Environment

Environment

The research by the non-profit group Material Focus found about 1.7bn was spent last year on Christmas lighting, including 39m sets of fairy lights. Consumers bought a further 28m light-up items such as garlands, wreaths, stars and snow globes, along with 23m light-up figures and characters and 16m pre-lit Christmas trees.

The European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) reported data up to November 2025 that show this year has been 1.48 degrees C above the average from 1850 to 1900. That's right around the target set by the 2015 Paris climate agreement, under which countries pledged to limit warming to below 1.5 degrees C and well below 2 degrees C. Despite 2024's record-setting temperatures and 2025's proximity to the 1.5-degrees-C threshold, scientists must take into account many years of data before they can say with certainty that the Paris Agreement's target has been breached.

Perched at the Osaka Health Pavilion during Expo 2025, a translucent dome hums with life. Inside, tomatoes ripen above brackish water while pufferfish swim below, their waste feeding the plants that clean their home. This is "Inochi no Izumi," or "Source of Life," a 21-foot-high sphere that reimagines how cities might feed themselves. The dome's genius lies in its vertical arrangement. Four water compartments form the base: seawater, brackish water, and two freshwater tanks.

Busitalia Veneto has placed 19 new battery-electric buses into service in Rovigo, a city in northeast Italy located between Padua and Ferrara, as part of a €9.88 million investment combining EU recovery funds and national sustainable-mobility resources. With this electric bus rollout, Rovigo now operates 25 electric urban buses (all Iveco Bus' branded), consolidating the displacement of diesel on city routes.

The draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR/EIS) will be available for public comment from December 5, 2025 through February 3, 2026 - a required step under both the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). To read the full review, for details on how to submit a comment, or for information on the four public hearings on the document, click here.

Southeast Asia is facing one of its worst storm seasons on record, as thousands of people have died or are missing across Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand and Sri Lanka. Another storm is currently forming in the Philippine Sea. But while governments are promising to rebuild, it is not clear how they can afford to do so every year as the storm seasons get worse.

San Jose residents have been clamoring for a ban on gas-powered leaf blowers for years, complaining about their noise and pollution. In response, the City Council began reviewing a proposal to encourage the use of electric leaf blowers through a subsidy program. The city is moving forward with a green subsidy more than a year and a half later - but it won't be for electric leaf blowers. Instead, councilmembers unanimously approved a $100,000 program Tuesday to incentivize local contractors to carry out home heat pump installations.

This holiday season, we can set a sustainable example for the little ones in our lives with gifts that consider our impact on the planet. The good news: eco-conscious toy options have expanded dramatically. According to a 2024 Toy Association survey, 45% of parents under 40 now consider a toy's sustainability credentials before purchasing. It's the most consumption-oriented time of the year.

The roundabout question Roundabouts are one of the many Planner vs. Engineer debates, and it happens to be a very important issue where emotions cloud good judgment. As much as I criticize the engineering profession, they are generally correct on this one. But that wasn't always the case. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the status quo transportation engineering community believed wholeheartedly that roundabouts were not only good, but were silly, dangerous, would lead

Storm Bram will bring very strong to gale force southerly winds with the strongest winds along the coast. All counties will see very strong and gusty winds coming into place at 3am tonight until 9pm tomorrow. A Status Orange Wind warning will be in place for counties Cork, Kerry, Waterford and Wexford from 7am tomorrow until 3pm. While another Status Orange Wind Warning will be in place for counties Clare, Limerick, Donegal, Galway, Leitrim, Mayo and Sligo from 10am to 6pm.

Americans are facing the snowiest winter in five years as experts say a frigid December will lay the foundation for a cold couple of months. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) meteorologist and climate scientist Judah Cohen spoke to the Daily Mail about his predictions for the 2025-2026 winter season based on his comprehensive AI weather models. And it looks like December will give Americans a brutal introduction into the winter ahead.

Hillcrest Park opens at dawn and closes at 10 p.m., but for me, it has never been just a set of hours on a sign. I have walked this park in every light and season. Morning walks before the neighborhood stirs. Afternoon strolls when working from home. Evening circuits after dinner on weekdays. Weekend doubles, morning and evening both. And those in-between moments when restlessness or boredom sends me out the door once more. I know this place intimately.

(Image credit: Getty Images) Floating solar panels are a growing trend around the world, and the UK seems to be cottoning on to their potential. The government has just approved the largest floating solar panel project in Barrow in an attempt to generate cheap energy. The project promises to solve one of the biggest problems with large-scale solar projects, the amount of land that they take up, meaning solar panels could become even more viable across the UK.

"We want to identify what a monarch's overwintering path looks like," said Ashley Fisher of the Xerces Society, which works on the conservation of insects and other invertebrates.

The pot of rebate money will be split 50/50 between the city-backed energy seller's commercial and residential customers. For residential customers, who make up the vast majority of the company's customer base, that comes to a one-time flat bill credit of $40. The rebate will appear on their January PG&E bill as a separate line item labeled "SJCE Community Energy Credit."

The city will build Brooklyn's first " blue belt" - a "nature-based" flood management system that aims to manage stormwater and improve natural spaces - in the park, building on the Prospect Park Alliance's ongoing Lakeshore restoration projects. "This work means faster drainage, new rain gardens, restored wetlands, and nature-based flood protections that keep homes and streets dry," said Jeff Roth, Deputy Mayor of Operations. "This is government at its best, using science, partnership and shared purpose to meet the challenges of a changing climate."

North Bay Interior Valleys, San Francisco Bay Shoreline, Northern Monterey Bay and Southern Monterey Bay and Big Sur Coast as well as San Francisco County were placed under a coastal flood advisory by the National Weather Service on Friday at 4:43 a.m. The advisory is in effect until Sunday Dec. 7, at 3 p.m. Up to 1.4 ft of inundation above ground level is possible in low-lying areas near shorelines and tidal waterways, can be anticipated according to the NWS San Francisco CA.

Bringing reusable bags to the supermarket is a powerful part of sustainable grocery shopping. At Wegmans, the grocery chain has been encouraging customers to hone their practice. Wegmans has been leading the push to eliminate single-use plastic waste on the grocery front, an eco-pioneer wielding a sort of reverse-incentive strategy. It offers paper bags, and (trust us) you want to avoid using them.