Top U.N. Court Says Countries Must Act on Climate Change

Click Here to Read:  Top U.N. Court Says Countries Must Act on Climate Change: The  International Court of Justice called global warming an “urgent and existential threat” at a closely watched case in The Hague By Karen Zraick and Marlise Simons in The New York Times on July 23, 2025.

Global Climate Strike in The Hague, September 27, 2019. Image: Sandra Fauconnier.  Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons.

  

There’s a Race to Power the Future. China Is Pulling Away

Click Here to Read: There’s a Race to Power the Future. China Is Pulling Away.
Beijing is selling clean energy to the world, Washington is pushing oil and gas. Both are driven by national security By David Gelles in New York; Somini Sengupta in Brasília and in Tirunelveli, India; Keith Bradsher in Beijing; and Brad Plumer in Washington in The New York Time on June 30. 2025.

Wind Farm in Guangling County, Shanxi.jpg  Image: Hahaheditor12667  Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons.

In Flooded Texas, Questions About FEMA’s Role and Fate

Click Here to Read: In Flooded Texas, Questions About FEMA’s Role and Fate: President Trump wants to shutter the agency and shift responsibility and costs of emergency management to the states. In Texas, that process appears to already be underway By Maxine Joselow in The New York Times on July 8, 2025.

Raymondville, TX, July 25, 2008 — Flood waters remain in some neighborhoods in North Raymondville. Vehicle access to the neighborhoods is limited. Jacinta Quesada/FEMA Image: Jacinta Quesada, FEMA. Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons.

Banning Plastic Bags Works to Limit Shoreline Litter, Study Finds

Click Here to Read: Banning Plastic Bags Works to Limit Shoreline Litter, Study Finds: Using crowdsourced data from shore cleanups, researchers found that areas that enacted plastic bag bans or fees had fewer bags littering their lakes, rivers and beaches than those without them by By Christina Kelso in the New York Times on June 19, 2025.

Marine debris litters a beach on Laysan Island in the Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge, where it washed ashore. Image: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Headquarters. Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons.