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  • ‘A new era’: Germany quits nuclear power, closing its final three plants | CNN

    ‘A new era’: Germany quits nuclear power, closing its final three plants | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    Germany’s final three nuclear power plants close their doors on Saturday, marking the end of the country’s nuclear era that has spanned more than six decades.

    Nuclear power has long been contentious in Germany.

    There are those who want to end reliance on a technology they view as unsustainable, dangerous and a distraction from speeding up renewable energy.

    But for others, closing down nuclear plants is short-sighted. They see it as turning off the tap on a reliable source of low-carbon energy at a time when drastic cuts to planet-heating pollution are needed.

    Even as these debates rumble on, and despite last-minute calls to keep the plants online amid an energy crisis, the German government has been steadfast.

    “The position of the German government is clear: nuclear power is not green. Nor is it sustainable,” Steffi Lemke, Germany’s Federal Minister for the Environment and Consumer Protection and a Green Party member, told CNN.

    “We are embarking on a new era of energy production,” she said.

    The closure of the three plants – Emsland, Isar 2 and Neckarwestheim – represents the culmination of a plan set in motion more than 20 years ago. But its roots are even older.

    In the 1970s, a strong anti-nuclear movement in Germany emerged. Disparate groups came together to protest new power plants, concerned about the risks posed by the technology and, for some, the link to nuclear weapons. The movement gave birth to the Green Party, which is now part of the governing coalition.

    Nuclear accidents fueled the opposition: The partial meltdown of the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania in 1979 and the 1986 catastrophe at Chernobyl that created a cloud of radioactive waste which reached parts of Germany.

    In 2000, the German government pledged to phase out nuclear power and start shutting down plants. But when a new government came to power in 2009, it seemed – briefly – as if nuclear would get a reprieve as a bridging technology to help the country move to renewable energy.

    Then Fukushima happened.

    In March 2011, an earthquake and tsunami caused three reactors of the Fukushima Daiichi power plant to melt down. For many in Germany, Japan’s worst nuclear disaster was confirmation “that assurances that a nuclear accident of a large scale can’t happen are not credible,” Miranda Schreurs, professor of environment and climate policy at the Technical University of Munich, told CNN.

    Three days later then-Chancellor Angela Merkel – a physicist who was previously pro-nuclear – made a speech called it an “inconceivable catastrophe for Japan” and a “turning point” for the world. She announced Germany would accelerate a nuclear phase-out, with older plants shuttered immediately.

    Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, however, provided another plot twist.

    Fearful of its energy security without Russian gas, the German government delayed its plan to close the final three plants in December 2022. Some urged a rethink.

    But the government declined, agreeing to keep them running only until April 15.

    For those in the anti-nuclear movement, it’s a moment of victory.

    “It is a great achievement for millions of people who have been protesting nuclear in Germany and worldwide for decades,” Paul-Marie Manière, a spokesperson for Greenpeace, told CNN.

    For critics of Germany’s policy, however, it’s irrational to turn off a low-carbon source of energy as the impacts of the climate crisis intensify.

    “We need to keep existing, safe nuclear reactors operating while simultaneously ramping up renewables as fast as possible,” Leah Stokes, a professor of climate and energy policy at the University of California, Santa Barbara, told CNN.

    The big risk, she said, is that fossil fuels fill the energy gap left by nuclear. Reductions in Germany’s nuclear energy since Fukushima have been primarily offset by increases in coal, according to research published last year.

    Germany plans to replace the roughly 6% of electricity generated by the three nuclear plants with renewables, but also gas and coal.

    More than 30% of Germany’s energy comes from coal, the dirtiest of the fossil fuels – and the government has made controversial decisions to turn to coal to help with energy security.

    In January, protestors including Greta Thunberg converged on the west German village of Lützerath in an unsuccessful attempt to stop it being demolished to mine the coal underneath it.

    “Building new coal capacity is the opposite of what we need,” said Stokes. Fossil fuels are a climate problem, but they’re also a health risk, she pointed out. Air pollution from fossil fuels is responsible for 8.7 million deaths a year, according to a recent analysis.

    Veronika Grimm, one of Germany’s leading economists, told CNN that keeping nuclear power plants running for longer would have allowed Germany more time “to electrify extensively,” especially as renewable energy growth “remains sluggish.”

    A new solar energy park near Prenzlau, Germany. The German government is seeking to accelerate the construction of both solar and wind energy parks.

    But supporters of the nuclear shutdown argue it will ultimately hasten the end of fossil fuels.

    Germany has pledged to close its last coal-fired power station no later than 2038, with a 2030 deadline in some areas. It’s aiming for 80% of electricity to come from renewables by the end of this decade.

    While more coal was added in the months following Fukushima, Schreurs said, nuclear shutdowns have seen a big push on clean energy. “That urgency and demand can be what it takes to push forward on the growth of renewables,” she said.

    Representatives for Germany’s renewable energy industry said the shutdown will open the door for more investment into clean energy.

    “Germany’s phase-out of nuclear power is a historic event and an overdue step in energy terms,” Simone Peter, president of the German Renewable Energy Federation (BEE), told CNN. “It is high time that we leave the nuclear age behind and consistently organize the renewable age.”

    The impacts of nuclear power shouldn’t be overlooked either, Schreurs said, pointing to the carbon pollution created by uranium mining as well as the risk of health complications for miners. Plus, it creates a dependency on Russia, which supplies uranium for nuclear plants, she added.

    Nuclear has also shown itself to have vulnerabilities to the climate crisis. France was forced to reduce nuclear power generation last year as the rivers used to cool reactors became too hot during Europe’s blistering heatwave.

    The Gorleben nuclear waste storage facility, an interim storage facility for spent fuel elements and high-level radioactive waste.

    Now Germany must work out what do with the deadly, high-level radioactive waste, which can remain dangerous for hundreds of thousands of years.

    Currently, the nuclear waste is kept in interim storage next to the nuclear plants being decommissioned. But the search is on to find a permanent location where the waste can be stored safely for a million years.

    The site needs to be deep – hundreds of meters underground. Only certain types of rock will do: Crystalline granite, rock salt or clay rock. It must be geologically stable with no risks of earthquakes or signs of underground rivers.

    The process is likely to be fraught, complex and breathtakingly long – potentially lasting more than 100 years.

    BGE, the Federal Company for Radioactive Waste Disposal, estimates a final site won’t be chosen until between 2046 and 2064. After that, it will take decades more to build the repository, fill it with the waste and seal it.

    Plenty of other countries are treading paths similar to Germany’s. Denmark passed a resolution in the 1980s not to construct nuclear power plants, Switzerland voted in 2017 to phase out nuclear power, Italy closed its last reactors in 1990 and Austria’s one nuclear plant has never been used.

    But, in the context of the war in Ukraine, soaring energy prices and pressure to reduce carbon pollution, others still want nuclear in the mix.

    The UK, in the process of building a nuclear power plant, said in its recent climate strategy that energy nuclear power has a “crucial” role in “creating secure, affordable and clean energy.”

    France, which gets about 70% of its power from nuclear, is planning six new reactors, and Finland opened a new nuclear plant last year. Even Japan, still dealing with the aftermath of Fukushima, is considering restarting reactors.

    The Neckarwestheim nuclear power plant, Germany.

    The US, the world’s biggest nuclear power, is also investing in nuclear energy and, in March, started up a new nuclear reactor, Vogtle 3 in Georgia – the first in years.

    But experts suggest this doesn’t mark the start of a nuclear ramp up. Vogtle 3 came online six years late and at a cost of $30 billion, twice the initial budget.

    It encapsulates the big problem that afflicts the whole nuclear industry: making the economics add up. New plants are expensive and can take more than a decade to build. “Even the countries that are talking pro-nuclear are having big trouble developing nuclear power,” Schreurs said.

    Many nuclear power plants in Europe, the US and elsewhere are aging – plants have an operating life of around 40 to 60 years. As Germany puts an end to its nuclear era, it’s coming up to crunch time for others, Schreurs said.

    “There will be a moment of decision as to whether nuclear really has a future”

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  • Racial disparities are working against disaster recovery for people of color. Climate change could make it worse | CNN

    Racial disparities are working against disaster recovery for people of color. Climate change could make it worse | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    People of color in the US face heightened risks of harm from climate-induced disasters. Now, non-profits are pushing to remedy that disparity with more equitable approaches to disaster preparedness, response and recovery.

    “Until we really address the root issues of climate injustice, we’re going to continue to see a disproportionate impact as it relates to disasters in Black and historically excluded communities,” said Abre’ Conner, Director of Environmental and Climate Justice for the NAACP.

    A report by the EPA’s Office of Atmospheric Programs looked at four vulnerable social groups: people living on low-income, racial minorities, those with no high school diploma, and seniors over age 65. Of those four groups, the study found minorities are most likely to live in areas projected to be impacted by climate change.

    Moreover, Black people are 40% more likely than non-African-Americans to live in areas with the highest projected increases in mortality rates due to changes in extreme temperatures.

    It’s a dire warning for the future, based on an inequitable past.

    Many marginalized people, Black in particular, have faced socioeconomic factors that relegate them to living in environmentally hazardous areas or substandard housing structures. So, when a natural disaster hits, they are ill-equipped to withstand the impact.

    That was the situation this past March 24 when a severe tornado leveled much of the Black-majority rural town of Rolling Fork, Mississippi, killing 26 people. Racial disparities existed in Rolling Fork for decades. Many residents there were poor, had low access to information or internet service, were priced out of insurance coverage, and lived in mobile homes that weren’t retrofitted to withstand severe weather conditions. With the nearest tornado shelter over 15 miles away, it set the perfect storm to leave people displaced and scrambling for aid and assistance, which was very slow to arrive.

    “The tendency is to ignore and exclude, and that’s a violation of human rights,” said Chauncia Willis, CEO and founder of the Institute for Diversity and Inclusion in Emergency Management (I-DIEM).

    Willis’ group deploys equity response teams before and after disasters to help community organizations integrate equity into all facets of disaster policy and practices. She started I-DIEM after spending over 14 years in disaster management.

    “I’ve witnessed the disparities, and it hits a little different when the people look like you,” Willis said in an interview with CNN.

    Tracy Harden (Right) hugs Barbara Nell McReynolds-Pinkins near the walk-in cooler where they and seven others took shelter as a tornado destroyed Harden's restaurant in Rolling Fork, Mississippi.

    Almost three weeks after the tornado, Rolling Fork’s mayor said about 500 people – roughly a third of the town’s population— remained displaced, leaving victims with questions and concerns. To provide some answers, FEMA, MEMA (Mississippi Emergency Management Agency), the Small Business Administration, and the American Red Cross are holding a series of town halls, the first of which took place Tuesday at South Delta Elementary School.

    Housing is a major concern at the present. “It wasn’t just Rolling Fork; it was all of those other communities surrounding that were also impacted by the tornado,” said Willis. “That’s going to be the difference between life and death in the future.”

    The future is concerning; marginalized communities historically endured long-term effects from disasters.

    Remnants of destruction are still visible In New Orleans’ primarily Black 9th ward 18 years after Hurricane Katrina.

    Although natural disasters don’t discriminate, the response can, especially when the lingering effects of structural racism hamper relief.

    In Katrina’s aftermath, Louisiana instituted a “Road Home” program, disbursing emergency funds based on appraised home values rather than actual rebuilding costs. But after decades of discriminatory economic practices including redlining, homes in historically White communities typically appraised far higher than comparable houses in Black neighborhoods.

    Also, New Orleans’ White neighborhoods tend to sit on higher ground with less risk of flooding and easier access to jobs and resources. The circumstances after Katrina ended up forcing many Black families out of the city.

    “Poverty should not hinder survival from disasters. Being a person that is not White shouldn’t limit your survival,” said Willis.

    But there is growing awareness of the unfairness and concerted efforts to fix it. Sally Ray from the Center for Disaster Philanthropy says racial and socioeconomic disparities are key factors guiding where her organization deploys funding.

    “I think we need to quit being uncomfortable talking about the intersection of climate change, racism, and disasters,” Ray told CNN. “The reality is we have long systemic racist problems across our country, and because of these things, when a disaster comes, it’s much more devastating.”

    President Joe Biden speaks in a storm-stricken area of Rolling Fork, Mississippi, on March 31.

    A growing body of research spotlights the historical inequity in federal disaster response.

