STRASBOURG (Reuters) – European Union lawmakers moved on Wednesday to ban widely-used, throw-away plastics such as straws, bags and cotton buds, putting the burden on manufacturers to recycle more in an effort to clear up ocean pollution. FILE PHOTO: Greenpeace holds a demonstration against plastic waste at the Heroes Square in Budapest, Hungary, September 30,

MAZATLAN, Mexico (Reuters) – Hurricane Willa slammed into Mexico’s Pacific coast late on Tuesday, raking it with winds of 120 mph (195 kph) that brought power outages, buffeted buildings, and dumped torrential rain on tourist resorts where thousands of people had moved to safety. Whipping palm trees, bending power lines and causing floods, the center

MAZATLAN, Mexico (Reuters) – Hurricane Willa closed in Mexico’s Pacific coast on Tuesday with winds of over 100 miles per hour (160 kph), threatening to batter buildings and dump torrential rain on popular tourist resorts where thousands of people were moved to safety. Willa, which weakened to a Category 3 on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale

(This version of the October 19 story corrects quote in paragraph 5) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sign is seen on the podium at EPA headquarters in Washington, U.S., July 11, 2018. REUTERS/Ting Shen WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said on Friday it has withdrawn a regulation proposed in the last

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India’s Supreme Court on Tuesday allowed the use of safer fire crackers and for a two-hour period during the Hindu festival of Diwali, a judge said, when fireworks add to toxic smog in the capital city of New Delhi. A woman and her son sit at their firecracker shop in the

BEIJING (Reuters) – Authorities in eastern China’s Shandong province ordered 41 coal mines to halt production for security checks, state-run Xinhua news agency reported on Monday, after an accident at a mine in the province killed three people. The entrance to a coal mine, owned by Shandong Energy Group Cp Ltd, is seen after an

N’DJAMENA (Reuters) – Two of six critically endangered black rhinos relocated to Chad in May have died, Zakouma National Park’s management said, undermining efforts to restore their population in Chad after a nearly 50-year absence. FILE PHOTO: One of the six black rhinos due to be relocated to Chad is seen in an enclosure at

(Reuters) – A lioness has killed the father of her three offspring, suffocating her mate by locking her jaws onto his neck at the Indianapolis Zoo in an attack not fully understood by zoo staff. The Indianapolis Zoo’s adult male lion named Nyack, which died as the result of injuries inflicted by an adult female

CAMPILLOS, Spain (Reuters) – A firefighter was found dead in the southern Spanish province of Malaga on Sunday, the fire service said, after heavy overnight rain swept through streets and forced hundreds of people from their homes. A firefighter checks a destroyed firefighter truck on a road where a firefighter died as heavy rain and

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – New Delhi’s half-marathon race used ultra high frequency (UHF) radio waves to clear the air for the runners on Sunday, an experimental technique the organizers hope could improve the city’s notorious air quality. A runner wearing a face mask for protection from air pollution takes part in the Airtel Delhi Half

TUZI, Montenegro (Reuters) – Dozens of environmental activists cycled from Montenegro’s capital to the Albanian border on Saturday to protest over the neighboring nation’s construction of a dam on the Cijevna river that flows through both countries. Debris is seen in the dried-out riverbed of the Cijevna River, in the village Dinosa, near Tuzi, Montenegro,

(Reuters) – More than 118,000 homes and businesses in Florida and Georgia were still without power on Friday in the aftermath of Hurricane Michael, power companies said. In total, more than 3.3 million customers lost power from Florida to New York after Michael struck the Florida Panhandle on Oct. 10 as a Category 4 storm

WASHINGTON/SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (Reuters) – President Donald Trump on Friday threw his support behind speeding up water projects for agriculture and hydropower in the arid U.S. West, a move aimed to help build support for Republicans in tight congressional races in next month’s midterm elections. U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a signing ceremony for a

BRASILIA (Reuters) – Proposals made by Brazil’s far-right presidential front-runner Jair Bolsonaro present a serious threat to the country’s environment that could lead deforestation “to explode,” a group of non-government organizations said on Friday. FILE PHOTO: Presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro is pictured during a news conference in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil October 11, 2018. REUTERS/Ricardo

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said on Friday it has withdrawn a regulation proposed in the last days of the Obama administration that aimed to tighten health and safety compliance rules for uranium miners. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sign is seen on the podium at EPA headquarters in Washington, U.S.,

