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Keeping It Green

Atmospheric CO2 Levels

(Monthly Averages)

Mar. 24, 2026: 431.9 ppm
10 years ago: 396 ppm
Pre-industrial base: 280
Safe level: 350 ppm

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT

Page Updated:
April 20, 2026

• The 2024 Clean 15 (Safe Foods)
• Get the Lead Out Toolkit
• Oil Spill History
• World Air Quality Report
• Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act

• US Emissions by Sector Chart

  
  

  Where is all that CO2 coming from? This graph breaks it down by economic sector.

• Greenest U.S. Cities
• Safe Water in Pictures
• U.S. WEA Grassroots Accelerator
• Safer Habitats

• • Japan Eases Back Tsunami Warning After Magnitude 7.7 Quake

  No Immediate Reports of Casualties, Damage

  
  

  April 19, 2026 -A magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck off the northeastern coast of Japan on Monday, prompting authorities to urge residents to stay away from coastal areas where tsunami waves of up to 3 metres (10 ft) were expected.

  Two hours after the tremor, which struck at 4:53 p.m. (0753 GMT), tsunami waves as ?high as 80 cm had been detected. A tsunami warning was later downgraded to a tsunami advisory.

  There were ?no immediate reports of casualties or major damage, Japan's top government spokesperson Minoru Kihara ?told a news conference as night fell in the capital Tokyo.

• • Burning Wood For Power Worse For Climate Than Gas Equivalent

  Research Casts Doubt On Plans By UK Government to Offer Subsidies For Carbon Capture Attached to the Power Source

  
  

  April 20, 2026 -Burning wood for power generation can be worse for the climate than burning gas, even when the resulting carbon dioxide emissions are captured and stored, new research has shown.

  The findings cast doubt on plans by several governments, including the UK, to offer subsidies or other financial support for carbon capture attached to wood-burning power.

• • Fire in Malaysia's Sabah Destroys 1,000 Homes

  Thousands Displaced

  
  

  April 19, 2026 -Thousands of people have been displaced ?after a fire destroyed around 1,000 homes in a coastal village in Malaysia's Sabah state on Borneo island on Sunday, the fire department said.

  Authorities were notified of the fire in Sandakan district at around 1.32 a.m. (1732 GMT), the district's fire ?and rescue chief Jimmy Lagung said in a statement.

  “Strong winds and the close proximity of the houses caused the fire to spread rapidly, while low tide conditions also made it difficult to obtain an open water source,” Lagung said.

• • Venice Already Seeking Floods Plan
  B Five Years After Barriers’ Launch

  Rising Sea Levels and Ecological Damage Caused By Heavy Use of Flood Defence System Force City Authorities to Consider Next Move

  
  

  April 18, 2026 -The Arsenale, the colossal shipyard that was the engine of the Venetian Republic’s domination for seven centuries, remains the nucleus of the city’s control over the water. Its northern section is made up of cavernous brick warehouses called capannoni, which in the 16th century could produce a warship a day through a rigorously ordered assembly line.

  Now, one of them houses the operations centre of the Mose, the sprawling flood defence system that protects the city.

  The name stands for modulo sperimentale elettromeccanico (experimental electromechanic module) and is a nod to the biblical character who parted the seas. For Venetians who have seen their city devastated by storm surges they call acque alte, there is something miraculous about it: the massive, luridly coloured flood barriers sunk into the seabed at three inlets between the lagoon and the Adriatic have saved Venice from potential flooding 154 times since they were inaugurated in 2020.

• • Exploring the Hidden Toll of the $10 Billion Development

  The Great Nicobar Gamble
  
  {EARTH.ORG}

  April 17, 2026 -At the southernmost tip of India, Great Nicobar Island is at the centre of an $8–10 billion mega-infrastructure project launched in 2021 under India’s “Holistic Development of Islands” program that aims to transform the island into a global transhipment and economic hub.

  Led by the Andaman and Nicobar Islands Integrated Development Corporation, the project includes an International Container Transhipment Terminal, a Greenfield International Airport, a gas and thermal power complex, and an urban township that would accommodate up to 650,000 people.

• • There's Much Fecal Bacteria in Newburyport Harbor in the Summer

  Nobody Knows Why
  
  {WBUR}

  April 16, 2026 -There's something foul afoot in these waters — and the cause is unclear.

  Repeated unsafe fecal bacteria levels have been recorded in Newburyport Harbor according to the Merrimack River Watershed Council. Newly released data from 2025 show a significant increase in summer bacteria spikes from the previous year — up to ten times higher in some cases.

  Many Massachusetts rivers, lakes and harbors see a jump in dangerous fecal bacteria over the summer. The trigger is often heavy rain that leads to sewer overflows and stormwater runoff. Warm water then encourages bacterial growth.

• • 10 Powerful Forces That Are About to
  Completely Transform the Future of Global Forests

  Experts Just Revealed the Ten Massive Global Shifts That Will Completely Transform Our Forests By 2030
  
  {ZME SCIENCE}

  April 16, 2026 -The forces shaping forests in the coming decade extend beyond any single driver. Shifts in politics, finance and technology are unfolding at once, often in ways that reinforce each other. The result is greater uncertainty for ecosystems and for those who depend on them. A new horizon scan, published in Forest Policy and Economics and led by Matilda Kabutey-Ongor, sets out to map these changes.

  The paper draws on structured consultation with researchers and practitioners and identifies ten emerging issues likely to matter between now and the early 2030s. They include the retreat of traditional aid, the spread of artificial intelligence, and a renewed push for mineral extraction. What stands out is how quickly these developments are unfolding. Institutions are not keeping up.

• • The Gross Reason You Need To Change
  Your Old Water Filter Cartridge Right Now

  Neglected Home Water Filters Can Breed Bacteria, Worsening the Very Tap Water They Promise to Purify
  
  {ZME SCIENCE}

  April 16, 2026 -If you live in a developed country, the kitchen tap delivers something of a public health miracle. You turn a handle, and clean, treated water flows on demand. We largely conquered the waterborne diseases that ravaged our ancestors, building vast municipal systems that chlorinate and disinfect our supply.

  Yet, millions of us still look at tap water with deep suspicion. We buy plastic jugs with carbon cartridges and install elaborate contraptions under our sinks.

  But experts now warn of a bitter paradox. If you buy a water filter and forget to change it, you cultivate the exact hazard you sought to avoid.

• • Senate Votes to Allow Mining Near Minnesota Wilderness

  The Move Was a Victory For a Chilean Company That Wants to Build A Copper and Nickel Mine, Which Environmentalists Say Could Devastate Fragile Lakes and Forests

  
  

  April 16, 2026 -The Senate voted on Thursday to allow mining upstream from Minnesota’s Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, one of the largest and most visited expanses of federally protected lakes and forests in the United States.

  By a vote of 50 to 49, senators passed a resolution that would repeal a moratorium on new mining across more than 225,000 acres of the Superior National Forest, which includes the Boundary Waters. The House already passed the Republican-led measure, which now heads to President Trump, who is expected to sign it into law.

• • Carbon Removal Industry Reels as Microsoft Retreats

  Once Held Up as a Key Solution to Climate Change, a Field That Aims to Remove Carbon From the Atmosphere Struggles to Catch On.

  
  

  April 16, 2026, -Over the last several years, Microsoft almost single-handedly established the market for carbon dioxide removal technologies, a nascent field that aims to scrub the planet-warming gas from the atmosphere to counter climate change.

  But now, Microsoft is stepping back from the industry it helped create, telling some companies that it is pausing future purchases of carbon removal credits, according to two people familiar with the matter who asked to remain anonymous because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

• • A ‘Super Typhoon’ Just Devastated the Mariana Islands

  Months Before Peak Storm Season

  
  

  April 16, 2026 -The strongest storm of 2026 slammed into the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands this week, where it flooded homes, ripped roofs off of houses, and lingered for more than two days, forcing families to shelter without electricity, cell service, or running water as they waited for the worst to pass.

  Super Typhoon Sinlaku formed southeast of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, or CNMI, and Guam, two U.S. territories that make up the Mariana Islands archipelago in the western Pacific, and rapidly grew to a Category 5, 185-mph monstrosity.

• • At Least 16 Reported Dead From Heavy Rains in Hispaniola

  More Than 30,000 People Were Forced to Evacuate Their Homes, and That the Rains Were Expected to Strengthen Again This Weekend

  
  

  April 16, 2026 - Days of torrential rainfall over northwest Haiti and neighboring Dominican Republic have killed ?some 16 people, according to civil protection and local media reports on Wednesday.

  At least 12 people were killed in northern Haiti as floods ?hit communities in Port-de-Paix, Saint-Louis du ?Nord and Anse-a-Foleur, local newspaper Le Nouvelliste ?reported.

• • Maine Passes First-in-Nation Freeze On Big Data Centers

  Maine Has Passed the First State Data Center Freeze
  
  {energy central}

  April 15, 2026 -The ban, covering facilities >20MW, would last for 1.5 years while officials craft new policies to address the state’s data center buildout. It’s on its way to the desk of Gov. Janet Mills, who has voiced support. Another recent move to temper the data center boom: The NAACP sued xAI this week, alleging its gas turbines powering Memphis-area data centers ran for months without air permits.

