By Christopher Thompson The Florida Senate on Tuesday passed an environmental bill that includes prohibiting local governments from enforcing regulations on plastic straws over the next five years. On a 24-15 vote, the Senate imposed a moratorium on plastic-straw bans, the latest example of the constant tug-of-war between the Legislature and cities and counties over […]

By Ryan Johnson We’re going to go ahead and be party poopers: Balloons are bad, and now it is scientifically proven. A recent study published in Naturereveals that those plastic party decorations are the deadliest plastic out there for seabirds. To make that determination, the researchers looked at the stomach contents of more than 1,700 marine birds, comparing […]

By Christopher Thompson Researchers from the environmental advocacy group Environmental Working Group estimated that the contaminants found in public water systems in California could contribute to about 15,500 cancer cases there over the course of a lifetime. A new study finds that drinking tap water in California over the course of a lifetime could increase the risk […]

By Ryan Johnson The city and Waste Management of Hawaii will pay $425,000 as a part of a settlement with the Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA said that storms in December 2010 and January 2011 overwhelmed temporary pipes at the Waimanalo Gulch Landfill. Flooding at the site sent water contaminated with trash into the ocean. […]

By Christopher Thompson Inspired by plastic bag bans, jurisdictions have set their sights on a much bigger target: the to-go coffee cup The People’s Republic of Berkeley, Calif., takes pride in its leadership on all things civic and environmental. The small liberal city east of San Francisco was one of the first U.S. cities to adopt curbside […]

By Ryan Johnson The waters of the Gulf of Mexico are warm and welcoming. Even during the dead of winter, Floridians enjoy higher temperatures swimming than New Yorkers on land in spring. We share the area with a marvelous array of wildlife, including dolphins—long, strong sleek creatures who speed by in pods, their jutting fins, […]

With grain stores ruined and many fields still under water from last month’s extreme weather, producers are facing devastating losses Five weeks after historic flooding in the midwest, waters still cover pasturelands, corn and soybean fields. Much of the water has receded, but rivers still run high and washed out roads force people to take […]

Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke labeled climate change “the greatest threat we face” as he called for $5 trillion to be spent over the next decade with the goal of neutralizing carbon emissions in the U.S. by mid-century. The former Texas congressman’s plan is among the most detailed of the crowded Democratic 2020 field, but it […]

Which phrase does a better job of grabbing people’s attention: “global warming” or “climate change”? According to recent neuroscience research, the answer is neither. If you want to get people to care, try “climate crisis,” suggests new research from an advertising consulting agency in New York. That phrase got a 60 percent greater emotional response from listeners […]

If it feels like it’s the worst allergy season yet, it’s because it is. A recent study in the journal Lancet Planetary Health found that both airborne pollen counts and pollen season duration have increased as temperatures have climbed over the past 20 years. While controlling the atmosphere is impossible, there are many efforts we can make […]