Environment – Winnipeg Free Press

Jesus Cuevas, a Petgas technician, puts plastic caps into a shredding machine inside a recycling center in Boca del Rio, Veracruz, Mexico, Jan. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Felix Marquez)

Mexican startup tackles plastic waste by converting it to fuel

Alba Alemán And Félix Márquez, The Associated Press 4 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 11:11 PM CST

BOCA DEL RIO, Mexico (AP) — A startup in Mexico is trying to help get a handle on one Gulf coast city’s plastic waste problem by converting it into gasoline, diesel and other fuels.

With less than 10% of the world’s plastics being recycled, Petgas’ idea is that rather than letting discarded plastic become waste, it can become productive again as fuel.

Petgas developed a machine in the port city of Boca del Rio that uses pyrolysis, a thermodynamic process that heats plastics in the absence of oxygen, breaking it down to produce gasoline, diesel, kerosene, paraffin and coke.

Carlos Parraguirre Díaz, chief technology officer at Petgas, said that in a week, the machine can process 1.5 tons of plastics and produce 356 gallons (1,350 liters) of fuel.

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Man agrees to plead guilty for flying drone that damaged firefighting aircraft in LA wildfire

Jaimie Ding And Olga R. Rodriguez, The Associated Press 4 minute read Preview

Man agrees to plead guilty for flying drone that damaged firefighting aircraft in LA wildfire

Jaimie Ding And Olga R. Rodriguez, The Associated Press 4 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 7:30 PM CST

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The pilot of a drone that crashed into a firefighting plane, leaving a gaping hole and grounding the aircraft during the deadly Palisades Fire in Los Angeles, has agreed to plead guilty to a misdemeanor count of unsafely operating a drone, federal authorities said Friday.

Peter Tripp Akemann faces up to one year in prison, and a judge will determine his sentence, acting U.S. attorney Joseph McNally said. As part of the plea agreement, he will have to complete 150 hours of wildfire-related community service and pay $65,000 in restitution for the damage to the plane, McNally said.

Akemann appeared in court Friday and will remain out of jail under court supervision during his case. He has not yet entered his plea.

Authorities say Akemann launched the drone from the top of a parking structure in Santa Monica on Jan. 9 and flew it more than 1.5 miles toward the Palisades Fire before losing sight of it. It then crashed with the Super Scooper that was carrying two firefighters. The planes can scoop 1,500 gallons (6,000 liters) of water in just seconds.

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Updated: Yesterday at 7:30 PM CST

Members of the media gather for a morning news conference to discuss court filings related to the Palisades Fire investigation outside the U.S. Courthouse in downtown Los Angeles on Friday, Jan. 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

CEO of the nation’s largest public utility plans to retire

Jonathan Mattise, The Associated Press 4 minute read Preview

CEO of the nation’s largest public utility plans to retire

Jonathan Mattise, The Associated Press 4 minute read Yesterday at 4:37 PM CST

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The CEO of the nation's largest public utility will retire no later than September after nearly six years in his position, the Tennessee Valley Authority announced Friday.

Jeff Lyash's departure as president and CEO of the federal utility follows a tenure with ups and downs in a seven-state service region growing in population.

TVA has focused on nuclear energy with its proposal to build a small modular reactor. It also worked toward its plan to retire all its coal-fired plants by 2035, laid out a roadmap for an electric vehicle charging network and kept its retail electricity rates at 80% lower than the rest of the U.S. and its industrial rates at 95% lower, according to the utility.

Lyash has also drawn scrutiny from clean energy advocates. He helped lay plans to replace several of TVA's aging coal plants with another fossil fuel, natural gas. Several of TVA’s proposals for new natural gas plants have prompted criticism from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. And the utility's targets fell short of former President Joe Biden's administration goal for a carbon-pollution-free energy sector by 2035, despite having a Biden-appointed majority on the board.

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Yesterday at 4:37 PM CST

FILE - President and CEO of the Tennessee Valley Authority Jeff Lyash listens during a board of directors meeting Wednesday, May 8, 2024, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV, File)

North Dakota’s cloud seeding program draws interest from around the world. Opponents want to end it

Jack Dura, The Associated Press 4 minute read Preview

North Dakota’s cloud seeding program draws interest from around the world. Opponents want to end it

Jack Dura, The Associated Press 4 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 4:21 PM CST

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — North Dakota's decades-long efforts to aid farmers by reshaping the weather through “cloud seeding” is facing fierce opposition in the state Capitol, where legislation could outlaw the practice, which is used across the West and has drawn global interest to one of the nation's least populous states.

