environment

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Florida's Plan: Sell Land So It Can ... Buy Land

Some 5K acres may be up for grabs to raise $50M for other properties

(Newser) - Florida may be about to put a whole lot of land up for sale. The goal: sell off the less significant stuff—some 5,000 acres of beaches, forests, and wetlands originally bought to keep out of development—to raise $50 million to buy land deemed more important to save,...

Love Yosemite? Leave it Alone
 Love Yosemite? Leave it Alone 
Jul 29, 2013 4:36 PM CDT

Love Yosemite? Leave it Alone

New plan to protect the park will cut facilities like bike rentals and rafting

(Newser) - The National Park Service is under pressure to help protect and restore the Merced River in Yosemite National Park. The catch: those who love it most will be able to use it less. The Park Service wants to remove horse, bicycle, and raft rental facilities, as well as swimming pools...

Obama Speech (Mostly) Good News for Keystone

Both supporters and opponents of pipeline find reason to cheer

(Newser) - The big part of President Obama's climate-change strategy unveiled today was indeed his promise to put emissions limits for the first time on the nation's power plants. (See highlights of that and four other key points at the Week . Click for the full transcript of the speech or...

What to Watch for in Today's Climate Speech

Obama to set out landmark regulations, but rocky road ahead

(Newser) - Today, President Obama will unveil his plans to fight climate change—"the global threat of our time," he said last week—in a speech at Georgetown University. He's taking on the threat without help from Congress , though lawmakers could potentially seize on a law that lets them...

Bloomberg's Latest: Mandatory Food Composting

Pilot programs have been successful

(Newser) - New York City has been experimenting with pilot food-composting programs—and it's worked surprisingly well, officials say. Now, Michael Bloomberg is pushing to make composting mandatory, as it is in Seattle, San Francisco, and many other cities, the New York Times reports. The program, in which residents drop food...

CO2 Report Portends 'Disaster for All Countries'

Worldwide emissions hit new record last year

(Newser) - The planet's carbon emissions rose last year to a record 31.6 gigatons, marking a 1.4% increase, according to a new report. That puts us on track for a surge in temperature far exceeding international benchmarks—a "disaster for all countries," says the chief economist for...

Walmart Admits Dumping Pollutants, Will Pay $81M

Company pleads guilty in California to hazardous waste charges

(Newser) - Walmart pleaded guilty today to charges the company dumped hazardous waste in California. Walmart entered the plea in federal court in San Francisco to misdemeanor counts of negligently dumping pollutants from Walmart stores into sanitation drains across California. As part of the plea, the company will pay $81 million, which...

New Threat in Himalayas' Glacial Melt: Tsunamis

Villagers could have just minutes' warning

(Newser) - Tsunamis can occur far from the ocean, and climate change is increasing the risk of disaster in one of the more unlikely places on Earth: the Himalayas. Lakes are forming more frequently in the area thanks to glacial melting, and when a natural dam breaks—due to erosion, water pressure,...

Will Climate Change Destroy Senegal&#39;s &#39;Venice&#39;?
 Africa's 'Venice' in Peril 
May 27, 2013 9:40 AM CDT

Africa's 'Venice' in Peril

Two-thirds of Saint-Louis residents face flood risk

(Newser) - It's called the "Venice of Africa": Saint-Louis, Senegal, is situated between the Atlantic Ocean and the Senegal River, and the water has long been central to its economy. But now, like its Italian namesake , it's facing disaster from rising water levels. Some two-thirds of the city's...

Frogs Disappearing Faster Than Thought

Federal survey shows scary decline in amphibians

(Newser) - Scientists have been worried about the decline in amphibians for years now, and the most comprehensive federal survey of its kind has some bad news: Things are worse than they thought. Researchers from the US Geological Survey found that frogs, salamanders, and amphibians of all kinds are disappearing at an...

