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"A wheelbarrow and a handful of metal grids for capturing litter, emblazoned with the words “Renew Oceans,” sit rusting outside an empty, padlocked office in the Indian city of Varanasi, a short walk from the Ganges."
"President-elect Joe Biden has unveiled a $1.9 trillion coronavirus plan to end “a crisis of deep human suffering” by speeding up vaccines and pumping out financial help to those struggling with the pandemic’s prolonged economic fallout."
"A queue of cars stretched for more than a half mile outside a church in Flint on Thursday morning, filled with residents waiting for free cases of bottled water, as they have since tainted water began streaming out of their taps six years ago. Miles away in downtown Flint, something more novel was happening: A line of state officials, most prominently Rick Snyder, the former governor, were charged with crimes connected to the crisis."
"Toyota Motor is set to pay a $180 million fine for longstanding violations of the Clean Air Act, the U.S. attorney’s Office in Manhattan announced on Thursday, the largest civil penalty ever levied for a breach of federal emissions-reporting requirements."
"A top federal banking regulator today finalized new standards against pledges by major banks to halt investment in the fossil fuel industry."
"Millions of people around the world are facing disaster from flood, droughts, heatwaves and other extreme weather, as governments fail to take the measures needed to adapt to the impacts of climate breakdown, the UN has warned."
"The Alaska state agency that submitted most of the bids in a lightly attended auction for drilling rights in the Arctic Nationa"l Wildlife Refuge expects to have those leases in hand by next week, the organization’s executive director said on Wednesday."
"President-elect Joe Biden added more than a half-dozen climate staffers to his White House team Thursday, drawing from the ranks of green groups, environmental justice advocates and former Democratic administration officials to grow an inner circle that will help him try to slash the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions."
"Environmental groups filed suit in federal court Thursday to undo a decision by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency last month that handed Florida officials primary regulatory authority over the state’s wetlands."
"Ethics officials at the Interior Department warned communications staff about posting a video in October touting President Trump’s conservation record that critics characterized as propaganda, according to emails obtained by The Hill."
"Wildlife advocates on Thursday asked a federal court to overturn a U.S. government decision that stripped Endangered Species Act protections for wolves across most of the nation."
"The Trump administration has cut designated critical habitat for the northern spotted owl by millions of acres in Oregon, Washington and California."
"A coalition of 17 states and New York City are suing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over its decision not to tighten major air pollution standards."
"Talk of global warming was out, and relations among the eight countries that make up the council, once a highly collaborative group and a steady force for climate action, became dysfunctional."
"The world’s oceans reached their hottest level in recorded history in 2020, supercharging the extreme weather impacts of the climate emergency, scientists have reported."
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