  Following years of talks, Georgia Power won unanimous GPSC approval for a new program enabling data centers to procure their own solar and battery projects (aka BYONCE). But it’s unclear how this affects the utility’s planned 10 GW buildout (60% gas), one of the biggest new fossil fuel rollouts nationwide—and whether ratepayers will be left paying off these investments.

• • Engineers Are Replacing Steel Rebar With Wavy 3D-
  Printed Plastic Plates to Stop Buildings from Rusting

  Scientists Want To Replace The Steel Rebar In Concrete With Corn-Based Plastic
  
  {ZME SCIENCE}

  April 15, 2026 -The steel skeletons in our reinforced concrete buildings share a fatal flaw: corrosion. As water seeps in through microcracks in the concrete, the hidden metal swells, gradually eating bridges and skyscrapers from the inside.

  Researchers have explored polymer-based alternatives to steel reinforcement, but conventional rod-like shapes have generally bonded poorly with concrete. When molded into long, round cylinders, plastic easily slips out of the concrete under heavy pressure.

• • Mongolia’s Fight to Save the Steppe

  The Silent Demise
  
  {EARTH.ORG}

  April 15, 2026 -As the world celebrates the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists, Mongolia finds itself at a crossroads. Facing a “silent demise” where 80% of its iconic steppe is degraded, the nation must now prepare to host COP17 and decide: is the solution fewer livestock, or a radical new approach to a climate-stressed landscape?

  Mongolia’s rangelands are an iconic and important part of the country’s history, biodiversity and culture. They also represent some of the most important rangeland habitats in the world. Occupying 70% of Mongolia’s landmass, rangelands have always been publicly owned, and directly support the country’s critical livestock pastoralism economy which provides food, income and wealth to half of the population.

• • The Reality of the Green Jobs Boom On England’s East Coast

  Surrounded By Windfarms But Out of Work

  
  

  April 14, 2026 -On paper, Jake Snell, 19, sounds like the perfect candidate for a role in the UK’s burgeoning green energy sector. He has high grades in maths and physics A-level, a distinction in BTec engineering and another distinction in an extended engineering diploma. He has also done work experience at an engineering company.

  He is from Lowestoft, a coastal town in Suffolk, outside Great Yarmouth. Both towns contain areas that fall within the most deprived 20% in England and are part of a wider pattern of coastal places with low employment opportunities.

• • Severe Storms and Tornadoes Damage
  Communities From Plains to Midwest

  Authorities in Kansas Reported Several People With Minor Injuries After Storms Passed Through on Monday
  
  {NBC NEWS}

  April 9, 2026 -A day after severe storms damaged communities in the Plains and the Midwest, forecasters warned that storms could bring giant hail, tornadoes and severe wind gusts to the regions again on Tuesday afternoon and evening.

  Authorities in Kansas reported several people with minor injuries after storms passed through on Monday. Three people were left with minor injuries in rural Franklin County, about 50 miles southwest of Kansas City, according to the sheriff’s office. In the town of Ottawa, officials said there was structural damage, but no deaths or injuries.

• • Record-Breaking Wildfires Devastate US Cattle Country

  Nothing But Tree Skeletons’

  
  

  April 13, 2026 -In a normal year, the vast grasslands that roll across the American Great Plains would be starting to green. But at the center of the US, where most of the nation’s beef producers graze their herds, this spring brought fire instead of moisture, leaving more than a million acres black and barren.

  Multiple blazes raged across Nebraska, where the records for the annual acreage burned were obliterated in a single month. The state logged the largest blaze ever recorded when the Morrill fire cascaded across more than 642,000 acres (260,000 hectares) before it was contained in March.

• • ‘Extremely Dangerous’ Super Typhoon
  Barrels Toward Northern Mariana Islands

  The Storm Was Expected to Make Landfall On Tuesday Evening

  
  

  April 14, 2026 -Tens of thousands of people in the Northern Mariana Islands were asked to shelter in place on Tuesday, as forecasters warned that a powerful storm barreling toward the region could cause “devastating damage.”

  The “extremely dangerous” super typhoon Sinlaku was expected to make landfall as a Category 4 storm over Tinian and Saipan, on Tuesday evening, bringing widespread rain and wind speeds of up to 175 miles per hour, the National Weather Service said. At about 1 p.m. local time, it was about 50 miles southeast of Saipan.

• • Europe Is Desperate for More Energy

  Can Norway Come to the Rescue?

  
  

  April 14, 2026 -When Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, Europe faced a cold winter and a sudden energy crisis, and it turned to Norway as it desperately tried to shift away from its dependency on cheap Russian energy.

  Now, the war in Iran has threatened global oil supplies and sent prices soaring. Whether or not the war is resolved quickly, those effects could be lasting.

• • Trump Administration’s Rush to Roll Back
  Environmental Rules Hits a MAHA Wall

  In an Exception to His Blitz On Other Regulations, EPA Chief Lee Zeldin is Delaying Approval For Forever Chemicals Over Fears of Angering Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Movement.

  
  

  April 13, 2026 -The Environmental Protection Agency is sitting on dozens of approvals for uses of “forever chemicals” at the direction of Administrator Lee Zeldin, over fears that it could anger Make America Healthy Again activists, according to two people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak with the media.

  The MAHA movement, championed by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has pushed to limit chemicals in the U.S. food supply. Trump administration officials have had ongoing conversations with MAHA supporters, who are allied with the Republican Party but have also taken aim at some of the administration’s policies.

• • Can This Chaotic Brooklyn Plaza Be Car-Free?

  Mamdani Says Yes

  
  

  April 13, 2026 -Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced on Monday a plan to eliminate a treacherous stretch of road surrounding Grand Army Plaza in Brooklyn, part of a long-sought redesign of one of the borough’s most iconic, and hazardous, landmarks.

  The plan would effectively reconnect the oval-shaped plaza’s most prominent feature, the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Memorial Arch, with Prospect Park, Brooklyn’s emerald jewel, restoring the 80-foot-tall arch as a grand entrance to the park, as its designers intended..

• • The Most Polluting LNG Project in the US is Being Built in Louisiana

  Louisiana LNG is Expected to Generate More Greenhouse Gases Than Any Other Natural Gas Terminal in the Country.

  
  

  April 13, 2026 -When Louisiana launched the country’s liquefied natural gas export boom in 2016, LNG was touted as a cleaner, climate-friendly alternative to coal and oil.

  But the state’s first LNG terminal, Sabine Pass LNG, quickly became one of Louisiana’s largest sources of climate-warming pollution, releasing more greenhouse gases than the state’s biggest oil refineries.

• • Dominican Republic Rains Force 30,000 to Evacuate

  3 Reported Dead

  
  

  April 13, 2026 -"The government's priority at this time is to save ?lives, protect property and preserve infrastructure," President Luis Abinader's office said in a statement on Monday, urging people to stay away from vulnerable areas.

  Abinader declared ?a national emergency in five provinces as well as in ?the capital.

  A day earlier, the country's Emergency Operations Center (COE) Director Juan Manuel Mendez told ?a press conference 30,500 people had been evacuated, 14 communities were left isolated, 6,100 homes were flooded and highways and bridges were damaged.

• • Scenic Chesapeake Bay County Finds Itself
  in the Middle of a Data Center Fight

  Residents in Maryland Are Pleading With Leaders to Hold Off, Joining Others Around the Country Worried About the Harm the Projects May Bring

  
  

  April 13, 2026 -The local commissioners were 90 minutes into their meeting when they turned to the matter that had drawn dozens of residents and nearly a thousand more watching online: a vote that could delay the arrival of two massive data centers in Southern Maryland, including one on land intended for a public park.

  Commissioner Mike Hart urged his Calvert County colleagues to not be seduced by the promise that the data centers would deliver tens of millions of dollars in fresh tax revenue, a pot large enough to pay for a wish list of items such as turf playing fields, a new sheriff’s headquarters and a property tax cut.

• • Why a Powerful Storm in the Western
  Pacific May Be a Concerning Sign

  Sinlaku is the Last of a Rare Set of Triplet Cyclones That Formed This Month

  
  

  April 13, 2026 -Super Typhoon Sinlaku — currently 190 miles east of Guam in the western tropical Pacific — is an atmospheric buzz saw. The Category 5-equivalent beast, which as of Monday morning Eastern time had maximum sustained winds of 170 mph in its core, is the strongest storm on the planet since Hurricane Melissa hit Jamaica in October.

  The U.S. National Weather Service issued a typhoon warning for Rota, Tinian and Saipan — part of the Northern Mariana Islands, a U.S. commonwealth in the Western Pacific home to about 50,000 people. Sinlaku is expected to track near or directly over Tinian or Saipan on Tuesday, with considerable but slightly lesser impacts on Rota and Guam to the southwest. The Joint Typhoon Warning Center anticipates that Sinlaku will still be a Category 4 storm, with winds pushing 150 mph.

• • What Happens When a Processed Food
  Backlash Meets Rising Food Prices?

  Nutrtrition or Malnutritian’

  
  

  April 13, 2026 -Walk down the aisles of pretty much any grocery store right now and you may notice something new: a new seal, specifically “Non-UPF Verified.” Welcome to the ultra-processed food (UPF) backlash.

  Fueled by recent studies trying to pinpoint how UPFs may be affecting health; an aggressive push from federal “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA) initiatives; and a wave of municipal lawsuits comparing food manufacturers to Big Tobacco, many Americans are scrutinizing their pantries and looking for less-processed options. But two factors that may complicate the “war on UPFs” are the lack of a clear-cut definition of UPFs and rising food prices.

