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☆ What are China's 'sponge cities' and why aren't they stopping the floods?
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-10 | by ( David Stanway | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The "sponge city" initiative was designed to make greater use of lower-impact "nature-based solutions" to better distribute water and improve drainage and storage. A total of 30 pilot sponge cities were selected in 2015 and 2016. By last year, only 64 of China's 654 cities had produced legislation to implement sponge city guidelines, researchers said in January. Even if sponge city measures had been implemented in full, they would have been unable to prevent this year's disasters. This year's heavy rain hit cities in the normally arid north, where sponge city development is less advanced.

Persons: David Stanway Organizations: REUTERS, Thomson Locations: Poyang county, Jiangxi province, China, Zhengzhou, Henan province, Beijing

☆ Europe endures another year of droughts and wildfires
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Last year, heatwaves resulted in over 61,600 heat-related fatalities across 35 European countries and triggered devastating wildfires. Below is a list of the most recent blazes and heat-related warnings issued in Europe. Another broke out on Aug. 20 in the southern Hautes-Alpes region of France, burning at least 140 hectares. It was the biggest blaze the region has faced in the last 20 years, media reported. Portugal's authorities declared some 120 municipalities across Portugal at maximum risk of wildfires due to the heat.

Persons: heatwaves, BRGM, Fernando Clavijo, Dina Kartit, Gaëlle Sheehan, Piotr Lipiński, Ed Osmond Organizations: Spanish National Research Council, ITALY, Thomson Locations: Europe, Sicily, France, Perpignan, Alpes, GREECE, Alexandroupolis, Spain, Greece, Rhodes, Corfu, Italy, Sardinia, Rome, Lazio, PORTUGAL, Portugal, SPAIN Tenerife, Canary, La Palma

Evacuated residents have been transferred to makeshift shelters in hotels and schools, according to state media reports. A woman sits next to a flooded road following heavy rains in Zhuozhou, in northern China's Hebei province on August 2, 2023. Jade Gao/AFP/Getty ImagesFlood control zonesSome 857,000 people have been relocated from these areas, state media reported. Under national rules, the cost of properties damaged due to the release of waters in flood control areas will be compensated by 70%. Floods inundate a village in Baoding city, Hebei province, on August 2, 2023.

Persons: Typhoon Doksuri, Jade Gao, ” Yang Bang, Yang, Ni Yuefeng, “, –, Cheng Xiaotao, Shao Sun, Sun, ” Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Ministry of Water Resources, Getty, University of California, CNN, Sun Locations: Hong Kong, China’s Hebei province, Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Zhuozhou, China's Hebei, AFP, Hebei province, “, ”, Baoding, –, China, University of California Irvine, North China

☆ Ecuadorean votes could bar oil output in Amazon reserve, mining near Quito
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-31 | by ( Alexandra Valencia | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

But oil and mining guilds say their industries are needed to shore up Ecuador's battered economy and that bans would expose the areas to illegal mining and deforestation. Outgoing President Guillermo Lasso, who moved ahead elections after lawmakers attempted to oust him, has failed to raise oil production or attract more mining investment as violence and social problems have worsened. A "yes" vote in both referendums could complicate finances for his successor. State oil company Petroecuador says a "yes" on the Yasuni referendum would cost the country $13.8 billion in income over the next two decades. But residents say mining will threaten high altitude wetlands, water and animals like the spectacled bear.

Persons: Read, Ecuadoreans, Guillermo Lasso, Santiago Pérez, Ramon Correa, Correa, Rafael Correa, Pedro Bermeo, Bermeo, Petroecuador, Australia's SolGold, Maria Eulalia Silva, Morelia Fuentes, Alexandra Valencia, Tito Correa, Karen Toro, Julia Symmes Cobb, Marguerita Choy Organizations: ITT, Environmental, Reuters, Voters, of Mining, Mining, Thomson Locations: Orellana, Orellana province, Ecuador, QUITO, Quito, Choco, North America, State, Pastaza

☆ SpaceX hasn't obtained environmental permits for 'flame deflector' system it's testing in Texas
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-28 | by ( Lora Kolodny | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

(Photo by Loren Elliott/Getty Images)SpaceX ran a "full-pressure test" of a new "flame deflector" system at its Starship Super Heavy launch site in South Texas on Friday. SpaceX hasn't disclosed how much water a system test consumes at the site, where that water will run off and what it contains. SpaceX hasn't said why it went ahead without a permit and didn't respond to a request for comment. Eric Roesch, an environmental engineer, has been tracking how SpaceX and other aerospace companies comply with environmental regulations in Texas via his newsletter ESGHound. "Industrial process water is a regulated pollutant under the Clean Water Act," Roesch told CNBC in an interview.

