Water & Oceans

"Severe droughts parched western North America hundreds of years ago. They may return, thanks to climate change."

"It technically began last fall when Hurricane Florence swelled the Ohio River, but really it was all the unnamed storms that came after it — one after another after another, bringing rain on rain on rain across the central U.S. until the Mississippi River hit flood stage this winter."

"Development and climate change are top threats to wildlife habitat and biodiversity, and in the arid west, water supply is a consistent concern for all kinds of life. But ecologists see a simple, natural way for ecosystems to be more resilient: beavers."

"Secretary Mark Esper created a task force to review the military’s obligation in cleaning up contamination of cancer-linked “forever chemicals” in his first act at the helm of the Department of Defense."

"President Trump does not understand why plastic straws have become the boogeyman of some businesses and Democratic-led cities that have sought to ban their use entirely."

"A new analysis details widespread bacterial contamination at U.S. beaches, with more than half of the tested sites exceeding a federal safety threshold at least once in 2018."

"The federal agency that manages the vast wildlife refuge in the Okefenokee Swamp says a private company’s plan to mine minerals near the swamp edge could pose “substantial risks” to the environment, and some damage may be irreversible."

"Climate change caused the increase in size of wildfires occurring across California in the last 50 years, according to a new study published in this week's journal Earth's Future.

Since the early 1970s, California wildfires have increased in size by eight times, the study says, and the annual burned area has grown by nearly 500%.

"BUTTE COUNTY, Idaho — The Big Lost River earns its name. Beginning in Idaho's tallest peaks, moving through irrigation dams and diversions, the river flows into the desert here and simply ends."

"Rising ocean temperatures, a consequence of climate change, are known for bleaching and killing corals. But a study, published today in Marine Biology, reveals another overlooked culprit: excess nitrogen."