"A declaration recognizing whales as legal rights-holders is influencing legislation in New Zealand and sparking an international push to translate Indigenous customs into binding protections."
More heat pumps than ever are going into homes and businesses in the United States these days. But they are just one small-scale use of geothermal energy, a promising utility-scale technology that is growing worldwide — and with a minimal carbon footprint to boot. But there are drawbacks as well. The new Issue Backgrounder explains how it all works.
"The deadly storms that devastated Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand in late November were "supercharged" by higher sea temperatures and made worse by rapid deforestation, scientists said in a study published on Thursday."
"Southeast Asia is being pummeled by unusually severe floods this year, as late-arriving storms and relentless rains wreak havoc that has caught many places off guard."
"The death toll from cyclone-induced floods and landslides in Indonesia passed 600 on Monday as rescuers battled to clear roads and improved weather conditions revealed the scale of a disaster that has killed nearly 800 people in Southeast Asia."
"BHP is liable for the 2015 collapse of a dam in southeastern Brazil, London's High Court ruled on Friday, in a lawsuit the claimants' lawyers previously valued at up to 36 billion pounds ($48 billion)."
"Bird flu has wiped out half of South Georgia’s breeding elephant seals, according to a study that warns of “serious implications” for the future of the species."
"A surge in the supply of Chinese-backed coal-fired power plants built to supply electricity to Indonesia’s fast-growing nickel mining and processing sector is undermining Beijing’s efforts to dial back support for fossil fuels, a study released Nov. 3 has found."
"Queensland will roll out shark-spotting drones to more beaches, after a major study found drones detected more than double the number of sharks caught in adjacent nets."
"A regulator has approved a world-first vaccine to protect koalas from chlamydia infections, which are causing infertility and death in the iconic native species that is listed as endangered in parts of Australia."
