Water & Oceans

"An EPA memo that could alter the fate of the Pebble mine caught many of its foes off guard last month. But not investors."

"Extreme climate events such as heatwaves, floods and drought damaged 45% of the marine ecosystems along Australia’s coast in a seven-year period, CSIRO research shows."

"Tidewater glaciers are being ‘eaten away on both ends’ as global warming worsens, suggesting faster sea level rise and ice melt that can alter ocean ecosystems." "Beneath the ocean's surface, glaciers may be melting 10 to 100 times faster than previously believed, new research shows."

"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."