• • Seattle Officials Seek Permit to Fix Gas Works Park ‘Hazard’

  The Danger Has Existed For Too Long

  
  

  April 13, 2026 -Six months into a stalemate over history and safety at Seattle’s Gas Works Park, an unexpected intervention appears to have tipped the scales in favor of altering one of the city’s most iconic landmarks.

  The Department of Construction and Inspections issued a hazard correction order March 30 to the parks and recreation department, demanding the agency remove unsafe ladders, piping and catwalks by May 15 from Gas Works’ famous Cracking Towers.

• • More Gray Whales Are Visiting
  San Francisco Bay, and Many Die There

  They Face Huge Risks From Ships in the Area

  
  

  April 13, 2026 -Nearly one-fifth of the gray whales that swam into the San Francisco Bay in recent years died there, mostly after colliding with ships, according to new research published on Monday.

  The study estimated that 18 percent of the whales that entered the Bay from 2018 to 2025 did not survive. And among those that died, at least 40 percent had sustained lethal injuries from ship strikes.

  In reality, the number of deaths is quite likely higher, the study’s authors and other experts said.

• • How Lee Zeldin Shifted the Mission
  — and the Message — of the E.P.A.

  In the Copper-Rich Mountains of Southeastern Ecuador, Shuar People Are Combining Ancestral Knowledge and Modern Science to Protect Their Forest From a Canadian Mining Giant

  
  

  April 12, 2026 -Lee Zeldin does not speak like any other Environmental Protection Agency administrator in recent history.

  The job of the E.P.A. chief is to protect human health by safeguarding “the air we breathe, the water we drink and land that grows our food,” as the agency’s founding charter puts it, and most administrators have talked about their work in those terms.

  Mr. Zeldin, though, speaks more about supporting industry and exporting fossil fuels than about protecting the environment.

• • Northbound Interstate 5 Near Bellingham to Reopen April 16

  Crews Have Been Clearing Debris and Are Beginning the Final Stages of Stabilizing the Slope

  
  

  April 13, 2026 -A 4-mile stretch of northbound Interstate 5 at North Lake Samish Drive outside Bellingham will reopen Thursday, nearly a month after a landslide slumped over the roadway, the Washington State Department of Transportation said Friday.

  Drivers heading north on I-5 have been advised to take detours on Highway 11, also known as Chuckanut Drive, or Highway 9 since March 19, when thousands of cubic yards of debris roughly the size of an Olympic swimming pool slid off a slope above the interstate, including at least one rock larger than a bus.

• • War Sends Oil and Gas Importers Searching For New Energy Supplies

  Asian and European Energy Buyers Are Looking For More Stable Channels to Keep Their Economies Running
  
  {ENERGYWIRE}

  April 10, 2026 -The war in Iran has sent nations scrambling to plug their energy supply gaps — and that may not ultimately benefit the United States.

  The fragile cease fire negotiated this week has so far failed to reopen the critical Strait of Hormuz, extending the energy crisis for many nations that are now considering a range of options to shrink their reliance on foreign deliveries that can be easily disrupted. That’s led some European and Asian countries to lean more on coal and renewables — and to reconsider retirements of aging nuclear plants.

• • Why Bombing Iran’s Nuclear Power Plant
  Could Cause an Environmental Disaster

  Strikes to Iran’s Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant Could Release Long-Lasting Radioactive Cesium 137 into the Persian Gulf

  
  

  April 10, 2026, -Just steps from the Persian Gulf in the Iranian coastal town of Bushehr sits the nation’s only nuclear power plant. Though a fragile ceasefire enacted on April 7 paused the bombing of Iran, the plant was rocked by nearby missile strikes four times during the conflict, with one strike killing a security guard and damaging an outbuilding.

  Given the possibility that the war could restart, experts are concerned. Damage to the Bushehr nuclear power plant could release long-lasting radioactive cesium 137 from spent fuel holding ponds into the Persian Gulf, threatening fisheries and drinking-water supplies for millions of people.

• • Why Investing in Wind and Solar to
  Avoid Gas Shocks Hasn’t Added Up for Some

  Renewable Energy is Cheaper to Run Than Fossil Fuels, Especially With War Choking Oil Supply. But...

  
  

  April 10, 2026 -The war in Iran has sent fuel prices soaring in Europe, which is now confronting its second energy crisis in less than five years. But even as some countries have installed record levels of wind and solar power as a way of insulating themselves against energy shocks, the results have been uneven.

  Germany, for example, has created more wind and solar capacity than Spain, but that has not stopped Germany’s wholesale electricity prices from jumping sharply at times, while Spain’s have been relatively stable.

  So what explains these differences?

• • Entergy Pushes Texas Gas Expansion Despite Net-Zero Goal

  The Company Said New Natural Gas Generation Will Aid Electric Reliability and Leave the Option of Carbon Capture in the Future
  
  {ENERGYWIRE}

  April 10, 2026 -Entergy executives broke ground on a natural-gas-fueled power plant here Thursday, raising questions about the company's plans to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

  Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) and two members of the state Public Utility Commission joined the groundbreaking ceremony. Entergy< CEO Drew Marsh said the new power plant will bolster electric reliability for customers in Southeast Texas.

• • Army Corps Uproots $1.15B Great Lakes Project

  The Unusual Decision Affecting a Massive Engineering Effort to Keep Invasive Fish Out of the Lakes has Inflamed Tensions With Illinois Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker
  
  {GREENWIRE}

  April 10, 2026 -The Trump administration is relocating a billion-dollar construction project to protect the Great Lakes — taking it out of Illinois and into Michigan — in an unusual move that inflamed the administration’s feud with Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker.

  The Army Corps of Engineers said Thursday that it will resume construction on the Brandon Road Interbasin Project, a massive engineering effort aimed at deterring fast-breeding, ecologically destructive invasive Asian carp from entering the Great Lakes.

• • Trump Worker Heat Program Removes Inspection Goals

  The program Was Designed to Increase Inspections at Worksites With a High Risk for Extreme Heat But...
  
  {E&E NEWS}

  April 10, 2026 -The Trump administration has removed specific goals for increasing workplace inspections from a Department of Labor program aimed to keep workers safe from extreme heat.

  The Occupational Safety and Health Administration< on Friday issued a revised National Emphasis Program for heat. The program was launched by the Biden administration in 2022 specifically to increase on-site inspections of industries where workers are at “high risk” for heat exposure. The 2022 document set a goal of each OSHA regional office increasing on-site inspections 100 percent over the baseline from 2017 to 2022.

  The revised program, released Friday, eliminates that language and does not set alternative metrics.

• • Hungarian Company Turns Unrecyclable
  Waste Into Durable Building Material

  Makropa Turns Difficult Waste Streams Into Lightweight Concrete
  
  {HEALTHY HAPPY NEWS}

  April 10, 2026 -This innovative process traps thousands of tons of trash within every kilometer of road built using the material.

  By blending shredded plastics, sawdust, and even cigarette butts with a special binding agent, the firm creates a durable alternative to traditional building materials.

  This approach ensures that items destined for landfills are instead repurposed into long-lasting infrastructure.

• • How the Wildlife Trade Fuels Disease Outbreaks Across the Globe

  “It’s That Intensity That Really Lets Pathogens Make the Jump Very Quickly”

  
  

  April 16, 2026 -The global wildlife trade — a massive industry encompassing exotic pets, trophy hunting, materials used in fashion and more — is amplifying the transmission of pathogens between animals and humans, according to findings published Thursday.

  To reduce the risk of deadly outbreaks and pandemics, the authors of the detailed study in the journal Science call for better surveillance and oversight of these sprawling animal-to-human links.

• • Dozens of Chemicals Found in Pregnant
  U.S. Women, With Levels Spiking in Summertime

  Researchers Measured Chemical Exposure Levels in Pregnant African American women in Atlanta, Georgia, and Found Contamination Across All 12 Groups of Chemicals Analyzed
  
  {ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH NEWS}

  April 9, 2026 -Of the 113 individual chemicals analyzed, 36 of them (30%) were found in more than 70% of the women tested.

  Some chemicals were found in 93% or more of the women, including metabolites of nine phthalates, three parabens, two benzophenones, two pesticides/insecticides, one flame retardant, one antibacterial (triclosan), naphthalene, and bisphenol S (a common BPA replacement).

• • Baby Formula, Paint, Breast Implants: Report Highlights
  ‘Overlooked’, ‘Emerging’ Sources of Microplastic Exposure

  The Report, Which Draws On Over 350 Peer-Reviewed Studies Examining Human Exposure to Microplastics, Identifies Often Overlooked and Emerging Sources of These “Pervasive, Abundant, Invisible, Chemical-Mixture-Carrying Pollutants.”
  
  {EARTH.ORG}

  April 6, 2026 -A new major report reveals the staggering extent of daily microplastic exposure, describing an inescapable “microplastic storm” stemming from a variety of overlooked and newly identified sources.

  Microplastics – tiny plastic particles measuring less than 5 millimeters in diameter, close in size to a sesame seed, that result from the degradation of larger plastics – have been found everywhere, from bottled drinking water to mammal feces, near the summit of Mount Everest, in human blood and organs, and even the air we breathe. But the new report, released Wednesday, argues that much of it comes from less obvious or emerging sources that have so far received less attention.

