State keeps drought emergency status in parts of 8 counties

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Despite a cool and wet spring, the Washington Department of Ecology on Thursday extended a drought emergency declaration for watersheds in eight eastern Washington counties. Under the declaration, five watersheds spanning parts of Spokane, Lincoln, Grant,...

Davos Voices: What leaders say about climate change, war

DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) — Corporate buzzwords. Technical jargon. Bold but vague pronouncements about climate change and Russia's war in Ukraine. The World Economic Forum's annual gathering of CEOs and government leaders this week in Davos, the town in the Swiss Alps, may seem full...

An ocean first: Underwater drone tracks CO2 in Alaska gulf

SEWARD, Alaska (AP) — In the cold, choppy waters of Alaska’s Resurrection Bay, all eyes were on the gray water, looking for one thing only. It wasn’t a spout from humpback whales that power through this scenic fjord, or a sea otter lazing on its back, munching a king crab. ...

Infrastructure plan: $33M to clean up hundreds of oil wells

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — About $33 million of the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure plan recently signed into law by President Joe Biden will go toward cleanning up 277 of an estimated 15,000 abandoned oil and gas wells on federal land, the nation's interior secretary said Wednesday. ...

Correction: Western Cities-Water-Explainer story

In a story published May 24, 2022 about where western states obtain their water, The Associated Press mistakenly referred to San Diego rather than the San Diego water wholesaler. The term San Diego has been replaced with San Diego County Water Authority.

Gas wells leak explosive levels of methane in Bakersfield

Some Bakersfield residents are concerned about potential explosions after a state agency found that six idle oil wells near homes were leaking methane in the past several days. State and regional inspectors found concentrations of methane in the air around some of the wells at levels...

Massachusetts sues companies over use of ‘forever chemicals’

BOSTON (AP) — Massachusetts has sued more than a dozen companies involved in the manufacture or marketing of so-called forever chemicals, alleging they knowingly polluted the environment and endangered public health, state Attorney General Maura Healey said Wednesday. ...

Florida wildlife officials say some manatee food growing

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Wildlife officials working to prevent threatened Florida manatees from starving to death say they're encouraged that some of the marine mammals' favorite food is growing naturally in a key area. Seagrasses have been found growing recently in small areas...

California cuts grass watering down as drought dries West

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Grass in office parks, on college campuses or in some California neighborhoods will go brown this summer after state water officials adopted a ban Tuesday on watering certain green spaces as the state's drought drags on. The ban adopted by the State Water...

Editorial Roundup: Indiana

Anderson Herald Bulletin. May 23, 2022. Editorial: Outbreak of Legionnaires’ may be costly to state Outbreaks of Legionnaires’ disease in prisons are occasionally downplayed by the officials in charge of penal institutions. Earlier this year, it was...