Environment

Environment

On Tuesday at 4:14 p.m. a winter storm warning was released by the National Weather Service valid from 10 p.m. until Friday Dec. 26, at 10 a.m. for the Greater Lake Tahoe Area. Snow accumulations between 1 to 2 feet for Lake Tahoe communities with 3 to 5 feet above 7,000 feet. Winds gusting as high as 100 mph along the highest ridges and up to 50 mph in the lower elevations and on Lake Tahoe, can be expected according to the NWS Reno NV.

Coastal villages around Toliara, a city in southern Madagascar, host tens of thousands of the semi-nomadic Vezo people, who make a living from small-scale fishing on the ocean. For centuries, they have launched pirogues, small boats carved from single tree trunks, every day into the turquoise shallows to catch tuna, barracuda and grouper. We rely solely on the ocean, says Soa Nomeny, a woman from a small island off the south-west coast called Nosy Ve.

In a letter Dec. 15, Waste Management, one of the nation's largest waste companies, told the state the company would no longer sort cartons out of the waste stream for recycling at its Sacramento facility. Instead, it will send the milk- and food-encrusted packaging to the landfill. Marcus Nettz, Waste Management's director of recycling for Northern California and Nevada, cited concerns from buyers and overseas regulators that cartons - even in small amounts - could contaminate valuable material, such as paper,

For two weeks in late November and early December, the ancient Silk Road city of Samarkand, Uzbekistan, became the epicenter of global conservation diplomacy. Delegates from around the world gathered for the 20th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora-better known as CITES COP20. Their task was monumental: to negotiate international trade rules that determine the future of species ranging from okapi and saiga antelope to sharks, pangolins, eels and many more.

Southern California is in for an intense douse of heavy rainfall, strong winds and major snow over the Christmas holiday, a combination that forecasters say has the potential for life-threatening flooding and mudslides, among other risks. The excessive rainfall also has the potential to raise the dangers associated with flash flooding, according to the National Weather Service. "These [high-risk] days correspond to about two out of every five flood-related fatalities and a significant majority of all flood-related property losses in the contiguous United States,"

Harj al-Raheb, or the Monk Forest, lies on the southern edge of Ayta ash-Shaab, a Lebanese village right on the border with Israel. Its 16 hectares (40 acres) are made up of two adjoining woodland areas, known locally as the Southern and Western Hima, that once enjoyed a degree of protection for their ecological richness and cultural value. In early October 2023, these slopes were still thick with oak, carob, terebinth, and bay trees.

The advisory is valid from Tuesday 4 p.m. until Thursday Dec. 25, at 4 p.m. The NWS Hanford CA said, South winds 15 to 25 mph with gusts to 40 mph expected. Gusty winds will blow around unsecured objects. Tree limbs could be blown down and a few power outages may result, the NWS said. Winds this strong can make driving difficult, especially for high profile vehicles. Use extra caution.

An attempt by housing advocates to take control of the Sierra Club's Loma Prieta Chapter has gone down in flames. The chapter, which covers San Benito, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties, is an influential voice in promoting environmental projects. It also endorses candidates for such offices as city council and county supervisors. The chapter's board elections this fall featured a slate of candidates backed by the organization's board and another backed by housing advocates.

This week on the podcast, we're sharing an episode of Harvard Business School's Climate Rising podcast. In this conversation, Professor Mike Toffel speaks with James Reinhart, Co-Founder and CEO of ThredUp, one of the world's largest online resale platforms for secondhand clothing. We thought it was the perfect time with the holiday season upon us and the results of ThredUp's 2025 holiday report revealing 40% of holiday budgets will go to secondhand gifts this year.

I hate beavers, a woman tells the beaver hotline. Forty years ago she planted an oak tree in a small town in southern Zurich now at the frontier of beaver expansion and it has just been felled: gnawed by the large, semi-aquatic rodents as they enter their seasonal home-improvement mode. The caller is one of 10 new people getting in touch each week at this time of year. Beavers, nature's great engineers, can unleash mayhem during winter as they renovate their lodges and build up their dams.

