Water & Oceans

'The operation has started to tow a Greek-registered oil tanker stranded in the Red Sea after an attack by Houthi militants last month, a shipping source told Reuters on Saturday."

"Former President Trump threatened to withhold federal aid to battle California wildfires, should he be reelected, if Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) does not change a policy that protects an endangered species of fish."

"Abnormally dry conditions have caused low water levels that disrupt barge transports carrying fuel and grain. Climatologists say it could be part of a larger trend."

"Flooding caused by heavy rains has left more than 1,000 people dead and hundreds of thousands of homes destroyed."

"US lawmakers and the military are pushing for a new definition of toxic PFAS “forever chemicals” that would exclude a subclass of toxic compounds increasingly used across the economy and considered to be potent greenhouse gases."

"Texas is inching closer to adopting revised oil and gas waste management rules for the first time in four decades." "While environmentalists say the new rule doesn’t do enough to protect groundwater, oil and gas operators are contesting stricter requirements for waste pits near wells."

"US regulators claim they are not legally required to regulate toxic PFAS chemicals in sewage sludge spread on farmland across the country, according to a court filing the government made this week in response to a lawsuit from an environmental watchdog group."

"Brazil is enduring its worst drought since nationwide measurements began over seven decades ago, with 59% of the country under stress — an area roughly half the size of the U.S. Major Amazon basin rivers are registering historic lows, and uncontrolled manmade wildfires have ravaged protected areas and spread smoke over a vast expanse, plummeting air quality."

"Drinking water contamination is a chronic, insidious threat in California’s rural communities. Some have been waiting for clean water for years."

"Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has flown into the Amazon amid growing alarm over the droughts and wildfires sweeping the rainforest region and others parts of Brazil."