Persons: Loren Elliott, Elon Musk, SpaceX hasn't, Eric Roesch, Roesch Organizations: BOCA, SpaceX, CNBC, federal, Texas Commission, Environmental, Boca, Space Locations: BOCA CHICA , TX, Texas, Boca Chica, Brownsville , Texas, South Texas, of Mexico, Boca Chica , Texas, U.S, United States

☆ ‘The heat is relentless’: Scorching temperatures bring misery to daily life in Spain
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-27 | by ( Vivi Vitalone | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Cristina Quicler | Afp | Getty ImagesSEVILLE, Spain — The day-to-day reality of scorching summer heat in Spain is taking its toll. The mercury in the southern Spanish city of Seville hit 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) on July 20, shortly before national elections failed to produce a clear winner. "During the day I work here where I have air conditioning but the walk home is ... agony," Sánchez told CNBC. Tacho Rufino, economist at the University of Seville, told CNBC that when classes are not in session, he lives in Cádiz in the southwest. Olive oil prices soared further into record-breaking territory this month and analysts have told CNBC that high prices could be here "for some time to come."

Persons: Cristina Quicler, Carlo Núñez, Sevillian, chatted, Maria Sánchez, Sánchez, Tacho Rufino, Rufino, Pedro Sánchez, Alberto Núñez Feijóo Organizations: Afp, Getty, CNBC, del Triunfo, University of Seville, People's Party, United Nations, PP, European Commission, La, Europa Press, Greenpeace, Observatory Locations: Sevilla, Spanish, Andalusia, SEVILLE, Spain, Europe, Greece, Italy, Albania, Seville, del, Cádiz, Cadiz, Puntagorda, La Palma, Canary Islands

☆ On the Map, Nothing. On the Ground, a Hidden Maya City.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( Alan Yuhas | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Dr. Sprajc, 67, said the expedition to Ocomtún took about a month and a half, “relatively short” compared with the usual two months or more. Surrounded by wetlands, Ocomtún includes pyramids, plazas, elite residences and “strange” complexes of structures arranged almost in concentric circles, Dr. Sprajc said. The largest documented structure in Ocomtún was a pyramid about 50 feet tall, which Dr. Sprajc said would have been a temple. He said excavations could help answer a host of questions about who lived there and their relationship to other Maya cities and settlements. People appeared to have left Ocomtún around the same time they did other Maya cities, from about 800 to 1000 A.D., a decline that researchers attribute to factors like drought and political strife.

Persons: Martin, Sprajc, Ocomtún, ”, Charles Golden Organizations: Brandeis University Locations: ”, Ocomtún

☆ Mountain Valley Pipeline Halted as Legal Wrangling Heats Up
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-12 | by ( Coral Davenport | More About Coral Davenport | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The LatestA federal court in Richmond has halted construction of the Mountain Valley Pipeline, setting off a battle with Congress that could end up at the Supreme Court. It was a highly unusual provision that was tucked into legislation that had nothing to do with pipelines — the law to raise the debt ceiling. Congress also included provisions to expedite construction of the pipeline and insulate it from judicial review. Those elements were added as a concession to Senator Joe Manchin III, the West Virginia Democrat whose vote has been crucial to President Biden’s domestic agenda. But environmentalists, Democratic members of the Virginia congressional delegation and some constitutional law experts argue that by directing a change in courts, Congress has violated the separation of powers clause in the Constitution.