"The GX 337 H2 Linium is equipped with a 100 kW fuel cell, supplied by four hydrogen tanks and paired with a 69 kWh FPT Industrial battery, delivering an operational range of around 450 kilometres. Passenger capacity? Up to 110 passengers. The vehicle is also fitted with Iveco On digital services, designed to optimise performance and reduce the total cost of ownership (TCO)."

Porpoises in UK waters are being found with record rates of mercury in their livers, scientists have found. New research has found that mercury levels in British waters have increased over time, and that animals with higher levels are more likely to die from infectious disease. Analysing liver samples form 738 harbour porpoises found stranded on UK coastlines between 1990 and 2021, scientists found mercury concentrations in porpoise livers rose by 1 per cent each year.

Buildings are among the world's largest sources of greenhouse gas emissions. Improving how they use energy offers one of the fastest and most cost-effective ways to curb climate change. Alexis Abramson, professor and dean at the Columbia Climate School, is an engineer whose research focuses on making buildings more efficient through data analytics, machine learning and smart design. By studying thousands of buildings and analyzing their electricity use, for example, she has been able to uncover ways to significantly cut energy consumption and emissions.

2025 was another historic year-making headlines for disastrous wildfires in Los Angeles, catastrophic floods in Texas, and deadly heatwaves in Europe and Asia. But it was also a year of collaboration-with researchers, scientists, policymakers, students and others coming together to share ideas and plans to address the effects of climate change, during Climate Week NYC and COP30, among other initiatives.

Improved welfare for companion animals by: -Reforming dog breeding practices to improve health and welfare, preventing animals from becoming unwell and ending puppy farming -Consulting on a ban on the use of electric shock collars due to the possible harm to our pets -Considering the introduction of new licences for domestic rescue and rehoming organisations to ensure rescues have the right checks in place -Promoting responsible dog ownership to protect public safety

High on the volcanic shoulders of Northern California's Cascade Range, the air is thin enough to sting your lungs. Between the mid-October freeze and November's first heavy snow, chainsaws echo in short bursts, muffled by dense trees and resin-sweet air. In the morning half-light, a small crew labors rhythmically, harvesting wild red firs for sale in Christmas tree lots across the country.

During the holiday season, you'll likely be giving and receiving loads of gift cards for your favorite shops, restaurants, and online retailers, but can these cards be recycled once the money is gone? Tossing a single gift card in the trash may not seem like a big deal, but these small bits of polyvinyl chloride (commonly known as PVC, the plastic resin used to make gift cards and other household items like CD cases) can really add up.

When the pair, who are researchers at Nottingham Trent University, set out to study how environmental conditions in churches had changed over time, Knight explained that all over the country many organs had notebooks full of data tucked away in their recesses. I would sit at the organ between hymns, or between weddings, said Knight. Quite often, the only thing to look at between services was this little red book that sat in the corner.

Low pressure will bring unsettled weather early this week, with rain affecting Scotland and Northern Ireland on Monday morning. Elsewhere, cloud will gradually lift to leave a brighter afternoon, although a few showers remain possible in Cornwall. Tuesday will be mostly cloudy, with easterly winds slowly strengthening and making it feel colder for many. On Christmas Eve (Wednesday), temperatures will fall as high pressure brings drier, more settled conditions with chilly easterly winds.

For five years now, Briefing readers have eagerly awaited Fridays for a chance to put their penguin-hunting skills to the test. Each week, Leif Penguinson, a Rockhopper penguin, travels to scientifically interesting (and stunning) locations across the globe to hide from our readers' keen eyes. ( Read more of Leif's origin story - and enjoy every puzzle over the first three years - in our first round-up of penguin puzzles and follow Leif's travels in 2024 in our second.) Now, you can relive each of this year's adventures with our 2025 penguin-seeking spectacular! For each puzzle, click the in-text link if you need a bigger version of the image.

After experiencing one of the slowest starts to ski season in decades, snow has finally arrived in the Tahoe region - and more could be on the way, the National Weather Service's Reno office says. Areas above 8,000 feet in the Tahoe Basin are expected to receive between 12 to 18 inches of snow this week, the weather service says. Further south, Mono County is slated to receive 18 to 24 inches above 8,500 feet.