People & Population

Maryland Breaks Heat-Related Death Record With Weeks of Summer to Go

"Prolonged heatwaves are turning summers into deadly heat traps, with the very young and the elderly hit the hardest." "Prolonged heatwaves pushed death tolls to new levels this year in Maryland, which recorded its highest number of heat-related deaths with more than a month left of summer."

Source: Inside Climate News, 08/14/2026

How Cougars Keep The Roadways Of Washington's Olympic Peninsula Safe

"While we think of predators as being dangerous, an otherwise harmless deer meandering into the road is far more likely to take you out than a bear or a wolf or a mountain lion is to stalk and eat you. Occasional news stories about pumas (Puma concolor) might suggest that they are a significant threat to humans. They are not—only around 30 deaths have been recorded since official record-keeping began in 1868."

Source: Sierra, 08/13/2026

Chicago Mayor Seeks to Curb Environmental Health Harm of Data Centers

"Mayor Brandon Johnson signed an executive order on Tuesday directing a new task force to work on tighter regulations aimed at restricting data centers’ air and noise pollution, tempering water and energy usage and preventing utility bill spikes."

Source: Inside Climate News, 08/13/2026

Huge Oil Slick Hitting Oman's Shoreline As Agencies Warn Of Disaster

"A vast oil spill from a leaking tanker has started to ​hit Oman's coastline, its environment agency confirmed on Wednesday, in what threatens to become one of the world’s worst in years after spreading largely unchecked for ‌weeks."

Source: Reuters, 08/13/2026

Utility, Tech Firms ‘Educate’ Regulators With Donations, Secret Retreats

"As a pink-and-gold sunset faded over the waterside Ben Hotel, Republican state utility officials streamed out of a reception where they had been imbibing with executives from the industries they regulate."

Source: Washington Post, 08/13/2026

Summer’s Strongest Meteor Shower Is Peaking. Here’s How to Watch.

"The moon’s shadow will descend upon Earth on Wednesday, and some will bear witness to a total solar eclipse. But the universe won’t stop there: At night, nature’s fireworks will accent the sky as the Perseid meteor shower reaches its peak."

Source: New York Times, 08/12/2026

"On These Motorcycles, the Thrill Is Truly Electric"

"The frenzy started on a single street in Lahore, Pakistan, where a half-dozen showrooms sprang up selling the same thing — electric motorcycles — and still couldn’t keep up with demand." "With gas prices high, people in developing countries are lining up to buy battery-powered bikes. The Iran war has made Trump “salesman of the year,” one executive in Pakistan said."

Source: New York Times, 08/12/2026

One Year On And The Global Plastics Treaty 'Is Going Backwards'

"A new Aid to Negotiations document for the Global Plastics Treaty has been released a year after Geneva's collapse, but campaigners warn it dilutes key measures and retreats from the ambition needed to end plastic pollution."

Source: Oceanographic, 08/12/2026

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