Persons: Joe Manchin III, Biden’s Organizations: Supreme, U.S, Appeals, Fourth Circuit, Congress, U.S ., District of Columbia Circuit, West Virginia Democrat, Democratic Locations: Richmond, West Virginia, Virginia

☆ Seine-Nord Europe Canal: The $5.5B canal that will connect Paris to European waterways – and dig up the Western Front
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-11 | by ( Tom Page | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

After multiple false starts and much political back and forth, work is underway on the Seine-Nord Europe Canal (SNEC), a €5.1 billion ($5.5 billion) project designed to break up one of the continent’s major transport bottlenecks. Environmental impactThe Oise River is currently being redirected for 4 kilometers as part of ongoing canal construction. A new extension will be constructed to accommodate further war dead, including those discovered during the construction of the canal. Inland ports are planned along the SNEC route, aiding exports, as well as providing recreational opportunities, say its designers. Despite the canal’s stop-start history, the Société du Canal Seine-Nord Europe is confident its construction timeline can be met and the canal will become operational in 2030.

Persons: ’, ”, Jérôme Dezobry, Philippe Bourdon, Dezobry, Montmacq, ” Dezobry, Bourdon, “, ” Claire Horton, Xavier Bertrand Organizations: CNN, European Union, EU, Commonwealth, Commission, CWGC, Loos British, Hauts Locations: France, Nord Europe, Dunkirk, Escaut, Paris, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Compiègne, Aubencheul, Nord, Seine, Oise, Allaines, Thourotte, ”, Somme, Péronne, Cambrai, Beaurains, Loos, Pas, Calais, Loos British, Antwerp, de

☆ It’s Toxic Slime Time on Florida’s Lake Okeechobee
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-09 | by ( ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +14 min

For thousands of years, Lake Okeechobee pumped life into Florida’s swampy interior. Lake Okeechobee 10 miles Lake Okeechobee 5 miles Lake Okeechobee 5 miles Algal bloom extent on June 12 Source: Satellite image by Landsat By Leanne AbrahamRainy season is just starting, but by late June the lake’s level was roughly two feet higher than the United States Army Corps of Engineers would like. Sunrise over Pahokee and Lake Okeechobee. “Like clockwork.”Similar outbreaks have struck lakes elsewhere, including Lake Champlain, Lake Erie and Lake Tahoe. Equally challenging to grasp is the idea that the whole new lake, as big as it sounds, will fill to capacity if only six inches of Lake Okeechobee is sent its way.

Persons: Ian, Fort Myers, Stuart —, Leanne Abraham Rainy, ”, Star Robinson, it’s, Herbert Hoover, Palm Beach Herbert Hoover, Leanne Abraham, Gil Smart, Robinson, It’s, Herbert Hoover Dike, Roy Senff, Okeechobee’s outflows, Sherwin, Williams, Hoover, Stuart, Nature, Col, James Booth of, Tim Harper, “, Biden, Ron DeSantis, Eric Eikenberg, Bill Mitsch, Mother Nature, Floridians, Stefani Hughes, Smart, VoteWater aren’t, They’re Organizations: United States Army Corps, Engineers, Army Corps of Engineers, Orlando Area, Air, Palm Beach Herbert, Everglades, States Geological Survey, Everett, Inc, Fort, Florida Water Management District, Florida Legislature, Gov, Everglades Foundation, Research, Florida Gulf Coast University Locations: Okeechobee, Fort, Pahokee, Lake Okeechobee, Ala, Orlando, Fla, Kissimmee, Florida, Myers, Gulf, Mexico, Miami, Ga, Palm, Everglades Miami, Lake Champlain, Lake Erie, Tahoe, Stuart, U.S.D.A, Manhattan, South Florida

The cases involve what has come to be known as the "administrative state," the agency bureaucracy that interprets laws, crafts federal rules and implements executive action. It also could overturn a decades-old precedent that helps federal agencies defend their regulatory actions in court. The case involves a lawsuit by trade groups representing the payday loan industry against the agency that enforces consumer financial laws. The companies asked the court to overturn its own precedent that calls for judges to defer to federal agency interpretation of U.S. laws, a doctrine called "Chevron deference." The court's embrace of the "major questions" doctrine has provided a seismic shift in its approach toward agency power.

