The latest warning of the Earth’s mounting extinction crisis is coming from its lakes and rivers. A new report from a coalition of 16 conservation groups warns that almost a third of freshwater fish species face extinction because of human activity. “Nowhere is the world’s nature crisis more acute than in our rivers, lakes and […]
New Jersey is one step closer to passing what environmental advocates say is the strongest anti-plastic legislation in the nation. The state Legislature passed a sweeping measure Thursday that would ban plastic bags from stores and restaurants and single-use food and drink containers made from polystyrene foam, The New York Times reported. The ban is […]
A “trash tsunami” has washed ashore on the beaches of Honduras, endangering both wildlife and the local economy. The trash is mostly plastic waste, Voice of America reported Tuesday, and it is polluting the typically pristine tropical beaches of Omoa in the country’s north. Honduran officials said Saturday that the refuse was coming from the […]
What is the environmental footprint of your favorite pair of blue jeans? A new study indicates it might be quite large. The study, published in Environmental Science and Technology Letters Wednesday, found denim microfibers had infiltrated all the way to the Canadian Arctic Ocean. Researchers say it’s a telling example of the extent of human-generated […]
The Trump administration announced that it would roll back a rule from 2015 that was put in place to limit the amount of toxic chemicals that are in the wastewater of coal plants, according to The Washington Post. The rule insisted that coal plants invest in newer technologies to treat their wastewater so toxic heavy […]
By Tara Lohan The conclusion to decades of work to remove a dam on the Middle Fork Nooksack River east of Bellingham, Washington began with a bang yesterday as crews breached the dam with a carefully planned detonation. This explosive denouement is also a beginning. Over the next couple of weeks, crews will fully remove […]
Around 15,000 gallons of fuel oil spilled in a Native Alaskan village Saturday, threatening a nearby river and the local drinking water supply. The spill occurred during a routine fuel delivery to the Northwest Arctic village of Shungnak. The fuel spilled around 12:30 p.m. June 20, but was not discovered by the villagers until 1:06 […]
By Brett Walton Use of Colorado River water in the three states of the river’s lower basin fell to a 33-year low in 2019, amid growing awareness of the precarity of the region’s water supply in a drying and warming climate. Arizona, California, and Nevada combined to consume just over 6.5 million acre-feet last year, […]
By Peter Yeung A pair of pink Amazon river dolphins emerges for just a moment, arcing above the chocolate brown waters inside the Mamirauá Institute for Sustainable Development, a research facility at the tropical heart of the Brazilian Amazon. Powerful jets of water spray out of their blowholes as these freshwater mammals take in air […]