    One 2018 study by sociologists from Rice University and the University of Pittsburgh looked at counties that each suffered the same amount ($10 billion) in hazard damage. In those events, Black survivors’ wealth decreased by an average $27,000 while White survivors’ average wealth increased $126,000.

    In 2020, FEMA’s advisory council acknowledged the inequities and called for the agency to address the issue.

    On January 20, 2021, President Biden signed Executive Order 13985 to advance racial equity and support for underserved communities through the federal government. Since then, FEMA has undertaken initiatives to expand access and reduce barriers to their response, recovery, and resilience programs.

    In an email to CNN, FEMA spokesman Jeremy Edwards said, “Recognizing this and the realities of historically underserved communities, FEMA—under the leadership of Administrator Criswell—has undertaken a number of initiatives to reduce barriers, so all people, including those from vulnerable and underserved communities, are better able to access our assistance.”

    The agency has simplified the eligibility process, expanded the ways survivors can verify home occupancy, and prioritized casework for vulnerable populations.

    FEMA says these changes have enabled 124,000 survivors to access over $709 million in assistance they would have previously been ineligible to receive.

    But non-profit leaders want FEMA to do more.

    “I think that in earnest they are trying to correct, but we can still do better in pushing to ensure these recoveries are equitable,” said Arthur DelaCruz, CEO of Team Rubicon. This veteran-led humanitarian organization assists global communities before, during, and after disasters and crises.

    Shirley Stamps stands in the rubble of her home in the aftermath of the Rolling Fork tornado.

    Grassroots activists insist equitable disaster planning and response must start with local voices.

    “The future of disaster management is actually going to be at the local level with the locals as the lead rather than the federal government or state government,” explained I-DEIM’s Willis.

    Inherent distrust of authorities after years of racist and discriminatory practices is one reason why. Another reason is simple pragmatism.

    “Who knows the community better?” asked Willis, whose group helps set up Community Resilience Hubs and local-led facilities to support neighbors, coordinate communication and provide emergency management training.

    Willis emphasizes that these types of initiatives, and more, need to be done before disasters strike. “When people are not prioritized before a disaster, those same people will bear the brunt.”

    71-year-old Emma Lee Williams sits in her front yard after the EF-4 Rolling Fork tornado destroyed her house.

    For a long time, non-profit organizations have been counted on to plug gaps that the government had yet to fill in disenfranchised communities. And increasingly, non-profits are doing things differently to address racial disparities in disaster management.

    For Team Rubicon, that means using tools like the CDC/ATSDR Social Vulnerability Index. The index, launched by the Center for Disease Control and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, uses 16 variables to help emergency planners and officials identify vulnerable communities before, during, or after disasters. Those variables include social factors like poverty, lack of transportation, and crowded housing. The databases and maps generated by the tool help estimate supplies required, emergency personnel needs, evacuation procedures, and even whether an area needs emergency shelters.

    “As we see a disaster strike an area, that is where we try to deploy because we know that’s where the greatest need is,” explained DelaCruz.

    The Center for Disaster Philanthropy focuses on identifying a diverse pool of applicants in their grantmaking, pushing more funds to organizations supporting struggling communities of color, and listening to the needs of the affected people on an individualized basis.

    “We work really at the local grassroots level to get to know the community,” said the Center for Disaster Philanthropy’s Sally Ray, who spoke to CNN from Oklahoma City, which was hard-hit by tornadoes last year. She and her team are on the ground, accessing lingering issues and working on proactive ways to support the town throughout this year’s tornado season.

    “Our goal has always been to leave a community in a better place and be there for the long-term commitment to that, Ray added.

    Meanwhile, many non-profits, especially at the local level, are overstretched as major disasters become more frequent and destructive.

    “There are communities that have suffered disaster after disaster after disaster, and the toll on the people and the community increases each time that happens,” said DelaCruz.

    “We need to start integrating community-based organizations into the global emergency management structure,” said Willis.

    Most of the walls are gone but the furniture remains where a home once stood before the tornado ripped through Rolling Fork, Mississippi.

    Disasters destabilize communities as well as economies. That is why much of the conversation among emergency management leaders lately has focused on building an inclusive approach to disaster resilience.

    “In Rolling Rock, there’s been a disaster. Now is the time to rebuild with the proper strategy, with forethought, a focus on resilience, and a focus on life-saving equity,” Willis from I-DIEM explained. She said these resilience efforts must include disaster preparedness and infrastructure improvement and awareness of socioeconomic issues impacting marginalized communities.

    FEMA says they are committed to helping Mississippi recover.

    To date the agency says they have visited 1,400 homes in Sharkey County alone, interacting with over 2,400 survivors and registering hundreds for assistance. They’ve also provided more than $5.4 million to Mississippi households since the deadly tornadoes struck earlier this year.

    The agency also implemented some grassroots efforts like non-financial direct technical assistance to help build community-wide resilience in 20 communities, tribes, and territories.

    Nonprofits continue to play a crucial role. But the problem looms large, and when it comes to disaster response for historically marginalized communities, there’s more than enough workload to go around.

    “There is no value in not directly preparing communities of color,” Willis said. “The government already underserves them. Do they also need to be underserved by humanity?”

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  • The fire at an Indiana plastics recycling plant has been extinguished, though residents’ health concerns remain | CNN

    The fire at an Indiana plastics recycling plant has been extinguished, though residents’ health concerns remain | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    After firefighters spent two days battling an inferno fueled by plastics in eastern Indiana, the fire has been fully extinguished, officials said.

    “We’re now able to turn our attention to collecting air and water samples to determine when the evacuation order can be lifted,” Richmond Mayor Dave Smith told CNN Thursday night.

    But the blaze at a Richmond recycling plant reignited old frustrations over safety hazards at the facility and sparked new fears among residents about the future of their health.

    About 2,000 people living within a half-mile radius of the plant were still under evacuation orders Thursday, two days after the fire started. And for the second straight day, Richmond public schools were closed.

    “If you are downwind of the area, stay inside, close your windows, and turn off air conditioning,” Richmond city officials warned.

    The fire was 90% out as of Thursday afternoon, Richmond Fire Department Chief Tim Brown said at a news conference.

    The US Environmental Protection Agency had not detected any toxic compounds as of Wednesday morning. But the state fire marshal has already said the smoke plumes were “definitely toxic.”

    Due to very little wind, “residents may notice that the smoke from the fire has settled more in and around the city and in areas that had not previously had issues,” the Wayne County Emergency Management Agency said Thursday morning.

    The EPA has been monitoring air quality at 15 locations around the site for the possibility of toxic chemicals from the incinerated plastics.

    The billowing black smoke stirred memories of the recent toxic train wreck in East Palestine, Ohio. High levels of some chemicals from that disaster could pose long-term risks, researchers have said.

    Corey McConnell’s family fled their home in the evacuation zone Tuesday night. He could already smell fumes and saw exhausted firefighters battling the blaze.

    “It’s really unbelievable,” McConnell told CNN. “Makes me worry about the health of my family, not just today but in the future as well. Who knows how long this could be in the air for?”

    Resident Wendy Snyder evacuated to a Red Cross emergency shelter but briefly returned home to grab a few belongings, she told CNN affiliate WHIO. That’s when she noticed the stench of burning plastic.

    “There is a stink in the air when you go outside on our porch,” Snyder said. “In fact, it burned my throat because (we) weren’t wearing a mask.”

    The primary health concern to residents is particulate matter – fine particles found in smoke – that could cause respiratory problems if inhaled, said Christine Stinson, executive director of the Wayne County Health Department.

    N95 masks could protect against the particles, but people should leave an area if they see or smell smoke or experience symptoms, Stinson said.

    Due to the age of the building, asbestos – a naturally occurring but very toxic substance once widely used for insulation – is another possible concern. The EPA was evaluating the area, including school grounds, for potential fire debris that might contain asbestos, it said Wednesday night.

    And while the EPA’s air quality tests had found no signs of toxic chemicals such as styrene or benzene as of mid-Wednesday morning, testing continues as more smoke settles.

    Such chemicals could increase the risk of cancer if someone is exposed to a high concentration for a prolonged period of time, said Richard Peltier, associate professor of environmental health sciences at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst.

    “We know that it is very common that a large range of chemicals are formed whenever plastic materials are burned, including styrene, benzene, and a wide number of polyaromatic hydrocarbons – all of these are strong carcinogens, and it’s important for people to avoid exposures,” Peltier said.

    Short-term exposure could also cause symptoms, such as dizziness, nausea, coughing, headache and fatigue. “Asthma is regularly triggered by these types of complicated exposures so if you have asthma, it’s really important to be extra careful,” Peltier said.

    It’s not clear when evacuated residents will be allowed to return home, Richmond officials said. Fire officials expect the smoldering site to burn for several days.

    While it’s not yet clear what sparked the recycling plant inferno, local leaders have shared concerns since at least 2019 that the facility was riddled with fire hazards and building code violations, records show.

    “We knew it wasn’t a matter of if, it was a matter of when this was going to happen,” the fire chief said.

    In 2019, the city’s Unsafe Building Commission found that the “cumulative effect of the code violations present” rendered “the premises unsafe, substandard, or a danger to the health and safety on the public,” according to meeting minutes obtained by CNN.

    During a commission hearing, the plant’s owner, Seth Smith, admitted one of the buildings on the property had no fire extinguishing system, the records show. CNN has reached out to Smith, and the attorney who previously represented him in a related lawsuit declined to comment.

    Richmond officials “were aware that what was operating here was a fire hazard,” Mayor Dave Snow said Wednesday, accusing the plant’s owner of ignoring a city order to clean up the property.

    The fire began in a semitrailer loaded with plastics, then spread to surrounding piles of recyclables before eventually reaching the building, which was “completely full from floor to ceiling and from wall to wall,” Brown, fire chief, said. When firefighters arrived, he said, they had difficulty reaching the buildings because access roads were blocked by piles of plastic.

    “Everything that’s ensued here – the fire, the damages, the risk that our first responders have taken and the risk these citizens are under – are the responsibility of that negligent business owner,” Snow said.

    After Smith was ordered by the city building commission to repair or demolish and vacate his properties in 2019, the plant owner and his company petitioned a court to review the order.

    An Indiana circuit court judge ruled in favor of the city in March 2020. The court found in part Smith’s properties “constitute a fire hazard; are a hazard to public health; constitute a nuisance; and are dangerous to people or property because of violations of statute and City Ordinance concerning building condition and maintenance.”

    Firefighters try to douse an industrial fire Wednesday in Richmond, Indiana.

    The city last year seized two of the three land parcels the recycling plant sits on after Smith failed to pay property taxes.

    It’s unclear what steps the city took to remedy the site since the seizure and whether it took any steps before 2022 to enforce its orders requiring Smith to repair or demolish and vacate the properties.

    Smith was contacted by an investigator Tuesday night, the mayor said.

    While firefighters try to snuff out the blaze, they face another challenge: trying not to destroy potential evidence that might help determine the cause, Brown said.

    Officials probably won’t be able to identify the cause of the blaze until after the fire is extinguished and investigators can safely enter the plant, the state fire marshal’s office said.

    Any legal liability against the plant owner will be handled after the cleanup process, City Attorney Andrew J. Sickmann said at a Thursday news conference.

    “Whether or not there can be potential criminal liability would be a question for law enforcement and prosecutors,” Sickmann said.

    The only operation running out of the building before the fire was moving materials out and shipping them overseas as ordered by officials, Sickmann said.

    “It’s his mess, it’s been shown again and again it’s his mess,” Snow, the mayor, said of the owner. “Everything that’s ensued here remains his responsibility.”

    Snow added that they are tracking all costs of the incident in case of potential litigation.

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  • A 2019 hearing detailed potential fire hazards at the now-burning Indiana recycling plant, and its owner admitted a building did not have fire sprinklers | CNN

    A 2019 hearing detailed potential fire hazards at the now-burning Indiana recycling plant, and its owner admitted a building did not have fire sprinklers | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    More than three years before a large blaze at an eastern Indiana recycling plant began spewing toxic smoke and prompting evacuations, potential fire hazards at the facility had been detailed at a meeting with local leaders.

    A September 2019 hearing by the city of Richmond’s Unsafe Building Commission outlined significant code violations at the recycling plant in Richmond, according to meeting minutes obtained by CNN.