Persons: Brianne Gorod, Jonathan Adler, Joe Biden's, Sarah Harris, Elena Kagan, Thomas McGarity, Andrew Chung, John Kruzel, Will Dunham Organizations: U.S, Supreme, Environmental Protection Agency, Constitutional, Center, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, Case Western Reserve University School of Law, University of Texas, Thomson Locations: WASHINGTON, Cleveland, New Jersey, New York, Washington

☆ US Supreme Court to decide legality of SEC in-house enforcement
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( Andrew Chung | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

FILE PHOTO: The U.S. Supreme Court is seen in Washington, U.S., June 29, 2023. The case represents the latest legal attack against the actions of the SEC, which enforces various federal laws that protect investors. The Supreme Court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority, has signaled skepticism toward expansive federal regulatory power. The justices in 2018 faulted the way the commission selected its in-house judges, and in April allowed targets of actions by the SEC and other regulators to immediately mount challenges to agency processes in federal court. The SEC charges against Jarkesy and his firm proceeded before an in-house judge.

Persons: Joe Biden’s, Evelyn Hockstein, George Jarkesy, Jarkesy, Paring, hemming Organizations: Reuters, U.S, Supreme, Securities, Exchange Commission, REUTERS, SEC, Patriot28, Circuit, Jarkesy Locations: Washington , U.S, Houston, disgorge, Constitution’s, ”

☆ Factbox: A look at the US Supreme Court's major rulings this year
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( Industry Insight | Corporate Attorneys Don T Want To Pay Law Firms For Chatgpt When They Could Use It Themselves | Zach Warren | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Here is a look at some of the rulings issued by the court this term. STUDENT LOANSThe justices on June 30 blocked President Joe Biden's plan to cancel $430 billion in student loan debt. The court elected not to further roll back protections contained in the Voting Rights Act as it had done in two major rulings in the past decade. The ruling against Republican state legislators stemmed from a legal fight over their map of North Carolina's 14 U.S. House districts. The court ruled that state prosecutors had not shown that he was aware of the "threatening nature" of his statements.

Persons: Kevin Lamarque, Constitution's, Joe Biden's, Donald Trump, Biden, Joseph Percoco, Andrew Cuomo, Louis Ciminelli, John Kruzel, Andrew Chung, Will Dunham Organizations: U.S, Supreme, REUTERS, Harvard University, University of North, Harvard, UNC, Black, Republican, U.S . House, U.S . Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, Biden, Democratic, Postal Service, New, Thomson Locations: Washington , U.S, University of North Carolina, Alabama, U.S, Idaho, Texas, Louisiana, Washington, Colorado

The liberal justices, including Biden's appointee Ketanji Brown Jackson, found themselves in the role of the dissenting minority in some of the nine-month term's biggest cases. The conservative justices invoked the "major questions" doctrine, a muscular judicial approach that gives judges broad discretion to invalidate executive agency actions of "vast economic and political significance" unless Congress clearly authorized them. In those cases, the conservative justices were unified in the majority and the liberal justices dissented. In that case, the liberal justices were joined by one conservative justice, Trump appointee Brett Kavanaugh, in dissenting on the new test. The justices on Friday agreed to decide whether a 1994 federal law that bars people under domestic violence restraining orders from possessing firearms violates the Constitution's Second Amendment.

Persons: Amy Coney Barrett, Neil M, Gorsuch, Brett M, Kavanaugh, Ketanji Brown Jackson, Sonia Sotomayor, Clarence Thomas, John G, Roberts, Jr, Samuel A, Alito, Elena Kagan, Read, Joe Biden's, Donald Trump's, Erwin Chemerinsky, Trump's, Chemerinsky, Trump, Brett Kavanaugh, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Roe, Wade, Jackson, Justice Jackson, Adam Feldman, Biden's, John Kruzel, Andrew Chung, Will Dunham Organizations: Supreme, U.S, Republican, Harvard University, University of North, University of California Berkeley Law School, U.S . Environmental, Alabama, Senate, Consumer, Thomson Locations: Washington , U.S, WASHINGTON, University of North Carolina, U.S, Texas

[1/3] Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson listens to U.S. According to legal scholar Adam Feldman, who tracks court data, Jackson spoke more during oral arguments than any of the other current justices during their first terms. "She's just showed up from day one," said Terry Maroney, a Vanderbilt Law School professor who studies judicial decision-making and behavior. "She knows what she's doing, she's not shy, she's posing uncomfortable hypotheticals - and she's not afraid to do those things even if it's causing discomfort." Last year, rulings powered by the conservative justices ended recognition of a constitutional right to abortion and widened gun rights.

