All Environment
- First LookAtlantic hurricane season 2023 is underway. Here's what to expect.
The 2023 Atlantic hurricane season began June 1. Forecasters and experts are predicting 12 to 17 named storms could form, with five to nine developing into hurricanes. Here’s what residents along the U.S. southeastern coastline should know.
- First LookDo carbon credits work? With recent bill, Brazil says yes.
Brazil’s congress passed a bill this week that would make carbon credits available to companies that receive forest concessions. Although the new policy is expected to boost tax revenue, there is doubt that it will actually benefit local communities.
- Why UN talks this week focus on just one word: Plastics
Few plastics are recycled, and instead particles are increasingly ubiquitous in the environment. Our charts give context as nations seek a treaty.
- Points of ProgressChanging views on crime, from Central Asia to the South Pacific
Progress roundup: From Uzbekistan to Cook Islands, evolving views on behavior and relationships yield legal protection for battered partners and gay men.
- First LookNext green leader? India halts new coal plant construction.
India released its five-year energy plan May 31, 2023, which bars the country from building any new coal power plants and promotes renewable energy development. India is the world’s third largest emitter but aims to be carbon neutral by 2070.
- First LookGlobal heatwaves are getting hotter. How can risks be curbed?
Climate change-fueled heatwaves are shattering records worldwide, and scientists expect them to worsen. Urgent action is needed, they say, to mitigate risks to health, food security, water management, and the environment.
- First LookCalifornia’s test: Can floodwater be captured and stored for future?
While heavy winter storms alleviated California’s years of “megadrought,” experts say that capturing the rainwater presents a challenge and opportunity. One solution to harnessing the resource could be the recharging of underground water systems.
- First LookWomen in Guyana plant mangroves to battle rising seas
Indigenous women use drones, scientific data, and the replanting of mangroves to slow the progression of rising seas in the South American nation of Guyana.
- First LookMore wetlands wiped out? Supreme Court favors farmers over protections.
The Supreme Court is curtailing the federal government’s power to protect some wetlands, making it easier for farmers and developers to fill or disturb wetlands. The decision weakens the Clean Water Act, a bedrock environmental law.
- Points of ProgressDamage control: How the World Bank reformed and Brazil curbs illegal gold
Progress roundup: Efforts to protect people with less power include Brazil's testing to identify illegal gold, and the World Bank's 30-year-old reforms.
- First LookWestern states strike a deal to conserve water from Colorado River
Arizona, California, and Nevada agree to significantly cut their water use from the drought-stricken Colorado River in exchange for money from the federal government.
- In Sweden, recycled fabrics turn old clothes into new fashion
To address the fashion industry’s rampant waste problem, innovators are processing old clothes into brand-new textiles.
- FocusCalifornia battles a ‘ghost lake’ – and its own political divisions
Tulare Lake, which didn’t exist mere months ago, could submerge a community and two prisons. Local and state agencies are having to work together.
- In Pictures: Two views of elephant tourism in Thailand
As Thailand’s elephant tourism rebounds from a pandemic pause, so too has discussion of how to best care for the beloved beasts.
- On solar energy, a top-down push meets bottom-up doubts
Solar power is a growth industry and a national priority. But that doesn’t mean solar projects are easily built. One problem may be a lack of dialogue between investors and local communities.
- Points of ProgressBright spots: Dark sky in China, and TV lessons for Afghan girls
Progress roundup: The BBC creates educational TV shows for Afghan girls stuck at home; a Chinese community gets certified by the Dark-Sky Association.
- Biden targets power plant emissions. How does your state stack up?
As the Biden administration proposes new power plant rules to address climate change, our chart package looks at current emissions and how to fund a transition.
- Meet Peru’s unsung hero of the Pómac Forest
Reviving a forest is a community affair. But collective efforts often begin with one person. In Peru’s Pómac Forest, that’s Carlos Alberto Llauce Baldera.
- The ExplainerNo more gas stoves? New York is first state to ban gas in new buildings.
New York state’s ban on natural gas in new construction has critics, but also supporters who say it’s an important step toward net-zero emissions.
- Points of ProgressReunited: Stolen art goes home, and why lonely habitats need company
Progress roundup: New York's Antiquities Traffic Unit returns hundreds of objects, the Amazon's isolated habitats grow stronger when linked, and more.