    At the 2019 meeting, Seth Smith, the owner of the recycling plant, admitted conditions at the plant had gotten “out of control,” and that one of the buildings at the site had no fire extinguishing system, claiming that an auction company selling the land destroyed the fire system before he took control of it.

    “I took a review of what was there and what it would take to do it and basically, no fixing that (fire sprinkler) system,” Smith said, according to the minutes.

    Richmond’s deputy fire chief, Doug Gardner, noted at the hearing there was an “excessive amount of plastic materials stored in and around the building,” and that “many of the stacks are unstable and several have fallen over.”

    Aaron Jordan, the city’s building commissioner, said that inside the recycling plant building, “there are boxes stacked up all the way to the ceiling.”

    He also noted that some of the materials were too close to the property line, which was a fire hazard.

    “If it would catch on fire it would catch the building next to it on fire,” Jordan said, according to the minutes. “It needs to be 10 feet away from the lot line.”

    Inspections at the site also found widespread roof leaks and structural issues with its buildings.

    The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration also conducted an “air plume study” of the properties at Gardner’s request to determine the density of the particles in the air in the event that a fire was to occur. The study “caused concerns for possible evacuations of the area,” records show.

    CNN reached out to NOAA and the city of Richmond for a copy of that study but did not receive a response.

    This week’s raging fire at the plant has forced evacuation orders for thousands of people since it started Tuesday, while many wonder what the impacts of the thick, toxic smoke may be on their health and community.

    Among the burning items were plastics, which can give off a “host of different chemicals” when they’re on fire, Indiana State Fire Marshal Steve Jones said.

    The smoke rising from the site, Jones said Tuesday, is “definitely toxic.”

    In the 2019 meeting minutes, Smith, the plant owner, made comments committing to cleaning up the site.

    After the building commission granted a one-month continuance to explore a plan of action, it reconvened in October 2019 and issued formal findings of fact that the properties were unsafe.

    The commission found that the “cumulative effect of the code violations present” rendered “the premises unsafe, substandard, or a danger to the health and safety on the public,” records show.

    The panel also ordered Smith to either repair or demolish and vacate the properties in the next 60 days. The next week, Smith and his company petitioned a court to review the commission’s orders deeming his properties unsafe.

    In March 2020, an Indiana circuit court judge ruled in favor of the city, affirming the commission’s decisions requiring Smith to fix conditions at his sites. The court found the evidence “clearly established” that Smith’s properties “are unsafe to people and property; constitute a fire hazard; are a hazard to public health; constitute a nuisance; and are dangerous to people or property because of violations of statute and City Ordinance concerning building condition and maintenance.”

    CNN reached out to Smith for comment but did not receive a response. The attorney that previously represented Smith in the lawsuit declined to comment.

    In 2022, the city seized two of the three land parcels the recycling plant sits on after Smith failed to pay property taxes.

    “We have been through several steps since then to order this particular business owner to clean up this property, because we were aware that what was operating here was a fire hazard,” Richmond Mayor Dave Snow said at a Wednesday morning news conference.

    It’s unclear at this time what steps the city took to remedy the site since the seizure, and whether it took any steps before 2022 to enforce its orders requiring Smith to repair or demolish and vacate the properties.

    “As you might imagine, cleaning up these sites is a significant undertaking,” city attorney AJ Sickmann told CNN. “The city was devoting available resources to abate the problems, but unfortunately the fire began before complete remediation could occur.”

    Details about how this week’s fire started weren’t immediately available. The mayor said the fire department initially responded to reports of a structure fire. Firefighters arrived to see a semitrailer behind a building engulfed in flames, and it spread to other piles of plastics around the trailer and eventually to the building, according to Brown, the fire chief.

    “Our access was very hampered by the rubbish and the piles of plastic that were surrounding the complex,” Snow, the mayor, said. “Yesterday we only had one way in to the entire structure. Today we’re going to use excavators to gain access and to get to the deeper seeds of the fire.”

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  • EPA proposes new tailpipe rules that could push EVs to make up two-thirds of new car sales in US by 2032 | CNN Politics

    EPA proposes new tailpipe rules that could push EVs to make up two-thirds of new car sales in US by 2032 | CNN Politics

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    CNN
     — 

    The Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday proposed ambitious new car pollution rules that could require electric vehicles to account for up to two-thirds of new cars sold in the US by 2032, in what would be one of the Biden administration’s most aggressive climate-change policies yet.

    The tailpipe standards would also have the effect of cutting planet-warming pollution from cars in half. Transportation accounts for nearly 30% of all greenhouse gas emissions in the US, according to the EPA.

    EPA Administrator Michael Regan called the regulations “the strongest-ever federal pollution standards for cars and trucks.”

    Regan touted the proposed rules on “CNN News Central” on Wednesday, claiming they would bring down costs for consumers and slash planet-warming pollution.

    “This is a future for everyone, and we’re starting to see all of the auto industry move in this direction,” Regan told CNN’s Sara Sidner, saying strong auto emissions rules have been part of President Joe Biden’s “vision from day one.”

    EPA officials said that they are considering several different emissions proposals, which could result in anywhere from a 64% to 69% electric vehicle adoption rate by early next decade. If approved, the emissions standards would start model year 2027 vehicles.

    The agency anticipates the new rules would mean EVs could also make up nearly half of all new medium-duty vehicles, like delivery trucks, by model year 2032. Officials are also proposing stronger standards for heavy-duty vehicles, including dump trucks, public utility trucks, and transit and school buses.

    One expert told CNN the Biden administration’s proposal is a pivotal moment for the US auto industry and consumers.

    “It’s a pretty big deal,” said Thomas Boylan, a former Environmental Protection Agency official and the regulatory director for the EV trade group Zero Emission Transportation Association. “This is really going to set the tone for the rest of the decade and into the 2030s in terms of what this administration is looking for the auto industry to do when it comes to decarbonizing and ultimately electrifying.”

    Regan and White House National Climate Adviser Ali Zaidi hailed the proposed regulations as a major climate win that would also save American consumers money in the coming years.

    Zaidi said that in the Biden administration’s first few years, the number of EVs on US roads had already tripled, while the number of public charging stations had doubled. And Zaidi vowed more to come, with funding from Biden’s infrastructure law for a network of EV charging stations combined with consumer tax credits.

    “Whether you measure today’s announcements by the dollars saved, the gallons reduced, or the pollution that will no longer be pumped into the air, this is a win for the American people,” Zaidi said.

    Yet even as the administration is writing aggressive regulations to push the market toward EVs, a Gallup poll released Wednesday suggests that Americans are not yet sold on the idea. Gallup polled more than 1,000 adults in the US last month and found that 41% said they would not buy an electric vehicle.

    Not only are EVs still more expensive than gas-powered cars, but consumers also haven’t yet grasped the climate benefits of transitioning to zero-emissions vehicles, the poll found. Six in 10 respondents said they believe EVs help the environment “only a little” or “not at all,” Gallup reported.

    Transportation is the biggest source of planet-warming pollution in the US, and light duty vehicles – the average cars Americans drive – account for 58% of those emissions. The UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reported last year that aggressive, pollution-slashing changes in the global transportation sector – including the transition to EVs – could reduce the sector’s emissions by more than 80%.

    Speaking on CNN, Regan also emphasized that switching to an EV would save consumers money in the long run.

    “Folks who purchase electric vehicles will see a cost savings over the lifespan of the vehicle, because they’re not having to buy gas, having to pay for maintenance,” Regan said. “So this is a huge opportunity for everyone in this country.”

    Other countries, including the EU and China, are moving faster toward adopting EVs. In the US, California has already proposed that zero-emissions vehicles make up 70% of new car sales by 2030, and 17 other states plan to follow California’s lead.

    That means much of the US car industry will already be transitioning ahead of the proposed federal rules.

    “I believe it’s pretty doable,” Margo Oge, chair of the International Council on Clean Transportation and a former Obama EPA official, said of the aggressive transition to EVs. “The industry is there. Europe is ahead of the US, China is ahead of Europe – and these companies are global companies.”

    New federal tax credits are coming next week that aim to help American consumers save up to $7,500 on an EV. But they have incredibly complex requirements for the auto industry – including that the cars’ batteries and components come from the US or countries it has a free-trade agreement with.

    Still, Boylan said the regulations are designed to gradually work over the next decade, by which time consumers should have far more electric vehicle options to choose from.

    “You’ve got the tax credits as the carrot,” Boylan said. The proposed tailpipe regulation “provides the stick to backstop these incentives and push the industry forward.”

    Regan told CNN the rules would be phased in gradually, giving auto makers and consumers years before they fully go into effect. During that time, the administration is focused on installing more EV charging stations and expanding access to $7,500 federal EV tax credits.

    “What we’re looking at is a ramp-up period,” Regan said on CNN. “We’re going to see a massive buildup over the next couple years, and we’re starting to see those electric vehicle sales numbers grow already.”

    The EPA will take public comment on the proposal before finalizing the rules in the coming months.

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  • Shelter-in-place order is issued for neighborhoods near a burning fishing vessel as the EPA conducts air monitoring | CNN

    Shelter-in-place order is issued for neighborhoods near a burning fishing vessel as the EPA conducts air monitoring | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    A shelter-in-place order was issued Sunday for neighborhoods near a burning fishing vessel in the Hylebos Waterway in Tacoma, Washington, where a “significant explosion” took place and fire conditions have worsened, officials said.

    The burning vessel – which is believed to be carrying 55,000 gallons of diesel and 19,000 pounds of freon on board – caught fire early Saturday morning while moored in the waterway, the US Coast Guard said in a news release.

    “We were very fortunate that the fire was quickly spotted and reported and the crew onboard was able to safely evacuate,” US Coast Guard Lt. Stephen Nolan told CNN affiliate KING-TV.

    There was a “significant explosion” linked to a heated compressed gas cylinder on the vessel, and smoke production shifted toward Northeast Tacoma, Port of Tacoma officials said Sunday night, citing fire officials.

    “Due to smoke from a boat fire in Tacoma, Twin Lakes and Green Gables residents should avoid prolonged outdoor exposure whenever smoke odors are present or if smoke is visible,” Federal Way mayor Jim Ferrell tweeted late Sunday night.

    By Sunday, the fire had spread throughout the vessel and was about 100 feet from the ship’s freon tanks, according to the Coast Guard. Freon is a trademark name typically used to refer to several different refrigerants, including chlorofluorocarbons, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency.

    As the fire continues to burn, the heat from the flames can build pressure in the freon tanks, which have built-in heat-activated pressure relief valves designed to release pressure from the tanks in an emergency, according to the Coast Guard.

    “While freon can be toxic if inhaled in large quantities or in a confined space, the release of freon into the atmosphere is not expected to pose any health and safety risks to the public,” the Coast Guard said.

    Still, the City of Tacoma Fire Department asked residents of the Northeast Tacoma, Browns Point and Dash Point neighborhoods to “remain indoors and limit exposures to smoke.”

    “Residents concerned about smoky conditions can provide additional protections by keeping doors closed and shutting outside air vents. Residents may also want to avoid any strenuous activity or exercise outdoors,” the mayor tweeted.

    The EPA has been conducting air monitoring in the surrounding areas and first responders have deployed floating barriers around the vessel to contain any spills, the release said.

    The Coast Guard has also closed the Hylebos Waterway for all commercial and recreational vessel traffic.

    As of Sunday night, no injuries had been reported and there were no signs of maritime pollution, the Coast Guard said.

    As crews continue to battle the fire with cooling spray, it remains unclear what ignited the blaze. Authorities said the cause of the fire remains under investigation.

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  • How electric tuk-tuks could become a ‘virtual power plant’ for this country | CNN

    How electric tuk-tuks could become a ‘virtual power plant’ for this country | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    The streets of Dhaka are filled with constant clamor. Among the chorus of honking horns and ringing bells, roaring cars and rattling rickshaws, you can hear the electric hum of the city’s three-wheeled open taxis, called tuk-tuks, as they weave through traffic.

    Among the chaos, one Bangladeshi startup has spotted an opportunity. SOLshare plans to tap into the country’s estimated 2.5 million electric tuk-tuks, and turn them into a “virtual power plant.”

    “When (the tuk-tuks) return to the garage at the end of the night, they come back with 30% juice in their batteries,” says Salma Islam, head of projects, fundraising and communication at SOLshare. “If they can feed that back into the grid when the demand is really high, that would be amazing.”

