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Category Archives: Environmental Law

You put stuff out for recycling. What happens next might surprise you.

Christian Science Monitor: “Recycling is one of the most recognized forms of environmental conservation in the United States. But differing standards for curbside recycling programs across the country and changes in the recycling industry can confuse consumers: What really happens after they toss items into a blue or green bin? Before and during World War… Continue Reading

Our World in Data

Research and data to make progress against the world’s largest problems – “Poverty, disease, hunger, climate change, war, existential risks, and inequality: The world faces many great and terrifying problems. It is these large problems that our work at Our World in Data focuses on. Thanks to the work of thousands of researchers around the… Continue Reading

UN Secretary-General’s Call to Action on Extreme Heat

“The UN Secretary-General’s Call to Action on Extreme Heat brings together the diverse expertise and perspectives of ten specialized UN entities (FAO, ILO, OCHA, UNDRR, UNEP, UNESCO, UN-Habitat, UNICEF, WHO, WMO) in a first-of-its-kind joint product, underscoring the multi-sectoral impacts of extreme heat. Earth is becoming hotter and more dangerous for everyone, everywhere. Billions of… Continue Reading

Here’s how extreme climate is driving inflation

“TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — In today’s Climate Classroom, we will be speaking to William S. Becker, a writer for The Hill, a Nexstar-owned property on climate inflation, better known by its new name “climateflation.” No doubt it’s a new term to most, but it’s very real and it’s already hitting us in the wallet— think… Continue Reading

The world’s most, and least, walkable cities

The Economist [unpaywalled]: “Cars can be a nuisance. Just ask anyone stuck on London’s M25 motorway or Houston’s Katy Freeway. More cars create more polluting traffic jams, and the amount of space needed to drive them, park them and re-fuel them could be used for more pleasant purposes, such as parks and recreational areas. It… Continue Reading

Warren Leads Senate Response to End of Chevron Doctrine

Truthout: “A group of senators led by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts) has introduced a bill to combat the Supreme Court’s seismic pro-corporate decision last month to overturn a precedent known as Chevron deference that has enabled federal agencies to issue regulations for decades. Ten senators joined Warren on Tuesday in introducing the bill that would… Continue Reading

We mapped weather forecast accuracy across the U.S. Look up your city.

[unpaywalled] “Everyone complains about the weather forecast, but some people have more cause to grumble than others. In Miami, the temperature forecast is usually accurate a week into the future. But in Paonia, Colo., even the one-day temperature forecast is wrong by almost 6 degrees Fahrenheit on average. That’s according to our analysis of government… Continue Reading

Hundreds of racist plant names will change after historic vote by botanists

Nature: “For the first time, researchers have voted to eliminate scientific names of organisms because they are offensive. Botanists decided that more than 200 plants, fungi and algae species names should no longer contain a racial slur related to the word caffra, which is used against Black people and others mostly in southern Africa. Many… Continue Reading

UNESCO raises global alarm on the rapid degradation of soils

“UNESCO is warning that 90% of the planet’s land surface could be degraded by 2050, with major risks for biodiversity and human life. At an international conference in Agadir (Morocco), Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO, appealed to the Organization’s 194 Member States to improve soil protection and rehabilitation. UNESCO is also undertaking a number of… Continue Reading