Massive Polish coal mine sparks international dispute

UHELNA, Czech Republic (AP) — Polluted air, noise, dry wells. The Turow lignite coal mine in Poland is causing trouble for the environment and local communities - even in Germany and Czech Republic, whose border is just a short walk away. Plans to further expand the huge open pit mine have caused alarm...

Watchdog faults rushed EPA rulemaking on glider trucks

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration rushed to exempt a type of super-polluting cargo truck from clean air rules without conducting a federally mandated study on how it would impact public health, the Environmental Protection Agency’s inspector-general said Thursday. Agency officials at the...

Officials investigating aggregate spill in Detroit River

DETROIT (AP) — Michigan officials are investigating a spill of an unknown amount of construction aggregate material into the Detroit River from an industrial site with a history of environmental contamination. The release happened Nov. 26 at the Detroit Bulk Storage property, Nick Assendelft, a spokesman...

Voluntary evacuation order lifted for Texas coastal city

PORT NECHES, Texas (AP) — Officials in the Texas coastal city of Port Neches lifted a voluntary evacuation order Thursday that was issued overnight because of concerns about air quality following a pair of chemical plant explosions last week. Officials issued the voluntary order for the city of roughly...

US feels the heat as Trump pulls out of global climate pact

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is aiming to make the annual U.N.-sponsored climate talks underway in Madrid the last ones for full participation by the United States, which is the world's No. 1 economy and the second-biggest carbon emitter. Trump dismisses climate change and he thumbed his nose...

Correction: Climate Talks-Goodbye US? story

WASHINGTON (AP) — In a story December 4, 2019, about the Trump administration's role in the Madrid climate conference, The Associated Press erroneously reported the details of a poll measuring public opinion on the Paris climate agreement.

PFAS water contamination not widespread, Pennsylvania says

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Gov. Tom Wolf's administration said Thursday that a first round of testing drinking water samples in Pennsylvania for the toxic chemicals known as PFAS does not indicate widespread contamination. In a statement, Wolf's administration said one of 96 sites sampled in the first round...

UN climate talks aim to pave way for global carbon market

BERLIN (AP) — On a cold afternoon in late November, Jan Gerrit Otterpohl eyes the chimneys of Berlin’s Heizkraftwerk Mitte, a state-of-the-art power plant that supplies the city with heat and electricity. It’s not the billowing steam he’s interested in, but the largely invisible carbon...

German farmers won’t appeal climate lawsuit defeat

BERLIN (AP) — Three German farming families say they won’t appeal a court’s decision to dismiss their climate change lawsuit against Chancellor Angela Merkel's government. The families, who were backed by environmental group Greenpeace, said Thursday that the ruling in October had set an...

No. 1-ranked Japanese amateur takes Australian Open lead

SYDNEY (AP) — World No. 1-ranked amateur Takumi Kanaya birdied his final two holes Thursday for a 6-under 65 and a two-stroke clubhouse lead at the Australian Open. Playing the back nine at The Australian Golf Course to open his round, the Japanese player had five birdies. He bogeyed the par-4 third hole...