Persons: Ketanji Brown Jackson, Cory Booker, Elizabeth Frantz, Jackson, Lorie Smith, Smith, Santa Claus, Kristen Waggoner, Joe Biden, Adam Feldman, She's, Terry Maroney, she's, Stephen Breyer, Kent Greenfield, Greenfield, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Roman Martinez, John Roberts, Jackson's, Neil Gorsuch, Martinez, " Maroney, Andrew Chung, John Kruzel, Will Dunham Organizations: U.S . Senate, U.S, Supreme, Capitol, REUTERS, WASHINGTON, Democratic, Vanderbilt Law, Environmental Protection Agency, Boston College, Thomson Locations: Washington , U.S, Colorado, United States, California, New York, Washington

☆ Opinion: The Supreme Court justices picked by Trump were bad. DeSantis would be much worse.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( Opinion Duncan Hosie | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

DeSantis has appointed far more extreme justices to the Florida Supreme Court than Trump did to the US Supreme Court. But DeSantis’ appointees to the Florida Supreme Court embrace the Thomas-Alito wing of the organization. DeSantis’ appointees, in contrast, have jumped at entrenching conservative electoral domination and curtailing Black political power. Imitating Thomas and Alito, DeSantis’ appointees have rushed into gratuitous political controversies, writing opinions heavy on theory and light on practicality. Thomas and Alito are in this vanguard, as are DeSantis’ appointees and some of Trump’s lower court appointees, with which DeSantis is aligned.

Persons: Duncan Hosie, Ron DeSantis, Donald Trump, Hugh Hewitt, DeSantis, Clarence, Thomas, Samuel, Alito, ” Duncan Hosie, –, Trump, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett, George H.W, Bush, George W, Brackeen, Barrett, Kavanaugh, Gorsuch, decisis, – Thomas, Thomas ’, Wade, – Carlos Muñiz, John Couriel, Jamie Grosshans, Renatha Francis, Meredith Sasso, they’ve, Barrett aren’t, Roe, DeSantis playbook, DeSantis ’, Biden, Alito’s, Smith, He’s, ”, groupthink, It’s, Trump’s, haven’t Organizations: New York Times, Washington Post, Street, CNN, Florida Gov, Republican, Trump, Florida Supreme, Detroit, of Education, –, Oregon, Federalist Society, Covid, Employment, today’s, Federalist, Twitter Locations: Florida, Alabama, Black, City of Philadelphia, lockstep

☆ The wife of Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito leased a plot of land to an oil and natural gas company while the judge was weakening the powers of the Environmental Protection Agency, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( John L. Dorman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

In June 2022, Justice Samuel Alito's wife leased a plot of land in Oklahoma to an oil and gas company. Alito in several rulings before the court has been part of majority decisions to reduce the scope of the EPA. There are thousands of oil and gas leases across Oklahoma, where the energy sector is a critical economic driver. But the oil and gas lease troubles many environmentalists given Justice Alito's role in weakening the scope of the Environmental Protection Agency in several cases that have come before the court. And last year, the Supreme Court in West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency limited the federal agency's ability to control the level of carbon emissions from power plants.

Persons: Samuel Alito's, Alito, —, Samuel Alito, Martha Ann Bomgardner Alito, Alito's, Jeff Hauser, Paul Thomas Anderson, Joe Biden Organizations: EPA, Service, Citizen Energy III, Energy III, Environmental Protection Agency Locations: Oklahoma, Sackett v, West Virginia

☆ Lost ancient Mayan city discovered in the dense, remote jungle of Mexico by archaeologists
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-25 | by ( Alia Shoaib | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Archaeologists have discovered the remains of an ancient Mayan city in Mexico. The lead researcher said that it must have been an important site between 250 AD and 1000 AD. The previously unknown village was discovered in the Yucatán Peninsula by a team from the Archeology Council of the National Institute of Anthropology and History. The site sprawls has several pyramid-like structures measuring around 50 feet in height, Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History said. Sprajc said that the site most likely underwent changes between 800 and 1000 AD and then experienced the collapse of the Lowland Maya civilization in the 10th century.