    SOLshare knows exactly how much electricity is left in these tuk-tuks because it has been working with local garages to upgrade their conventional lead-acid batteries to smart, lithium-ion batteries. These are equipped with SOLshare’s digital chip, which collects data on the battery’s performance, location, and charge level.

    The startup claims that the leftover electricity in these batteries could provide up to 20% of the nation’s energy when demand is at its highest. The vehicles would recharge overnight when demand on the grid is lowest.

    SOLshare hopes that this mobile power supply could help to stabilize Bangladesh’s energy grid — and power the country’s economic development.

    “The demand is constantly growing, because the population is also growing, and as people’s livelihoods get better, their energy requirements also increase,” says Islam.

    SOLshare launched its EV pilot program, called SOLmobility, in 2021. It partnered with 15 tuk-tuk garages to upgrade the batteries of around 40 vehicles and began gathering data on the mileage and activities of the three-wheelers.

    The smart batteries use 40% less energy than lead-acid batteries, says Islam. Additionally, the lithium-ion batteries charge in just six hours, around half the time of lead-acid batteries, and are lighter and more efficient. Although they’re more expensive, costing more than double compared to lead acid batteries, they last up to five times longer, says Islam.

    Muhammad Delwar Hossain, who has been driving a tuk-tuk in the Dhaka suburb of Tongi for over a decade, started using a SOLshare smart battery last year. He says it’s boosted his monthly earnings by 50% because he can make more trips on a single charge, and he feels his health has improved because he’s no longer breathing in the toxic fumes emitted by the lead-acid battery.

    SOLshare’s ambitions go far beyond tuk-tuks – it wants to transform Bangladesh’s entire energy sector through multiple strands.

    In 2015, the company began building peer-to-peer solar-powered microgrids that allow households without solar panels to buy excess energy from others in the community using a pay-as-you-go mobile top-up system. To date, it has installed 118 microgrids across the country. The startup has raised $6 million so far.

    The company also installs solar panel systems for homes and commercial buildings, and has 27 megawatts of installation in the pipeline, says Islam.

    Increasing solar power can help the country reduce its reliance on fossil fuels, says Islam – and these microgrids could even feed excess energy back into the national grid.

    SOLshare’s innovations come at a pivotal time for the nation’s energy sector.

    “We had massive power grid failures last summer … that was an eye opener for everyone,” says Islam.

    Across the country, households experienced frequent load-shedding, a practice of enforced power outages that reduces strain on the grid to prevent a total blackout. Then, in October 2022, Bangladesh suffered its biggest blackout in eight years when the national grid failed and plunged 96 million people into darkness.

    Bangladesh has the world's largest off-grid solar power program, according to the World Bank. Home solar systems, seen here on the rooftops of Dhaka, supply individual households.

    Despite being home to the world’s largest off-grid solar power program, Bangladesh’s rapid growth and increasing demand for electricity means renewables account for just 3.5% of its energy.

    The low-lying nation is also one of the most climate change-vulnerable countries in the world and is highly susceptible to floods, droughts and storms – so finding a sustainable way to support its growing energy demand is vital.

    “I think they were a little bit early, ahead of their time,” says Sonia Bashir Kabir, founder of Bangladesh venture capital firm SBK Tech Ventures and an early investor in SOLshare. She believes the next five years hold a lot of opportunity for the company.

    “The government has taken a very serious mandate to look at climate, which helps because that means the policies are going to be favorable,” she says.

    Bangladesh isn’t the only country struggling to meet energy demand: disruptions in the oil and gas supply throughout 2022 have caused a global energy crisis. This has fueled a renewable revolution, with solar and wind energy growing 30% faster than expected last year – and many are hoping it will accelerate the expansion of the green energy sector.

    SOLshare installed its first peer-to-peer solar microgrid in 2015, and now has 118 across the country.

    SOLshare is continuing to upgrade more tuk-tuks, as well as working with battery manufacturers to install its digital chip directly into the battery.

    Through its different projects, Islam hopes the company will become “Asia’s largest virtual utility provider” – a model that could play “a massive role” in other countries with large fleets of electric three-wheel vehicles, such as Thailand and India, she says.

    “We are tapping into as many decentralized renewable sources as possible, and not relying on just a central power grid,” says Islam. “The way we see it, if we can do this right here in Bangladesh, you can actually do it anywhere.”

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  • India’s endangered tiger population is rebounding in triumph for conservationists | CNN

    India’s endangered tiger population is rebounding in triumph for conservationists | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    Tigers once roamed across Asia, their numbers as high as 100,000 at the start of the 20th century, before the species plummeted to the brink of extinction.

    By 2006, their population in India – home to the majority of the world’s remaining wild tigers – hit a record low of just 1,411 individuals.

    But decades of conservation efforts appear to have finally paid off. India’s tigers have more than doubled since then, reaching 3,167 last year, according to the latest tiger census released Sunday.

    That’s about 70% of the world’s wild tiger population, which stands at around 4,500, according to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).

    The resurgence of Indian tigers represents a triumph for conservationists, and a ray of hope for other countries struggling to boost wildlife numbers.

    The report was released alongside celebrations to mark the 50th anniversary of Project Tiger, the government’s conservation program launched in 1973.

    “We have thousands of years of history related to tigers … The tiger is considered our brother in many tribes,” said Prime Minister Narendra Modi in an address on Sunday. “A better future for humanity is only possible when our environments are protected and our biodiversity continues to expand.”

    Modi also visited two tiger reserves on Sunday, with photos showing the leader decked in a safari hat and camouflage clothing.

    Tiger numbers began falling steeply in the 1940s as human populations boomed. Agricultural expansion, deforestation, and infrastructure have fragmented tiger habitats, according to the WWF – particularly devastating given tigers are solitary animals who require large territories to roam and hunt.

    Today, tigers exist on just 7% of the land they used to occupy, according to the WWF.

    This dwindling space has meant a rise in human-tiger conflict, with multiple incidents in the past few decades of tigers attacking humans and entering villages in search of food. And they’re not alone – India’s endangered elephants, too, frequently wander into farmlands and devour crops.

    Though environmental degradation is a problem facing countries worldwide, India’s exploding population poses a unique challenge. In 1971, the country had 547 million people; it now has 1.4 billion, and is set to overtake China to become the world’s most populous country this year.

    Unregulated poaching in the 1980s further accelerated the decline in tiger numbers. Tigers were hunted for sport, status and consumption, with their bone and other parts often used in traditional Chinese medicine. India officially banned tiger hunting in 1972, but it remains a major threat, with illegal poaching blamed for the complete extinction of tigers within an Indian reserve in 2005.

    Efforts to reverse the trend has seen India develop 53 tiger reserves covering nearly 75,800 square kilometers (about 7.5 million hectares), up from just nine reserves at the start of Project Tiger.

    Authorities have relocated and paid entire villages to make space for tigers, and created wildlife corridors to link their fragmented habitats.

    The government has also invested in technology like drones, camera traps and software systems to keep track of tiger populations, movements and behaviors.

    There are plenty of challenges ahead, the WWF cautioned. The worsening climate crisis spells trouble for vulnerable habitats. Many tiger reserves and protected areas are “small islands in a vast sea of ecologically unsustainable land use,” with human activity encroaching on tiger environments. And illegal poaching continues despite strict laws.

    Still, the return of the tiger population is encouraging – and India is beginning to share its conservation practices with other countries with declining tiger numbers. In recent years, Delhi has signed bilateral agreements and launched initiatives including conservation workshops with Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia, Bangladesh and Bhutan.

    And, as Modi pointed out in his Sunday address, similar successes are being seen with other species; India welcomed its first newborn cheetahs in March more than 70 years after the big cats were declared officially extinct in the country.

    The cubs were born to two rehabilitated cheetahs brought from Namibia to India, as part of a government plan to re-home 50 individuals over the next five years.

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  • Toxic fume warning after fire breaks out at Hamburg warehouse | CNN

    Toxic fume warning after fire breaks out at Hamburg warehouse | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    Residents in the German city of Hamburg have been warned of heavy smoke and possible toxins in the air after a major fire broke out at a warehouse.

    Video circulating on social media shows the warehouse engulfed in flames early Sunday morning, with smoke billowing into the sky.

    “Smoke gases and chemical components in the air caused by a warehouse fire can affect breathing. The cloud of smoke is moving towards the city center!” an alert from the Hamburg fire department said.

    Some 140 people have been evacuated, a police spokesperson said, according to Reuters.

    The fire sent a large cloud of smoke over the city

    According to local news outlet NDR, local residents have been instructed to close their windows and doors.

    “The inner city of Hamburg has gone completely dark,” a fire department spokesperson said, as quoted by the outlet.

    It is not clear yet what caused the fire.

    Germany’s national railway company, Deutsche Bahn, said trains between Hamburg and the nearby town of Büchen have been suspended due to the incident.

    Trains between Hamburg and Berlin are also facing delays of up to 90 minutes.

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  • ‘Shocked’ by the loss: Scientists sound the alarm on New Zealand’s melting glaciers | CNN

    ‘Shocked’ by the loss: Scientists sound the alarm on New Zealand’s melting glaciers | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    Every year scientists in New Zealand fly over some of the country’s most iconic glaciers – ancient ice “rivers” that descend from the Southern Alps, a spine of mountains that extend along the South Island. And almost every year, they find them shrinking.

    This year was no different.

    At the end of March, the team of scientists spent eight hours flying over the peaks, taking thousands of photographs of glaciers for the annual snowline survey. Andrew Mackintosh, a professor at Monash University in Australia who was on the flight, said in a statement that he was “shocked” by what they saw.

    Some of the smaller elevation glaciers had largely disappeared, he said, while the famous Franz Josef and Fox glaciers showed marked signs of retreat.

    “The observations this year reinforce the view that we are continuing to see ice loss across the Southern Alps,” Andrew Lorrey, principal scientist at the research body National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) and coordinator of the survey, told CNN.

    Glaciers are huge masses of ice that build up in and around mountains. They grow in cold, snowy winters and retreat when temperatures warm. Glaciers are fresh water sources for nearly 2 billion people globally, but their rapid melting poses a huge risk: not only is it increasing the risk for deadly flash flooding, the melting ice is driving sea level rise.

    Two years of severe, record-breaking heat have taken a toll on the glaciers – 2022 was New Zealand’s hottest year ever, beating a record that was set just a year earlier. But the trend of declining ice is long term.

    It’s difficult to witness, said Lorrey, who has been on these aerial surveys since 2009. “I’m seeing this beautiful part of our natural environment slipping through our fingers. And if you’ve experienced a glacier firsthand, they are absolutely breathtaking and mind-blowing and life-altering.”

    The snowline survey, organized by NIWA, has happened almost every year for nearly five decades and aims to capture a snapshot of a set of more than 50 glaciers – ranging in size and elevation – as close as possible to the end of snow and ice melt season.

    The scientists are looking specifically at the snow that coats them. By understanding where the snowline is “you capture something about the health of our glaciers,” Lorrey said.

    The snow, which provides a nourishing and protective layer for the glaciers, starts in the autumn and continues until spring.

    Lorrey has a financial analogy for the process: The snow is like a savings deposit for the glacier, a buffer against the warmer period ahead. When the melt season starts in the spring, it has to go through this “savings account” of new snow before it reaches the body of the glacier.

    In years when the snowline is lower on the mountain, the glacier can bulk up and is able to advance further down the slope – it has a healthy balance. But when the snowline is higher up, more of the glacier is exposed to melting – sending it into the red – and it will shrink.

    “Right now, we see rapid changes happening in the mountains, with indications that the snowline rise is accelerating along with ice loss,” Lorrey said.

    The results from this year’s flight will be fed into a report on longer term variability in the glaciers which will come out later in the year.

    Principal scientist Andrew Lorrey takes photos of Tasman Glacier during the flight.

    The climate crisis is having a huge impact. “It’s mostly temperature changes that drive what glaciers in New Zealand are doing,” Lauren Vargo, a glaciologist at the Victoria University of Wellington, who was part of the survey, told CNN.

    The extreme melting in 2018, one of the worst years on record for New Zealand’s glaciers, was made up to 10 times more likely by climate change, according to a 2020 study co-authored by Vargo and Lorrey.

