Japanese nuclear reactor that restarted 13 years after Fukushima disaster is shut down again

TOKYO (AP) — A Japanese nuclear reactor that restarted last week for the first time in more than 13 years after it had survived a massive 2011 earthquake and tsunami that badly damaged the nearby Fukushima nuclear plant was shut down again Monday due to an equipment problem, its operator said. ...

Nevada lithium mine will crush rare plant habitat US said is critical to its survival, lawsuit says

RENO, Nev. (AP) — Conservationists and an advocacy group for Native Americans are suing the U.S. to try to block a Nevada lithium mine they say will drive an endangered desert wildflower to extinction, disrupt groundwater flows and threaten cultural resources. The Center for...

Brazilian state law overturns soy moratorium that helped curb Amazon deforestation

AGUA CLARA, Brazil (AP) — A historic agreement that's helped curb deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon for nearly two decades suffered a major blow after Mato Grosso, the country´s largest soybean-producing state, passed a law ending incentives for participating processing and trade companies. ...

Local school staple 'Lost on a Mountain in Maine' from 1939 hits the big screen nationwide

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Most Maine schoolchildren know about the boy lost for more than a week in 1939 after climbing the state’s tallest mountain. Now the rest of the U.S. is getting in on the story. Opening in 650 movie theaters on Friday, “Lost on a Mountain in Maine” tells...

'Not an act of God.' How the Rev. Richard Joyner became a farmer, then a climate activist

CONETOE, N.C. (RNS) — Congregants at Conetoe Chapel Missionary Baptist Church thought their pastor was crazy when he suggested his rural community take up farming as a way to improve their health and become more self-sufficient. The small, predominantly Black community, about 80...

The dark sky over an urban park in central Mexico attracts stargazers who worry it might not last

JOYA-LA BARRETA ECOLOGICAL PARK, Mexico (AP) — As night descended, a rumble of frogs filled the air in this park outside the central Mexican city of Queretaro. In the sky, tiny stars appeared one by one, aligning into constellations. Juan Carlos Hernández used his weight to...

Nevada lithium mine wins final approval despite potential harm to endangered wildflower

RENO, Nev. (AP) — For the first time under President Joe Biden, a federal permit for a new lithium-boron mine has been approved for a Nevada project essential to his clean energy agenda, despite conservationists' vows to sue over the plan they insist will drive an endangered wildflower to...

Nevada lithium mine wins final federal approval despite potential harm to endangered wildflower

A Brazilian artist uses ash and mud for a massive Sao Paulo mural lamenting climate disasters

SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazilian artist Mundano on Wednesday is presenting a massive street mural in Sao Paulo that uses ash from wildfires and mud from floods to highlight extreme weather events wreaking devastation across the country — as well as their causes. Over 30 meters (98.4...

Environmental delegates gather in Colombia for a conference on dwindling global biodiversity

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Global environmental leaders gathered Monday in Cali, Colombia to assess the world’s plummeting biodiversity levels and commitments by countries to protect plants, animals and critical habitats. The two-week United Nations Biodiversity Conference, or...