Climate Change & Environment
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Abu Dhabi to ban single-use plastic bags from June

The capital of the United Arab Emirates announced Wednesday it would start banning single-use plastic bags from June, the oil-rich country's latest move to advance its ambitious carbon reduction goals.

The statement from Abu Dhabi's government-run media office did not specify how the upcoming ban would be enforced, whether by fining businesses distributing the ubiquitous thin bags or charging people for their use. The emirate also said it plans to completely get rid of single-use Styrofoam cups, plates and food containers by 2024.

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Donors secure $100M to benefit minorities on climate change

A group of financial donors committed to racial equity plans has secured at least $100 million annually to benefit minority groups that are disproportionately harmed by extreme weather events.

The group, the Donors of Color Network, also announced that 10 of the nation's top 40 donors to environment causes have now signed on to at least a portion of a pledge the network established last year. The Climate Funders Justice Pledge commits the donors to make their climate-related grants transparent and to direct at least 30% of their donations to groups that have Black, Indigenous or other people of color as their leaders.

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'Infurrection': Red fox terrorizes humans in U.S. Capitol rampage

Being outfoxed in Congress usually means losing a vote on an amended resolution or being too late for the donut line in the Senate cafeteria.

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Fly less? Go vegan? How people can take climate action

Individuals along with economy-wide efficiencies can make a major difference in the drive to avert the worst of global warming, U.N. climate experts say, estimating that sharp cuts to demand for energy-guzzling services could slash emissions up to 70 percent by 2050.   

Avoiding airplanes, eating less meat, insulating your home could all make a dent, particularly when broad swathes of societies embrace change, says the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.  

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Rockefeller's $105M plan to produce climate-friendly food

Since Russia and Ukraine together supply 30% of global wheat exports, a big chunk of the world is losing access to food.

Now one of the U.S.' biggest foundations is trying to deal with some of these challenges with a $105 million plan to improve food access, make nutritious and healthy food more widely available, and advance production of food in ways that does not harm the planet.

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U.N. warns Earth 'firmly on track toward an unlivable world'

Temperatures on Earth will shoot past a key danger point unless greenhouse gas emissions fall faster than countries have committed, the world's top body of climate scientists have said, warning of the consequences of inaction but also noting hopeful signs of progress.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change revealed "a litany of broken climate promises" by governments and corporations, accusing them of stoking global warming by clinging to harmful fossil fuels.

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Nevada toad declared endangered at site of geothermal plant

In a rare emergency move, the U.S. government has temporarily declared a northern Nevada toad endangered, saying a geothermal power plant in the works could result in its extinction.

The Fish and Wildlife Service announced it is formally proposing a rule to list the Dixie Valley toad as an endangered species subject to 60 days of public comment under the Endangered Species Act's normal rulemaking process.

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WHO says 99% of world's population breathes poor-quality air

The U.N. health agency says nearly everybody in the world breathes air that doesn't meet its standards for air quality, calling for more action to reduce fossil-fuel use, which generates pollutants that cause respiratory and blood-flow problems and lead to millions of preventable deaths each year.

The World Health Organization, about six months after tightening its guidelines on air quality, on Monday issued an update to its database on air quality that draws on information from a growing number of cities, towns, and villages across the globe — now totaling over 6,000 municipalities.

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Many birds nesting, laying eggs earlier in Chicago

Many species of birds are nesting and laying eggs nearly a month earlier than they did 100 years ago in the Chicago area and researchers believe climate change is behind it.

Those were among the findings in a new study published in the Journal of Animal Ecology. Researchers compared recent observations with century-old eggs preserved in museum collections.

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'Green steel' heating up in Sweden's frozen north

For hundreds of years, raging blast furnaces — fed with coking coal — have forged steel used in cars, railways, bridges and skyscrapers.

But the puffs of coal-fired smoke are a big source of carbon dioxide, the heat-trapping gas that's driving climate change.

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