UN says e-waste from trashed electric devices is piling up and recycling isn’t keeping pace

NAIROBI, Kenya — U.N. agencies have warned that waste from electronics is piling up worldwide while recycling rates remain low and are likely to fall even further. The agencies were referring to “e-waste,” which is defined as discarded devices with a plug or battery, including cellphones, electronic toys, TVs, microwave ovens, e-cigarettes, laptop computers and … Read more

An Amsterdam court has ruled KLM’s sustainable aviation advertising misled consumers

THE HAGUE, Netherlands — In a decision hailed by an environmental group as a historic victory, an Amsterdam court ruled Wednesday that Dutch national airline KLM misled consumers in statements about sustainable aviation in a case that accused the carrier of “greenwashing.” Amsterdam District Court said in a statement that in some advertisements, that are … Read more

With unsold grain piled high, a Polish farmer faces an uncertain future as war in Ukraine grinds on

CYWINY WOJSKIE, Poland — Piotr Korycki picks up a handful of wheat and watches as the yellow grains run through his fingers. All around him, grain is piled high in a warehouse on his farm north of the Polish capital: hundreds of tons of wheat, rye and corn left over from last year’s harvest that … Read more

Iceland’s latest volcanic eruption is decreasing in power, and defenses are holding

GRINDAVIK, Iceland — Lava from a volcanic eruption in Iceland flowed Sunday toward defenses around the town of Grindavik, which have so far held the molten rock back from the evacuated community. Scientists said the eruption appeared to be weakening and would probably peter out within hours. A volcanic system on the Reykjanes Peninsula in … Read more

South Sudan shutters all schools as it prepares for an extreme heat wave

JUBA, South Sudan — JUBA, South Sudan (AP) — South Sudan’s government is closing down all schools starting Monday as the country prepares for a wave of extreme heat expected to last two weeks. The health and education ministries advised parents to keep all children indoors as temperatures are expected to soar to 45 degrees … Read more

A warming island’s mice are breeding out of control and eating seabirds. An extermination is planned

CAPE TOWN, South Africa — Mice accidentally introduced to a remote island near Antarctica 200 years ago are breeding out of control because of climate change, and they are eating seabirds and causing major harm in a special nature reserve with “unique biodiversity.” Now conservationists are planning a mass extermination using helicopters and hundreds of … Read more

Amid rumble of tractor protests, European Union sets out more environmental concessions to farmers

BRUSSELS — The European Union’s executive arm on Friday proposed sacrificing even more climate and environmental measures in the bloc’s latest set of concessions to farmers apparently bent on continuing disruptive tractor protests until the June EU elections. Angering environmentalists across the 27 nations, the Commission proposed to further loosen rules imposed on agriculture which … Read more

In Mexico, a once glittering lake is being sucked dry by development, drought and lawlessness

VALLE DE BRAVO, Mexico — Once a glittering weekend getaway for wealthy residents of Mexico City, Valle de Bravo has been reduced to a shrinking, increasingly polluted puddle by a combination of drought, water transfers to the capital, bad planning and lawlessness. Residents said Thursday that Valle — as the reservoir has been known since … Read more

In Vietnam’s Mekong Delta, the lure of moving to the city grows even stronger amid climate shocks

CAN THO, Vietnam — Dao Bao Tran and her brother Do Hoang Trung, 11-year-old twins growing up on a rickety houseboat in the Mekong Delta, have dreams. Tran loves K-pop, watches videos at night to learn Korean and would love to visit Seoul. Trung wants to be a singer. But their hopes are “unrealistic,” said … Read more

UN nuclear chief tells Japan transparency is ‘very important’ in ruined nuclear plant’s discharges

TOKYO — The head of the U.N. atomic agency on Tuesday emphasized to Japan’s government the importance of transparency in its ongoing discharges of treated radioactive wastewater at the ruined Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. International Atomic Energy Agency Director-General Rafael Grossi also expressed support for increasing Japan’s nuclear capacity as the country looks to … Read more