"In 1996, Botswana erected an 83-mile fence along its border with Namibia. The goal was to protect domestic cattle from the highly contagious foot-and-mouth disease. Within a year, though, the barrier had snared five giraffes, one elephant, several antelopes and numerous other wild animals."
"Several damaging Los Angeles-area earthquakes of the 1920s and 1930s, including the deadliest ever in Southern California, may have been induced by oil production during the region's drilling boom of that era, U.S. government scientists reported on Tuesday."
"Rep. Dan Kildee has asked Congressional leaders to launch an investigation into a pharmaceutical company accused of raising prices of its lead treatment drug in the wake of Flint's lead water crisis receiving international attention."
"California on Tuesday moved to ease water conservation rules for farmers in the northern and central parts of the state, a sign that a wet fall may portend an easing of the state's five-year drought."
"The German cabinet has approved a draft law banning cultivation of crops with genetically modified organisms (GMOs), government sources told Reuters on Wednesday."
"TigerSwan is one of several security firms under investigation for its work guarding the Dakota Access pipeline in North Dakota while potentially without a permit. Besides this recent work on the Standing Rock Sioux protests in North Dakota, this company has offices in Iraq and Afghanistan and is run by a special forces Army veteran."
"President Obama said Tuesday that his administration was considering ways to 'reroute' the Dakota Access oil pipeline after a week of violent clashes between authorities and activists protesting the controversial project."
"An explosion and fire at a pipeline that delivers about one-third of the gasoline used on the East Coast is expected to raise prices at the pump and shows the fragility of a delivery system that is relied upon by tens of millions of people."
The third annual Symposium of the American Geographical Society, at Columbia University in New York, includes over 30 speakers who are leading research and policy in sustainability. Keynote speakers include Dr. Roger Sayre (Senior Scientist at the U.S. Geological Survey) and Mr. William Reilly (Former Administrator, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency).
"Nothing sells quite like celebrity. And Leonardo DiCaprio is working hard selling climate change. The A-List actor has crisscrossed the globe to raise awareness of the long-term health and wellbeing of our planet. Part of those travels aired Sunday on National Geographic: An hour-and-a-half long documentary looking at the impacts of—and alternatives to—our fossil fuel addiction."