• • A Single Dose of Magic Mushrooms Helped Smokers
  Quit at 4 Times the Rate of Nicotine Patches

  A Single Guided Dose of Psilocybin Vastly Outperforms Standard Nicotine Patches In Quitting Smoking
  
  {ZME SCIENCE}

  April 8, 2026 -Medicine has typically treated cigarette addiction as a chemical problem requiring a chemical substitute. This usually means swapping tobacco for patches, gums, and lozenges. Yet the results have remained stubbornly dismal, leaving millions trapped in a cycle of relapse.

  Now, researchers have demonstrated that a single, deeply guided experience with the psychedelic compound found in “magic mushrooms” could offer a new way to treat tobacco addiction. Rather than merely mimicking nicotine in the bloodstream, this experimental therapy yielded success rates that dwarf nicotine patch treatments. It opens a radical new frontier in addiction medicine, suggesting the cure for a physical dependency might lie in altering the mind’s sense of self.

• • This Tiny Brazilian Toad Became the First
  Amphibian Ever to Halt a Hydroelectric Dam

  Now, It Faces a Climate Disaster
  
  {ZME SCIENCE}

  April 8, 2026 -The admirable little red-bellied toad is the size of a thumb, but it has achieved giant feats: In 2014, it prevented the construction of a small hydroelectric dam that threatened to alter its only habitat forever. Endemic to a small stretch of the Forqueta River, in the municipality of Arvorezinha, Rio Grande do Sul, Melanophryniscus admirabilis is one of the rarest and most threatened species on the planet. Recently, after the floods that devastated the state in 2024, researchers returned to this refuge to assess whether the little toad that once halted the construction of a dam has survived the force of the waters.

  In October 2025, almost a year and a half after the biggest climate disaster in Rio Grande do Sul, I joined a team of researchers that would document what remained of the small habitat where just over a thousand little red-bellied toads used to live. The destination was Perau de Janeiro, a hidden fold of rocks and humid forest. Seen from above, the place, which is surrounded by tobacco plantations and pastures, looks like a common forest scene. But as we go down a steep trail, the atmosphere changes immediately. The smell of moss, the shining wet outcrop, the sound of the powerful flow of the river that ends in a waterfall: It was there that the little toad halted progress. And it was there where we wanted to find out if it still vocalized.

• • WA Declares Unprecedented Fourth Drought Emergency in a Row

  As That Meltwater Reaches the State’s Relatively Small and Few Reservoirs Early, Much of It Will Flow Out to Sea
  

  Apr. 8, 2026 -More than two months before the start of summer, Washington officials warn the state is headed for severe drought conditions not seen since the disastrous hot and dry season of 2015.

  Washington Department of Ecology Director Casey Sixkiller declared a statewide drought emergency Wednesday morning.

  This is the fourth such emergency Washington has faced, an unprecedented dry spell in state history.

• • A Peculiar Polymer Paired with Sunlight Could Remove PFAS

  A New Photocatalyst Might Help Take the “Forever” Out of “Forever Chemicals” Present in Water
  
  {EOS}

  April 7, 2026 -Because they are used in everything from cosmetics to dental floss to nonstick pans, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are frustratingly abundant in our environment, including in our food, rain, and drinking water. They’re persistent, too, earning their nickname “forever chemicals,” and have been linked to health effects ranging from cancers to liver toxicity to reduced fertility.

  A new method described in RSC Advances seeks to remove PFAS from drinking water by combining a specialized polymer and a photocatalyst with a resource that is even more abundant than PFAS: sunlight.

• • Oil Slick From Bombed Iranian Ship Threatens Protected Wetland

  Shahid Bagheri Leaking Fuel Towards Hara Mangrove Forest, Home to Migrating Birds and Endangered Turtles

  
  

  April 7, 2026 -An oil slick from a stricken Iranian ship threatens to contaminate one of the Middle East’s most important wetlands, satellite image analysis suggests, making it one of a number of spills posing a risk to the livelihoods of coastal communities in the Gulf.

  The Shahid Bagheri, a drone carrier, began leaking heavy fuel oil in Iranian territorial waters near the strait of Hormuz after it was hit by a US warplane in the first few days of the US-Israel attack on Iran.

• • Achieving Energy Sovereignty in the Developing World

  The Uruguay Way
  
  {EARTH.ORG}

  April 6, 2026 -Generating 98% of its electricity from renewable sources, Uruguay’s rapid adoption and expansion of sustainable sources of energy has been lauded internationally as a model for transitioning national power systems away from fossil fuels.

  Avoiding nuclear power entirely, Uruguay first embraced wind turbines as a source of cheap, reliable power; providing 40% of the country’s capacity in less than a decade. It then expanded its solar and biomass capacity to an almost fully decarbonized mix of energy sources, joining a very short list of high-income countries producing over 90% of their energy needs with low-carbon sources – including Iceland, Sweden, and France. Once a net importer of energy, Uruguay now exports its surplus energy to neighbouring Brazil and Argentina.

• • WA Declares Unprecedented Fourth Drought Emergency in a Row

  Residents of Imperial County, Calif., Are In Dire Need of an Economic Boost. Experts Say the Answer Lies Beneath the Salton Sea, Where A Lithium Trove Sits

  
  

  April 6, 2026 -Beneath California’s Salton Sea, there is so much metal essential to rechargeable batteries that Gov. Gavin Newsom calls the vast lake “the Saudi Arabia of lithium.”

  An estimated $500 billion worth of lithium here could help power our smartphones, electric cars and electricity grids. And a so-called white gold rush could bring jobs, tax dollars and economic revitalization to one of the most impoverished places in the nation.

• • Iran War's Shock Waves Threaten
  England's Farms 6,000 Miles Away

  Workers Are Thrown Into an Unfolding Crisis
  
  {AP News}

  April 6, 2026 -Few Places Feel Farther From the Iran War Than the Potato Fields of Eastern England, Where Pastoral Landscapes and Ancient Forests have Inspired Romantic Painters and Poets for Centuries

  But this bucolic scene is not immune from the shock waves triggered by the American-Israeli assault — and it’s a story being repeated across farms all over the world.

• • Data Centers Are Straining the Grid

  Can They Be Forced to Pay For It?

  
  

  April 6, 2026 -Last month, President Trump sat alongside executives of the largest tech companies in the country as they pledged to pay a fair share of the energy costs of their data center buildout. “Data centers … they need some PR help,” Trump said at the gathering. “People think that if the data center goes in, their electricity is going to go up.”

  It’s not an entirely unfounded assumption.

  As the tech industry has funneled billions of dollars into the AI boom over the last several years, it has simultaneously been expanding its fleet of computing powerhouses, which require vast amounts of energy to run. These facilities have been cropping up all over the country, from rural communities in eastern Pennsylvania to the cities of northern Utah.

• • China Stands to Benefit Most From the War-Driven Energy Crisis

  Sales of Chinese Electric Vehicles and Solar Panels Have Surged Since the Start of the Iran War

  
  

  April 6, 2026 - As the oil and gas crisis set off by the war in Iran drives governments to accelerate their transitions to renewable energy, one country above all stands to benefit.

  China dominates renewable energy supply chains, producing a vast majority of the world’s solar panels, wind turbines, batteries and electric vehicles. Exports of these technologies were already climbing to new heights in the first two months of 2026. Now volatility in the supply of fossil fuels is set to give sales another big boost.

• • Maine Is About to Become the First State to Ban New Data Centers

  The NRC Approved a 20-Year License Renewal For California’s Only Nuclear Plant
  
  {energy central}

  April 5, 2026 -The bill is expected to pass soon in the state Senate, and Gov. Janet Mills said she backs it. It would freeze >20-MW data center projects until November 2027, giving the state time to gauge grid and environmental impacts. Officials around the US are watching closely—at least 10 other states are considering similar policies.

  Also on the governor’s desk: Maine recently became the third state to pass plug-in solar legislation, following the trail blazed by Utah and Virginia. Like the first two’ bills, any retail electricity customer in Maine can install a plug-in PV or battery system up to 1.2 kW without an interconnection agreement or utility fees (as long as devices meet safety standards).

• • New North Sea Drilling Would Barely
  Reduce UK Gas Imports At All

  Research Finds Jackdaw Field Would Provide Only About 2% of Current Demand, and Rosebank Only 1%

  
  

  April 4, 2026 -Opening major new fields in the North Sea would make almost no difference to the UK’s reliance on gas imports, research has shown.

  The Jackdaw field, one of the largest unexploited gasfields in the North Sea, would displace only 2% of the UK’s current imports of gas, which would leave the UK still almost entirely dependent on supplies from Norway and a few other sources.

• • Stunning Images Reveal a Massive Coral Reef
  For the First Time In More Than a Century

  These Incredible Corals Form What May Be One of the World’s Largest Reef Systems—And Researchers Have a Plan to Restore It

  
  

  April 2, 2026 -A humpback whale nicknamed Timmy that has been stranded in the Baltic Sea off Germany will be left to die; all rescue efforts have been called off, according to Till Backhaus, environment minister of the German state where the whale is now stranded.

  The 12- to 15-meter-long whale became stuck on sandbanks a few times at the end of March—in one incident, it was freed with the help of an excavator that dug an escape channel, and in another, it freed itself. Currently, Timmy is beached on a small island near the port of Wismar, Germany, in the Baltic.