Cloud seeding is done by airplanes releasing tiny particles of silver iodide in clouds to reduce the size of hail and increase rainfall to help crops in the semi-arid climate. Opponents see cloud seeding as ineffective, harmful and deceitful, and point to a number of counties that have ended their participation in weather modification, as recently as last fall.

“We are tired of government controlling our weather," Williams County farmer Doug Stangeland told a state Senate panel on Thursday. "It's time that God does what he does. Let the creator of the weather do what he does.”

North Dakota’s hail suppression program is the longest-running aerial cloud seeding program in the world and has used airplanes since the early 1960s, said Darin Langerud, director of the Atmospheric Resource Division of the state Department of Water Resources.

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Updated: Yesterday at 4:21 PM CST

Berthold-area farmer Roger Neshem testifies during a bill hearing on Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025, at the state Capitol in Bismarck, N.D. (AP Photo/Jack Dura)

Rats! More rodents are infesting cities as scientists say warmer temperatures mean more rat babies

Seth Borenstein, The Associated Press 6 minute read Preview

Rats! More rodents are infesting cities as scientists say warmer temperatures mean more rat babies

Seth Borenstein, The Associated Press 6 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 2:05 PM CST

WASHINGTON (AP) — Rat infestation in many world cities appears to be soaring, especially in Washington, and a new study blames warming temperatures, urbanization and other human actions.

A first-of-its-kind examination of trends and reasons in hard-to-count rat populations uses rat sighting reports in 16 cities around the world. In 11 of those cities, rat complaints have increased, according to a study in Friday's journal Science Advances.

Based on individual trends within cities, Washington was by far the leader in rat increases, followed by San Francisco, Toronto, New York City and Amsterdam. Washington's rising rat reporting trend was three times greater than Boston's and 50% more than New York's, the study said. Washington city officials did not respond to requests for comment.

Only three cities saw significant decreasing trends — New Orleans, Louisville and Tokyo — with the home of Mardi Gras showing the biggest drop in rat reporting. Experts said the Louisiana city can teach others how to combat the rat problem.

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Updated: Yesterday at 2:05 PM CST

FILE - A rat is seen in Central Park in New York, March 19, 2017. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

In win for Trump, oil giant Shell walks away from major New Jersey offshore wind farm

Jennifer Mcdermott, The Associated Press 4 minute read Preview

In win for Trump, oil giant Shell walks away from major New Jersey offshore wind farm

Jennifer Mcdermott, The Associated Press 4 minute read Yesterday at 10:54 AM CST

In the first serious fallout from President Donald Trump's early actions against offshore wind power, oil and gas giant Shell is walking away from a major project off the coast of New Jersey.

Shell told The Associated Press it is writing off the project, citing increased competition, delays and a changing market.

“Naturally we also take regulatory context into consideration,” spokesperson Natalie Gunnell said in an email.

Shell co-owns the large Atlantic Shores project, which has most of its permits and would generate enough power for 1 million homes if both of two phases were completed. That’s enough for one-third of New Jersey households.

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Yesterday at 10:54 AM CST

FILE - A boat passes by July 2, 2024, off Sea Girt, N.J., where a power cable from the Atlantic Shores offshore wind farm project is projected to come ashore. (AP Photo/Wayne Parry, File)

Experts and advocates warn of nickel mining’s risk to precious marine region of Indonesia

Victoria Milko, The Associated Press 5 minute read Preview

Experts and advocates warn of nickel mining’s risk to precious marine region of Indonesia

Victoria Milko, The Associated Press 5 minute read Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — One of Earth's most biodiverse marine regions is threatened by the expansion of nickel mining projects in Indonesia, according to a new report.

Satellite analysis and on-the-ground visits found a rapid increase in land given over to mining pits in Raja Ampat Regency, a group of tropical islands near West Papua, according to the report from Auriga Nusantara, an environmental and conservation organization in Indonesia.

