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Andrea Vidaurre helped persuade regulators to adopt rules that will improve air quality for millions in one of US’s smoggiest areasA grassroots organizer from one of the US’s smoggiest communities has been awarded the prestigious Goldman prize for environmental activists, after leading a successful campaign to clean-up California’s trucking and railway sectors.Andrea Vidaurre from Inland Empire, a sprawling metropolitan region in southern California, helped...

First warning of 2024 issued more than a month before start of official season, as parts of Europe engulfed in African dustLast week, the US National Hurricane Center issued its first advisory of the year, more than a month before the official start of the Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from 1 June to 30 November. An area of low pressure was identified on...

American Lung Association’s State of the Air report states nearly 131 million people are exposed to ozone and particle pollutionNearly four in 10 people in the US are exposed to unhealthy levels of air pollution, a new report has found. Four of the five most polluted cities are in California, where wildfires, drought and extreme heat are driving the rise in hazardous air quality.More...

The same year, 2022, company replaced plastic sleeves in EU with paper and cardboard, and cut plastic packaging globally by 11.6%The amount of plastic packaging waste created by Amazon has increased in the US even as the online retail giant sought to phase out plastics elsewhere in the world, a report claims, amid growing pressure for a global treaty to end plastic pollution.Amazon created...

World’s fossil-fuel producers on track to nearly quadruple output from newly approved projects by decade’s end, report findsThe world’s fossil-fuel producers are on track to nearly quadruple the amount of extracted oil and gas from newly approved projects by the end of this decade, with the US leading the way in a surge of activity that threatens to blow apart agreed climate goals, a...

States including Texas, Louisiana and Florida say federal government lacks authority to broadly deny permitsSixteen US states, including Texas, Louisiana and Florida, have filed a lawsuit to challenge the US federal government’s ban on approving applications to export liquefied natural gas, the office of Texas attorney general Ken Paxton said on Thursday.The lawsuit argues the federal government lacks the authority to broadly deny those...

Unified command was formed to look in to the origin of the sheen, which did not seem to be expanding since it was first detectedAuthorities in southern California are investigating a 2.5-mile (4km) long oil sheen that emerged off the coast of Huntington Beach on Thursday evening.The sheen doesn’t appear to be a crude oil spill – it could be the result of natural...

Homeowners in wealthy towns watching anxiously in face of heavy storms that have caused flash floods and coastal erosionThe torrents of water coming from the sky are having ripple effects on the cliffs that hold up some of California’s most expensive real estate. In the first two months of the year, nearly 18in of rain has fallen in the southern California area, about 8in...

Unseasonably warm temperatures, strong winds and dry grasses fuel Smokehouse Creek fire, the largest in the stateThe main facility that assembles and disassembles America’s nuclear arsenal shut down its operations on Tuesday night as fires raged out of control in Texas.Pantex issued a statement online saying it had paused operations until further notice. “The fire near Pantex is not contained,” the company said. “Response...

Dueling petitions raise concerns over interior department’s five-year plans to offer drilling leases in Gulf of MexicoOil and gas companies and environmental groups on Monday filed dueling legal challenges to the Biden administration’s five-year plan to offer drilling leases in the Gulf of Mexico.The petitions to a US appeals court come four months after the interior department unveiled a congressionally-mandated plan for offshore leasing...

Weather system brings heavy rainfall, strong winds and mudslides. Elsewhere, Nova Scotia declares state of emergencyDuring the first week of February two storms hit California in quick succession, both featuring intense precipitation thanks to the “pineapple express” atmospheric river.Atmospheric rivers are long narrow channels of very moist air that flow through the atmosphere, transporting impressive amounts of water vapour that eventually fall as heavy...

This blog is now closedCalifornia is grappling with another round of strong storms this week and the dangerous potential for flash flooding, landslides, and furious winds expected to come with them.Much like last year, when record rainfall lashed the state, the storms are attributed to atmospheric rivers (ARs), systems that have long played a role in California’s precipitation levels – both for good and...

A year ago on 3 February a train carrying toxic chemicals derailed in a small village on the border of Ohio and Pennsylvania. A few days after the derailment, officials decided to vent and burn the chemicals it was carrying to prevent an explosion.Those still living in East Palestine and the surrounding communities have been told the air they breathe is safe, but many...

Decision helps clear path for Formosa Plastics to build US’s largest petrochemical complex of its timeA Louisiana appellate court has upheld air permits for a giant proposed petrochemical complex in a region known as Cancer Alley, enraging local advocates.The decision, issued on Friday, will help clear a path for Formosa Plastics to build the nation’s largest petrochemical complex of its kind. The project has...

Michael Mann alleges, in lawsuit first brought in 2012, that attacks on his work by climate denialists amount to defamationA lawsuit first instituted over 10 years ago, brought by an esteemed climate scientist over alleged defamation by a rightwing blogger and an analyst, goes to trial this week.The 2012 court case was brought by the University of Pennsylvania earth and environmental scientist Michael Mann,...

From the north through the midwest all the way to the south, cold temperatures, rain and snow threaten communitiesA dangerous winter storm swept the northern US on Friday, with blinding snow in some places, freezing rain in others, and bitter cold temperatures and whipping winds across several states.The massive storm continues a week of strong winter weather for much of the US that has...

EPA says funds to be given to 280 school districts to ‘help secure a healthier future where our children can breathe cleaner air’The US has announced nearly $1bn in grants to replace diesel-powered school buses with electric and lower-emitting vehicles.The Environmental Protection Agency will disburse funds to 280 school districts serving 7 million children across the country in an effort to curb harmful air...

Temperatures could be 10-15C below seasonal average in some areas, with Calgary and Edmonton experiencing low of -30CArctic air will sweep across western Canada and parts of the US early this week, leading to a cold snap that will probably last through the rest of this week and possibly beyond.By Wednesday, temperatures in western Canada could be as much as 10-15C below the seasonal...