Tesla Pays Off US Loan 9 Years Early

CEO to taxpayers: 'I hope we did you proud'

(Newser) - Tesla has come a long way since Mitt Romney labeled it a "loser" in the presidential debates. The company has paid off its $465 million 2010 loan from the Department of Energy—plus interest—nine years before it was due, Businessweek reports. With yesterday's payment for $451.8...

World to Get Its Tallest Dam
 World to Get Its Tallest Dam 
May 17, 2013 11:44 AM CDT

World to Get Its Tallest Dam

1,030-footer gets OK from environmental ministry

(Newser) - The title of world's tallest dam may shift to a new country in a decade's time. Plans for a 1,030-foot dam—45 feet taller than the current title holder, Tajikistan's Nurek dam—have gotten the green light from China's environmental ministry. The $4.4 billion...

2 Big Names Bail on Zuckerberg Advocacy Group

Elon Musk is one, angry over ads supporting Keystone pipeline

(Newser) - The advocacy group spearheaded by Mark Zuckerberg on immigration reform is down two high-profile players from Silicon Valley because of an ad strategy that has angered environmental and liberal groups, reports Reuters . The bigger name to leave is Tesla CEO Elon Musk. "I agreed to support FWD.us because...

Louisiana Is Shrinking, Thanks to Giant Swamp Rats

Beaver-like creatures behind vast erosion

(Newser) - When it comes to invasive species, Louisiana may have Florida and its giant snails beat: The state's beloved swampland is literally vanishing at the hands of gigantic swamp rats . Nutria—described by a documentarian tracking the creatures as "a cross between a beaver and a New York sewer...

Report Sees No Big Problems With Keystone Pipeline

State Department assessment angers environmental groups

(Newser) - A long-awaited State Department report on the proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline is proving to be a bitter disappointment to environmentalists, reports Politico . The draft report issued late this afternoon does not give President Obama a clear yes-or-no recommendation on whether the project should move forward, but it generally plays...

Russian 'Ghost Ship' Turns Up Off Irish Coast

It's an environmental danger: French group

(Newser) - An empty Russian cruise ship lost at sea for weeks has turned up some 1,300 nautical miles off Ireland's west coast, reports AFP via PhysOrg. The Lyubov Orlova was being towed from Canada to the Dominican Republic when a tug line broke in late January, setting it adrift....

Biofuel Demand Takes Big Toll on US Prairies
Biofuel Demand Takes
Big Toll on US Prairies
study says
Feb 20, 2013 2:10 PM CST

Biofuel Demand Takes Big Toll on US Prairies

Grasslands destroyed at fastest rate since 1930s, says study

(Newser) - The push for biofuels—spurred by ethanol mandates and government subsidies—is taking a serious toll on the American landscape, a study finds. Grasslands are being plowed up faster than at any time since the 1930s, say researchers from South Dakota State University, with 1.3 million acres turned into...

Obama Mulls Exec Orders on Gay Rights, Environment

Could also take action on mortgage refinancing

(Newser) - If Congress won't move on President Obama's agenda, he may take further action—on mortgage refinancing, gay rights, and other issues—on his own. The process could begin this week with new cybersecurity rules for private firms in certain industries, including transportation, the Washington Post reports. Later, he...

State of the Union to Target Emissions Cuts

EPA could move to limit existing plants' greenhouse gases

(Newser) - President Obama's 2013 State of the Union address will follow up on his inaugural call to arms against climate change, insiders say. Though the specifics aren't clear yet, it's likely Obama will discuss limiting existing power plants' emissions—a plan that could depend on his use of...

The Gross Ways That Plastic-Bag Bans Backfire

Reusable bags are home to all kinds of germs: Ramesh Ponnuru

(Newser) - Environmental concerns have spurred plastic bag bans or fees in US cities ranging from Los Angeles to Washington—but these measures come with "unintended consequences" that "can be, among other things, kind of gross," writes Ramesh Ponnuru at Bloomberg . It seems that reusable shopping bags can carry...

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