Pollution

Trump outlines government role in data centers The community has become more organized and responsive. Learn from other localities by forming a network. By Carey L. Biron Trump announced an AI strategy in the last month, aimed at achieving U.S. leadership by cutting regulations, accelerating permits and making land and infrastructure available for data centers. The strategy was announced after his executive order that named AI as a key component of national security, and an announcement by the private sector to invest $500 billion in a plan called "Project Stargate", which would boost AI development throughout the country. Data centers...

Mezcal sales for small farmers fell by 80% in the past year Mezcal producers are underpaid by the middlemen Monoculture and pollution are harmful to biodiversity By Diana Baptista Ramirez is a 32-year-old third generation expert mezcal producer, or "palenquera", and the first female in her family who has worked in the industry. She had to overcome patriarchal standards that previously did not permit women to be involved in mezcal manufacturing. She and other farmers now face falling mezcal price. The growing international demand has allowed Palenqueras such as Ramirez, who cut, fermented and distilled the agave plants with expert...

The executive director of the International Coffee Organization, (ICO), said on Tuesday that tariffs imposed by United States, climate changes, and a smaller Brazilian crop are all driving up coffee prices. Vanusia nogueira, speaking at an event organized by the National Federation of Colombia Coffee Growers, said that despite the trend of rising prices, the market is still volatile. Nogueira stated that the global coffee supply has been in shortfall for several years due to production deficits caused mainly by adverse weather conditions in key growing areas. Brazil, which is the world's biggest coffee producer, has been hit by weather-related...

Bayer announced on Monday that it had reached agreements in principal with over 200 plaintiffs in the Sky Valley Education Center cases relating to PCB. However, the company said the payments have already been reflected in the recent financial reports. Bayer stated in its statement the terms of agreements made by its Monsanto division over environmental pollution caused by PCBs (polychlorinated bisphenyls), were confidential and would be subject to the approval of final settlement agreement between the parties. It added that the cost of additional settlements is covered by the PCB litigation provisions taken in the second-quarter. Bayer shares continued...

California Coastal Commission voted against SpaceX's plan to double the number Falcon 9 rocket launches that the company can conduct from Vandenberg Space Force Base each year, from 50 up to 95. As was the case last October when the commission voted to oppose an expansion of SpaceX launches from 36 to fifty at the installation. The U.S. Government can simply override California regulators' objections and approve this latest plan. The U.S. Department of the Air Force (parent agency of the Space Force) has stated that the proposed expansion of the launch site at Vandenberg is an activity of the...

On Tuesday, two major environmental groups filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration. They claim that the Trump administration secretly convened a group made up of climate skeptics who prepared a document which was used to reverse the U.S. regulations on greenhouse gas emission without prior public notification. The Environmental Defense Fund, along with the Union of Concerned Scientists, filed the lawsuit at a federal district in Massachusetts. They argued that the so-called Climate Working Group, which Energy Secretary Chris Wright assembled, avoided public view, produced erroneous findings, and was illegally used by the Environmental Protection Agency to inform its...

According to a new study, wildfires in Los Angeles that ravaged parts of the area in January led to hundreds more deaths than the official 31. According to the research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), 440 "excess" deaths were caused by the fires between January 5 and February 1. The models used to compare predicted mortality under normal conditions to the actual numbers recorded during that time period. The study found that the additional deaths are likely due to a combination of factors. These include increased exposure for people with heart or lung diseases to...

His office announced on Wednesday that the Dominican Republic’s Foreign Minister Roberto Alvarez, along with top Mexican officials, have proposed a bi-lateral roundtable to discuss the environmental impact of sargassum on both countries' Caribbean coasts. Why it's important As mountains of pungent decomposing sargassum pile up on Caribbean coastlines, hotel workers struggle to keep the beaches clean. This releases irritant gasses, which smother marine ecosystems, and lowers occupancy rates in seaside resorts. CONTEXT Atlantic sargassum, a type algae, has increased dramatically over the last decade. This is due to nutrient pollution, which was exacerbated by the deforestation of the oceans...

