A new analysis revealed Tuesday that over the past two decades heat records across the U.S. have been broken twice as often as cold ones—underscoring experts' warnings about the increasingly dangerous consequences of failing to dramatically curb planet-warming emissions.
A fire erupted Sunday at a petrochemical plant in Deer Park, Texas. NowThis News / YouTube screenshot
By Andrea Germanos
A petrochemical plant near Houston continued to burn for a second day on Monday, raising questions about the quality and safety of the air.
The Deer Park facility is owned by Intercontinental Terminals Company (ITC), which said the fire broke out at roughly 10:30 a.m. Sunday. Seven tanks are involved, the company said, and they contain naptha, xylene, "gas blend stocks" and "base oil."
"It's going to have to burn out at the tank," Ray Russell, communications officer for Channel Industries Mutual Aid, which is aiding the response effort, said at a news conference. It could take "probably two days" for that to happen, he added.
Austrian youth gather outside the Hofburg palace in Vienna for a climate protest as part of the 'Fridays For Future' movement on a global day of student protests aiming to spark world leaders into action on climate change on March 15. JOE KLAMAR / AFP / Getty Images
Students striking for climate action in Brisbane, Australia on Nov. 30, 2018. Stop Adani / CC BY 2.0
In 92 countries and counting, hundreds of thousands of students are planning to skip school on March 15 as part of the "School Strike 4 Climate" — a growing movement of young people demanding that policymakers worldwide take urgent and radical steps to battle the climate crisis.
"Moore often misrepresents himself in the media as an environmental 'expert' or even an 'environmentalist,' while offering anti-environmental opinions on a wide range of issues and taking a distinctly anti-environmental stance," Greenpeace noted on its website. Adjusted Screenshot via Fox & Friends
By Jake Johnson
President Donald Trump took to Twitter on Tuesday morning to boost "Greenpeace co-founder" Patrick Moore's claim on "Fox & Friends" that the climate crisis is "not only fake news, it's fake science."
The Food and Drug Administration on Friday lifted an import alert that banned genetically modified or GE salmon. Pixabay
By Jessica Corbett
The Trump administration has lifted a ban on importing genetically engineered or GE salmon, which critics have long called "Frankenfish," in a move that consumer advocates charge "runs counter to sound science and market demand."
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced the decision on Friday, more than three years after approving GE salmon as the first biotech animal authorized for commercial sale and consumption in the U.S.
Flooding caused by Hurricane Harvey in Southeast Texas on Aug. 31, 2017. Air National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Daniel J. Martinez
By Andrea Germanos
President Donald Trump's U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Texas state officials rejected an offer from NASA scientists in 2017 to use their state-of-the-art flying laboratory to evaluate air quality in Houston after Hurricane Harvey, new reporting by the Los Angeles Times reveals.
"This is disturbing," said Lina Hidalgo, judge for Texas's Harris County.
Roderick Brazier / Australia's High Commissioner to Solomon Islands
By Eoin Higgins
An oil spill in the Pacific Ocean's Solomon Islands after a mining company's cargo ship ran aground is threatening an endangered environmental gem.
"The impact of this oil spill will have a devastating effect on the surrounding environment, including potentially on a protected UNESCO World Heritage Site, as well as the livelihood of the people of Rennell," Australia's High Commissioner to the Solomon Islands Rod Brazier said in a statement.
Small ephemeral waterfall flows into Lake Erie on Kelley's Island. Perry's Victory and International Peace Memorial on Ohio's South Bass Island is on the background. Posnov / Moment / Getty Images
By Julia Conley
Tired of receiving notices warning that their drinking water may have been compromised and having little recourse to fight corporate polluters, voters in Toledo, Ohio on Tuesday approved a measure granting Lake Erie some of the same legal rights as a human being.
Sixty-one percent of voters in Tuesday's special election voted in favor of Lake Erie's Bill of Rights, which allows residents to take legal action against entities that violate the lake's rights to "flourish and naturally evolve" without interference.
A new report offers "gold standard"-level certainty that humans are contributing to the climate crisis, leading to rising sea levels, melting glaciers and extreme weather events. Christopher Michel / Flickr
By Julia Conley
Most Americans now recognize the scientific community's consensus that human activity is fueling the climate crisis, according to polls—but for those who are still unconvinced of the conclusion reached by 97 percent of climate scientists, a new study makes an even more definite assertion.
More than 40 youth climate activists who support the Green New Deal resolution were arrested for staging a sit-in at the Washington, DC office of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky). on Monday. Sunrise Movement
By Jessica Corbett
Hundreds of Kentucky high school students and climate campaigners with the youth-led Sunrise Movement descended on the Capitol Hill office of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Monday to deliver 100,000 petition signatures and stage a sit-in to make clear to lawmakers that young people want a Green New Deal for their communities and futures.
