Natural Resources

"As the world's nations enter another round of talks this week on creating a first-ever treaty to contain plastic pollution, officials are bracing for tough negotiations over whether to limit the amount of plastic being produced or just to focus on the management of waste."

"Australia and Pacific Island state Tuvalu on Friday signed a security and climate change treaty designed to counter China's growing influence in the Pacific and address the low-lying island nation's concerns about rising seas induced by climate change."

"Deforestation in Brazil's Amazon dropped by 22.3% in the 12 months through July, government data showed on Thursday, as President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva made good on a pledge to rein in the destruction that happened under his predecessor Jair Bolsonaro."

"At fundraisers, Trump has been wooing oil billionaires with a variety of pitches, including false claims about electric cars".

"Earlier this summer, oil billionaire Harold Hamm called for Donald Trump to drop out of the presidential race. He made contributions to the presidential campaigns of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley and questioned publicly whether Trump could beat President Biden in the 2024 election.

"Tens of millions of people — and millions of acres of farmland — rely on the Colorado River’s water. But as its supply shrinks, these farmers get more water from the river than entire states."

"Ever looked up at the clouds and wondered where they came from? That's exactly what atmospheric researcher Lubna Dada studies at the Paul Scherrer Institute. She is part of an international project called CLOUD, wherein she and fellow atmospheric scientists study how clouds form and the role they play in the climate."

"Forest fires may get more attention, but a new study reveals that grassland fires are more widespread and destructive across the United States. Almost every year since 1990, the study found, grass and shrub fires burned more land than forest fires did, and they destroyed more homes, too."

"This is what happens when an apex predator collides with an ecosystem engineer."

"Beavers are influential. By cutting trees and damming streams, these rodents change the world around them, raising water levels and creating habitats for diverse plants, insects, fish and more. They are some of the world’s best-known ecosystem engineers, a term for species that produce outsize effects on their environments.

"The Natural Resources Defense Council is eliminating its longstanding program promoting nuclear safety and cleanup as donors focus on the climate crisis." "A significant shift in donor contributions to nonprofits fighting climate change in recent years has left some of the nation’s biggest environmental organizations facing critical shortfalls in programs on toxic chemicals, radioactive contamination and wildlife protection."