A few degrees south of the equator, the islands are home to 75% of the world’s coral species and over 1,600 fish species, including critically endangered hawksbill sea turtles and vulnerable reef manta rays. The regency has at least nine marine protected areas spread over nearly 2 million hectares (4.9 million acres), and was named a UNESCO Global Geopark in 2023, recognizing the international value of its geological heritage.

Much of the materials mined in Indonesia fuel the international supply chain for stainless steel, electric vehicle batteries and more. Experts fear that continued expansion of mining — which more than tripled in the area the past five years — will lead to further deforestation, water pollution and disruption of the area's precious ecosystem.

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Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025

In this photo provided by Auriga Nusantara, deforestation is visible on Gag Island, Indonesia, in the nickel mining area of PT Gag Nikel on Dec. 22, 2024. (Auriga Nusantara via AP)

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11 years after a celebrated opening, massive solar plant faces a bleak future in the Mojave Desert

Michael R. Blood, The Associated Press 4 minute read Preview

11 years after a celebrated opening, massive solar plant faces a bleak future in the Mojave Desert

Michael R. Blood, The Associated Press 4 minute read Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025

LOS ANGELES (AP) — What was once the world's largest solar power plant of its type appears headed for closure just 11 years after opening, under pressure from cheaper green energy sources. Meanwhile, environmentalists continue to blame the Mojave Desert plant for killing thousands of birds and tortoises.

The Ivanpah solar power plant formally opened in 2014 on roughly 5 square miles of federal land near the California-Nevada border. Though it was hailed at the time as a breakthrough moment for clean energy, its power has been struggling to compete with cheaper solar technologies.

Pacific Gas & Electric said in a statement it had agreed with owners — including NRG Energy Inc. — to terminate its contracts with the Ivanpah plant. If approved by regulators, the deal would lead to closing two of the plant's three units starting in 2026. The contracts were expected to run through 2039.

“PG&E determined that ending the agreements at this time will save customers money,” the company said in a statement on its website.

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Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025

FILE - An array of mirrors at the Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating site is shown near Primm, Nev., Aug. 13, 2014. (AP Photo/John Locher, File)

Senate confirms Doug Burgum as interior secretary after Trump tasked him to boost drilling

Matthew Brown, The Associated Press 5 minute read Preview

Senate confirms Doug Burgum as interior secretary after Trump tasked him to boost drilling

Matthew Brown, The Associated Press 5 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 2:27 PM CST

The Senate confirmed Doug Burgum as interior secretary late Thursday after President Donald Trump tapped the former North Dakota governor to spearhead the Republican administration's ambitions to boost fossil fuel production.

The vote was 79-18. More than half of Senate Democrats joined all 53 Republicans in voting for Burgum.

Burgum, 68, is an ultra-wealthy software industry entrepreneur who came from a small North Dakota farming community, where he worked at his family’s grain elevator.

He served two terms as governor of the oil-rich state and launched a presidential campaign in 2023, but dropped out months later and quickly endorsed Trump.

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Updated: Yesterday at 2:27 PM CST

Former Gov. Doug Burgum, President-elect Donald Trump's choice to lead the the Interior Department as Secretary of the Interior, testifies before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Big Oil wants a lot from Trump. It has an ally in Doug Burgum, the president’s Interior pick

Brian Slodysko And Jack Dura, The Associated Press 6 minute read Preview

Big Oil wants a lot from Trump. It has an ally in Doug Burgum, the president’s Interior pick

Brian Slodysko And Jack Dura, The Associated Press 6 minute read Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — When North Dakota’s petroleum association was going to hold a banquet honoring top fracking executives last year, it turned to Gov. Doug Burgum. The two-term Republican, now President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Interior Department, co-hosted the event — at the governor’s mansion.

And when energy industry lobbyists were looking for help taking on Biden administration greenhouse gas rules, they also turned to Burgum. In an email to Burgum’s office seeking the legal heft the state could provide, an industry lobbyist argued that “combating” such regulations required “a one-two punch” from industry and government.

While it is not surprising that the governor of the third-largest oil producing state would have a close relationship with fossil fuel producers, records obtained by The Associated Press reveal Burgum’s administration eagerly assisted the industry even as the governor was profiting from the lease of family land to oil companies. And his assistance came at a time when Burgum was leaning on those very connections to build his national profile in the Republican Party.

