Latest Plants News

Biden will become the first sitting US president to visit the Amazon rainforest

Nov. 17, 2024 07:33 AM EST

SAO PAULO (AP) — Joe Biden will become the first sitting American president to set foot in the Amazon rainforest during a brief stop Sunday in the Brazilian city of Manaus as the incoming Trump administration seems poised to scale back the U.S. commitment to combating climate change. ...

New York judge rejects state efforts to shutter bitcoin mine over climate concerns

Nov. 15, 2024 15:50 PM EST

NEW YORK (AP) — A cryptocurrency plant in central New York can continue operating after a court rejected the state’s effort to shutter the facility over concerns about its climate impact. The decision was hailed as a victory by Greenidge Generation, a large-scale crypto mine in...

Wisconsin agency issues first round of permits for Enbridge Line 5 reroute around reservation

Nov. 14, 2024 17:34 PM EST

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Enbridge's contentious plan to reroute an aging pipeline around a northern Wisconsin tribal reservation moved closer to reality Thursday after the company won its first permits from state regulators. Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources officials...

Food aid interventions can curb climate change-induced hardship. But should they do more?

Nov. 14, 2024 04:49 AM EST

CHIPINGE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Gertrude Siduna appears to have little appetite for corn farming season. Rather than prepare her land in Zimbabwe’s arid southeastern Chipinge district for the crop that has fed her family for generations, the 49-year-old — bitter at repeated droughts...

Disease could kill most of the ‘ohi‘a forests on Hawaii's Big Island within 20 years

Nov. 13, 2024 16:20 PM EST

Ten years ago, a mysterious new disease was found sweeping through Hawaii’s native ‘ohi‘a forests, killing off the foundation of the islands’ ecology and one of the state’s most culturally important trees. Now, researchers are in a race against time. They say most of the...

Contained, extinguished and mopping up: Here's what some common wildfire terms mean

Nov. 12, 2024 17:25 PM EST

LOS ANGELES (AP) — With destructive wildfires burning on both coasts, fire officials might use jargon unfamiliar to residents of states where such big blazes are relatively rare. Here's an explainer of some wildfire terminology: Containment vs. extinguished ...

A 6.2-magnitude quake strikes off the coast in southern Chile without reports of damage

Nov. 08, 2024 08:56 AM EST

SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — A magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck off the coast of southern Chile Friday, but there were no immediate reports of injuries or damage and no warnings of a tsunami. The quake’s epicenter was 278 kilometers (172 miles) west-northwest of Cochrane, Chile,...

A tiny grain of nuclear fuel is pulled from ruined Japanese nuclear plant, in a step toward cleanup

Nov. 08, 2024 00:20 AM EST

TOKYO (AP) — A robot that has spent months inside the ruins of a nuclear reactor at the tsunami-hit Fukushima Daiichi plant delivered a tiny sample of melted nuclear fuel on Thursday, in what plant officials said was a step toward beginning the cleanup of hundreds of tons of melted fuel debris. ...

Deforestation in Brazil's Amazon drops by nearly 31% compared to previous year

Nov. 07, 2024 13:46 PM EST

AGUA CLARA, Brazil (AP) — Forest loss in Brazil’s Amazon dropped by 30.6% compared to the previous year, officials said Wednesday, the lowest level of destruction in nine years. In a 12-month span, the Amazon rainforest lost 6,288 square kilometers (2,428 square miles), roughly...

Prince William wraps up his South Africa trip with visit that reminded him of his rescue pilot days

Nov. 07, 2024 09:57 AM EST

SIMON'S TOWN, South Africa (AP) — Prince William rode on a sea rescue boat along part of the South African coast on Thursday as he wrapped up a four-day visit to Cape Town dedicated to promoting conservation and the battle against climate change. William met with volunteers at the...