The Guardian
Latest environmental news, opinion and analysis from the Guardian.
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People in the US: how have you coped during this summer of record heat?
We’d like to hear from people about the impact of extreme heat this summer – and if you’ve had your power cut
It’s been a record summer of heat in the US with rolling heat domes and July being the hottest month ever recorded in the country, surpassing temperatures stretching back 132 years of reliable measurements, to 1895. July’s temperatures surpassed previous high marks set in July 1936, in the teeth of dust bowl conditions, and in July 2012.
We want to hear from people across the US on how they have coped with the heat – and what it has meant for utility bills. Has the heat affected you or your family physically? Have you had to change your daily routines?Have your bills soared with the cost of keeping your home cool?
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And we especially want to hear from people who have had their electricity cut off during the extreme heat or have had trouble keeping up with utility payments. -
Hawaii has often dodged the path of hurricanes. Why did it see so many storms this summer?
Despite its location, the island chain has avoided the worst effects, but Hurricanes Lowell and Lala left a trail of damage this year
Hurricane Lowell surged near the Hawaiian Islands this week, leaving a trail of downed trees and power lines, crumbled roads, sunken boats and destroyed piers on the island of Kauai.
Residents were left to grapple not only with the damage, but the rising risks to the tropical archipelago as sea surface temperatures climb.
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Chemical companies reach $455m settlement with North Carolina over ‘forever chemicals’ claims
Chemours, DuPont and Corteva reach settlement after lawsuits accuse companies of polluting drinking water
Chemours, DuPont and Corteva on Thursday reached a $455m settlement with North Carolina and 11 local entities over Pfas contamination claims tied to Chemours’ Fayetteville Works plant and other historical discharges.
Lawsuits accusing major chemical companies of polluting US drinking water with toxic Pfas chemicals – a group of pollutants referred to as “forever chemicals” – have led to settlements worth billions of dollars, including one struck by the three companies in New Jersey last year.
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Chemical industry backed laws in three US states to restrict use of air pollution data
As public air monitors disappear, federal rollbacks and state laws are making it harder than ever to know what’s in the air
As the US’s network for monitoring air pollution deteriorates, a Floodlight investigation has found that the chemical industry is going state-to-state to restrict one of the few options citizens have left for holding polluters accountable: low-cost air sensors.
Over the past two years, the non-profit investigative newsroom determined, lawmakers in Louisiana, Kentucky and Ohio have passed strikingly similar laws barring regulators from acting on air-quality data that communities collect themselves – unless it comes from Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-approved equipment that typically costs tens of thousands of dollars. Similar legislation has repeatedly been introduced in West Virginia.
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Climate ‘feedback loops’ could worsen global warming by 30%, study finds
Emissions of planet-heating methane and CO2 from natural sources are worsening the climate crisis, paper says
Rising global temperatures caused by the burning of fossil fuels are transforming the world’s forests, wetlands and tundra to the point they are releasing emissions that could further worsen global heating by as much as 30%, a new study has found.
As the world heats up, permafrost in the high latitudes is thawing, fiercer wildfires are burning in drying forests and wetlands and lakes are warming. All of these changes are themselves causing the release of planet-heating methane and carbon dioxide locked in trees and soils, therefore worsening the climate crisis, the paper states.
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