    As a scientist, at first the dramatic change in the glaciers “was exciting” in some ways, said Vargo, who has been studying them since 2016. But the persistence of this trend is tough. “It also feels sad and scary when you think about what’s driving it,” she said.

    “As the current warming trend continues, we will keep losing more glaciers,” said Lorrey. And this is a global trend. Up to half the world’s glaciers could disappear by the end of the century, even if ambitious climate targets are met, according to research published in January.

    Brewster Glacier has seen a marked retreat over the last two decades.

    In addition to the impacts of climate change, natural climate variations have also played a role. The unusually long run of La Niña years, which have just ended, brought warmer-than-average sea and air temperatures, helping to drive glacier melting.

    Its counterpart, El Niño, which often brings cooler conditions to this part of New Zealand, is forecast for later in the year and may provide a temporary reprieve.

    “I always look forward to an El Niño and seeing a snow line that is where it normally should be,” Lorrey said. But, he cautioned, “it’s not going to save the bacon of the glaciers.” These years “occur too few and far between to counteract the ongoing warming trend that we’ve been experiencing.”

    Carrington Glacier

    The loss of ice is is keenly felt, Vargo said. “People in New Zealand have this connection to the glaciers.”

    Where once it was possible to park in the car park of a national park and walk a short distance to touch a glacier, now that’s much less common – people often need to go further into the mountain, even fly there on small planes.

    “It’s an experience that will be out of reach for many,” Lorrey said. “A loss of our glaciers will have a significant impact on our relationship with and experiences in the environment.”

    These “water towers,” as Lorrey calls them, also have an important role in supplying high Alpine streams, especially during years of drought.

    The shifts that are happening are a reminder that our mountains – and other places around the world – are changing quickly, he said. Glaciers are a “a highly visual element of environmental change that tells us there are other things that we are not seeing.”

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  • Amsterdam Schiphol Airport proposes a ban on private jets | CNN

    Amsterdam Schiphol Airport proposes a ban on private jets | CNN

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    Editor’s Note: Sign up for Unlocking the World, CNN Travel’s weekly newsletter. Get the latest news in aviation, food and drink, where to stay and other travel developments.



    CNN
     — 

    High flyers hoping to hop to the Netherlands in a private jet might be forced to rethink their travel plans, as Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport is proposing a private jet ban.

    The notoriously busy airport has suggested a series of measures to reduce its air traffic and create a “quieter, cleaner and better” system, according to a Schiphol airport statement.

    Under new proposals the airport hopes will come into effect “no later than 2025-26,” private jets will “no longer be welcome” at Schiphol. There will also be no aircraft landing between midnight and 5 a.m. local time or taking off between midnight and 6 a.m. local time. Plans for a new runway have also been scrapped.

    Schiphol says it’s targeting private jets because they cause “a disproportionate amount of noise nuisance and CO2 emissions per passenger.” Private jets produce up to 14 times more planet-warming pollution than commercial planes, and 50 times more than trains, according to European clean transport organization, Transport & Environment.

    When these small, swanky aircraft depart from Schiphol, 30% to 50% of them are heading to vacation hot spots like Ibiza in Spain, Cannes in France or Innsbruck in Austria, according to Schiphol. The airport argues there are plenty of airplanes flying from Amsterdam to those destinations, and suggests private passengers should go commercial instead.

    “Sufficient scheduled services are available to the most popular destinations flown to by private jets,” says Schiphol Airport in a statement, adding that small police and ambulance aircraft will be permitted to take off and land as they do currently under the new system.

    Last month, the Dutch government announced plans to restrict international aircraft departures in a quest to cut the country’s carbon emissions.

    The Dutch government’s “Preliminary Scheme Schiphol,” published in January, proposed slashing flight numbers from 500,000 to 460,000 between winter 2023-2024 and summer 2024.

    Airlines including Dutch flagship carrier KLM, as well as Delta and EasyJet, pushed back on this proposed flight cap, launching a legal challenge against the Dutch government.

    The airport’s recent statement suggests limiting nighttime air traffic would mean 10,000 fewer night flights each year, and therefore could help get Schiphol to its target.

    Cutting down on overnight landings and departures should also reduce noise pollution for local residents, with airport data suggesting the number of local residents experiencing severe sleep disturbance will fall by approximately 54%.

    It’s not uncommon for even the busiest airports to implement nighttime curfews – take London Heathrow Airport, for example, which restricts overnight operations.

    “Around 80% of the night flights at Heathrow are between 04:30 – 06:00 with an average of 16 aircraft arriving each day between these hours under normal pre-Covid conditions,” reads Heathrow’s website, which adds that flights are never scheduled to depart between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m.

    Frankfurt Airport and Zurich Airport are among the other travel hubs with limitations on overnight air traffic.

    Concerns about noise are also reflected in Amsterdam’s proposed “stricter approach regarding noisier aircraft,” with Schiphol suggesting it will gradually tighten “existing standards for aircraft that are allowed to take off from and land at Schiphol.”

    The airport also pledged to put aside 10 million euros a year for an “environmental fund for the local area,” in a bid to be a friendlier neighbor to its surrounding residents.

    In these new measures, Schiphol also promises to safeguard cargo flights, reserving 2.5% of the available takeoff and landing slots for cargo.

    “However, cargo flights will have to adhere to new, tighter rules for noisier aircraft and the new night closure will also apply to cargo,” reads the airport’s statement.

    Ruud Sondag, the CEO of the Royal Schiphol Group, which manages Amsterdam’s airport, says the Schiphol proposals demonstrate that “we mean business.”

    “We have thought about growth but too little about its impact for too long,” he said in a statement. “We need to be sustainable for our employees, the local environment and the world. I realise that our choices may have significant implications for the aviation industry, but they are necessary.”

    Many of the currently scheduled Schiphol night flights are operated by KLM or its subsidiary Transavia. In response to Schiphol suggestions, KLM said in a statement that the airline was “astonished,” and planned to put forward alternative proposals later this year.

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  • What a difference a year makes: From nearly no snow to a potentially record-breaking pile-up in California | CNN

    What a difference a year makes: From nearly no snow to a potentially record-breaking pile-up in California | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    After a remarkable series of winter storms, California water officials reported Monday in their April snow survey the Sierra snowpack is among the largest on record, dating back to the 1950s.

    The state’s Department of Water Resources surveys mountain snowpack once a month through the winter, and the April survey is usually the most consequential. Officials use the measurement to forecast the state’s water resources for the rest of the year.

    Last year’s survey was pitifully low. Water officials had just a small patch of shallow snow to measure after a disappointing winter. The snow depth on April 2 was just 2.5 inches – part of a disastrous multiyear dry spell that triggered water cuts across the state.

    But what a difference a year makes.

    Twelve months later, the mountains are now loaded with white gold. South of Lake Tahoe at Phillips Station, as snowflakes fell from the surrounding hills, officials measured a snow depth of 126.5 inches and a snow water equivalent – how much liquid water the snow holds – of 54 inches.

    Snowpack in the California Sierra is 221% of normal for this location at this time of year, officials at the Department of Water Resources said. Statewide, snowpack is averaging 237% compared to normal for the date – a significant boost after the back-to-back storms.

    Sean de Guzman, snow survey manager for the state Department of Water Resources, said this is the “deepest snowpack” he has personally ever measured, noting that there have only been three other years when California snowpack has been greater than 200% of average in April.

    “This year is going to join that list and be another year well above 200% of average,” de Guzman told journalists at a briefing Monday. “We still are waiting for more snow data and snow survey results to come in from our various cooperators and partners. But as of this morning, as of right now, it’s looking like this year, statewide snowpack will most likely be either the first- or second-biggest snowpack on record dating back to 1950.”

    Sean de Guzman, right, walks on the snow after he and his team conducted the April snow survey at Phillips Station on Monday.

    Snowpack in the Sierra is critical to the state’s water resources. The snow acts as a natural reservoir – melting into rivers and human-made reservoirs through the spring and summer – and accounts for 30% of California’s freshwater supply in an average year.

    The state’s largest reservoirs, which were recently at critically low levels, have been replenished and are running higher than their historical averages.

    While the heavy rains caused widespread flash flooding and several feet of snow trapped residents in their homes in the higher elevations, the deluge of snow and rain has largely improved California soil moisture and streamflow levels after being gripped by the drought for so long.

    California Gov. Gavin Newsom last month also announced the removal of some drought restrictions, while the Department of Water Resources said it will increase the amount of water deliveries to 75% of requested water supplies this year – up from the initial plan of only 5% last year.

    “Even though we have this extraordinary snowpack, we know that the droughts are getting deeper and more frequent, and that means we have to use water efficiently no matter what are hydrologic conditions,” Department of Water Resources Director Karla Nemeth said. “And the governor has emphasized that as the path forward for California, and to make sure that we are resilient as an economy and for our environment that we all continue to use water wisely in the state.”

    elam vpx screengrab

    ‘Unbelievable’: CNN reporter reacts to record snowfall in California

    To find out just how much snow the Sierra Nevada were buried under this winter, Airborne Snow Observatories Inc., which provides its data to California’s Department of Water Resources, flies over the range to gauge what’s fallen.

    “We measure snowpack wall-to-wall over mountains from aircraft using lasers and spectrometers,” said Tom Painter, the company’s CEO. “From that information, we can then know the full distribution of how much water there is in a mountain snowpack and also how fast it’s going to melt. That’s allowed us then to change forecast errors from being pretty large to very small and really dramatically changed water management in the west.”

    The planes fly for about six hours at a time, collecting different kinds of data through open portals in the belly of their planes, which they process and deliver within about 72 hours to help municipalities allocate water resources, generate hydroelectricity and meet environmental metrics.

    Snow blows across mountain tops March 29 near Mammoth Lakes, California.

    “The scanning LIDAR is a fancy laser pointer, essentially, that sprays out laser pulses – about 500,000 pulses per second – flying along at 23,000 feet, and measures how long it takes for the laser pulse to go out, hit the surface and come back,” Painter said. “And we can use that information to then know the surface of the snow. Every square foot of mountain snow is touched by our lasers.”

    The scientists then compare this data to when they’ve flown over the same area when there wasn’t any snow.

    “The difference between those two is snow depth,” Painter explained. “Depth times density is equal to what’s called snow water equivalent, which is the most important water metric out there that allows civilization to exist in the Western US. It really is the mountain snowpack that drives all of this civilization.”

    The year-to-year difference couldn’t be starker, Painter said, adding that this year, there will be snow in the Sierra into the summer.

    Last year, the company ended its flyover season in late May; this year, they expect to be flying until August.

    Courtesy Airborne Snow Observatories, Inc.

    For the Tuolumne River Basin around Yosemite National Park – which supplies water to San Francisco and other Bay Area municipalities – imagery from last year this time is mostly dark blue: barely any snow. This year, the same area is swathed in orange, yellow and white, indicating snow depths of 10 to 20 feet.

    On Mammoth Mountain in the eastern Sierra, about 60 feet of snow has fallen this year, breaking the old record set in 2010. And snow depths have reached more than 100 feet in some areas around Mammoth. The amount of snow is so profound that the resort has already announced that the ski season will last through the end of July this year.

    “It’s fascinating to look at how the cliffs up on the upper mountain have really gotten buried and the gullies between them are filling in to where they just are kind of disappearing,” Painter noted, adding that he’s never seen Mammoth Mountain this covered.

    Despite all the rain and snow that has boosted reservoirs and allowed officials to lift some water restrictions, scientists still say drought concerns are a priority as climate change continues to impact California’s weather.

    “The climate models had already been predicting what it is that we are seeing now, which is this hydroclimate whiplash where we’re going from really dry years to really wet years,” Painter said, adding that this whiplash is hard on water managers. “That means we could very well have a dry year next year. No one really knows.”

    And as temperatures warm again as summer approaches, experts warn more flood threats lie ahead as the snow melts. California water officials said that after today, they plan to shift their focus “from snowpack building to snowpack melting,” and actively support emergency flood protection efforts.

    “We’re now heading into another issue of increasing solar radiation and chances of warm nights and lack of refreeze, and that brings up snowmelt flooding concerns,” said Benjamin Hatchett, researcher at the Desert Research Institute. “That’s going to be something to think about as we move into the spring, summer with this colossal snowpack sitting above us.”

    Snow blankets the Sierra Nevada mountains on March 29 in Mammoth Lakes, California.

