Environmental Glance
The Trump administration has unveiled plans to speed the development of the highly polluting artificial intelligence sector, sparking outrage from climate advocates.
Rolled out on Wednesday, the 28-page scheme pledges to remove so-called “bureaucratic red tape” and streamline permitting for datacenters, semiconductor manufacturing facilities and fossil fuel infrastructure.
To do so, it will dismantle some environmental and land-use regulations, roll back some Biden-era rules for subsidies for semiconductor plants related to climate requirements, and seek to establish exclusions for datacenters from the National Environmental Policy Act and streamline permits under the Clean Water Act.
Climate advocates outraged at Trump administration plans to fast-track AI sector
Trump’s EPA eliminates research and development office and begins layoffs
Trump’s EPA eliminates research and development of
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said on Friday it is eliminating its research and development arm and reducing agency staff by thousands of employees. One union leader said the moves “will devastate public health in our country”.
The agency’s office of research and development (ORD) has long provided the scientific underpinnings for the EPA’s mission to protect the environment and human health. The EPA said in May it would shift its scientific expertise and research efforts to program offices that focus on major issues such as air and water.
The agency said on Friday it is creating a new office of applied science and environmental solutions that will allow it to focus on research and science “more than ever before”.
Storm Tracker: National Hurricane Center watching disturbance in Atlantic
A tropical wave is interacting with a broad low pressure area to produce the showers and thunderstorms in the open Atlantic Ocean, more than 900 miles southwest of the Cabo Verde Islands, off of Africa, forecasters said.
“Environmental conditions appear marginally conducive for gradual development of this system during the next few days as it moves westward to north-westward around 10 mph,” the center, part of the National Weather Service, said in an update.
By the middle of next week, conditions are expected to become unfavorable for the system to develop, forecasters said. AccuWeather said the pattern is expected to be met with wind shear approaching the Caribbean Sea, which could limit the system from intensifying.
Tsunami advisory issued in parts of Alaska after 7.3-magnitude earthquake
Tsunami advisory issued in parts of Alaska after 7.3-magnitude earthquake
Noaa initially issued a tsunami warning in the state’s southern coast, which it later downgraded to an advisory.
A stretch of Alaska’s southern coast was under a tsunami advisory on Wednesday after a strong earthquake was felt throughout the region.
More...
The US Geological Survey described the earthquake as a magnitude 7.3. After the quake, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration issued a tsunami warning, which it later downgraded to an advisory.
The US Tsunami Center said the advisory was in effect from about 40 miles (64.4km) south-west of Homer to Unimak Pass, a distance of about 700 miles (1,126.5km). The area is sparsely populated – among the larger communities in the area is Kodiak, which is home to 5,200 people.
Meanwhile, officials in the Pacific north-west were evaluating whether there was any threat to coastlines there.
The first waves were projected to hit the village of Sand Point, a community of about 580 people on Popof Island, in the Aleutian chain. The first waves were projected to land there, but the state’s emergency management division said an hour after the quake that it had received no reports of damage.
New York City subway stations flood from heavy rain
New York City’s subway system was fully operational for the Tuesday morning commute, however some roads remained closed in sections of New York and New Jersey after heavy rain swept across the U.S. Northeast overnight, causing flash floods.
The region was hit with heavy rain Monday evening, resulting in flash floods that not only impacted roads and air travel, but also the transit system.
Multiple subway lines ran with severe delays in several boroughs, and some were even suspended due to issues caused by the floods.
Video taken by Veronica Zhang shows water spewing across the 28th Street Station in Manhattan as well as flooding at the street level.
Wildfires destroy historic lodge on Grand Canyon’s North Rim, park says
The historic Grand Canyon Lodge on the monument’s North Rim has been destroyed by a fast-moving wildfire, the park said on Sunday. The blaze has forced officials to close access to that area for the season.
The Grand Canyon Lodge, the only lodging inside the park at the North Rim, was consumed by the flames, park superintendent Ed Keable told park residents, staff and others in a meeting Sunday morning. He said the visitor center, the gas station, a waste water treatment plant, an administrative building and some employee housing also were lost.
Two wildfires are burning at or near the North Rim, known as the White Sage fire and the Bravo Dragon fire, and have collectively burned more than 45,000 acres. The White Sage fire burned 40,126 acres (16,200 hectares) near the North Rim, while the Dragon Bravo fire, burning to the south within Grand Canyon national park, reached 5,000 acres according to InciWeb, a federal government wildfire tracker.
The Bravo Dragon fire is the one that impacted the lodge and other structures. The park initially was managing it as a controlled burn but then shifted to suppression as it rapidly grew, fire officials said. It was sparked by lightning on 4 July.
Tropical trouble could be brewing around Florida, hurricane forecasters say
Another potential tropical disturbance popped up on the National Hurricane Center's tracking chart on Saturday, July 12.
For those who watch every potential storm closely, this initial map looks a lot like the first one that popped up for Tropical Storm Chantal. The possible development area swoops from the Atlantic to the Gulf across much of Florida, but this time the system is moving toward the Gulf, and the advisory includes the southern shores of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.
A broad area of low pressure could develophttp sometime within the next several days offshore of the southeastern U.S. coast, the hurricane center said on the afternoon of July 12. Environmental conditions could become "marginally conducive" for the gradual development of a system within five to seven days as it moves westward across Florida. The chances of development are low, only 20%.
More Articles...
Page 3 of 201
