Environment
Natural surroundings and ecological issues
Latest stories
-
An artist captures how summer's heat waves hit Paris and its homeless so hard
PARIS (AP) — As Paris emerges from months of oppressive heat, cooler autumn temperatures are welcomed back like a long-lost friend. But images of France's hottest summer remain etched in memories — and in the artwork of illustrator Marina Antonova.
-
They are paid to bring rain. When it fails — or leads to floods — violence can follow
African rainmakers have long served as spiritual leaders in their communities, performing rituals to implore the deities for rainfall. The rainmaking spirit usually moves across generations of a particular clan, ensuring continuity of this service. But the rainmakers are also victims of their suc...
-
Indigenous leader Raoni receives palliative care in Brazil after cancer diagnosis
SAO PAULO (AP) — Renowned Indigenous Chief Raoni Metuktire is receiving palliative care at home in the Brazilian heartland after being diagnosed with cancer at age 94, his institute said Monday.
-
Supreme Court to decide whether to hear Maine lobsterman’s challenge to GPS boat tracker requirement
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — The Supreme Court will decide later this month whether to hear a lobster fisherman’s challenge to a government requirement that boats use electronic tracking devices. That case could have broad consequences for the American commercial fishing industry.
-
EPA eliminates rule that limits planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions from power plants
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Environmental Protection Agency said Monday it is repealing rules that limit planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions from power plants fueled by coal and natural gas and announced it is taking a separate but related step to prevent future administrations from regulating clim...
-
The Latest: Supreme Court rejects Trump’s mail ballot restrictions for now ahead of midterms
The Supreme Court has rejected President Donald Trump’s bid to restrict mail ballots ahead of the midterms. The decision allows states to continue sending ballots under existing processes used by nearly one-third of voters. The Trump administration wanted restrictions in place before the November...
-
PHOTO ESSAY: Border wall cuts through wildlife refuge
ALAMO, Texas (AP) — A segment of border wall erected in late July stands incomplete along the edge of a wildlife refuge in Alamo, Texas, after a lawsuit halted work.
-
Thick haze disrupts flights on Indonesia's Borneo island
PONTIANAK, Indonesia (AP) — Thick smoke from forest fires has disrupted airline flights for several days in Indonesia's West Kalimantan province as an intensifying El Niño weather pattern and a prolonged dry season worsen the impact of blazes.
-
Drenching rains bring flash flooding across coastal Connecticut, New York and New Jersey
WESTPORT, Conn. (AP) — Flash flooding brought on by heavy rains prompted road closures, water rescues and commuter rail problems across the tristate area Sunday.
-
European leaders meet as Arctic thaw opens shipping routes and Russian buildup stokes security fears
ROVANIEMI, Finland (AP) — European leaders joined forces Monday to highlight growing competition in the Arctic, where global warming is opening new shipping routes, governments are vying for vast natural resources and a Russian military buildup is heightening security concerns.
-
Electric mobility brings Africa’s energy transition into the wild
MAASAI MARA, Kenya (AP) — Joshua Kijape eases his motorcycle through the tall grass, listening for movement in the bush. There is no engine rumble, no exhaust and little warning for anything ahead.
-
Where have all the Atlantic hurricanes gone? El Nino might bring record slow storm season
The Atlantic is quiet — record quiet — this hurricane season thanks to an enormous El Nino that crushes storms before they get going.
-
Solheim Cup fans arrive the Dutch way, with thousands of bikes at Bernardus Golf
DEN BOSCH, Netherlands (AP) — How else would you get to a golf tournament in the Netherlands?
-
Federal court rejects Trump order keeping Michigan coal plant open
WASHINGTON (AP) — In a defeat for the Trump administration, a federal court on Friday ruled that the Energy Department exceeded its authority when it forced a Michigan coal-fired power plant to stay open past its scheduled retirement date last year.
-
Tourists should skip Kauai for now as it recovers from Hurricane Lowell, officials say
Tourism officials are asking visitors to steer clear of one of Hawaii’s most picturesque islands as residents and businesses work to recover from the latest tropical storm to thrash the state.
-
Whitmer rethinks Line 5 tunnel permits, ramps up shutdown pleas after court ruling
State environmental regulators are reviewing permits they recently granted for the Line 5 tunnel project, in light of a recent Michigan Supreme Court decision that raised the bar for environmental reviews.
-
The push to remove lead pipes is on. Thousands of water systems still don’t know where theirs are
Kathryn Pilgrim knew the century-old Victorian she bought in Dunkirk, New York, came with old plumbing. She replaced pipes she suspected of containing lead and later installed a kitchen filter designed to remove heavy metals.
-
Hurricane Lowell knocks out a port in Hawaii that is one island's main source for food and fuel
HONOLULU (AP) — Crews began repairing the only cargo port on one of Hawaii's smallest main islands while power was being restored to another island Thursday, two days after Hurricane Lowell skirted along the state's western edge. At least two deaths were linked to the storm.
-
California officials allow plans for the country's biggest kelp farm to move forward
California has long been farm country, and its oceans soon could be, too.
-
Japan deploys equipment to Indonesia's Borneo to help fight wildfires causing toxic haze
MEMPAWAH, Indonesia (AP) — A Japanese military transport ship docked on the island of Borneo on Thursday as part of a disaster relief mission to help fight wildfires in Indonesia that are causing a toxic haze impacting people’s health in other countries.
-
Chinese electric bike imports surge as Africa’s EV investments diversify
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Africa’s imports of electric motorcycles and three-wheelers from China rose sharply in the first half of 2026, an increase that highlights a divide in the continent's transition to electric vehicles.
-
Global heat stuck on high. Scientists say August was Earth's hottest month they've measured.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Earth cooked to its hottest month on record in August, blowing far past a key climate threshold, due to the dangerous double whammy of human-caused climate change and a supersized El Nino, according to the European climate service Copernicus.
-
A stronger-than-normal El Nino alarms scientists over Galápagos wildlife and forests
QUITO, Ecuador (AP) — The prediction that this season’s El Nino phenomenon will be stronger than normal has alarmed the Ecuadorian scientific community, which has warned of its impact on the flora and fauna of the Galapagos Islands, home to the highest concentration of species not found elsewhere...
-
Takeaways from AP story on a major effort to restore peatland in North Carolina
Investors and scientists are restoring a 23-square-mile tract of peatland in North Carolina to curb emissions of climate-warming carbon dioxide and regenerate native habitat. Ditches have drained water from thousands of years accumulated peat, leaving the site vulnerable to drought and wildfire a...
-
In North Carolina, a race is on to restore critical peatland before it dries up or is destroyed
Scientists and investors are restoring a 23-square-mile tract of peatland in North Carolina to help curb climate-warming emissions and restore native habitat. Ditches have drained water from thousands of years of accumulated peat, leaving the site vulnerable to drought and wildfire and unleashing...