    Hatchett also warns not to get “caught up in all these benefits,” and consider what all this water can mean for vegetation growth and wildfire fuel.

    “As things start to dry out and get warmer, this is a good year to really think about what’s going to happen, what’s growing, and how can you deal with [the fuels] to reduce your fire risk in upcoming seasons,” Hatchett said.

    Even with California’s historic snowpack this year, the state still pulls about a third of its water needs for the southern part of the state from the Colorado River Basin, where the snowfall totals improved this year, but were not as strong as the numbers posted in California.

    The country’s largest reservoirs – Lake Powell and Lake Mead – in the Colorado River Basin are still hovering at or near-record-low levels following years of drought and overuse. But it could also improve in the coming months as snowpack levels rise in the region.

    “That’s good news for a very strained and stressed system,” Hatchett said. “But we probably need five, six or maybe 10 more years of this to really make a big dent in the situation there, but this is much more encouraging to see.”

    In California, water officials will head back to Phillips Station in May to measure more snow. The last time a May snow survey was necessary was in 2020, when the drought began.

    The difference between last year and this year in California is significant. And although the state has all this excess of water now, climate experts warn that drought is always looming, especially in a drier, hotter and thirstier world.

    Nemeth said there is much more work to be done to prepare and “adapt to our new climate realities.”

    “You really get a sense of the extreme nature of our climate here in California,” she said. “There’s lots of fascinating research around the degree to which climate has been driving the intensity of these storms, but also the very rapid shift from very dry to very wet.”

    “It is truly an extraordinary moment,” she said. “But we don’t get to stop and enjoy that for too long.”

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  • California’s salmon fishers warn of ‘hard times coming’ as they face canceled season | CNN

    California’s salmon fishers warn of ‘hard times coming’ as they face canceled season | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    Sarah Bates, the captain of a fishing boat in San Francisco, had a feeling something was wrong with the chinook salmon population back in December.

    “The fish weren’t coming up the river, and to a certain extent, we were just waiting,” Bates, 46, told CNN. “We thought the run was late. And then at some point, it just became clear that fish weren’t coming.”

    But she and other fishermen weren’t sure how bad it could be. It later turned out that catchers along much of the West Coast likely won’t be fishing for salmon at all this year.

    “Salmon is my livelihood. It’s my main fishery,” she said. “And it’s the main fishery for a lot of folks in Fisherman’s Wharf. So, I think there are a lot of us that have some hard times coming.”

    In early March, West Coast regulators announced that they may recommend a ban on salmon fishing this year. It would be only the second time salmon fishing season has been canceled in California.

    The looming ban comes as the West sees a massive decline in fish populations following a blistering, multiyear drought that drained reservoirs and dehydrated much of the land, particularly in California.

    The potential closure, which the Pacific Fishery Management Council is discussing in a multi-day meeting that began Saturday, would affect tens of thousands of people like Bates who depend on salmon fishing for their economic livelihood. It will also upset thousands of Californians who enjoy recreational fishing during the summer.

    The council, which manages fisheries off the Pacific Coast and advises the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) on potential bans like this one, had previously recommended three options for this year – but all of them would result in a cancellation of the salmon fishing season through at least next spring.

    These are necessary measures, according to California and Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife officials, to protect the dwindling Chinook salmon populations, which scientists say have fallen to their lowest levels in recent years due to rampant dam construction as well as climate change-fueled droughts.

    “The outlook is really bad,” Ben Enticknap, Pacific campaign manager and senior scientist with Oceana, told CNN.

    Chinook salmon smolts tumble into net pens for acclimation and transportation in the Sacramento River at Rio Vista, California, on March 26, 2015.

    Beginning their lives in freshwater systems, then traveling out to the salty ocean and back again to their spawning grounds, Pacific salmon face a variety of dangers.

    Manmade dams, which were built decades ago and are prolific on Oregon and California rivers, prevent many salmon species from swimming back to their spawning grounds. Large swaths of wetlands and other estuaries, where smaller fish can feed and find refuge, have also been plagued by infrastructure development.

    Then there are the consequences of the climate crisis: Warmer water temperatures and drought-fueled water shortages in rivers and streams can kill salmon eggs and juvenile fish.

    Michael Milstein, a spokesperson for NOAA Fisheries, also said the models that many scientists use to forecast salmon returns and fishing success “appear to be getting less accurate.”

    “They have been overestimating returning salmon numbers and underestimating the number caught,” Milstein told CNN. “That has further complicated the picture. Since the models are based on past experience, they struggle with conditions we have not seen before.”

    In late 2022, one of California’s driest years on record, estimates show that the Sacramento River chinook returned to the Central Valley at near-record-low numbers. Meanwhile, the Klamath River, which flows from Oregon to California, had the second-lowest forecast for chinook salmon since 1997, when the current assessment method started.

    Cassandra Lozano lifts a dead fall-run Chinook salmon from the Sacramento River while conducting a survey of carcasses in January.

    State and federal scientists forecast that less than 170,000 adult salmon will return to the Sacramento River this year – one of the lowest forecasts since 2008, which was the only other time the salmon season was closed. They also estimate that less than 104,000 will likely return to the Klamath River.

    “Climate change is expected to be detrimental to Pacific salmon populations at every life stage,” Enticknap said. “We know that the salmon need cold and clean freshwater for spawning and for growth, and that climate change and this megadrought have decreased water flows and increased river temperatures in a way that’s lethal for salmon.”

    The US Bureau of Reclamation, which controls some of the dams in the Klamath River, announced in February that it would cut flows on the river due to historic lows from the drought, prompting concerns it would kill salmon further downstream.

    “There’s a lot at stake with the Pacific salmon in the West; they’ve been so important to communities as a source of food, and when that’s at risk, those communities and cultures are at risk,” Enticknap added. “There’s also so many species of wildlife that depend on healthy populations. They’re the backbone of the ecosystem here.”

    The $1.4 billion salmon fishing industry provides 23,000 jobs to California’s economy, and businesses that rely on large salmon populations have been particularly devastated, according to the Golden State Salmon Association.

    “When someone catches a salmon, it’s really an emotional experience because the fish is so magnificent,” Andy Guiliano, a 59-year-old owner of a charter boat company, told CNN. “People really have a connection with the salmon.”

    In the past 52 years, the family-owned business Fish Emeryville has chartered patrons to fish for chinook salmon. Guiliano said salmon fishing is what reels in roughly 50% of the business’ revenue.

    Angelo Guiliano holds a freshly caught Chinook salmon. His father, Andy, runs charter fishing expeditions for recreational salmon fishing in Emeryville, California.

    During the ban, Guiliano said, he and other fishermen would have to make do with other fish, though he emphasized that nothing can compete with the revenue that salmon brings in.

    “It’s a poor second tier. It won’t sustain the amount of effort and it is not a replacement,” Guiliano said. “We might get 10 to 15 % [of business] back.”

    While the megadrought largely contributed to the downfall in salmon numbers, some fishing groups blame the way California distributes its water.

    “The shutdown we are seeing now is completely avoidable,” said John McManus, the senior policy director of the Golden State Salmon Association. “Decisions made during the drought deprived salmon of the water that they need to survive. By doing so, they took away our livelihood.”

    Jordan Traverso, a spokesperson for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, said water management is part of the salmon strategy. But Traverso argues that water policy in California is much more complex, underscoring concerns with regards to agriculture and pointing to the rapidly warming climate.

    “Recent decisions about agriculture aren’t the reason for low numbers because these fish are returning from the ocean voyage as part of their journey,” Traverso told CNN. “Climate disruption is causing strings of dry years and hotter temperatures, shrinking salmon habitat and eliminating the space for them to rebound.”

    The rivers in the middle of California are largely diverted to agriculture. The result is that these rivers are not cold enough for salmon to reproduce and not high enough to help baby salmon swim back to the ocean.

    “We have major issues with barriers to passage in their historic habitat, with dams preventing them from utilizing hundreds of miles of it,” Traverso said.

    The chain reaction from the announcement has already affected a huge swath of business, from bait shops to restaurants that put salmon on the table.

    Another main fishery in California is the Dungeness crab. Here, men can be seen unloading the crabs from fishing boats for Water2Table, Joe Conte's fish distribution company.

    “San Francisco is all about the two iconic California fisheries, which are Dungeness crab and our local king salmon,” Joe Conte, owner of Water2Table, a fish distribution company, told CNN. He said he has been delivering to some of the best restaurants in the Bay Area for more than a decade.

    “It’s disastrous for the fishermen and for us on the pier,” Conte added.

    To meet needs, fishermen can dip into other species, but they run the risk of depleting those populations as well, as they did in 2008.

    “We know exactly what’s going to happen,” Guiliano said. “We saw an enormous amount of effort on the California halibut inside of San Francisco Bay. And then there was four or five years following where the fishery was really poor.”

    Up north in the Klamath River basin, the impact is taking an additional emotional and cultural toll on Native Americans. The Karuk, Hoop and Yurok tribes, in particular, have long fished for the chinook for subsistence. Other fish along the basin like the two endangered native suckerfish – the C’waam and Koptu – are also under threat.

    While some tribes have set their own catch limits, others have made the tough decision to stop their hunting and fishing in hopes of the species’ recovery.

    But as planet-warming pollution rises in the atmosphere, the impacts on biodiversity are ubiquitous. Without salmon, which are a keystone species, other wildlife that depend on it will suffer.

    Last month, the West Coast fishery managers held a public hearing to allow stakeholders to comment on the proposed cancellation.

    What’s surprising, experts say, is that many fishermen support the closure to save the dwindling salmon population, noting that they need every fish to come back to the river.

    “One striking thing is that the fishing community – the commercial fleet and recreational fishing groups – have largely supported the closure of the salmon season,” Milstein said. “That has been apparent in the public comments at the council and elsewhere. They argue that they should not be fishing when the stocks have declined to this level.”

    On the Klamath River, salmon recovery efforts are underway. After a decadeslong campaign by tribal organizers, the federal government in 2022 approved the removal of four dams there. The first dam is set to come down this summer; the rest will be removed by 2024.

    In late 2022, one of California's driest years on record, estimates show that the Sacramento River chinook returned to the Central Valley at near-record-low numbers.

    And there are also “hopeful” signs of rebound, Enticknap said. The recent barrage of storms that pummeled the West has replenished drought-stricken rivers and reservoirs and alleviated arid conditions in California, providing somewhat of a relief for fisheries.

    “We’re hoping that this is going to help salmon populations get back on track and that it’s not an anomaly – in that, this happens once and then we slip back into a drought,” Enticknap added. “My concern right now is that with climate change we’re expecting hotter conditions and more drought and marine heatwaves, where it’s ultimately worse for salmon.”

    Despite the recent onslaught of rain and snow, advocates say they need federal and state officials to implement fair water allocations, since the fishing industry would have to compete with larger California markets like agriculture for the same water supply.

    Although Bates says she is still digesting the new reality they’re facing, she remains hopeful.

    “Don’t waste a crisis, right?” Bates said. “This is a forced opportunity, but it is an opportunity nonetheless, to fix some things that have been broken in California for a long time … so I am somewhat optimistic that this is not the end. It’s just a chapter in the middle.”

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  • Climate activists dye Spanish Steps fountain water black | CNN

    Climate activists dye Spanish Steps fountain water black | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    A group called Ultima Generazione or Last Generation have poured what they described as a charcoal-based black liquid into the water of the Barcaccia fountain at the base of the Spanish Steps in central Rome.

    The group posted a video on Twitter, showing three men and a woman inside the fountain opening paper bags of a black powder.

    “It is absurd that this gesture should shock you, when we are experiencing a drought emergency that is putting agriculture, energy production in crisis,” the group said in the tweet.

    The group was stopped by Carabinieri officials and Rome Capital police on Saturday, a police spokesperson said.

    They are in custody pending charges of defacing a public monument and entering a fountain.

    The water remained black with visible stains to the marble fountain on Saturday afternoon.

    Rome’s mayor Roberto Gualtieri visited the fountain – designed by Pietro Bernini in 1629 – and posted a photo of himself staring at the inky water.

    “Rome is at the forefront in the fight against climate change and in the protection of the artistic heritage,” he said.

    “Throwing black liquid into the Barcaccia, risking ruining it, is an absolutely wrong gesture that does not help the environment,” he added, saying work was under way to ensure there was no permanent damage.

