Earth on the brink of a key warming threshold after chart-busting year

A wind change increased flames during a planned ignition on the Ross Moore Lake wildfire in Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada, on Friday, July 28, 2023. Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images Last year — the hottest on record — smashed a series of climate records and gave new meaning to the phrase “off the charts,” … Read more

Norway wants to store carbon under the North Sea

The receiving dock at the Northern Lights carbon capture and storage project, controlled by Equinor ASA, Shell Plc and TotalEnergies SE, at Blomoyna, Norway, on Friday, Jan. 19, 2024. Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images Norway’s government wants to show the world it is possible to safely inject and store carbon waste under the seabed, … Read more

The US Buried Nuclear Waste Abroad. Climate Change Could Unearth It

This story originally appeared on Grist and is part of the Climate Desk collaboration. Ariana Tibon was in college at the University of Hawaii in 2017 when she saw the photo online: a black-and-white picture of a man holding a baby. The caption said: “Nelson Anjain getting his baby monitored on March 2, 1954, by … Read more

Activists urge Nigeria to delay Shell’s sale of assets in polluted region over environmental worries

ABUJA, Nigeria — Local activists and international environmental groups want Nigeria’s government to delay approving the sale of oil company Shell’s onshore assets, claiming Shell is trying to shirk its environmental and social responsibilities in the highly polluted Niger Delta. The London-based company is trying to sell its subsidiary Shell Petroleum Development Company — which … Read more

Fake Caviar Invented in the 1930s Could Be the Solution to Plastic Pollution

Imitation caviar invented in the 1930s could provide the solution to plastic pollution, claims Pierre Paslier, CEO of London-based packaging company Notpla. He discovered the cheap food alternative, invented by Unilever and made using seaweed, after quitting his job as a packaging engineer at L’Oréal. With cofounder and co-CEO Rodrigo García González, Paslier and Notpla have … Read more

SpaceX to Deorbit 100 Starlink Satellites Due to Detected Flaw

An unspecified defect in early model Starlink satellites has prompted SpaceX to preemptively deorbit the units before they potentially fail and become hazards in low Earth orbit. While the company remains confident that the deorbiting of these problematic units will prevent any issues, this incident underscores the challenges and uncertainties in navigating the realm of … Read more

The EU’s green reputation takes a hit

A farmer pulls waste to block the RN 19 near in Vesoul, eastern France, on January 25, 2024.  Sebastien Bozon | Afp | Getty Images The European Union prides itself on being a champion for the environment. But that reputation is now being firmly tested, after it toned down its climate policies following angry farmer … Read more

World’s largest cruise ship sets sail from Miami

Royal Caribbean’s Icon of the Seas, the world’s largest cruise ship, heads to the dock during its first arrival into PortMiami on Jan. 10, 2024. Pedro Portal | Tribune News Service | Getty Images The world’s largest cruise ship set sail from Miami, Florida over the weekend, embarking on a seven-day island-hopping trip through the … Read more

Air pollution and politics pose cross-border challenges in South Asia

LAHORE, Pakistan — The air smells burnt in Lahore, a city in Pakistan’s east that used to be famous for its gardens but has become infamous for its terrible air quality. Toxic smog has sickened tens of thousands of people in recent months. Flights have been canceled. Artificial rain was deployed last December to battle … Read more

Air Pollution Is Ruining Your Skin

In June last year, a series of devastating wildfires tore through the Canadian province of Quebec, sending huge plumes of acrid smoke drifting across North America. Three hundred miles away in Boston, dermatologist Shadi Kourosh noticed something strange. “We had an unusual spike in dermatology visits,” says Kourosh, who is director of community health in … Read more