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Scientists Discover ‘Stormquakes,’ Small Earthquakes Triggered by Hurricanes and Other Major Storms
Powerful hurricanes and other storms can actually cause small earthquakes in the ocean, scientists have found.
Six months: That's how much time Mexico now has to report on its progress to save the critically endangered vaquita porpoise (Phocoena sinus) from extinction.
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It may seem innocuous to flush a Q-tip down the toilet, but those bits of plastic have been washing up on beaches and pose a threat to the birds, turtles and marine life that call those beaches home. The scourge of plastic "nurdles," as they are called, has pushed Scotland to implement a complete ban on the sale and manufacture of plastic-stemmed cotton swabs, as the BBC reported.
By Tara Lohan
Prigi Arisandi, who founded the environmental group Ecological Observation and Wetlands Conservation, picks through a heap of worn plastic packaging in Mojokerto, Indonesia. Reading the labels, he calls out where the trash originated: the United States, Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom, Canada. The logos range from Nestlé to Bob's Red Mill, Starbucks to Dunkin Donuts.
The trash of rich nations has become the burden of poorer countries.
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valeriysurujiu / iStock / Getty Images Plus
California became the first state in the nation to ban hotels from offering mini toiletries in plastic bottles Wednesday when Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill to that effect into law.
Russian scientists on an Arctic expedition have discovered, for the first time, methane "boiling" on the surface of the water that is visible to the naked eye. Forget high-tech detection devices, the methane is so pronounced that it can be scooped from the water in buckets, as Newsweek reported.
Unilever, the company that makes Ben & Jerry's and Dove, vowed Monday to halve its use of new plastic by 2025. That would mean reducing the around 700,000 tonnes (approximately 772,000 tons) it used in 2018 to no more than 350,000 tonnes (approximately 386,000 tons) a year starting in 2025, CNN reported.
A baby sea turtle that washed ashore in Boca Raton, Florida last week had 104 pieces of plastic in it stomach. The plastic products ranged from wrappers to balloons to bottle labels to twist ties used to cinch trash bags, as the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported.
The Gumbo Limbo Nature Center in Boca Raton shared a photograph on Facebook of the turtle next to all the pieces of plastic that it had ingested.
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The last red tide in Florida lasted 15 months — pictured here at Bean Point Beach. TriggerPhoto / iStock / Getty Images Plus
The red tide that plagued Florida for 15 months — killing marine life and causing respiratory problems for humans — is back, The Associated Press reported Saturday.
EPA Carries out Trump Threat, Cites San Francisco for Water Pollution Linked to Homeless Crisis
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) cited San Francisco for violating the Clean Water Act by allowing used needles to spill into the ocean. The violation notice executes a threat Trump laid out a few weeks ago and ratchets up California's environmental policies feud with the White House, according to the AP.
'Science Under Siege' From Trump Admin: New Report Warns We Have Reached 'Crisis Point'
By Jessica Corbett
The Trump administration's attacks on science have reached a "crisis point," according to policy experts and ex-government officials who published a report on Thursday that "highlights how our government research and data are being increasingly manipulated for political gain."