    The same group glued themselves to a plinth in the Vatican museums, to Sandro Botticelli’s “Primavera” masterpiece at the Uffizi galleries in Florence and to the Unique Forms of Continuity in Space statue at the Museo del Novecento in Milan last year.

    They are also facing charges in Rome for throwing orange paint on the Italian Senate façade in January this year.

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  • Officials say water and air are safe after train carrying highly flammable ethanol derails in Minnesota | CNN

    Officials say water and air are safe after train carrying highly flammable ethanol derails in Minnesota | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    The day after a train carrying a highly flammable chemical derailed and burst into flames in a small city in southwestern Minnesota, crews are still working to clear the area as officials reassure residents the water and air are safe.

    Of the 22 cars that derailed in Raymond, Minnesota, Thursday morning, four containing ethanol ruptured and caught fire, the US Environmental Protection Agency said. Other cars carrying the substance were also at risk of releasing the chemical, the EPA said.

    Other cars that derailed contained corn syrup, the Kandiyohi County Sheriff’s Office said. No injuries have been reported.

    Sen. Amy Klobuchar said at a Friday news conference at the site that it “seems” there is no contamination within the soil.

    “No one was hurt. The ground is good. The air is good. So, let’s just see what we can do going forward to make sure it does not happen again,” the Minnesota Democrat said.

    There are currently 100 people at on the scene of the derailment cleaning up the cars. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating, Klobuchar said.

    The EPA said it has been at the crash site and monitoring the air for particulate matter and other compounds, noting there hasn’t been severe impact to the community thus far. And the train operator, BNSF Railway, said it did not find any impact to the drinking water and the air either, it said in a statement Thursday afternoon.

    “Our concern, after the safety of the people here, was what was going to happen with the air and they have done multiple tests and they will continue to do that,” Klobuchar said.

    The cars are expected to be running again – barring a major blizzard – in the next few days, according to Klobuchar and remediation efforts are also underway to help residents who were impacted by the incident.

    Klobuchar said she and fellow Minnesota Sen. Tina Smith are looking into rail safety legislation in Congress.

    In the meantime, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said in a tweet Friday that he’s “grateful for the swift, coordinated response” of local, state, and national partners.

    “Yesterday’s derailment amplifies the critical need to pass my budget’s investments in rail safety to prevent this from happening again,” Walz said.

    The response to the derailment and fire included 28 fire departments, including several volunteer departments who remained at the crash late Thursday, the sheriff’s office had said in a post online.

    The derailment happened around 1 a.m. Thursday in Raymond, a small city of some 800 residents.

    Homes within a half-mile of the derailment were evacuated, but the order was lifted later in the day, according to the sheriff’s office.

    The derailment in Minnesota comes less than two months after a Norfolk Southern train carrying hazardous chemicals crashed in the Ohio community of East Palestine.

    The blaze burned for days, and toxic chemicals were released into the air and killed thousands of fish. Many residents there have complained of health problems after the derailment and raised concerns about the impact of the chemicals.

    Firefighters work near piled up train cars, near Raymond Thursday.

    In Minnesota, preliminary information from the crash suggested 14 of the train’s 40 cars were carrying hazardous materials, “including ethanol, which was released – leading to a fire,” US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told CNN Thursday morning.

    Ethanol can explode when mixed with vapor and air. Exposure to ethanol can lead to coughing, dizziness, the feeling of burning eyes, drowsiness and unconsciousness.

    “Ethanol, like many chemicals, can be toxic if inhaled or comes into contact with skin or is ingested. But it requires a certain concentration to be a health hazard,” said Purdue University professor Andrew Whelton, an expert in environmental chemistry and water quality.

    Ethanol is highly soluble in water, meaning it will be relatively easy to dilute.

    “Dilution is one way to reduce the risk” of health issues from any water that may be contaminated with ethanol, Whelton said.

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  • US Justice Department sues Norfolk Southern following train derailment in East Palestine | CNN

    US Justice Department sues Norfolk Southern following train derailment in East Palestine | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    The US Justice Department filed a civil lawsuit against Norfolk Southern Thursday, alleging violations of the Clean Water Act (CWA) and seeking damages over the train derailment and subsequent environmental disaster in East Palestine, Ohio, in February.

    The Norfolk Southern Railway Company and parent company Norfolk Southern Corporation are both named in the suit, court records show. The DOJ filed the lawsuit on behalf of the Environmental Protection Agency.

    The DOJ says the lawsuit seeks “injunctive relief, cost recovery, and civil penalties” for violations of the CWA, including discharges of pollutants and hazardous materials into waters, and under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA).

    Norfolk Southern says its focus is on making “progress every day cleaning up the site, assisting residents whose lives were impacted by the derailment, and investing in the future of East Palestine and the surrounding areas,” according to a statement sent to CNN from the company’s spokesperson, Connor Spielmaker, on Friday.

    “We are working with urgency, at the direction of the US EPA, and making daily progress,” the statement said. “That remains our focus and we’ll keep working until we make it right.”

    On February 3, a Norfolk Southern train derailed, igniting a dayslong inferno, spewing poisonous fumes into the air, killing thousands of fish and leaving residents to wonder if it was safe to live in East Palestine, Ohio.

    The fiery derailment prompted fears of a catastrophic explosion of vinyl chloride – a highly flammable chemical linked to an increased risk of cancer. After a mandatory evacuation order, crews released vinyl chloride into a trench and burned it off – averting an explosion but spawning new health concerns.

    Officials said tests showed that the air and municipal water were safe and allowed residents to return home, but some have reported a variety of new health problems including rashes, nausea, bloody noses and trouble breathing.

    While studying the possible health impacts from the train derailment, seven US government investigators also briefly fell ill in early March, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed to CNN on Thursday.

    “Symptoms resolved for most team members later the same afternoon, and everyone resumed work on survey data collection within 24 hours. Impacted team members have not reported ongoing health effects,” a CDC spokesperson said in a statement.

    The train operator Norfolk Southern must handle and pay for all necessary cleanup, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. The company has sent some hazardous waste out of state – fueling more questions about safety.

    The DOJ isn’t the only one filing a lawsuit against the railroad. The state of Ohio also filed a 58-count federal lawsuit against the rail company on March 14, saying Norfolk Southern violated numerous state, federal and Ohio common laws and violated the state’s CERCLA act.

    Norfolk Southern has set up a new web page that summarizes community impact efforts. Spielmaker said it “provides a 7-day look ahead and is updated daily and outlines Norfolk Southern’s continued environmental remediation efforts in concert with state and federal authorities.”

    “When a Norfolk Southern train derailed last month in East Palestine, Ohio, it released toxins into the air, soil, and water, endangering the health and safety of people in surrounding communities,” Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said in a statement. “With this complaint, the Justice Department and the EPA are acting to pursue justice for the residents of East Palestine and ensure that Norfolk Southern carries the financial burden for the harm it has caused and continues to inflict on the community.”

    The Justice Department, citing annual company reports, alleges in the suit Norfolk Southern both increased operating income and dropped operating costs over the past four years, including making “reductions in spending to repair, service, and maintain locomotives and freight cars, perform train inspections, and pay engine crews and train crews.” The suit also alleges that these measures are a “focus” of the compensation of the company’s executives.

    The lawsuit claims when the train derailed and cars carrying hazardous materials were breached, the dispersion and subsequent combustion of those materials released toxic chemicals into the “air, soil, groundwater, and waterways.”

    The DOJ says seven local waterways including the Ohio River were contaminated as a result.

    The Ohio Department of Natural Resources reported “thousands of aquatic animals were killed in the five-mile span of waterway from the Site” to the confluence of two creeks the DOJ described as contaminated, the lawsuit says.

    DOJ is asking for $64,618 per day, per violation of the CWA and $55,808 per day or $2,232 per barrel of oil or unit of hazardous substance, per violation of the CWA – but it was not immediately clear from the suit how many days the DOJ considered the violation to be applicable.

    They’re also seeking a declaration of liability against the company for response costs; a mandated increase in safety precautions by Norfolk Southern when transporting hazardous materials; and for the railroad to “remedy, mitigate, and offset” the environmental damage and public health issues that have arisen as a result of the derailment, court documents show.

    In early March, Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw told a US Senate hearing that the company would “clean the site safely, thoroughly, and with urgency.”

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  • A train carrying highly flammable ethanol derails in Minnesota, sparking an hourslong fire. Now 4 more cars with ethanol could spill | CNN

    A train carrying highly flammable ethanol derails in Minnesota, sparking an hourslong fire. Now 4 more cars with ethanol could spill | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    A train hauling ethanol derailed Thursday morning in Raymond, Minnesota, igniting several rail cars and forcing a mandatory evacuation of the city of about 800, officials said.

    The fire was still burning more than 8 hours after the derailment, the US Environmental Protection Agency said in a statement late Thursday morning.

    “Four cars containing ethanol, a highly flammable product, ruptured, caught fire and continue to burn,” said the EPA, which had members at the scene by 6:30 a.m.

    And there’s a risk that more ethanol could spill.

    “Four additional cars containing ethanol may also release,” the EPA said. “The local fire department is currently the lead for the response and ordered a mandatory evacuation of the city. The evacuation remains in place.”

    The EPA team is on the ground in Raymond to conduct air quality monitoring.

    Preliminary information suggests 14 of the train’s 40 cars were carrying hazardous material, “including ethanol, which was released – leading to a fire,” US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told CNN on Thursday.

    In addition to ethanol, the train was carrying mixed freight including corn syrup, said Lena Kent, general director of public affairs for BNSF Railway.

    Ethanol can explode when mixed with vapor and air. Ethanol exposure can lead to coughing, dizziness, the feeling of burning eyes, drowsiness and unconsciousness.

    First responders work the scene of a train derailment Thursday in Raymond, Minnesota.

    The derailment happened around 1 a.m. Homes within a half-mile of the derailment were evacuated, the Kandiyohi County Sheriff’s Office said.

    “There have been no injuries as a result of the crash or emergency response,” the sheriff’s office posted on Facebook. “BNSF specialists are on scene and continued mitigation is occurring.”

    Brittney Phelps and her family were startled by a knock on their door at 1:30 a.m. It was a first responder going door to door telling residents to flee as a precaution.

    “I heard a loud crash but didn’t think anything of it ‘til ambulances were outside the house,” Phelps said.

    She soon smelled the stench of ethanol and saw the wrecked train cars and large fire, Phelps told CNN.

    The derailment happened at about 1 a.m. Thursday, the Raymond Fire Department said.

    The Minnesota Department of Transportation closed a nearby highway due to the derailment and blaze, the fire department said. The main railroad track is blocked, and an estimated time for reopening the line was not available.

    “The City of Raymond is not accessible to the public, so Unity Church in Prinsburg is willing to be a drop off location for bottled water and snacks for the firemen,” the wife of a fire department member said, according to the department’s Facebook page. “These brave souls have been working hard for hours already, and have several hours of work ahead for them.”

    The cause of the derailment is under investigation. A team from the National Transportation Safety Board is expected to arrive at the site Thursday afternoon, the NTSB said.

    Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and state emergency management leadership will travel to Raymond on Thursday to visit the site of the derailment, the governor’s office said.

    The derailment happened nearly two months after another train carrying hazardous chemicals derailed in East Palestine, Ohio – igniting a dayslong inferno, spewing poisonous fumes into the air and killing thousands of fish. The Ohio health department is preparing to offer health tests to first responders as part of a long-term effort to monitor the health of those who responded to the disaster.

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  • Crucial Antarctic ocean circulation heading for collapse if planet-warming pollution remains high, scientists warn | CNN

    Crucial Antarctic ocean circulation heading for collapse if planet-warming pollution remains high, scientists warn | CNN

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    Brisbane, Australia
    CNN
     — 

    Melting ice in the Antarctic is not just raising sea levels but slowing down the circulation of deep ocean water with vast implications for the global climate and for marine life, a new study warns.

    Led by scientists from the University of New South Wales and published Wednesday in the journal Nature, the peer-reviewed study modeled the impact of melting Antarctic ice on deep ocean currents that work to flush nutrients from the sea floor to fish near the surface.

    Three years of computer modeling found the Antarctic overturning circulation – also known as abyssal ocean overturning – is on track to slow 42% by 2050 if the world continues to burn fossil fuels and produce high levels of planet-heating pollution.

