Disasters

"Businesses that have paid a collective $52 million in penalties for environmental offenses received up to $32 million in PPP money."

"Clothes recycling is the pressure-release valve of fast fashion, and it’s breaking under COVID-19 curbs. The multi-billion-dollar trade in second-hand clothing helps prevent the global fashion industry’s growing pile of waste going straight to landfill, while keeping wardrobes clear for next season’s designs."

"A collection of threats — habitat loss, pathogens, pesticides, pollution and poor nutrition — have led to widespread decline in bee health and pollinator populations."

"Offshore wind farms will generate enough electricity to power every home in the UK within a decade, Boris Johnson has pledged. Speaking to the Conservative party conference, the PM announced £160m to upgrade ports and factories for building turbines to help the country "build back greener"."

"After becoming a hurricane over the Caribbean on Monday evening, Delta continued to rapidly gain strength Tuesday morning and is forecast to reach Category 4 strength or greater. AccuWeather forecasters are warning that the powerful storm is on a path to strike the central Gulf Coast of the United States prior to the end of this week."

"A long-delayed flood barrier successfully protected Venice from a high tide for the first time on Saturday, bringing relief and smiles to the lagoon city following years of repeated inundations."

"The Department of Health and Human Services decided to award a second $10.2 million, six-month contract to TeleTracking Technologies even though Congressional committees are investigating the process by which the contract was awarded and the HHS Inspector General is looking at how the company is securing the information it is gathering, an NPR Investigation has learned."

"Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, is decrying the political polarization that has led some Americans to question the science behind climate change and COVID-19."

"Jeannie Weber could probably rebuild her ruined house in the foothills of California’s Sierra Nevada mountains. But as wildfires rage with increasing frequency, it doesn’t seem safe."

"The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) mishandled the distribution of aid in Puerto Rico after two devastating 2017 hurricanes, the agency’s Office of Inspector General said in a report released Thursday."