• • More Than 10 Million Fish Devoured In Just a Few Hours

  It’s the World’s Largest Predation Event
  
  {ZME SCIENCE}

  April 3, 2026 -Off the frigid coast of Norway, a gruesome spectacle unfolded that scientists had only imagined. In the early hours of a February morning in 2024, millions of capelin, small Arctic fish, came together to spawn. But instead of peacefully laying their eggs, they found themselves at the center of a predatory onslaught. Within hours, the swarming capelin had become a feast for their relentless pursuers — Atlantic cod.

  The dramatic encounter, reported by researchers from MIT in the USA and Norway, marks the largest recorded instance of marine predation. Using advanced acoustic imaging technology, scientists watched as capelin formed a massive shoal stretching over ten kilometers. In response, cod converged to form their own enormous group, devouring more than 10 million capelin in just a few hours.

• • Forest Service Will Close Research Stations That Study Wildfire Risk

  Scientists Say Their Work On Fires and Climate Change Could Be Lost as the Agency Moves Its Headquarters to Utah From Washington and Shuts 57 Research Stations

  
  

  April 3, 2026 -The U.S. Forest Service is closing 57 of its 77 research facilities in 31 states under a reorganization plan announced this week, threatening science that looked at how wildfires, drought, pests and global warming are putting pressure on forests.

  The agency plans to consolidate its research division into a centralized office in Fort Collins, Colo., and move field researchers to locations in nearby states. But employees said they feared the move would lead many scientists to leave instead. The reorganization will also move the agency’s headquarters to Salt Lake City from Washington, affecting 260 employees.

• • EPA Flags Microplastics as ‘Priority’ Water Contaminants

  But the Move Doesn’t Guarantee Regulation

  
  

  April 3, 2026 -Citing the Trump administration’s promise to “Make America Healthy Again,” the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency placed microplastics and pharmaceuticals on a draft list of contaminants maintained by the agency.

  The Sixth Contaminant Candidate List includes known or likely contaminants in public water systems that are currently unregulated but may be subject to future regulation by the EPA.

• • Scientists Tracking the Microplastic Pollution Just
  Realized They Were Measuring Their Own Lab Gloves

  Researchers Discovered Their Own Lab Gloves Are Artificially Inflating Environmental Microplastic Counts
  
  {ZME SCIENCE}

  April 3, 2026 -We should not underestimate the prevalence of microplastics. They are everywhere—in our rivers, our lungs, and even in our blood. But researchers tracking this global pollution crisis may have inadvertently contaminated their research samples. The protective lab gloves they wear are shedding microplastic-like particles that tamper with their numbers.

  The culprit, according to a University of Michigan study, is a soap-like residue used to pop disposable gloves out of factory molds. Even a light, dry touch sheds thousands of these false-positive particles onto lab equipment. Because this residue can produce a very similar vibrational signature to common plastics under a lab laser, scientists have been accidentally counting microplastics from their own lab gear as environmental pollution.

• • Phthalate Plastic Chemicals Linked to
  Millions of Premature Births in One Year

  In 2018 alone, 1.97 Million Preterm Births – More Than 8% of Preterm Births Worldwide – Could Be Attributed to Di (2-ethylhexyl) Phthalate (DEHP) Exposure
  
  {EHN}

  April 3, 2026 -Phthalates are common ingredients in plastic packaging, personal care products, and cleaning products, but are known to be carcinogenic, neurotoxic, toxic to reproduction, and more.

  Because of this widespread use, individuals are often exposed to multiple types of phthalates simultaneously, as well as newer phthalate substitute chemicals like DiNP, many of which have not been tested for health risks. The authors of this study emphasize the need for a broader and stricter approach to regulating phthalates, which has been shown to meaningfully reduce exposure.

• • The Bizarre Election That Could Decide Arizona’s Energy Future

  One Acre, One Vote

  
  

  April 3, 2026 -In a country characterized by antiquated systems for regulating how electricity is produced and transported to homes and businesses, one utility in Arizona may be the most outdated. In 1903, almost a decade before Arizona became a state, a group of landowners around Phoenix secured a federal loan for a dam on the Salt River. The dam collected water to irrigate farms and produce hydroelectric power to run irrigation pumps. The landowners created the Salt River Project Association to govern the operation of the dam, and gave each landowner a vote for every acre of land they owned.

  The Salt River Project, or SRP, now serves one of the nation’s largest metro areas, not just a swath of farmland. With several hydropower dams and a fleet of power plants,

• • What Drought Conditions in Mass. Mean For Spring Gardening

  Spring Planting Season has Arrived — Right in the Middle of a Statewide Drought
  
  {wbur}

  April 3, 2026 -Despite the recent rain and historic snowstorms this winter, all of Massachusetts (save for Martha’s Vineyard) is experiencing drought conditions right now. According to the most recent state data, northeastern and central Massachusetts are in a “Level 3” critical drought, leading to outdoor water use restrictions in communities as big as Worcester.

  This state of dryness is nothing new, according to Vandana Rao, director of water policy for the state’s Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs. Rao says most of the state has been contending with some level of drought since 2024.

• • The Long-Term Impact of Hawaii’s Floods

  Spring Break in Hawaii Took a Dangerous Turn When Consecutive Kona Low Storms Struck the State
  
  {EARTH.ORG}

  April 3, 2026 -Over 400 homes destroyed with total damages exceeding $1 billion, thousands of people evacuated, and hundreds rescued from rising floodwaters. These numbers represent the tragic aftermath of the recent flooding in the US state of Hawaii.

  What was intended to be a relaxing spring break for students, families, and tourists turned into one of the worst flooding events in the state’s history. According to Governor Josh Green, the consecutive Kona low storms – the name subtropical weather systems take in Hawaii – resulted in destruction not seen in 20 years.

• • Clean Air and Safe Water at Risk Under Trump FY27 Budget Proposal

  “This EPA Budget Proposal Leaves Families Sicker, Not Safer”
  
  {Environmental Protection Network}

  April 3, 2026 -The Environmental Protection Network issued the following statement today in response to the President’s proposed FY27 budget for the Environmental Protection Agency. The President has proposed cutting EPA’s budget by half – similar to the proposal he made last year that was soundly rejected by Congress on a bipartisan basis. The renewed attempt is a part of the Trump administration’s broader efforts to put their political agenda ahead of protecting Americans’ air, water, food, and health.

  “This is part of the Trump administration’s dangerous and far-reaching plan to let polluters decide which toxic chemicals to dump in our drinking water, which harmful pollution to pump into the air we breathe, and which pesticides are put on the food we eat.”

• • Save ‘Every Drop of Fuel’, South Korea Urges as Iran Crisis Hits

  He Warned That the Middle East Crisis Has Triggered One of the Most Severe Energy Security Threats In Decades
  
  {THE STRAITES TIMES}

  April 3, 2026 - South Korean President Lee Jae Myung urged citizens to “save every drop of fuel”, ramping up an official call for energy conservation as the deepening Iran conflict hits the energy-importing nation hard, straining households and businesses.

  In a parliamentary address on April 2, Mr Lee sharpened earlier appeals for restraint in fuel use, signalling a heightened sense of urgency as the government moves to contain the economic fallout from surging energy prices and prolonged supply disruptions.

• • Could a Solar Storm Derail the Artemis II Mission?

  The Mission Is Not Without Risk
  
  {ZME SCIENCE}

  April 2, 2026 -As humans set off on the Artemis II mission, visiting the Moon for the first time in more than 50 years, one persistent threat they face is from solar radiation.

  Intense bursts of radiation from the Sun, known as solar particle events, can endanger the lives of space travellers, particularly those venturing beyond low Earth orbit (LEO). During these events, high speed, charged particles stream out from the Sun and into space.

• • Solar Was Poised to Help Puerto Ricans Survive
  Blackouts — Until Trump Axed Nearly $1B in Funding

  The Money is Being Redirected to the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority, a Government-Owned Utility With a Checkered Past

  
  

  April 2, 2026 -aría Pérez lost power for about three months after Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico in September 2017. Her home in Salinas, on the island’s southern coast, sits near a river. As the hurricane knocked out the island’s grid and sent rainwaters surging down from the mountains, Perez’s house flooded with a swirling mix of muddy water and animal feces, rising 3 feet high and warping the hallways. For the next three months, she went without power as she cleaned out the home and began the long process of rebuilding.

  Five years later, when Pérez got word that Hurricane Fiona was expected to make landfall, she was prepared. This time, she and her family boarded up the doors and windows, sealed every opening with silicone, and evacuated to her daughter’s home, which lost power as the storm hit the island.

• • Uh-oh! Could a Solar Storm Derail the Artemis II Mission?

  The Mission is Not Without Risk
  
  {ZME SCIENCE}

  April 2, 2026 -Every mission to deep space is fraught with danger. A hardware failure during launch, an equipment malfunction far from Earth, or a small space rock hitting the vehicle are all scenarios astronauts will train for.

  As humans set off on the Artemis II mission, visiting the Moon for the first time in more than 50 years, one persistent threat they face is from solar radiation.

  Intense bursts of radiation from the Sun, known as solar particle events, can endanger the lives of space travellers, particularly those venturing beyond low Earth orbit (LEO). During these events, high speed, charged particles stream out from the Sun and into space.

