Regardless of the patchwork of regulations aimed at limiting plastic bag use in the United States, new research indicates that such legislation does, indeed, limit the number of plastic bags found on beaches.
culture & policy
Posted inNews
Anchoring Is Damaging the Fragile Antarctic Seabed
Scientists call for better protection of Antarctica’s vulnerable seafloor ecosystem as ship traffic increases around the continent.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
The Power of Naming Space Weather Events
Mother’s Day Storm? Why not! Bastille Day Storm? Mais oui! Space scientists make the case for a standardized naming convention for geomagnetic storms, to increase public awareness and preparedness.
Posted inResearch & Developments
2,145 Senior-Level Staff to Leave NASA
At least 2,145 high-level NASA employees are set to leave as the agency faces high pressure from the Trump administration to reduce its staff.
Posted inResearch & Developments
Supreme Court Lets Trump Proceed With Mass Firings
The Trump administration can act on its planned restructuring of the federal government, the United States Supreme Court announced in an 8 July decision.
Posted inResearch & Developments
House Passes Trump’s Spending Bill, With Consequences for the Climate
On 3 June, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a 940-page spending bill that provides trillions of dollars in tax cuts, boosts the fossil fuel industry, and dismantles incentives for clean energy.
Posted inResearch & Developments
Environmental Groups Sue to Block Everglades Detention Facility
The groups assert that the facility will undermine decades’ of work and billions of dollars spent restoring and protecting the Everglades’ delicate ecosystem.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
What’s Changed—and What Hasn’t—Since the EPA’s Endangerment Finding
A scientist-authored brief played a role in the 2009 determination that greenhouse gases endanger public health. With the finding now up for reconsideration, the same scientists revisit their opinion.
Posted inResearch & Developments
EPA Proposes Removal of Carbon Dioxide Limits on Power Plants
On 11 June, the Environmental Protection Agency announced a proposal to repeal federal limits on power plant carbon emissions, including a Biden-era rule requiring power plants to control 90% of their carbon pollution and a 2015 standard limiting carbon dioxide emissions from new fossil fuel-fired power plants.
Posted inResearch & Developments
NOAA’s Climate Website May Soon Shut Down
Climate.gov, NOAA’s portal to the work of their Climate Program Office, will likely soon shut down as most of the staff charged with maintaining it were fired on 31 May.