Persons: sprawls, —, Ivan Sprajc, Ṡprajc, Sprajc Organizations: Service, Archeology, National Institute of Anthropology, Mexico's National Institute for Anthropology, University of Houston Locations: Mexico, Central, Campeche, Lowland, Guatemala, Belize

☆ Here’s a Look at the Water Crises That Might Be Coming to You Soon
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-25 | by ( Somini Sengupta | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Bangladesh is a land of water. Now, its most profound threat is water, in its many terrible incarnations: drought, deluge, cyclones, saltwater. The people of Bangladesh are rushing to harvest rice as soon as they get word of heavy rains upstream. They’re building floating beds of water hyacinths to grow vegetables beyond the reach of floodwaters. And where they’re running out of even drinking water, they’re learning to drink every drop of rain.

Locations: Bangladesh, Bengal

☆ Ancient Maya city discovered in Mexican jungle
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The city includes large pyramid-like buildings, stone columns, three plazas with "imposing buildings" and other structures arranged in almost-concentric circles, the INAH institute said. INAH said the city, which it has named Ocomtun - meaning "stone column" in the Yucatec Maya language - would have been an important center for the peninsula's central lowland region between 250 and 1000 AD. It is located in the Balamku ecological reserve on the country's Yucatan Peninsula and was discovered during a search of a largely unexplored stretch of jungle larger than Luxembourg. The Maya civilization, known for its advanced mathematical calendars, spanned southeast Mexico and parts of Central America. Pre-Hispanic ball games, widespread throughout the Maya region, consist of passing a rubber ball representing the sun across a court without the use of hands and getting it through a small stone hoop.

Persons: INAH, Ivan Sprajc, Sprajc, Sarah Morland, Edwina Gibbs Organizations: Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology, Mexico's, Read, MEXICO CITY, Central America, Thomson Locations: Campeche, Mexico, MEXICO, Yucatan, Luxembourg, Central

☆ 2023 Is the Year of the Long Walk
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-19 | by ( Erin Vivid Riley | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Berkshires, in western Massachusetts, have long encouraged contemplative walking. Now, a new long-distance path, the High Road, will provide a slow-paced, inn-to-inn experience that will eventually traverse the entire region. Behind the effort is the Berkshire Natural Resources Council, which is using existing preserves as footholds for the route. Along with providing easy access to pristine wilderness, the High Road will showcase the region’s cultural highlights, allowing walkers to incorporate afternoons at destinations like Tanglewood and Jacob’s Pillow. The Berkshire Natural Resources Council has a trail map of the High Road’s first section on its website.

Persons: They’re, Edith Wharton, Herman Melville Organizations: Berkshire Natural Resources Council, Berkshire Natural Resources, Berkshire Camino Locations: Massachusetts, Pittsfield, New England, Lenox, Greylock, Berkshire County, Palmer, Great Barrington, Berkshire, Tanglewood

☆ The Army Corps’s Flood Plan Could Ruin New York’s Waterfront. It Doesn’t Have To. - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +14 min

Mr. Gutman is an environmental planning consultant and a member of the New York-New Jersey Storm Surge Working Group. In terms of population at risk, New York City is the most vulnerable city in the country, according to Climate Central, a nonprofit research organization. These highly effective and reliable harborwide surge barriers can protect large areas while leaving shorelines free for recreation and other uses. Hudson River Park 12 feet 12 feetHudson River Park 12 feet 12 feetHudson River Park 12 feet 12 feetGantry Plaza State Park 12 feet 12 feetGantry Plaza State Park 12 feet 12 feetImagine bicycling up the Hudson River Greenway in Manhattan next to a concrete wall between you and Hudson River Park. It consists of walls, small storm surge barriers and other shoreline barriers.