• • US Agencies to Monitor Drinking Water
  For Microplastics, Pharmaceuticals

  Governors, Environmental Groups Petitioned For Move

  
  

  April 2, 2026 - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Health and Human Services on Thursday announced that they will monitor the impact of microplastics and pharmaceuticals on drinking water, the first step toward assessing their health risks and shaping new policies.

  The joint announcement was hailed by EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. as a win for President Donald ?Trump's "Make America Healthy Again" agenda, whose priorities have included reducing the number of recommended childhood vaccines and promoting whole foods in new ?dietary guidelines.

• • Gas Turbine Prices Soar 195% as Market Faces Supply-Demand Crisis

  Gas Turbine Prices Are Projected to Surge 195% From 2019-2027, Reaching $600/kW
  
  {energy central}

  April 2, 2026 - That’s because rising electrification demand, particularly from data centers, has created a “significant market imbalance,” WoodMac reports. In late 2025, global orders reached 110 GW—but manufacturing capacity tops out at 60-70 GW.

  Now, supplies are sold out through 2027 with six-year lead times. Orders are expected to peak this year as gas developers lock in equipment for 63 GW of additions through 2030.

• • Big Tech's Data Center Power Playbook is Getting a Lot Gassier

  How Much Gassier Can It Get?
  
  {energy central}

  April 2, 2026 - The background: Some tech giants have made lofty sustainable commitments in recent years, including net-zero pledges at Google, Microsoft, and Meta. And as of 2024, renewables contributed about a quarter of electricity at US data centers. But their latest data center moves suggest these green ambitions may be going by the wayside.

  For one, Google appears to be leaning more heavily on natural gas. It’s joining forces with Crusoe on a 933-MW natural gas plant (with no carbon capture) to power a Texas data center campus—it could emit more carbon dioxide annually than the city of San Francisco.

• • Gas Turbine Prices Soar 195% as Market Faces Supply-Demand Crisis

  Prices Anticipated to Be US$600/kW By End-2027—a 195% Increase Since 2019
  
  {Wood Mackenzie}

  April 1, 2026 -Driven by increased electrification demand, especially around the expansion of data centers, the gas turbine market faces a significant market imbalance that will see prices surge through 2027, according to a new report from Wood Mackenzie.

  According to the report, "The US gas turbine market: navigating manufacturing scarcity and demand growth", global orders sat at 110 gigawatts (GW) at the end of 2025, but global manufacturing capacity is only capable of 60-70 GW.

  This has pushed prices to new highs, with the market anticipated to reach US$600/kW by end-2027—a 195% increase since 2019.

• • Why Cancer Rates Are Skyrocketing In Iowa

  Look to Nitrate, Pesticides, PFAS and Radon
  
  {ZME SCIENCE}

  April 1, 2026 -When Iowa resident Chris Henning was diagnosed with cancer in 2019, her youngest sister and brother-in-law had already died of cancer 13 years earlier and her father had been treated for lung cancer. Since her diagnosis, another one of her sisters died of cancer and two more women in her family have received cancer diagnoses. But testing indicated that the sisters’ breast cancers are not due to family genetics, she tells Sentient.

  After stints in Des Moines and Arizona, Henning now lives on a farm in Greene County, Iowa, just half a mile from the family farm where she grew up. Over the past 25 years or so of familial cancer diagnoses, Henning has ruminated on what her family shares besides genes. As a kid, she remembers carrying little jugs of herbicide to spray the milkweeds and glancing up as planes carrying fungicides sprayed overhead.

• • Le Pen Hammers Trump as Iran war Triggers Spiraling Energy Crisis

  The French Far-Right Chief Says “These Strikes Were Carried Out Blindly,” in a Fierce Rebuke of U.S. Preparation For Middle East Turmoil
  
  {POLITICOs}

  March 31, 2026 -The National Rally is hitting out at U.S. President Donald Trump, the French government and large oil companies for variously causing and profiting from soaring energy prices due to the war in the Middle East.

  The far-right party has pushed for lower taxes on gas and urgent market controls to shield consumers from the spiraling crisis, doubling down on its cost-of-living platform that has made it the front-runner for next year's presidential election under Marine Le Pen's leadership.

• • Where is Tornado Alley Now?

  How the Deadliest Storm Zone in the U.S. is Shifting East

  
  

  March 31, 2026 Tornadoes are some of the most destructive natural disasters seen in the United States each year, and twisters are 10 times more common in Tornado Alley.

  But for tornado expert Stephen Strader, the term Tornado Alley may be a bit outdated. “We've had devastating tornadoes outside of what people consider Tornado Alley,” the Villanova University associate professor explains. And the disastrous phenomenon is only expected to get worse.

• • Utah’s Great Salt Lake May Be
  Hiding a Massive Reservoir of Fresh Water

  Fresh-Water-Saturated Sediment or Bedrock May Extend as Deep as Three or Four Kilometers Below the Great Salt Lake’s Basin
  
  {Scientific American}

  March 31, 2026 -Utah’s Great Salt Lake may be concealing a massive reservoir of fresh water, new research suggests. The finding seems counterintuitive: the Great Salt Lake is the Western Hemisphere’s largest saltwater lake. But as its water levels have hit a historic low in recent years, scientists have noticed mysterious, reed-covered mounds, dozens of meters wide, emerging from the lake bed. And now it turns out that these islands may be a sign of fresh water bubbling up from below.

  The potential reservoir—likely fresh-water-saturated bedrock or sediment—may lie as deep as three or four kilometers, or around two miles, below the lake bed, according to the study, which was published last month in Scientific Reports.

• • The Trump Administration’s New Biofuels
  Targets Threaten Carbon-Rich Rainforests

  The U.S. Doesn’t Have Enough Bio-Based Diesel to Meet the Administration’s New Mandate, So Blenders Will Have to Import Yet More Foreign Crop-Based Oils

  
  

  March 31, 2026 -Trump stood on the Truman Balcony at the White House during the “Great American Agriculture Celebration” last week and announced what he called a “historic” boost to the nation’s farmers.

  The Environmental Protection Agency, Trump said, would require the highest-ever volume of crop-based biofuels to be blended into the nation’s gasoline supply, a move the administration promises will bring jobs and cashflow to an agriculture industry feeling the twin punches of the president’s tariffs and higher fertilizer prices linked to the war in Iran. Trump called himself a “true friend and champion” of the country’s farmers, a key political constituency that he is again actively and festively courting.

• • Where is Tornado Alley? How the Deadliest
  Storm Zone in the U.S. is Shifting East

  Scientists Say a New Epicenter Is Forming For The Deadliest Storm Zone In the U.S. Here’s Where People Are Now Most At Risk From Tornadoes

  
  

  March 31, 2026 - Tornadoes are some of the most destructive natural disasters seen in the United States each year, and twisters are 10 times more common in Tornado Alley.

  But for tornado expert Stephen Strader, the term Tornado Alley may be a bit outdated. “We've had devastating tornadoes outside of what people consider Tornado Alley,” the Villanova University associate professor explains. And the disastrous phenomenon is only expected to get worse.

• • Blasting Begins For Border Wall On Cherished New Mexico Mountain

  A Planned 1.3-Mile Wall Across Mount Cristo Rey has Drawn Opposition From Environmentalists and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Las Cruces

  
  

  March 30, 2026 -On a Saturday morning in March, high school students, mountain bikers and soldiers from a nearby Army base climbed the winding path up Mount Cristo Rey.

  From the summit, they could see most of El Paso, the sprawling city that dominates a stretch of desert where New Mexico, Texas and the Mexican state of Chihuahua meet.

• • Can Dying Coral Be Nursed Back to Life By Healthy Coral?

  A New Theory On How the Tiny Animals Work Together is Offering Fresh Hope in the Fight to Save the World’s Vanishing Reefs

  
  

  Match 30, 2026 -Rarotonga, the largest island in the archipelago of the Cook Islands, is protected by a coral reef that forms a barricade around the kidney-shaped dollop of terra firma moored in the middle of the South Pacific.

  If that reef were to die off or disappear—as reefs are, globally, at a disheartening rate—it would spell catastrophe for Rarotonga’s more than 10,000 inhabitants. That partly explains how Anya Brown came to be a regular at a hardware store on the island. The 38-year-old marine ecologist and National Geographic Explorer has been trying to figure out what allows some of the coral in Rarotonga’s turquoise lagoon to survive in increasingly warm conditions. And she needs a steady supply of plastic buckets, PVC pipes, and gloves to do it.

• • Cities Worldwide Cut Air Pollution in Major Breakthrough

  Cities Across the Globe Have Sharply Reduced Harmful Air Pollution Since 2010s
  
  {HEALTHY HAPPY NEWS}

  Mar. 29, 2026 - A recent report examining one hundred global cities reveals that nineteen have substantially improved their air quality since 2010. These success stories span across China, Hong Kong, Europe, and the United States, proving that cleaner air is achievable worldwide.

  San Francisco emerged as a domestic leader by successfully reducing both fine particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide. These efforts target pollutants linked to various health conditions, showing a commitment to long-term public wellness.

• • Toxic Ocean Crisis in Papua New Guinea Sparks
  Mass Marine Die-Off and Public Health Emergency

  Thousands of Dead Fish Are Washing Ashore and People Are Falling Ill Too, As Officials Investigate Possible Sources of Contamination

  
  

  Mar. 29, 2026 -It started in December, when dead fish began washing ashore New Ireland—a mountainous island in Papua New Guinea’s New Ireland Province, flanked by the Pacific Ocean and the Bismarck Sea.

