Water & Oceans

"Floods in Bangladesh have destroyed an estimated 1.1 million metric tons of rice, according to data from the agriculture ministry, prompting the country to ramp up imports of the staple grain amid soaring food prices."

"Miners Vale, BHP, and Samarco are discussing a near $30 billion compensation deal with Brazilian authorities related to the 2015 Mariana dam collapse, they said on Friday, with an agreement set to be signed on Oct. 25, sources said."

"A multimillion-dollar bank stabilization project proposed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers could protect one of the densest collections of ceremonial and burial mounds still existing in North America."

"Entanglements are a leading cause of death for endangered North Atlantic right whales. Removing fishing lines from the ocean could help minimize this risk—but only if lobstermen get on board, experts say."

"Hurricane Oscar made landfall in eastern Cuba Sunday evening amid a power blackout, adding to fears that the storm may prove to be especially dangerous."

"The mass bleaching of coral reefs around the world since February 2023 is now the most extensive on record, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) told Reuters this week."

"Scientists have found plastic pollution almost everywhere they have looked. In clouds. On Mount Everest. In Arctic snow. Now, for the first time, tiny plastic particles have been detected in the breath of dolphins."

"The world’s food supply is under threat because so much of what we eat is concentrated in so few countries, and many of those countries are increasingly facing a water shortage. That’s the conclusion of three independent studies published this week.'

"Since early 2023, the world has seen a steep rise in temperatures that scientists are struggling to explain. Our contributor Elizabeth Kolbert talked with Gavin Schmidt, NASA’s top climate scientist, about possible causes of the warming and why experts cannot account for the heat."