"A Brazilian federal judge ruled that miners Vale, BHP and their joint venture Samarco must pay 47.6 billion reais ($9.67 billion) in damages for a 2015 tailings dam burst, according to a legal decision on Thursday seen by Reuters."
"Climate change was the primary driver of a massive drought in the Amazon basin in 2023 and will likely cause future extreme droughts, with potentially dire consequences for global efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions, according to a new report from World Weather Attribution."
"An investigation into nearly 1,700 aquifers across more than 40 countries found that groundwater levels in almost half have fallen since 2000. Only about 7 percent of the aquifers surveyed had groundwater levels that rose over that same time period."
"Lack of data about conditions in the Russian Arctic is already hampering climate science, and will cause ever-growing gaps in our understanding of how climate change affects the fastest-warming region of the planet, scientists warn."
"Flash floods inundated homes and overturned cars in San Diego on Monday as torrential rain swept through a large swath of the U.S., toppling trees and overflowing streets across California."
"As massive ships like Royal Caribbean’s Icon of the Seas tack on more energy-intensive amenities, emissions from the cruise industry are climbing."
"Memphis residents spent their fourth day boiling water for drinking, brushing their teeth and preparing food on Monday as repair crews worked to fix broken pipes in hopes of easing the stress caused by a week of subfreezing temperatures, snow and ice in this southern city."
"Months after the Supreme Court stripped federal protections for over half the nation’s wetlands, scientists and legal experts are raising new concerns about how the ruling could affect permits for pollutants in rivers and streams."
What environment stories will matter most in 2024 to communities of color and Indigenous communities? Columnist Yessenia Funes sheds light on concerns ranging from the environmental damage in Gaza and extreme weather across the United States to the fallout from the U.S. presidential election to the local impacts of the clean energy transition. Insights in the latest Voices of Environmental Justice.
"The nation’s rivers and streams remain stubbornly polluted with nutrients that contaminate drinking water and fuel a gigantic dead zone for aquatic life in the Gulf of Mexico, according to a recently released Environmental Protection Agency assessment."
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