  At first, just a few fish scattered the beaches—mostly small bluestripe herring, which school in shallow tropical waters. Within a few weeks, they were landing in droves.

• • How Clean Energy Firms Are Trying to Survive the Trump Era

  Offshore Wind is Out. Geothermal Power is In. And many Climate Technology Start-Ups Are Looking For Ways to Carry On Without Federal Backing

  
  

  Mar. 28, 2026 -Clean energy isn’t dead in the Trump era. But it does look different these days.

  Since returning to office, President Trump has dismantled federal efforts to fight climate change and vowed to stop new wind turbines from going up. His administration has canceled billions of dollars in funding for technologies that might one day help reduce planet-warming emissions, and it has instead pushed to expand domestic oil and gas drilling.

  Those moves have taken a brutal toll on America’s budding clean energy industry, including canceled offshore wind farms, shuttered electric-car factories and layoffs at climate technology start-ups.

• • Climate Action Could Backfire On Food—Unless We Use This Fix

  Scientists Say Cleaner Air From Reduced Ozone Pollution May Be Key to Avoiding a Global Hunger Spike

  
  

  March 27, 2026 -Efforts to mitigate climate change could unexpectedly increase global hunger levels by making food more expensive. But, if the ozone-reducing benefits of climate action are factored in, it could curb world hunger by a substantial 15%, a new study says.

  This ozone-reducing element has been overlooked in most research exploring the climate mitigation impact on food availability—and that’s where the new Nature Food research comes in.

• • Why the Iran War May Force Countries to Rely Less on Natural Gas

  Disruptions to Persian Gulf Supplies Are Pushing Gas-Buying Countries to Consider Alternatives Like Coal, Solar and Nuclear Energy

  
  

  Mar. 26, 2026 -From Western Europe to East Asia, countries are scouring the globe for natural gas after the war in Iran cut off the Persian Gulf fuel that they relied on to cook dinner, heat homes and generate electricity.

  The United States, as the world’s biggest gas exporter, will almost certainly benefit from this upheaval, at least in the short term.

• • He Helped Write the Clean Air Act. He Fears for Its Future

  Thomas Jorling, Adviser to Republicans Who Cosponsored the 1970 law, Disputes the Trump Administration’s Claim That It Shouldn’t Apply to Planet-Warming Greenhouse Gases

  
  

  Mar. 28, 2026 -When the Trump administration took the extraordinary step this year of killing the government’s authority to regulate greenhouse gases, it made a simple argument: The Clean Air Act doesn’t allow it.

  Thomas Jorling, who helped write the Clean Air Act, disagrees.

  The 1970 Clean Air Act became law more than a half-century ago, when climate change wasn’t as widely recognized a threat. But Mr. Jorling said in a recent interview that he and the other authors of the legislation had known that scientists would continue learning about new pollutants, and so the bill was meant to be flexible enough to encompass them.

• • Inside 2026’s Massive Fireball Surge

  Earth Faces an Unexplained Surge of Massive, Booming Daytime Fireballs in Early 2026
  
  {ZME SCIENCE}

  Mar. 28, 2026 -On a Saturday afternoon this past March, a piece of the solar system plummeted toward a home in north Houston.

  The one-ton space rock broke apart nearly 30 miles above the city, unleashing a violent sonic boom equivalent to 26 tons of TNT. A dark, jagged fragment smashed through a residential roof and even ricocheted around a bedroom like a cosmic pinball.

• • This New Carbon Material Could Make
  Carbon Capture Far More Affordable

  A Cleverly Redesigned Carbon Material Could Make Capturing CO2 Far Cheaper By Releasing It With Minimal Heat
  
  {Science Daily}

  Mar. 28, 2026 -Stopping carbon dioxide (CO2) before it enters the atmosphere is a critical way to cut greenhouse gas emissions. While carbon capture has been around for many years, it has not been widely adopted because most systems are costly and inefficient.

  A common industrial approach, aqueous amine scrubbing, requires heating large amounts of liquid to temperatures above 100 °C to release the captured CO2 and reuse the solution. This high energy demand drives up operating costs and makes large-scale use difficult.

• • European Country Vows to Give Homeowners
  ‘Free Electricity' Instead of Switching Off Wind Turbines

  Europe’s Outdated and Under-Invested Energy Grid Means Huge Amounts of Renewable Energy Are Wasted Every Year
  
  {euro news}

  Mar. 27, 2026 -The case for renewable energy is stronger than ever, as the war on Iran continues to highlight the dangers of fossil fuel dependency.

  While Brent crude, the world benchmark for oil prices, dipped yesterday morning (26 March) amid rising hopes of de-escalation, barrel prices have exceeded $100 (around €86.38) per barrel several times since the conflict began. Before the US-Israel war on Iran, oil prices were under €63 per barrel.

  Much of the surge has been blamed on the Strait of Hormuz’s effective closure. This is one of the world’s biggest fossil fuel chokepoints, carrying around one-fifth of global oil supplies.

• • Scientists Discover 24 New Species and New Branch
  of Life in Area Slated for Deep Sea Mining

  The Ocean Floor is Teeming With Life
  
  {ZME SCIENCE}

  Mar. 27, 2026 -A patch of seafloor targeted for future mining has given us a blunt reminder that we don’t really know what’s going on down there. Researchers have described 24 new species of amphipods (tiny, shrimp-like crustaceans) hailing from the Clarion-Clipperton Zone. We often discuss this vast abyssal stretch of the Pacific in terms of resources, but as it turns out, it’s also a biological frontier.

  Among the new finds is a creature so unusual that the team had to put a new branch on the tree of life just to categorize it. But as we’re adding new branches to the tree of life, we’re also preparing to scrape the area for mining.

• • Iran Was Already Running Out of Water.
  Then Came the ‘War On Infrastructure

  Drought, a Legacy of Overpumping, and Now Military Strikes Are Driving the Country’s Fragile Water and Food Systems to the Brink

  
  

  Mar. 26, 2026 -Last week, following escalating attacks on critical energy and water facilities, the Israeli-U.S. war in Iran entered a new stage. “Now the war on infrastructure has started,” said Kaveh Madani, a water researcher at the United Nations University and former deputy vice president of Iran.

  On March 18, Israel struck the South Pars gas field in Iran, the largest natural gas field in the world. Iran is heavily dependent on South Pars for its energy supply; by some estimates, the field accounts for 90 percent of the country’s domestic energy use.

• • Lifestyle Changes May Help Meaningfully
  Reduce Exposure to Toxic Plastic Chemicals

  Some Couples Also Reported an Increase in Energy, Improved Sleep Quality, and Weight Loss
  
  {EHN}

  Mar. 26, 2026 -Most couples who underwent lifestyle changes designed to reduce chemical exposures - such as eating out less, avoiding plastic food containers, and avoiding products with synthetic fragrances - experienced a drop in both their bisphenol A (BPA) and phthalate levels.

  Total motile sperm count increased above subfertile levels for three of the five men, and four of the five couples had children following the intervention.

• • E.P.A. Waives Smog Rules on Summer Gasoline in Bid to Ease Prices

  The moves Allow Expanded Sales of a Higher-Ethanol Blend Known as E15, Which is Often Restricted in the Summer

  
  

  Mar. 25, 2026 -The Trump administration said Wednesday that it would temporarily suspend some anti-smog restrictions on summertime gasoline blends, in an attempt to ease the recent spike in fuel prices stemming from the war with Iran.

  The Environmental Protection Agency issued emergency waivers to allow expanded sales this summer of a gasoline blend known as E15, which consists of 15 percent ethanol. More than 3,000 stations across the country offer E15, which sells at a discount to other gasoline blends but is often restricted from June to September because of concerns that it can exacerbate smog in hotter weather.

• • A Sunken Soviet Nuclear Sub Is Leaking
  Radiation into the Norwegian Sea

  Researchers Say Things Aren't Really *That* Bad.
  
  {ZME SCIENCE}

  Mar. 25, 2026 -Thirty-seven years ago, the Soviet nuclear submarine Komsomolets plummeted to the seafloor. It settled a mile beneath the surface of the Norwegian Sea, resting in absolute darkness and under crushing pressure. Now, a new study confirms the submarine’s outer shell is corroding, venting radioactive isotopes into the deep.

  Although researchers say it’s not yet a disaster in the making, the clock is ticking.

• • As Prices Soar, EPA Greenlights Higher Ethanol Blends in Gasoline

  The Agency Typically Doesn’t Allow Smog-Creating Ethanol Blends in the Summer But is Relaxing That Restriction to Appease Consumers and Farmers

  
  

  Mar. 25, 2026 -The Trump administration handed farmers and the ethanol industry a win on Wednesday by issuing a waiver that will allow the use of higher corn-based ethanol blends in gas tanks this summer.

  EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin made the announcement at CERAWeek, a major energy conference in Texas, saying it furthered the administration’s goal of creating “American energy dominance” and will give consumers relief from soaring gas prices.

• • Iowa’s Cancer Crisis Linked to Pesticides, PFAS, Fertilizer and Radon

  The State is One of a Handful Where Cancer Diagnoses Are On the Rise

  
  

  Mar. 25, 2026 -Iowa is among a few states where cancer diagnoses are on the rise. A new analysis from the Harkin Institute for Public Policy & Citizen Engagement and the Iowa Environmental Council says that environmental exposures are partially to blame.

