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Armed with new high-tech equipment, mining companies are targeting vast areas of the deep ocean for mineral extraction. But with few regulations in place, critics fear such development could threaten seabed ecosystems that scientists say are only now being fully understood.

Efforts are underway to develop plans for cleaning up the world's marine garbage patches, but the scale of the problem makes conventional cleanup technologies impractical. What's really needed is a change in attitude among the people producing the waste in the first place, writes Anja Krieger. "Redefining what kinds of plastic products we really need, and how to regulate, use and dispose of them, will be at the core of the answer," she argues.

One of the most complicated supply chain issues for companies is deforestation. Why? Because deforestation may take place in areas distant from company headquarters in countries that may not have the strongest government regulations.

President Trump signed an executive order that targets key elements of U.S. climate strategy, including the Clean Power Plan, emissions rules for new fossil-fuel power plants, methane regulations, and more. It is still unclear how the U.S. will engage around the Paris Agreement.

On Tuesday, the Humane Society of the United States introduced a ballot initiative called the Prevention of Cruelty to Farm Animals Act, which calls for a requirement that all pork and veal sold in California be produced without restrictive crates, and that all eggs produced and sold in the state be cage-free. It would make California the only state other than Massachusetts, which passed similar legislation last year, to have such regulations on farm animal welfare.

New data released by the U.S. Energy Information Administration also highlighted another potential contradiction: Virtually every state suing to block the Clean Power Plan has itself shifted toward burning less coal to generate the electricity its residents need since the year 2007 - in some cases by very large amounts.

This blog tries to understand both sides of the issue on safety testing of GMOs or GEs. By law the testing is voluntary say critics of FDA, and FDA says even though voluntary by rule, ALL GMOs are tested for safety and reviewed by FDA before allowing it to go to market.

AFPM and athe API have petitioned the EPA to lower 18.15 billion 2014 renewable fuel mandate to about 14.8 billion gallons.

North American Electric Reliability Corp. reported that California's power generation from wind and solar energy sources will reach 18,700 megawatts by 2020. The state targets 33% renewable energy generation within the next seven years. NERC added that the state needs to keep gas-fired power facilities to fill the gap in energy availability.

some of the biggest public companies in the United States -- including Wal-Mart, Walt Disney Co., Microsoft and many energy giants -- recently have gone public with strategies to set an internal price on their carbon pollution.

If the EPA lowers ground-level ozone - a decision it is likely to make this month - some businesses, cities and regions will be affected more than others, HPAC Engineering reports.

The Environmental Protection Agency is expected to propose tightening limits on ozone, the lung-damaging ingredient in smog, to between 65 to 70 parts per billion. The current standard of 75 parts per billion has been in place since 2008.

Federal agencies must disclose how their actions will impact climate change, according to White House guidance issued today. Read more: http://www.environmentalleader.com/2016/08/02/white-house-to-federal-agencies-consider-climate-change-impacts-of-your-actions/#ixzz4II292aQe