TOKYO (Reuters) – A Japanese maker of earthquake shock absorbers said on Friday that at least 70 buildings across the country may have used its products for which quality data was falsified and that nearly 1,000 are suspected of having done so. KYB Corp. Senior Managing Executive Officer Keisuke Saito (R) and Kayaba System Machinery

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – With a toxic smog beginning to envelop New Delhi as winter approaches, residents of the Indian capital are set to make matters a lot worse by burning hundreds of thousands of firecrackers to celebrate the Hindu festival of Diwali early next month. A shopkeeper waits for customers at his firecracker shop

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Environmental Protection Agency acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler said on Thursday the agency has the authority to allow sales of higher-ethanol blends of gasoline year-round without an act of Congress, and hopes the oil industry will drop its threat of a lawsuit to stop the move. Acting Administrator of the Environmental Protection

LONDON (Reuters) – Energy companies and green groups have written separate letters this week to Britain’s finance minister asking for the country’s strong carbon price to be maintained to prevent a rise in coal-fired power generation and greenhouse gas emissions. FILE PHOTO: General view of the Walney Extension offshore wind farm operated by Orsted off

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – EU lawmakers are expected to back a 35 percent cut in carbon dioxide emissions from new trucks by 2030, EU sources said ahead of a vote on Thursday over new rules that seek to fight global warming without harming industry. FILE PHOTO: Cars and trucks are stuck in a traffic jam near

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Environmental Protection Agency aims to release its draft rule allowing year-round sales of higher ethanol gasoline blends by February, and end deliberations on the proposal by May, according to a filing with the Office of Management and Budget. FILE PHOTO: Flags fly outside the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) at EPA

SAN DIEGO (Reuters) – Large Pacific bluefin tuna not seen in California waters for decades have reappeared, to the delight of fishing enthusiasts and scientists, as global conservation efforts have proven effective for one of the ocean’s priciest and most sought-after fish. Overfishing of bluefin tuna spurred by a growing global appetite for sushi resulted

PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. (Reuters) – Rescue teams searched ravaged areas of Florida’s Panhandle on Tuesday for hundreds of people reported missing nearly a week after Hurricane Michael flattened communities in the region and killed at least 27. FILE PHOTO: Members of search and rescue crew are seen next to property damaged by Hurricane Michael

GROUNDBIRCH, British Columbia (Reuters) – At a massive natural gas field in northern British Columbia, Royal Dutch Shell Plc is using new technologies and processes to cut emissions to address public and environmental group concerns that Canada’s nascent liquefied natural gas export industry could be a climate time bomb. Groundbirch Operations Manager Wouter de Klein,

KAMPALA (Reuters) – The death toll from a landslide in Uganda last week has risen to 43 and displaced residents deemed most at risk in the disaster-prone region will be resettled immediately, the government said on Tuesday. FILE PHOTO: A man crosses the Sume river carrying an empty coffin on his head after a landslide

LYNN HAVEN, Fla. (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump got a first-hand look on Monday at the “total devastation” that Hurricane Michael brought to Florida, as rescuers searched for scores of missing people and hundreds of thousands of residents remained without power. Trump and first lady Melania Trump passed out bottles of water at an

LYNN HAVEN, Fla. (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday got a first-hand look at the “total devastation” that Hurricane Michael brought to Florida’s Panhandle, meeting with survivors and saying that providing food and safety for them was a top priority. Trump and first lady Melania Trump passed out bottles of water at an

LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s banks and insurers must come up with credible plans for protecting themselves against risks from climate change and may need to hold more capital, the Bank of England said on Monday. A man walks through Greenwich Park as a haze of pollution sits over the London skyline April 3, 2014. REUTERS/Luke

MEXICO BEACH, Fla. (Reuters) – Dozens of people remained missing on Sunday in Florida Panhandle communities reduced to ruins by Hurricane Michael as rescuers said they expected the death toll to rise and survivors grappled with power outages and shortages of food and water. Already at least 18 deaths in four states have been blamed

LISBON (Reuters) – At least 300,000 homes were without power on Sunday after tropical storm Leslie hit Portugal’s Atlantic coast, bringing with it heavy rain, strong winds and surging seas. Branches of trees are seen on a street at Benfica neigborhood as hurricane Leslie goes past in Lisbon, Portugal October 14, 2018. REUTERS/Rafael Marchante Leslie