  High pesticide and fertilizer use in the top corn-producing state, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in public drinking water supplies and elevated radon levels in soil and water threaten the health of residents and likely interact to drive up Iowa’s cancer rate, the second highest in the nation, the report’s authors say.

• • Corpus Christi is Scrambling to Ward Off a Water Crisis

  Here’s a Guide to Its Water Projects
  
  {THE TEXAS TRIBUNE}

  Mar. 24, 2026 -A historic drought has gripped Corpus Christi, the eighth-largest city in Texas, placing unprecedented strain on a water system that serves roughly 500,000 people across seven counties, along with one of the nation’s largest petrochemical corridors and Port of Corpus Christi, the country’s top port for crude oil exports.

  Industrial demand accounts for more than half of the region’s water use.

• • Hurricane Evacuation Tool Will Soon
  Expire Due to DHS Approval Delays

  The Tool Helps Determine If and When Public Safety Agencies Should Evacuate Neighborhoods When a Hurricane Approaches

  
  

  Mar. 24, 2026 -A tool thousands of communities at risk for hurricanes use to decide when to evacuate residents is set to expire Friday because the acting Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) administrator has held up its full renewal, according to emails reviewed by The Washington Post, as well as four current and two former officials familiar with the situation.

  The system, called Hurrevac, has more than 30,000 users according to its website, including emergency managers for cities, states and U.S. territories as well as some National Weather Service offices. The group of current and former FEMA officials, all but one of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, described it as an invaluable tool that overlays evacuation, storm history and forecast data to determine whether and when public safety agencies should clear neighborhoods when a hurricane is approaching.

• • Pakistan Ranked Most Polluted Country in 2025

  The World’s Top 25 Most Polluted Cities Were All in India, Pakistan and China
  
  {NBC NEWS}
  
  

  Mar. 24, 2026 -Pakistan was ranked the world’s smoggiest country in 2025, with concentrations of hazardous small particles known as PM2.5 up to 13 times higher than the recommended World Health Organization level, research showed Tuesday.

  Swiss air quality monitoring firm IQAir said in its annual report that 13 countries and territories kept average PM2.5 levels at the WHO standard of less than 5 micrograms per cubic meter last year, up from seven in 2024. The other 130 out of 143 monitored countries and territories, including the United States, failed to meet the WHO guideline.

• • How to Get Big Tech to Pay Your Energy Bills

  The Most Overlooked U.S. Power Plant Isn’t a Gas Turbine or Solar Farm. It’s Your House (and Thousands of Others)

  
  

  Mar. 24, 2026 -The tech industry needs massive amounts of electricity. The most overlooked power plant in the United States isn’t a gas turbine or a solar farm: It’s your house.

  Tech companies are locked into a race to build artificial intelligence that comes down to speed and scale. AI infrastructure such as data centers, some argue, plays the role that railroads and canals did in the 19th century: The first firms to dominate will control the era’s most transformative technology. Tech giants are expected to pour about $2.7 trillion into data centers and AI infrastructure in the United States by 2030, McKinsey estimates, more than one Manhattan Project every month, in inflation-adjusted terms.

• • Wildfires Rip Through Unusual Parts
  of U.S., Raising Fears of a Brutal Season

  The Blazes Perhaps Signal an Expanding Frontier for Fire Risk in Broader Patches of the U.S.

  
  

  Mar. 24, 2026 -By late March, Nebraska was already in the throes of a historic wildfire event that had burned more than a half-million acres. In South Dakota and Wyoming, strong, dry winds are flaring up big blazes. Dozens of residents in two Colorado counties had to evacuate over the weekend as record hot temperatures and extremely low humidity fueled the rapid spread of fires in the parched brush. And until last week, it was still technically winter.

  Wildfires are ripping across the Great Plains, and other flare-ups are popping up in Arizona and Colorado remarkably early in the season. Firefighters and experts are watching these giant red splotches of burning forest and grasslands with alarm, warning that the timing, ingredients fueling their startling growth, and what they signal about the fire season ahead is a recipe for concern — perhaps signaling an expanding frontier for fire risk in broader patches of the western half of the United States.

• • Hawaii Assesses Damage Left By Worst Flooding In More Than 20 Years

  People Evacuated On Oahu And Maui As Rains Lifted Houses and Cars, Swept Through Stores and Left Streets Mud-Clogged

  
  

  Mar. 23, 2026 -Hawaii is assessing the extensive damage left by the worst flooding the islands have seen in more than 20 years.

  Heavy rains and floodwater forced thousands on the North Shore of Oahu to evacuate over the weekend and triggered evacuation orders for parts of Maui. Floodwater from rains lifted houses and cars, inundated farms and swept through grocery stores on the islands, leaving behind a thick layer of mud.

• • The Chinese Mitten Crab Is an Armor-Clad
  Invader Engineering the Collapse of Global Riverbanks

  It's One of the Most Damaging Invasive Species

  
  

  Mar. 23, 2026 -Part biological tank, part master engineer, the Chinese mitten crab (Eriocheir sinensis) has moved from East Asia to become one of the world’s most destructive invasive species. By riddling riverbanks with holes and outcompeting native wildlife, this “hairy-clawed” hitchhiker is transforming entire ecosystems into its own private colony.

  From the murky depths of the Thames in London to the pristine flows of the Willamette in Oregon, this crab has become an invasive problem in many ecosystems. The worst thing about it is we don’t really have a good idea how to get rid of it.

• • This Tiny Plant Could Be the Secret to
  Stopping Flash Floods On Our Roads

  Replace Boring Roadside Grass With Moss That Eats Heavy Metals and Drinks Flash Floods

  
  

  Mar. 23, 2026 -Across Europe, many banks alongside motorways are planted with grass to stabilize soil and keep roadside landscapes tidy.

  But there may be a better solution. Already some countries are experimenting with using moss in built-up areas to absorb air pollution. As countries search for nature-based solutions to climate and environmental challenges, roadside moss is starting to attract attention. So could mossy motorway banks work?

• • What An Oncologist Wants You to Know
  About Environmental Cancer Risks

  From Air Pollution to Mmicroplastics to Natural Radiation, Here’s What to Be Aware of — and What You Can Do to Reduce Your Exposure

  
  

  Mar. 23, 2026 -As much as we all want to avoid consuming or breathing in dangerous chemicals and pollutants, they may be impossible to escape.

  Half the world’s population is exposed to increasing amounts of air pollution, mainly due to energy production, industry and transport. Additionally, our contact with environmental radiation has been increasing, from natural sources such as radon in rocks and soil and cosmic radiation, to artificial sources such as industrial and occupational exposures and even medical imaging — which is often necessary, and the benefits of diagnosing an immediate problem far outweigh the remote chance of boosting cancer risk at some point in the future. Forever chemicals, or PFAS, also contaminate the soil, which can in turn affect the food we eat and the water we drink, and have been associated with cancer.

• • Replacing Toxic Lead Pipes Could Drive Job Creation in Illinois

  Replacing the Unsafe Plumbing Has the Potential to Create 90,000 Jobs

  
  

  Mar. 23, 2026 -Illinois is in the midst of a public health crisis. Nearly 1.5 million service lines—the pipes that carry drinking water to homes and businesses—contain or are suspected to contain lead, a neurotoxin linked to cognitive, reproductive and cardiovascular problems.

  Now, public health and workforce advocates want to turn the state’s long-overdue pipe replacement backlog into a statewide economic engine, creating up to 90,000 jobs over a decade.

• • In the Fight to Defend the Amazon, This
  Indigenous Community’s Secret Weapon Is Science

  In the Copper-Rich Mountains of Southeastern Ecuador, Shuar People Are Combining Ancestral Knowledge and Modern Science to Protect Their Forest From a Canadian Mining Giant

  
  

  Mar. 22, 2026 -By the time Olger Kitiar reached the ridge, his shirt was wet with sweat, clinging to his back. Built with the solid frame of a linebacker, he moved through the rainforest with a quick, even rhythm that defied the steep, slick climb.

  Then he froze.

  “Stop,” he hissed in Spanish, his hand snapping up.

  Jhostin Antún, a few steps behind, halted mid-stride. To an outsider, the trail ahead looked like any other patch of churned Amazonian mud—slick, brown and dense enough to swallow a boot. But Olger’s eyes, trained by a lifetime in the Shuar territory of Maikiuants, saw it instantly. He squatted down, pointing to a deep, four-toed indentation. The track was fresh. And massive.

• • A Massive Border Wall Expansion is Underway

  The Construction Will Destroy Pristine Country, Threaten Endangered Species, and Cut Off Access to Sacred Indigenous and Archaeological Sites

  
  

  Mar. 21, 2026 -The Trump administration is building hundreds of miles of border wall through iconic national parks, public lands and ecologically sensitive wilderness, empowered by provisions in the One Big Beautiful Bill that provided $46.5 billion in funding and a 2005 law that waived dozens of environmental rules for border security projects.

  The “Smart Wall” project calls for a wall in parts of rugged Texas desert that are experiencing historically low border crossings and a second wall across parts of California, Arizona and New Mexico that already have barriers from the first Trump administration, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection documents recently posted online.