Climate Change & Environment
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EU Draft on Financing Nuclear and Gas Plants Raises Ire

Draft European Union plans that would allow nuclear and gas energy to remain part of the bloc's path to a climate-friendly future came under immediate criticism over the weekend from both environmentalists and some governing political parties in EU member nations.

In draft conclusions seen by The Associated Press, the EU's executive commission proposes a classification system for defining what counts as an investment in sustainable energy. Under certain conditions, it would allow gas and nuclear energy to be part of the mix.

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Gulf Arab Countries on Alert for Heavy Rains

Authorities in several Gulf countries have renewed weather warnings as several days of heavy rains batter the usually arid region.

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Climate Change, New Construction Mean more Ruinous Fires

The winter grassland fire that blew up along Colorado's Front Range was rare, experts say, but similar events will be more common in the coming years as climate change warms the planet — sucking the moisture out of plants — suburbs grow in fire-prone areas and people continue to spark destructive blazes.

"These fires are different from most of the fires we've been seeing across the West, in the sense that they're grass fires and they're occurring in the winter," said Jonathan Overpeck, a professor in the School for Environment and Sustainability at the University of Michigan. "Ultimately, things are going to continue to get worse unless we stop climate change."

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Will Beijing's 'Green Olympics' Really be Green?

China wants to use the Beijing Winter Olympics to showcase its green credentials but there are concerns over the environmental cost of a Games relying on artificial snow in one of the driest places in the country.

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Runaway Frenzied Elephant Herd Breaks into Bangladesh Park

A herd of endangered wild elephants are rampaging through a safari park in Bangladesh, with officials warning Sunday the creatures were acting aggressively and posed a serious safety threat.

The herd of at least 13 elephants knocked down a seven-foot (two-meter) concrete wall to break into the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Safari Park, north of the resort city of Cox's Bazar, earlier this week.

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India Saw Record 126 Tiger Deaths in 2021

India's tiger conservation body said 126 of the endangered big cats died in 2021, the most since it began compiling data a decade ago.

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Another Round of Snow before Thaw Comes to Frigid U.S. Northwest

A thaw-out is coming for frozen Seattle and Portland, Oregon, but not before another round of snow that could compound problems for a region more accustomed to winter rain than arctic blasts.

More snow and rain fell on California on Wednesday, causing travel disruptions on mountain routes and raising the risk of debris flows from wildfire burn scars.

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Winter Snow, Cold Slam Northwest and Sierra

The Pacific Northwest and Sierra Nevada have grappled with another day of snow, ice and unseasonable cold that has disrupted traffic, caused closures and forced people to find refuge in emergency warming shelters.

Across western Washington and Oregon, officials and private groups opened emergency spaces for people as forecasters said the extreme cold from an arctic blast that blew in Sunday could last until the weekend.

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Severe Brazil Flooding Spreads in Bahia and Beyond

A total of 116 cities in the northeastern Brazilian state of Bahia were in a state of emergency because of flooding due to heavy rains that have been pounding the region since the end of November.

Cities in at least five other states in Brazil's north and southeast have also been flooded in recent days.

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Drought-Hit Western U.S. Walloped by Powerful Winter Storm

A powerful winter storm battered the western United States Monday, dumping much-needed snow on the drought-parched mountains of California, but causing travel misery over a wide area.

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