Now that the Senate has confirmed him to run the Interior Department, Burgum will have vast control over federal lands, including the issuance of oil and gas leases, as well as a mandate from Trump to extract such resources even though the U.S. is producing record amounts of fossil fuels.

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Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025

Former Gov. Doug Burgum, President-elect Donald Trump's choice to lead the the Interior Department as Secretary of the Interior, arrives to testify before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Big Oil wants a lot from Trump. It has an ally in Doug Burgum, the president’s Interior pick

Brian Slodysko And Jack Dura, The Associated Press 9 minute read Preview

Big Oil wants a lot from Trump. It has an ally in Doug Burgum, the president’s Interior pick

Brian Slodysko And Jack Dura, The Associated Press 9 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 11:58 AM CST

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — When North Dakota's petroleum association was going to hold a banquet honoring top fracking executives last year, it turned to Gov. Doug Burgum. The two-term Republican, now President Donald Trump's pick to lead the Interior Department, co-hosted the event — at the governor's mansion.

And when energy industry lobbyists were looking for help taking on Biden administration greenhouse gas rules, they also turned to Burgum. In an email to Burgum's office seeking the legal heft the state could provide, an industry lobbyist argued that “combating” such regulations required “a one-two punch" from industry and government.

While it is not surprising that the governor of the third-largest oil producing state would have a close relationship with fossil fuel producers, records obtained by the Associated Press reveal Burgum's administration eagerly assisted the industry even as the governor was profiting from the lease of family land to oil companies. And his assistance came at a time when Burgum was leaning on those very connections to build his national profile in the Republican Party.

Now that he's been confirmed to run the Interior Department, Burgum will have vast control over federal lands, including the issuance of oil and gas leases, as well as a mandate from Trump to extract such resources even though the U.S. is producing record amounts of fossil fuels.

Read

Updated: Yesterday at 11:58 AM CST

FILE - Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump listens as former Republican presidential candidate, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, speaks on stage during a campaign event in Laconia, N.H., Jan. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)

Study finds India doubled its tiger population in a decade and credits conservation efforts

Sibi Arasu, The Associated Press 4 minute read Preview

Study finds India doubled its tiger population in a decade and credits conservation efforts

Sibi Arasu, The Associated Press 4 minute read Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025

BENGALURU, India (AP) — India doubled its tiger population in a little over a decade by protecting the big cats from poaching and habitat loss, ensuring they have enough prey, reducing human-wildlife conflict, and increasing communities’ living standards near tiger areas, a study published Thursday found.

The number of tigers grew from an estimated 1,706 tigers in 2010 to around 3,682 in 2022, according to estimates by the National Tiger Conservation Authority, making India home to roughly 75% of the global tiger population. The study found that some local communities near tiger habitats have also benefited from the increase in tigers because of the foot traffic and revenues brought in by ecotourism.

The study in the journal Science says India's success “offers important lessons for tiger-range countries" that conservation efforts can benefit both biodiversity and nearby communities.

“The common belief is that human densities preclude an increase in tiger populations," said Yadvendradev Jhala, a senior scientist at Bengaluru-based Indian National Academy of Sciences and the study’s lead author. “What the research shows is that it's not the human density, but the attitude of people, which matters more.”

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Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025

FILE - Tigers are visible at the Ranthambore National Park in Sawai Madhopur, India on April 12, 2015. (AP Photo/Satyajeet Singh Rathore, File)

North Carolina officials make urgent request to lawmakers on Helene and other hurricanes

Makiya Seminera, The Associated Press 4 minute read Preview

North Carolina officials make urgent request to lawmakers on Helene and other hurricanes

Makiya Seminera, The Associated Press 4 minute read Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina officials charged with leading recovery efforts in western North Carolina after Hurricane Helene — as well as parts of eastern North Carolina still struggling from previous hurricanes — told state lawmakers this week that they need more money. And they need it soon.

Western North Carolina will need billions more dollars from the federal and state government to accomplish its recovery goals, according to officials in Democratic Gov. Josh Stein's administration at a Wednesday legislative meeting. The region saw historic flooding from Helene last year, which resulted in almost $60 billion in damages.