Chemours DuPont Corteva has agreed to pay $875 Million over 25 Years to the State of New Jersey in order to settle environmental claims, including pollution related to PFAS or "forever Chemicals", the companies announced on Monday. In 2023, over $11 billion was settled in lawsuits that accused major chemical companies for polluting U.S. water supplies with toxic PFAS chemicals. Experts predict new federal regulations as well as a growing public awareness about the extent of contamination will lead to more litigation and settlements. PFAS is a chemical class that's used in many products, including non-stick cookware. These substances are...

The Italian Competition Authority (AGCM), imposed on Monday a fine of 1 million euros ($1.16million) on fast fashion online retailer Shein, founded in China for misleading its customers about the environmental impact on their products. Shein has now been hit with a second financial sanction from a European Competition Authority in less than a week. On July 3, France fined Shein 40 million Euros for false discounts and misleading claims about the environment. AGCM, the Italian regulatory agency, launched an investigation into "greenwashing", which led to Infinite Styles Services Co. Limited of Dublin, operating Shein's European website. Shein didn't immediately...

Lawyers and trade groups say that the Trump administration's plan to undo U.S. Climate Regulation is a way for them to save money, but this could backfire and force automakers, utilities and manufacturers to face a future filled with regulatory uncertainty and litigation risks. The Republican administration of President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that it would rescind a long-held finding that greenhouse gases endanger the health of humans, thus removing the legal basis for U.S. regulations on greenhouse gas emissions. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin stated that the move would save companies up to $52 billion on environmental compliance...

Amazon.com asked a federal court to dismiss a class-action lawsuit over the sale of rice allegedly contaminated with arsenic, and other "heavy" metals. The company denied that it had fraudulently concealed the contamination. Amazon filed a late Friday filing in Seattle Federal Court, stating that the presence of heavy-metals in rice is a "decades old, well-known problem" which was easy to detect. The plaintiffs didn't claim there were any more metals present than the regulators permitted. Amazon said that Section 230 (of the federal Communications Decency Act) shields online platforms like Amazon from any liability for content provided by third...

According to a study conducted by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air in Helsinki, China's carbon emissions fell 1% from the same time period last year to the first half 2025. This was due to the growing use of renewable energies to generate electricity. According to a study conducted by CREA's Lauri Myllyvirta, lead analyst for UK-based Carbon Brief, emissions from the China power sector fell by 3% over the past six months. Myllyvirta attributes the drop to the more renewable electricity generated by China's rapidly expanding fleet of solar power stations, which will see yet another...

Zambia denied that an acid spill six months ago in its copper mining region still poses a serious risk to health, just a day after U.S. Embassy restricted travel for U.S. government officials due to widespread contamination. In February, a tailings pond at a Chinese copper processing plant failed, releasing 50,000 cubic meters of acidic slurry in nearby rivers. The government of the Southern African country has said that there is no need to be alarmed and has taken steps to reduce acidity in affected areas by using lime. At a recent press conference, Cornelius Mweetwa, a government spokesperson, said...

Authorities said that heavy rains intensified in Beijing and other provinces of northern China, increasing the risk of disasters such as landslides, flooding and mudslides. They also relocated over 4,000 people. CCTV reported that flash floods, landslides and massive rains continued to hit the northwest suburb of Miyun, Beijing, causing flash flooding and other problems. Many villages were also affected. In recent years, the north of China has experienced record rainfall, which puts densely-populated cities like Beijing at risk of flooding. Scientists attribute the increase in rainfall in China's normally arid north region to global warming. These storms are part...

Authorities have warned that further rain could bring disasters such as landslides, flooding and landslides. CCTV, the state broadcaster, reported that two people were missing and two others dead in Hebei Province on Sunday morning. Fuping, a city in Baoding's industrial district, received 145 mm (5.8 inches) of rain per hour overnight. China's Water Resources Ministry issued flood warnings for 11 provinces, including Beijing and the neighbouring Hebei region, due to small and midsize river flooding and mountain torrents. CCTV reported that floods and landslides have affected many villages within the Miyun district in the capital. The rural town of...

