Articles on or after 4/14/2024: Washington Post - Climate and Environment
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Biden set to block Alaska road key to accessing planned mine - Washington Post - Climate and Environment (Apr 16) |
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Apr 16 · The Biden administration is set to block a controversial road crucial to operating a planned copper and zinc mine in northern Alaska, saying it would threaten Indigenous communities and fragment wildlife habitat, according to two people familiar with the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly.
The expected decision on Ambler Road reflects the administration’s selective approach toward boosting domestic mining of minerals used in electric vehicles, wind turbines and other clean-energy technologies. It underscores the challenges facing President Biden as he balances an ambitious climate agenda with the need to protect ... Read more ...
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Great Barrier Reef experiencing one of its worst coral bleaching events - Washington Post - Climate and Environment (Apr 18) |
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Apr 18 · Australia’s Great Barrier Reef is experiencing one of its worst bleaching events since monitoring began nearly four decades ago, authorities say, with much of the famed reef showing signs of damage as warming ocean temperatures blight reefs worldwide.
Bleaching occurs when heat-stressed coral turn white after expelling symbiotic algae that provide food and color. It’s a result of abnormal ocean temperatures in the past year that scientists worry could represent a major change to Earth systems.
In the Great Barrier Reef marine park, 73 percent of the reefs surveyed have prevalent bleaching - which means that more than 10 percent of the coral cover is bleached, the Great ... Read more ...
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If you’ve got an EV, Google Maps is about to become much more valuable - Washington Post - Climate and Environment (Apr 17) |
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Apr 17 · Google has announced new features in its Maps app designed to help electric car drivers find a charge.
The updates include a tool to help drivers find nearby chargers with real-time information about availability and charging speed, the ability to find charging stops on longer road trips and more detailed instructions about how to find chargers within parking lots and garages.
Google expects to start rolling out these features “in the coming months,” according to a blog post. Some will come first to people who drive a car that comes with “Google Built-in,” the company’s driver-assistance software. Google updated its other route-finding app, Waze, with information on EV ... Read more ...
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Trump’s Mar-a-Lago fundraising pitch to oil executives: I will kill wind - Washington Post - Climate and Environment (Apr 17) |
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Apr 17 · Former president Donald Trump repeatedly ranted about wind power during a fundraising dinner with oil and gas industry executives last week, falsely claiming that the renewable-energy source is unreliable, unattractive and bad for the environment.
“I hate wind,” Trump told the executives over a meal of chopped steak at his Mar-a-Lago Club and resort in Florida, according to a person with knowledge of the meeting, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe a private conversation.
Trump’s comments reveal how he is wooing potential donors with his long-standing hostility to wind farms and pledges to halt this form of renewable energy if he returns to office. His ... Read more ...
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Where drought looms in Kenya, camels are the new cows - Washington Post - Climate and Environment (Apr 17) |
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Apr 17 · The camels had thump-thumped for seven days across northern Kenya, ushered by police reservists, winding at last toward their destination: less a village than a dusty clearing in the scrub, a place where something big was happening. People had walked for miles to be there. Soon the governor pulled up in his SUV. Women danced, and an emcee raised his hands to the sky. When the crowd gathered around an enclosure holding the camels, one man said he was looking at “the future.”
The camels had arrived to replace the cows.
Samburu County’s governor says that the climate patterns have become “abnormal.” The reduction in rainfall is so obvious, he said, that anybody can see it. ... Read more ...
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