Biodiversity

Today's Top 5

Pruitt: Aggressive Cuts to Obama-Era Green Rules to Start Soon

U.S. President Donald Trump's administration will begin rolling back Obama-era environmental regulations in an "aggressive way" as soon as next week, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency said on Saturday - adding he understood why some Americans want to see his agency eliminated completely. Pruitt added the EPA's focus on combating climate change under former President Barack Obama had cost jobs and prevented economic growth, leading many Americans to want to see the EPA eliminated completely. - Reuters

Amazon Deforestation, Once Tamed, Comes Roaring Back

A decade after the “Save the Rainforest” movement forced changes that dramatically slowed deforestation across the Amazon basin, activity is roaring back in some of the biggest expanses of forests in the world. That resurgence, driven by the world’s growing appetite for soy and other agricultural crops, is raising the specter of a backward slide in efforts to preserve biodiversity and fight climate change. - New York Times

A World Turned Upside Down

Wind and solar energy are disrupting a century-old model of providing electricity. What will replace it? - The Economist

Firefighters and Cancer: Is a Risky Job Even Riskier?

In 2015, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released the final results of what is currently the largest study of cancer risk among career firefighters ever conducted in the United States. The study of about 30,000 firefighters over a 60-year span showed that compared with the general population, firefighters on average are at higher risk for certain kinds of cancer — mainly oral, digestive, respiratory, genital and urinary cancers. The CDC also found that firefighters who were exposed to more fires than their peers experienced more instances of lung cancer and leukemia, said Robert Daniels, the principal investigator of the project and a research epidemiologist at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. The risks come on many fronts, research has indicated. - Washington Post

South Florida Continues Prep For Sea Level Rise

The causes of climate change and debate about how far government should go to prepare for it continue to be a political flash point nationally. But at Florida’s southern end, densely populated and with billions in real estate at stake, preparing for it has become commonplace. - Sun Sentinel

Today's Top 5 Trending

"Former Black Panther Starts Urban Farm to Give Former Inmates a Fresh Start"

Veteran activist Elaine Brown has hatched a plan that begins with a farm, and could bring about a renaissance in an poor Oakland neighborhood. -- Civil Eats

"Tribe Fights to Save Boreal Forest in Quebec"

The Cree grand chief signed an accord with the Quebec government in July to preserve 9,134 square kilometers of woodland caribou habitat along the 450-kilometer Broadback, which flows through the taiga to the Arctic. But Waswanipi trappers say the deal does too little to safeguard their land. -- Agence France-Presse

"Heavy Sandstorm Sweeps Across Middle East"

A dense sandstorm engulfing parts of the Middle East left at least eight people dead and hundreds suffering from respiratory problems on Tuesday, as officials warned residents to stay indoors. -- Times of Oman.

"Human Activity Driving Half the World's Crocodile Species to Extinction"

Crocodile researcher warns the reptiles face a ‘bleak future’, but Australia’s saltwater and freshwater species have a brighter outlook due to hunting ban. -- The Guardian

"EPA Colorado Spill Pales in Comparison to Everyday Mine Leaks"

Environmental advocates and groups that have for decades been trying to clean up the legacy of unregulated mining say the incident pales in comparison to the broader problem of tens of thousands of mines leaking across the country. -- Greenwire