A day later, the North Carolina Office of Recovery and Resiliency called on the legislature to provide $217 million as a final request to finish construction on more than 1,100 eastern North Carolina homes devastated by Hurricane Matthew in 2016 and Hurricane Florence in 2018. NCORR has been plagued with financial problems — namely a reported budget shortfall last year — which has fueled criticism from lawmakers.

For Helene's recovery, the Governor’s Recovery Office for Western North Carolina advisor Jonathan Krebs outlined a funding gap of about $10 billion between money North Carolina requested from the federal government and what the state has received. Stein's administration is requesting that additional money for western North Carolina be included in any future funding bill to address the southern California wildfires.

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Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025

FILE - Debris is seen in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, Monday, Sept. 30, 2024, in Asheville, N.C. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart, File)

Pennsylvania governor rolls out plan to fast-track and subsidize power plants, hydrogen projects

Marc Levy, The Associated Press 5 minute read Preview

Pennsylvania governor rolls out plan to fast-track and subsidize power plants, hydrogen projects

Marc Levy, The Associated Press 5 minute read Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Gov. Josh Shapiro said Thursday that he wants to fast-track the construction of big power plants in Pennsylvania and offer hundreds of millions of dollars in tax breaks for projects that provide electricity to the grid and use hydrogen.

Shapiro's announcement comes a few days before he delivers his third budget proposal to lawmakers amid an energy crunch that threatens to raise electricity bills across Pennsylvania, the nation's second-biggest natural gas-producing state.

Shapiro, a Democrat, said he wants to start the “next chapter in Pennsylvania’s long story of energy leadership” and keep pace with other states that are attracting big projects, such as data centers and electric vehicle factories.

"Pennsylvania, it’s time for us to be more competitive. It’s time for us to act. We need to take some big and decisive steps right now, build new sources of power so Pennsylvania doesn't miss out,” Shapiro said at a news conference at Pittsburgh International Airport.

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Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025

FILE - Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro speaks during a news conference in Philadelphia, Tuesday, July 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)

European court finds Italy violated the right to life of Naples residents living in toxic dump area

Nicole Winfield, The Associated Press 5 minute read Preview

European court finds Italy violated the right to life of Naples residents living in toxic dump area

Nicole Winfield, The Associated Press 5 minute read Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025

ROME (AP) — A European court on Thursday said Italy violated the right to life of those living in a toxic-waste polluted area around Naples, in a scathing ruling that validated a generation of residents' complaints that mafia dumping and burning of waste had led to increased rates of cancer and other ailments.

The binding judgement from the European Court of Human Rights ordered the Italian government to develop a comprehensive strategy to address and monitor the contamination of the Tierra dei Fuoci, or Land of Fires, an area of 90 municipalities around Caserta and Naples which is home for around 2.9 million people.

The court found that Italian authorities had known about the pollution problem, blamed on mafia clans called Camorra that control waste disposal, since 1988 but failed to address it and had not done what was necessary to protect residents’ lives.

The Strasbourg-based court gave the government two years to also set up an information platform so that residents have access to data about the pollution of their lands and the verified health risks associated with living there.

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Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025

FILE -Outside view March 22, 2011 of the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France. (AP Photo/Christian Lutz, File)

A New Zealand mountain is granted personhood, recognizing it as sacred for Māori

Charlotte Graham-mclay, The Associated Press 5 minute read Preview

A New Zealand mountain is granted personhood, recognizing it as sacred for Māori

Charlotte Graham-mclay, The Associated Press 5 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 12:52 PM CST

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — A mountain in New Zealand considered an ancestor by Indigenous people was recognized as a legal person on Thursday after a new law granted it all the rights and responsibilities of a human being.

Mount Taranaki — now known as Taranaki Maunga, its Māori name — is the latest natural feature to be granted personhood in New Zealand, which has ruled that a river and a stretch of sacred land are people before. The pristine, snow-capped dormant volcano is the second highest on New Zealand's North Island at 2,518 meters (8,261 feet) and a popular spot for tourism, hiking and snow sports.

The legal recognition acknowledges the mountain’s theft from the Māori of the Taranaki region after New Zealand was colonized. It fulfills an agreement of redress from the country's government to Indigenous people for harms perpetrated against the land since.

How can a mountain be a person?

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Updated: Yesterday at 12:52 PM CST

February 1, 2025

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