"On Idit Silman’s first day as Israel’s new environmental protection minister, she handed out soft drinks in disposable plastic cups to hospital patients. The gesture held deep symbolic meaning in Israel, where soft drinks and single-use cups, plates and cutlery have become weapons in a culture war between the country’s secular Jewish majority and the smaller but politically powerful religious minority."
"Six western states that rely on water from the Colorado River have agreed on a model to dramatically cut their use, months after the federal government called for action and an initial deadline passed. California — with the largest allocation of water from the river — is the lone holdout."
"The Colorado River begins as melting snow, trickling from forested peaks and coursing in streams that gather in the meadows and valleys of the Rocky Mountains. Like arteries, its major tributaries take shape across Colorado, Wyoming, Utah and New Mexico, coming together in a great river like no other — a river that travels more than 1,400 miles and has defined the rise of the American Southwest over the last century."
"In hindsight, it’s clear that something was very wrong in this suburban town at the Jersey Shore, where many people worked at or lived near a chemical company that was flushing toxic waste into waterways and burying it in the ground."
"Racist beauty standards are driving the use of beauty products that are often contaminated with chemicals that alter the human endocrine system, cause organ damage, and spur cancer in communities of color, according to new research."
"Police in western Germany carried Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg and other protesters away Tuesday from the edge of an open coal pit mine where they demonstrated against the ongoing destruction of a village to make way for the mine’s expansion, German news agency dpa reported."
"Natural disasters displaced more than 3 million Americans in 2022, including nearly 1 million in Florida alone, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau."
"Deaths outnumbered births last year for the first time in six decades. Experts see major implications for China, its economy and the world."
"Scott Strickland built his life by the water. The 51-year-old Newfoundland man descended from generations of lighthouse keepers who helped guide sailors safely to Port aux Basques, named for the Basque whalers who sought refuge there five centuries ago."
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