform of any presidential candidate in history, promising to spend $2 trillion over four years to draw down...
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“Regulations: White House Races To Wrap Up Rules Before Trump Exits”

“Now that President Trump has lost reelection, observers and advocates are bracing for agencies to finish a host of actions on energy and the environment.” Activism Environmental Health Environmental...
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Trump Admin Removes Scientist in Charge of Assessing Climate Change

“The White House has removed the scientist responsible for the National Climate Assessment, the federal government’s premier contribution to climate knowledge and the foundation for regulations to combat global...
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Technology innovations look to change the cacao landscape in Colombia

As Colombia searches for a way forward after a half-century of war, the cacao tree (Theobroma cacao) could have a significant role to play. Called the food of the...
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Honoring children and protecting the planet: An interview with musician Raffi

If you were born in the 1970s, 1980s, or 1990s in the United States or Canada, there’s a good chance you are familiar with the song “Baby Beluga.” The...
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What makes chimps unique? Candid Animal Cam meets our close relatives

Camera traps bring you closer to the secretive natural world and are an important conservation tool to study wildlife. This week we’re meeting our closest living relative: the chimpanzee....
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Philippine resort owner hit with environmental charges as Boracay cleans up

AKLAN, Philippines — Authorities in the Philippines have arrested a resort owner on the island of Boracay for allegedly violating the country’s forestry and marine resources management laws. The...
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A new conservation project is created in Costa Rica thanks to COVID-19

Call him inspired. If Biblical Ishmael were banished to the desert, naturalist Hugo Santa Cruz is quarantined to wander in paradise, a paradise in the Costa Rican jungle, that...
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As fire season ends, Brazil cited for failed Amazon and Pantanal policies

Prevfogo / IBAMA firefighters and volunteers from the Terena Indigenous group work together to combat fire hotspots in the Amolar Mountains, on the border of Brazil and Bolivia, in...
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“Biden to Move Fast to Strike Down Trump’s Environmental Agenda”

“The EPA and Interior Department under President-elect Joe Biden will have a range of tools at their disposal to start undoing President Donald Trump’s deregulatory agenda on the environment,...
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“In Historic Move, Colorado Voters Decide To Reintroduce Gray Wolves”

“In Colorado, a historic ballot measure to force the state to reintroduce gray wolves has passed by the slimmest of margins.” Biodiversity Environmental Politics Laws & Regulations Wildlife Mountain...
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“Trump Leaves Unfinished Business in Environmental Litigation”

“In four years, President Donald Trump and his appointees in the Environmental Protection Agency, Interior Department, and other agencies made dramatic regulatory changes that sparked an ongoing series of...
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Biden Victory Positions America For A 180-Degree Turn On Climate Change

“New administration will seek to shift U.S. off fossil fuels and expand public lands protections, but face serious opposition from Senate GOP.” Climate Change Environmental Health Environmental Politics Laws...
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Environmental democracy in Ecuador promotes anti-mining agenda

A historic court ruling in Ecuador that will let a community vote on whether to allow mining in its midst could set the stage for a region-wide grassroots pushback...
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Conservationists replant legal palm oil plantation with forest in Borneo

In Malaysia’s Bornean state of Sabah, a small NGO is replanting forest over land that was once a legally operating oil palm plantation — essentially reversing time for a...
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A warming Arctic is changing animal migrations, decades of tracking shows

Catching a caribou isn’t easy. In some locations, it involves flying around in helicopters, shooting the animal with a tranquilizer dart, making it safely to the ground, and placing...
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Peru prosecutors probe Amazon deforestation linked to Mennonite communities

Sitting in the doorway of his house, Isaac Zacharías Klassen, the patriarch of a Mennonite colony that has settled in Masisea, in Peru’s Amazonian department of Ucayali, says he...
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Mongabay’s most popular conservation news stories in October 2020

Mongabay’s most read post during the month of October on our global English news site was a commentary from David Wilkie, Susan Lieberman, and James Watson from the Wildlife...
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IPBES report details path to exit current ‘pandemic era’

Avoiding the loss of human life and the economic fallout caused by future pandemics will require a seismic change in our approach to the causes of the emergence of...
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Deluged by Floods, America’s ‘Oldest City’ Struggles To Save Landmarks

“St Augustine, Florida, was founded in 1565 by Spanish explorers. Flooding has been a threat for centuries and is worsening with rising tides” Climate Change Disasters Water & Oceans...
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Interior ‘Propaganda’ Video And Tweets May Violate Ethics Laws: Experts

“A new video from the Interior Department praising President Trump’s efforts in office — and subsequent Twitter comments defending it — have raised questions from ethics experts who say...
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“Army Corps Banks On Wetland Data EPA Deemed ‘Unreliable'”

“When the Trump administration finalized a key Clean Water Act rule last year, it slammed media outlets for citing federal data showing it would erase protections for more than...
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“Lawsuit Planned Over Hunting, Fishing at US Wildlife Refuges”

“The Trump administration is violating the Endangered Species Act by expanding hunting and fishing by 3,600 square miles (9,300 square kilometers) on the national wildlife refuge system and national...
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Years after defeating a giant gold mine, activists in Colombia still fear for their lives

This story is a journalistic collaboration between El Colombiano Medellin and Mongabay Latam. CAJAMARCA, Colombia — Jimmy’s face lights up when he remembers César. A man who drew people...
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“Agreement Ends Dispute Over Threatened Mexican Spotted Owl”

“Environmentalists have reached an agreement with federal land and wildlife managers that will clear the way for forest restoration efforts to resume in the Southwest.” Environmental Politics Forests Laws...
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