Climate Change & Environment
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Australian wildfire danger causes fire ban in Sydney and closes schools

Sydney experienced its first total fire ban in almost three years on Tuesday and several schools along the New South Wales state coast to the south were closed because of a heightened wildfire danger, caused by unusually hot and dry conditions across southeast Australia.

Authorities have forecast the most destructive wildfire season during the approaching Southern Hemisphere summer in Australia's populous southeast since the catastrophic Black Summer fires of 2019-20 that killed 33 people, destroyed more than 3,000 homes and razed 19 million hectares (47 million acres).

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Climate activists spray Berlin's Brandenburg Gate with orange paint

German climate activists have sprayed orange paint onto Berlin's Brandenburg Gate to urge the German government to take more urgent action against climate change.

Members of the group the Last Generation used fire extinguishers filled with paint to spray all six columns of the popular landmark in Germany's capital. The group's priorities include getting Germany to stop using all fossil fuels by 2030 and take short-term measures, including imposing a general speed limit of 100 kilometers per hour (62 mph) on highways, to cut emissions more quickly.

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Tens of thousands march to kick off climate summit

Yelling that the future and their lives depend on ending fossil fuels, tens of thousands of protesters have kicked off a week where leaders will try once again to curb climate change primarily caused by coal, oil and natural gas.

But protesters say it's not going to be enough. And they aimed their wrath directly at U.S. President Joe Biden, urging him to stop approving new oil and gas projects, phase out current ones and declare a climate emergency with larger executive powers.

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In corrupt Libya, longtime warnings of Derna dams collapse went unheeded

The warnings were clear but went unheeded.

Experts had long said that floods posed a significant danger to two dams meant to protect nearly 90,000 people in the northeast of Libya. They repeatedly called for immediate maintenance to the two structures, located just uphill from the coastal city of Derna. But successive governments in the chaos-stricken North African nation did not react.

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Earth is outside its 'safe operating space for humanity'

Earth is exceeding its "safe operating space for humanity" in six of nine key measurements of its health, and two of the remaining three are headed in the wrong direction, a new study said.

Earth's climate, biodiversity, land, freshwater, nutrient pollution and "novel" chemicals (human-made compounds like microplastics and nuclear waste) are all out of whack, a group of international scientists said in Wednesday's journal Science Advances. Only the acidity of the oceans, the health of the air and the ozone layer are within the boundaries considered safe, and both ocean and air pollution are heading in the wrong direction, the study said.

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Citing sustainability, Starbucks wants to overhaul its iconic cup

Bethany Patton steps up to the counter and places her pink mug into a shoebox-sized dishwasher. It spins. It whirs. Water splashes inside. After 90 seconds, the door opens and steam emerges. A barista grabs the mug, dries it and prepares Patton's order — a 16-ounce Starbucks double espresso on ice.

For bringing her own cup, Patton gets $1 off her drink.

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Hurricane Lee to strike weather-worn New England after heavy rain, flooding and tornadoes

After a deluge of rain, flooding, sinkholes and tornadoes this week, New England is about to face Hurricane Lee.

As the Category 1 system impacted Bermuda, Maine was under its first hurricane watch in 15 years and a state of emergency declared Thursday by Gov. Janet Mills. The water-logged region prepared for 20-foot (6-meter) waves offshore and wind gusts up to 80 mph (129 kph), along with more rain.

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Climate protesters around the world call for end to fossils fuels as Earth heats up

Tens of thousands of climate activists around the world are protesting Friday and through the weekend to call for an end to the burning of planet-warming fossil fuels as the globe suffers dramatic weather extremes and record-breaking heat.

The strike — driven by several mostly youth-led, local and global climate groups and organizations, including Greta Thunberg's Fridays for Future movement — is taking place in dozens of countries and in hundreds of cities worldwide.

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Derna closed off as searchers look for 10,100 missing after flood deaths rise to 11,300

Libyan authorities blocked civilians from entering the flood-stricken eastern city of Derna on Friday so search teams could look through the mud and wrecked buildings for 10,100 people still missing after the known toll rose to 11,300 dead.

The disaster after two dams collapsed in heavy rains and sent a massive flood gushing into the Mediterranean city early Monday underscored the storm's intensity but also Libya's vulnerability. The oil-rich state since 2014 has been split between rival governments in the east and west backed by various militia forces and international patrons.

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New England has been hit by likely tornado, Hurricane Lee is up next

Hurricane Lee looks poised to wallop New England later this week even as the region still deals with the impact of days of wild weather that produced torrential rain, flooding, sinkholes and a likely tornado.

A hurricane watch stretches from Stonington, Maine to the U.S.-Canadian border, where hurricane conditions, heavy rainfall and coastal flooding are possible Friday night and Saturday, the National Hurricane Center said Wednesday night.

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