Australia and China need to work together more closely on green steel, said Anthony Albanese, the Prime Minister of Australia, in Shanghai, on Monday. He also called for China, the world's biggest steelmaker, to reduce its excess production capacity. China depends on Australia for two-thirds or its iron ore consumption by its massive steel industry. This trade will bring Canberra A$105 Billion ($68.90 Billion) in this financial year according to the most recent government estimates. Decarbonisation, which requires higher-grade iron ore from countries such as Guinea and Brazil, puts this trade at risk for Australia. Green steel is metal that's...

A top climate official said in comments published by the Financial Times on Monday that the European Union will not sign a joint climate pledge with China during a summit to celebrate a half-century diplomatic relationship. EU climate targets are some of the most ambitious in the world, but have always been based on domestic emission reductions. The bloc has a deadline of mid-September to submit to the UN a new climate target for 2035. Officials from the EU said that Brussels refused Beijing's repeated demands for a climate agreement after the summit between the second and third largest economies...

A top climate official said in comments published by the Financial Times on Monday that the European Union will not sign a joint climate pledge with China during a summit to celebrate a half-century diplomatic relationship. EU climate targets are some of the most ambitious in the world, but have always been based on domestic emission reductions. It faces a deadline of mid-September to submit to the United Nations a new climate target for 2035. Officials from the EU said that Brussels refused Beijing's repeated demands for a climate agreement after the summit between the second and third largest economies...

The first ever summit of its kind began in Seville on Monday in scorching temperatures, with the world leaders increasingly under pressure to reduce poverty and limit Climate change Other key development goals are increasingly in danger. U.N. Chief Antonio Guterres stated that the event was intended to "repair and rev up" an international system in which "trust is fraying, and multilateralism has been strained." This was a jab at the most notable absence from the conference - U.S. president Donald Trump. The world's biggest economy and its traditional largest aid donor, refused to take part in the conference after...

On Monday, a once-in-10-year summit began in Seville as world leaders are under increasing pressure to speed up progress on poverty reduction. Climate change The Sustainable Development Goals are at greater risk of failing. The U.N. Chief, Antonio Guterres said that the event was intended to "repair and rev up" an existing system of cooperation in which "trust is fraying, and multilateralism has been strained." The U.S. president Donald Trump was notably absent from the summit, which had been attended by more than 50 leaders of the world. This is because the leader of the largest economy in the world...

Stellantis, a French company, and Renault, a Chinese automaker, are pushing for fewer safety features in small cars, which would make them more affordable. In the past two months, Stellantis chairman John Elkann has engaged in a public campaign that is rare to try and get the European Union's attention on the issue. It is a goal to revive the small car segment that was abandoned by Europe's automobile manufacturers because they were unprofitable. They blame this on regulations which make vehicles heavier, larger and more expensive. Elkann said last week that Europe needed its own version, which could be...

Researchers in Japan developed a plastic which dissolves in the seawater in just a few hours. This could be a solution to a problem that is destroying oceans today and harming animals. Researchers from the RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science at the University of Tokyo claim that their new material breaks up much faster and leaves no residue trace. The team showed that a piece of plastic vanished from a container of salted water after stirring it for an hour. The team's research, according to project leader Takuzo Aida, has drawn a lot of interest from the packaging industry....

The Nikkei reported Friday that China and Japan had agreed on procedures for resuming imports of Japanese fisheries products. This could be a sign that a trade embargo is ending, according to a source in Japan's ruling political party. The agreement was reached at a bilateral meeting between officials on Wednesday in Beijing. Both governments are working to reduce tensions resulting from the release of treated wastewater by Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in 2023. The report stated that under the agreed-upon measures, Japan would register its fishery processing plants with Chinese authorities and export shipments would include certificates of...