NEWSWORTHY
Britain plans to ban the sale of plastic straws and other single use products and is pressing Commonwealth allies to also take action to tackle marine waste, the office of British Prime Minister Theresa May said. It said drink stirrers and cotton buds would also ...
Plastic-eating enzyme holds promise in fighting pollution: scientists
Scientists in Britain and the United States say they have engineered a plastic-eating enzyme that could in future help in the fight against pollution. The enzyme is able to digest polyethylene terephthalate, or PET- a form of plastic patented in the 1940s and now used ...
A Japanese discovery could transform the global market for rare earth metals.
Environment under threat as tourism surge lashes Southeast Asian nations, beaches
Hordes of tourists clamber across the white sand with selfie sticks as Thai park rangers wade into turquoise waters to direct boats charging into the cliff-ringed cove. Made famous by the 2000 movie "The Beach," starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Maya Bay on the western Thai island ...
Trump orders faster issuance of air pollution permits as he reverses Clean Air Act
President Donald Trump prodded federal regulators Thursday to quicken processing of air quality permits for businesses, saying it would boost economic growth and job creation but drawing criticism from environmentalists who described the move as a green light for polluters. Among steps outlined in a ...
Former coal lobbyist who waged campaign to block pollution curbs confirmed as No. 2 at EPA
The Senate on Thursday confirmed a former coal industry lobbyist as the second-highest official at the Environmental Protection Agency, putting him next in line to run the agency if embattled administrator Scott Pruitt is forced out or resigns. Senators approved Andrew Wheeler as the agency's ...
10 teams advance in international carbon dioxide competition
A $20 million international competition to make profitable products from a gas that otherwise would contribute to global warming has entered its final stretch. The 10 finalists in the contest sponsored by a U.S. energy company and a group of Canadian oil sands producers have ...
U.S. EPA chief Scott Pruitt spent millions on security and travel
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt's concern with his safety came at a steep cost to taxpayers as his swollen security detail blew through overtime budgets and at times diverted officers away from investigating environmental crimes. Altogether, the agency spent millions of dollars for ...
Developing nations will study ways to block sunshine to slow global warming
Scientists in developing nations plan to step up research toward dimming sunshine to curb climate change, hoping to judge if a man-made chemical sunshade would be less risky than a harmful rise in global temperatures. Research into "solar geo-engineering," which would mimic big volcanic eruptions ...
Scott Pruit targets waiver letting California forge tougher emissions limits
Scott Pruitt, administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, turned his sights this week on a nearly half-century-old federal waiver that allows California to pursue its own, tough tailpipe emission standards, and allows other states to opt in to California's standards rather than federal ...
EPA gives giant refiner Andeavor a 'hardship' pass from biofuels regulations
The Environmental Protection Agency has exempted one of the nation's largest oil refining companies, Andeavor, from complying with U.S. biofuels regulations — a waiver historically reserved for tiny operations in danger of going belly up, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. The exemption, ...
Dealing with the neglected menace of pollution
With leadership, resources and well-formulated data-driven strategies, pollution — and its devastating effects on human health, wellbeing and prosperity — can be controlled.
