Drought-stricken Las Vegas may ban grass yards for new homes

Grassy yards would be banned at all new housing and commercial developments in the Las Vegas metro area as officials try to expand water use limitations and the region prepares for a hotter and drier future.

Biden raises standards on vehicle mileage to fight climate change

In a major step to fight climate change, the Biden administration is raising vehicle mileage standards to significantly reduce emissions of planet-warming greenhouse gases.

New York City Council bans natural gas hookups for new buildings

New York City may prohibit most new buildings from using natural gas, a move that would make the nation's most populous city a showcase for a climate-change-fighting policy.

States sign agreement to reduce use of Colorado River water

Negotiators for California, Arizona and Nevada signed an agreement Wednesday to voluntarily reduce their use of Colorado River water by 500,000 acre-feet in 2022 and 2023 to help stave off another round of mandatory cutbacks.

Siberia set arctic heat record in 2020, UN weather agency affirms

Average temperatures were up to 10 degrees Celsius more than usual in Arctic Siberia. It played a key role in forest fires, loss of sea ice and global temperature rises that made 2020 one of the three hottest years on record.

More communities look to composting to reduce food waste

The U.S. wastes a lot of food every year. That is bad for society and the environment in several ways. But states and communities are trying to do more to recycle food scraps as compost.

Study: Disposable masks are harmful for the environment

A study from a UK university says the disposable plastic face masks we wear daily for coronavirus protection could pose long-term environmental risks.

EPA head tours ‘Cancer Alley,’ other embattled communities, pledges action

EPA Administrator Michael Regan recently completed a tour from Mississippi to Texas, highlighting low-income, mostly minority communities affected by industrial pollution.

Biden administration recommends overhaul of US oil and gas leasing

The Biden administration has recommended an overhaul of the nation’s oil and gas leasing program to focus on areas that are most suitable for energy development and raise costs for energy companies to drill on public lands and water.

Strategic Petroleum Reserve: What is it? Where is it stored?

President Joe Biden has ordered the release of 50 million barrels of oil from America’s strategic reserve. Here is everything you need to know about the move.

Many climate activists support Biden's move to use oil reserve

Democrats and environmentalists mostly support President Joe Biden’s decision to release a record-setting 50 million barrels of oil from America’s strategic reserve, even as the action appeared to contradict the president's long-term goal to fight climate change.

Thousands of giant sequoias killed in California wildfires

Lightning-sparked wildfires killed thousands of giant sequoias this year, adding to a staggering two-year death toll that accounts for up to nearly a fifth of Earth’s largest trees, officials said Friday.

Biden administration restores clean-water safeguards halted in Trump era

The Biden administration is undoing a Trump-era rule that was considered one of that administration’s hallmark environmental rollbacks.