    A slow down is expected to speed up ice melt and potentially end an ocean system that has helped sustain life for thousands of years.

    “The projections we have make it look like the Antarctic overturning would collapse this century,” said Matthew England, deputy director of the Australian Research Council’s Centre for Excellence in Antarctic Science, who coordinated the study.

    “In the past, these overturning circulations changed over the course of 1,000 years or so, and we’re talking about changes within a few decades. So it is pretty dramatic,” he said.

    Most previous studies have focused on the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), the system of currents that carry warm water from the tropics into the North Atlantic. The cold, saltier water then sinks and flows south.

    Its Southern Ocean equivalent is less studied but does an important job moving nutrient-dense water north from Antarctica, past New Zealand and into the North Pacific Ocean, the North Atlantic and Indian Ocean, the report’s authors said in a briefing.

    The circulation of deep ocean water is considered vital for the health of the sea – and plays an important role in sequestering carbon absorbed from the atmosphere.

    According to the report, while a slowdown of the AMOC would mean the deep Atlantic Ocean would get colder, the slower circulation of dense water in the Antarctic means the deepest waters of the Southern Ocean will warm up.

    “One of the concerning things of this slowdown is that there can be feedback to further ocean warming at the base of the ice shelves around Antarctica. And that would lead to more ice melt, reinforcing or amplifying the original change,” England said.

    As global temperatures rise, Antarctic ice is expected to melt faster, but that doesn’t mean the circulation of deep water will increase – in fact the opposite, scientists said.

    In a healthy system, the cold and salty – or dense – consistency of melted Antarctic ice allows it to sink to the deepest layer of the ocean. From there it sweeps north, carrying carbon and higher levels of oxygen than might otherwise be present in water around 4,000 meters deep.

    As the current moves northward, it agitates deep layers of debris on the ocean floor – remains of decomposing sea life thick with nutrients – that feed the bottom of the food chain, scientists said.

    In certain areas, mostly south of Australia in the Southern Ocean and in the tropics, this nutrient-rich cold water moves toward the surface in a process called upwelling, distributing the nutrients to higher layers of the ocean, England said.

    However, Wednesday’s study found that as global temperatures warm, melting sea ice “freshens” the water around Antarctica, diluting its saltiness and raising its temperature, meaning it’s less dense and doesn’t sink to the bottom as efficiently as it once did.

    The report’s co-author, Steve Rintoul from Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation and the Australian Antarctic Program Partnership, said sea life in waters worldwide rely on nutrients brought back up to the surface, and that the Antarctic overturning is a key component of that upwelling of nutrients.

    “We know that nutrients exported from the Southern Ocean in other current systems support about three quarters of global phytoplankton production – the base of the food chain,” he said.

    “We’ve shown that the sinking of dense water near Antarctica will decline by 40% by 2050. And it’ll be sometime between 2050 and 2100 that we start to see the impacts of that on surface productivity.”

    England added: “People born today are going to be around then. So, it’s certainly stuff that will challenge societies in the future.”

    Fishing boats at a floating fish farm off Rongcheng, China.

    The report’s authors say the slowing of the Antarctic ocean overturning has other knock-on effects for the planet – for example, it could shift rain bands in the tropics by as much as 1,000 kilometers (621 miles).

    “Shut it down completely and you get this reduction of rainfall in one band south of the equator and an increase in the band to the north. So we could see impacts on rainfall in the tropics,” said England.

    Earlier this month, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warned in its latest report that the impacts of rising global temperatures were more severe than expected. Without immediate and deep changes, the world is hurtling toward increasingly dangerous and irreversible consequences of climate change, it added.

    The IPCC report found that the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above preindustrial levels was still possible, but it’s becoming harder to achieve the longer the world fails to cut carbon pollution.

    England points out that the IPCC predictions don’t include ice melt from Antarctic ice sheets and shelves.

    “That’s a very significant component of change that’s already underway around Antarctica with more to come in the next few decades,” England said.

    Rintoul said the study was another urgent warning on top of all the ones that have come before it.

    “Even though the direct effect on fisheries through reduced nutrient supply might take decades to play out, we will commit ourselves to that future with the choices we make over the next decade.”

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  • Philadelphia officials say drinking water remains safe for now after a chemical spill in the Delaware River | CNN

    Philadelphia officials say drinking water remains safe for now after a chemical spill in the Delaware River | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    The City of Philadelphia says it is now confident tap water from the Baxter Drinking Water Treatment Plant will remain safe to drink until at least 11:59 p.m. Monday following a chemical spill in the Delaware River.

    At a news conference late Sunday afternoon, city officials said they had not found any contamination in Philadelphia’s water supply and there would be no disruptions to schools or city services on Monday.

    “There has not been any contamination in the Philadelphia water system,” Mike Carroll, the city’s deputy managing director for transportation, infrastructure and sustainability, told reporters.

    “We have enough water to sustain a safe use for drinking, cooking – all purposes – through till at least 11:59 p.m., Monday, March 27,” Carroll said. “The potential for contamination is diminishing over time.”

    The Philadelphia Police Department and Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection had also conducted a flyover across the Delaware River and saw no visual evidence of contamination plumes, Carroll said.

    “In this case, because we were talking about essentially ingredients that go into latex paint, we would have been able to see a kind of white plume under the river surface,” he said.

    The city earlier sent out mobile phone push alerts recommending area residents use of bottled water from 2 p.m.

    “Contaminants have not been found in the system at this time but this is out of caution due to a spill in the Delaware River,” the alerts shared with CNN said.

    The alert also provided a link to a community website for updates.

    But an updated statement Sunday afternoon the city said new hydraulic modeling and sampling results showed “there is no need to buy water at this time.”

    “This updated time is based on the time it will take river water that entered the Baxter intakes early Sunday morning to move through treatment and water mains before reaching customers,” the statement reads. “The water that is currently available to customers was treated before the spill reached Philadelphia and remains safe to drink and use for bathing, cooking and washing.”

    A ShopRite store in South Philadelphia said it was selling out of bottled water before 2 p.m. Sunday after the alerts were sent out.

    When the store is able to restock shelves, it plans to limit cases of bottled water to three per customer, a store worker told CNN.

    Carroll said in a statement issued earlier on Sunday that the contamination occurred Friday and involved a latex product that spilled along a Delaware River tributary in Bristol Township, Bucks County.

    “As has been reported, on Friday night a chemical spill occurred in Bristol Township, Bucks County which released contaminants into the Delaware River,” Carroll said. “The Philadelphia Water Department (PWD) became aware of this through the Delaware Valley Early Warning System (EWS) and has been evaluating the situation since that time to understand potential impacts to the public. Although early indications have not revealed contamination, we are still monitoring the situation and conducting testing.”

    Trinseo PLC, which owns the facility where the spill occurred, said in a statement on its website Sunday it “appears to be the result of equipment failure.”

    The latex product chemical spill happened on Friday evening at a facility in Bristol, Pennsylvania, which manufactures acrylic resins, according to the statement.

    The company estimated 8,100 gallons of solution – which is half water and half latex polymer – was spilled.

    “The latex emulsion is a white liquid that is used in various consumer goods. Its pigmentation makes the water-soluble material visible in surface water,” the statement reads.

    The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection said an “unknown amount” of the spilled product had entered the Delaware River. Water sampling is ongoing and contaminants have not been detected at drinking water intakes, the department said in a Sunday statement.

    Fish and wildlife are said to have not been affected, according to the statement.

    “Since the first hours after the incident, the Department of Environmental Protection has been at the facility where the spill originated and will be staying until there is no longer a threat to those impacted in Bucks and Philadelphia counties,” the department’s acting secretary Rich Negrin said in the statement. “We are working closely with our partners to monitor the spread of the contaminants and we will hold the responsible party accountable.”

    On its website, the Philadelphia Water Department said it provides water to more than “2 million people in Philadelphia, Montgomery, Delaware, and Bucks counties.”

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  • Biden designates area sacred to tribes as largest national monument of his presidency | CNN Politics

    Biden designates area sacred to tribes as largest national monument of his presidency | CNN Politics

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    CNN
     — 

    President Joe Biden on Tuesday officially designated a new national monument in Southern Nevada while speaking at a conservation event at the Interior Department.

    At more than 506,000 acres, the Avi Kwa Ame National Monument is one of the largest tracts of land to come under federal protection so far during Biden’s presidency, preserving Nevada’s Spirit Mountain and the desert around it.

    “It’s a place of reverence, a place of spirituality, a place of healing,” Biden said Tuesday. “It will now be recognized for the significance it holds and be preserved forever.”

    Biden’s proclamation is a major victory for the surrounding Fort Mojave Indian Tribe, which has been advocating for the monument’s creation for around three decades.

    “Avi Kwa Ame is the point of Mojave creation; it’s a very important and integral part of our history and belief system,” Ashley Hemmers, the tribal administrator for Fort Mojave, told CNN. “For us, that mountain is a living landscape; it’s like a person. If something were to happen to it, it would be like losing a loved one.”

    During an emotional speech Tuesday, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland highlighted Interior’s work to honor and uplift tribal nations and their knowledge of the land.

    “We’re incorporating Indigenous knowledge and honoring tribes for their role in stewarding our lands and waters since time immemorial,” Haaland said, tearing up during her speech.

    “I was thinking about how the federal government tried to erase Indigenous people in so many ways; taking their lands, taking their children, taking their lives and taking away bison that were so central to many tribal nations,” she added, talking about a recent order she signed to restore American bison. “The bison are still here here, and Indigenous people are still here.”

    Biden also designated the Castner Range National Monument in Fort Bliss in West Texas, which was a training site for the Army during World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War.

    “It’s a place of incredible beauty,” Biden said of Castner Range, describing the Mexican poppies that grow there as “transforming desert hills into a sea of yellows and oranges.”

    Together, the two monuments will protect close to 514,000 acres of new public lands. In addition, Biden is directing Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo to consider protecting all US waters around the Pacific Remote Islands as part of a new national marine sanctuary.

    Biden made the announcement at a summit for tribal leaders and elected officials that was hosted by the White House and Interior Department.

    As they met, climate and youth activists demonstrated outside the Interior Department’s headquarters to protest the recently approved Willow oil drilling project in Alaska. The Biden administration approved the controversial Willow Project last week. The drilling project, which is slated for the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska, galvanized a surge of online activism against it in recent months. Environmental advocates have filed two lawsuits in federal court to stop the project.

    Inside the department, the focus was on protecting the new national monuments and the area around Spirit Mountain, which Biden initially vowed to designate as a national monument in November at the White House tribal nations summit.

    “When it comes to Spirit Mountain and the surrounding canyons and regions in southern Nevada, I’m committed to protecting this sacred place that is essential to the creation story of so many tribes that are here today,” Biden said in his November speech, adding, “And I look forward to being able to visit Spirit Mountain and experience it with you as soon as I can.”

    Spirit Mountain – known as Avi Kwa Ame in Mojave language – sits in the Mojave and Sonoran Deserts in Southern Nevada. It is a sacred site for more than 10 tribal nations and is the site of tribal ceremonies and rituals.

    Designating the new monument has rankled some clean energy groups who warn it could hamper wind and solar energy development in Southern Nevada.

    While Interior and the Bureau of Land Management have identified millions of acres in Nevada for renewable energy development, much of the public land within the proposed monument area can’t be considered for clean energy development because they are part of the critical habitat for a desert tortoise species, the Department of Interior said last year.

    There is a pending application for a solar project on about 2,575 acres that the department has identified as exempt from conservation, an Interior spokesperson said last year.

    Outside of the monument area, the Bureau of Land Management has identified more than 9 million acres of federal land that could be used to build utility-scale solar panels, as well as 16.8 million acres of federal land that could be developed for wind energy.

    Hemmers said that while the tribe wants to actively encourage recreation on the newly created national monument, it wants to see energy and clean energy development done elsewhere in Nevada.

    “They can both protect an area while also walking towards an energy future that gets us to our climate goals,” Hemmers said.

    Hemmers, who watched Biden declare his intention to designate Avi Kwa Ame a national monument in November along with her elderly grandmother – a survivor of the brutal, federal Native American boarding school program – said seeing the proclamation finalized would bring an immense sense of “relief.”

    “It would give me a sense of relief that people in my community cannot have that burden on their shoulders, being threatened by possibly losing a piece of us,” she told CNN.

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