Persons: Robert Yaro, Daniel Gutman, Quoctrung Bui, Taylor, John Lehr, Yaro, Gutman, Hurricane Sandy, Rohit Aggarwala, Aggarwala, Jeroen Aerts, “, Sandy Hook, Arthur, Sandy, David Ralston Organizations: The New York Times, Regional Plan Association, Metro Flood Defense, New Jersey Storm, U.S . Army Corps of Engineers, Corps, Hurricane, Climate Central, United Nations, New, LaGuardia Airport, Vrije University Amsterdam, New York City, Bronx Manhattan, Bronx Manhattan Jersey City Queens, Bronx Manhattan Jersey City Queens Brooklyn Jamaica Bay, U.S . Army Corps, Engineers, Oceanographic, Dade Locations: York, New, New York, New Jersey, floodwalls, New York City, Rotterdam, Netherlands, London, St, Petersburg, Russia, New York Harbor, Central, Greenpoint, Manhattan’s, Jersey City, Hudson, Greenway, Manhattan, United, Jersey, Bronx, Queensbridge, South Williamsburg, Yonkers, Ossining, Market, Newtown, New York State , New Jersey, Brooklyn, Staten Island, Arthur Kill, Jamaica, Bronx Manhattan Jersey, Bronx Manhattan Jersey City Queens Brooklyn, Bronx Manhattan Jersey City Queens Brooklyn Jamaica Bay Staten, Texas, Galveston, Houston, Hurricane, Miami

☆ Environment activists smear red paint on Monet painting at Stockholm museum
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( Sharon Braithwaite | Henrik Pettersson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

The museum’s press office confirmed the incident to CNN. “In the afternoon of June 14 around 2:30 p.m. (8:30aET) an action was carried out at the National Museum in Stockholm. “The painting, which is encased in glass, is now being inspected by museum conservators to determine whether there is any damage,” the press office continued. Environment activists on June 14 smeared red paint and glued their hands to the protective glass on a Monet painting at Stockholm's National Museum, police and the museum said. Cultural heritage has great symbolic value, and it is unacceptable to attack or destroy it, for any purpose whatsoever,” Per Hedström, the National Museum’s acting director general, said.

Persons: ”, Claude Monet, Monet, conservators, Aterstall Organizations: CNN, National, “, National Museum, Nature, Environment, AFP, Getty Images Police, Stockholm Region police Locations: Giverny, Stockholm, AFP

☆ We're losing the battle against bird loss. Scientists estimate North America's bird population is down 3 billion and dropping fast in other countries worldwide.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Emily Sohn | Knowable Magazine | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

In North America, more than half of 529 bird species have declined, according to one study. Another study of 378 European bird species estimates numbers fell by as much as 19% from 1980-2017. There are birds on mountains, birds in cities, birds in deserts, birds in oceans, birds on farm fields and birds in parking lots. Bird numbers are falling across a broad range of habitats, as these graphs from Europe and North America show. A recovery program has boosted the species' numbers to more than 500, with several hundred living once more in the wild.

Persons: —, Peter Marra, It's, Alexander Lees, Lees, Christopher Michel, Marra, we're, Lees et, Philip McGowan, Glenn Simmons, McGowan Organizations: Service, Penguins, Earth Commons, Manchester Metropolitan University, Cornell, of Ornithology, National Audubon Society, Survey, US Geological Survey, Environment Canada, European Union, International Union for Conservation, Environment, Resources, Newcastle University, IUCN, California condor, Recovery Initiative Locations: North America, Antarctica, ptarmigan, Everest, Georgetown, England, Canada, United Kingdom, Gould Bay, eBird, United States, Science, Costa, India, Europe, California, Arizona, Brazil

☆ Indonesia pushes tourism to boost mangrove restoration
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

JAKARTA, June 2 (Reuters) - Tourists in Indonesia are discovering the benefits of mangroves as the archipelago pushes to replant or conserve carbon-rich coastal areas that have been decimated by human activity. Last year alone, the country lost 700,000 hectares of mangroves, according to Indonesia's Mangrove and Peatlands Restoration Agency (BRGM). "A lot of people and businesses have these mangrove forests levelled down and then build a tourist spot above it by piling sand to make artificial beaches. That contradicts nature preservation," said Muhammad Saleh Alatas, owner of The Mangrove Paddling Centre, which organises tours in the mangroves of Jakarta. Reporting by Tommy Ardiansyah, Johan Purnomo, Zahra Matarani; Editing by Kanupriya Kapoor and Emelia Sithole-MatariseOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Connie Sihombing, I've, Muhammad Saleh Alatas, Muhammad Ilman, Tommy Ardiansyah, Johan Purnomo, Zahra Matarani, Kanupriya Kapoor, Emelia Organizations: Restoration Agency, Nusantara Nature Conservation Agency, Thomson Locations: JAKARTA, Indonesia, Jakarta

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