“Coral reefs are among the most valuable ecosystems on earth, providing people with goods and services that include food, storm protection, and recreational opportunities. Despite their importance, coral reef ecosystems are in decline from a myriad of man-made and natural threats. In response, the NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program established an integrated and focused monitoring… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: Environmental Law
Home Insurance Rates in America Are Wildly Distorted. Here’s Why.
The New York Times [unpaywalled]: “Enid, Okla., surrounded by farms about 90 minutes north of Oklahoma City, has an unwelcome distinction: Home insurance is more expensive, relative to home values, than almost anywhere else in the country. Enid is hardly the American community that is most vulnerable to damaging weather. Yet as a share of… Continue Reading
Washington Post Chatbot in Beta Responds to Questions About Climate
Washington Post – Your climate questions, answered. This is an experiment from The Washington Post to use AI to help answer your climate questions. Responses are based solely on published reporting by Post journalists. Please verify any information with the underlying articles. See also the site’s Feedback Form – Did you find what you were… Continue Reading
Wildlife Protections Take a Back Seat to SpaceX’s Ambitions
“A New York Times investigation found that Elon Musk exploited federal agencies’ [no paywall] competing missions to achieve his goals for space travel. As Elon Musk’s Starship — the largest rocket ever manufactured — successfully blasted toward the sky last month, the launch was hailed as a giant leap for SpaceX and the United States’… Continue Reading
To Avert a Mass Extinction, Protect 1 Percent of Earth
Yale Environment 360: “Most species are rare, meaning they are few in number or cover a small range, or both. As a result, a new study concludes, humans can preserve much of the great diversity of life on Earth by marking out just 1.2 percent of the planet for protection. For the study, experts mapped… Continue Reading
Plastics companies blocked mitigation efforts and may have broken US laws
The Guardian – Paper outlines different legal theories that could help governments pursue accountability for harms: “Companies have spent decades obstructing efforts to take on the plastics crisis and may have breached a host of US laws, a new report argues. The research from the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) details the widespread burdens… Continue Reading
Going plastic-free is nearly impossible. These people are trying anyway.
Washington Post: The global trend of Plastic Free July offers ideas on how to cut back on plastic use at home. “…According to the Plastic Free Foundation, the nonprofit that Prince-Ruiz founded, 89 million people in 190 countries pledged to reduce their plastic use during July last year. The countries with the most participants are… Continue Reading
Birders asked to help find 126 ‘lost’ bird species
The Guardian: “The coppery thorntail and New Caledonian lorikeet are among the 126 birds “lost” to science, having not been seen for a decade or more, according to the most comprehensive list of missing species composed to date. The new tally is based on millions of records collected by enthusiastic birders and amateur scientists documenting… Continue Reading
US banks seek to open vendors’ black box on green data
Risk.net – Inaugural Fed climate scenario analysis flags lack of transparency around third-party models: “The US Federal Reserve and the country’s largest banks have had their differences, especially in recent months. But the regulator’s first ever climate scenario analysis has revealed a common cause: frustration over the climate risk models provided by third party vendors.… Continue Reading
Most US Pets Owners Consider Them to Be Family
“Families come in all shapes and sizes. And for a majority of Americans, family includes their pets. Most Americans (62%) own a pet, including about a third (35%) who have more than one. And nearly all U.S. pet owners (97%) say their pets are part of their family, according to a new Pew Research Center… Continue Reading
2024 Law Firm Climate Change Scorecard
Law Students for Climate Accountability: “We are delighted to announce the launch of our first-ever multinational report. Expanding upon our 2024 Law Firm Climate Change Scorecard, which grades the “Vault 100” firms according to their fossil fuels work, the full report includes additional U.K. and Irish firms as well as lessons from COP28 and recent… Continue Reading
First 2 years of Russia’s War on Ukraine Increased Climate Pollution by 175 Million Tonnes
EcoWatch: “In addition to the devastating death toll and widespread destruction of Russia’s war on Ukraine, the ongoing conflict has brought extensive climate damage to the planet. New research reveals that the first 24 months of the Ukraine war had a climate cost greater than the annual greenhouse gas emissions of 175 individual countries, adding… Continue Reading
