Environment

Environment

FILE - Saltwater succulents grow by the water on Bartolome Island, Ecuador in the Galapagos on June 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Alie Skowronski, File)

A stronger-than-normal El Nino alarms scientists over Galápagos wildlife and forests

Gonzalo Solano, The Associated Press 3 minute read 4:38 PM CDT

QUITO, Ecuador (AP) — The prediction that this season’s El Nino phenomenon will be stronger than normal has alarmed the Ecuadorian scientific community, which has warned of its impact on the flora and fauna of the Galapagos Islands, home to the highest concentration of species not found elsewhere on Earth.

The archipelago of more than 230 islands — of which only four are inhabited — is located in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) off the coast of Ecuador.

The climatic phenomenon occurs periodically and in the equatorial Pacific is characterized by an increase in sea temperature and intense rainfall. Its strength is determined by measuring the water temperature in that area and comparing it to the normal average. If it is 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit) above normal, it is considered “very strong.”

The sea temperature will be about 2.2 degrees Celsius (4 F) above normal, according to the latest projection from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which means that “the impact will be significant,” said Franklin Ormaza, a professor and researcher at the Faculty of Maritime Engineering and Marine Sciences of the Higher Polytechnic School of the Coast (ESPOL).

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Environment

The Alberta provincial flag flies on a flagpole in Ottawa, Thursday, July 23, 2026 in Ottawa. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

Officials break ground on massive carbon capture project in central Alberta

The Canadian Press 2 minute read Preview

Officials break ground on massive carbon capture project in central Alberta

The Canadian Press 2 minute read 4:30 PM CDT

CLIVE - A village in central Alberta is on track to house the country’s largest carbon capture project.

Enhance Energy Inc., a carbon management company, says it has broken ground on its Origins project in Clive, Alta., about 140 kilometres south of Edmonton.

Operations are slated to begin in January.

The Origins carbon capture and storage hub is to initially have capacity to permanently store up to 1.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide a year.

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4:30 PM CDT

Environment

Orcas play in Chatham Sound near Prince Rupert, B.C., Friday, June, 22, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS Jonathan Hayward

Feds drop plans to skirt Species At Risk Act for major projects

Nick Murray, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Preview

Feds drop plans to skirt Species At Risk Act for major projects

Nick Murray, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Updated: 4:22 PM CDT

OTTAWA - The federal government is abandoning plans to exempt certain projects from laws designed to protect species at risk after an overwhelmingly negative response to the proposal during a summer of consultations.

However environmental groups say Ottawa can still bypass the Species At Risk Act through other means.

The government is planning to introduce legislation in the fall to speed up approvals for major projects, a key promise from Prime Minister Mark Carney.

The government released two discussion papers in May which also proposed, among other things, to give cabinet ministers what it calls "limited" power to exempt projects from what's known as the "jeopardy test" for species at risk.

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Updated: 4:22 PM CDT

Environment

Wilderness advocates delay removal of tree ‘Yellowstone Forest Reserve’ surveyors inscribed in 1893

Mike Koshmrl/wyofile, The Associated Press 6 minute read 2:10 PM CDT

Public opposition will slow plans to remove and display a section of a dead Shoshone National Forest tree that surveyors mapping Yellowstone Forest Reserve boundaries inscribed 133 years ago.

The dead Engelmann spruce still stands about 28 miles from the nearest trailhead in the Washakie Wilderness. Plans to recover the artifact via helicopter have been underway for years, and there’s even a place in the Wyoming State Museum to display it.

But as plans advanced, federal land managers did not loop in the general public nor advocacy groups whose mission it is to uphold the Wilderness Act. When they ultimately learned about the project, advocates publicly objected — and let Shoshone National Forest Supervisor Ken Coffin know it.

“I got probably somewhere around 200 emails from people from across the country who had legitimate concerns about the project because it’s in the wilderness,” Coffin told WyoFile. “Admittedly, we worked with the folks who believe that the removal is an appropriate thing to do — I happen to be in that camp — but we didn’t really work with the other side. I thought they had a point.”

Environment

Wild horse mares walk along an oil and gas roadway on Crown land near Sundre, Alta., Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2019.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

Alberta gets federal approval to test birth control vaccine on wild horses

The Canadian Press 2 minute read Preview

Alberta gets federal approval to test birth control vaccine on wild horses

The Canadian Press 2 minute read 2:01 PM CDT

EDMONTON - Health Canada says it has approved the use of a birth control vaccine to be tested on free-roaming horses in Alberta.

The provincial government has said wild horse populations in parts of Alberta have reached levels not considered ecologically sustainable.

Those areas are in the western part of the province and include the Sundre, Ghost River, Elbow River and Clearwater zones.

Contraception is one of the measures outlined in Alberta’s feral horse management framework, which also includes removing the animals from the wild and putting them up for adoption.

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2:01 PM CDT

Books

Dan Werb is seen in this undated handout photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Handout - Writers' Trust of Canada, Joe Fuda (Mandatory Credit)

Oscar-nominated Julian Brave NoiseCat, past winner Dan Werb vie for Writers’ Trust

Kaitlyn McGrath, The Canadian Press 2 minute read Preview

Oscar-nominated Julian Brave NoiseCat, past winner Dan Werb vie for Writers’ Trust

Kaitlyn McGrath, The Canadian Press 2 minute read 12:39 PM CDT

TORONTO - An Oscar-nominated filmmaker and a past winner are among the finalists for Canada's largest literary non-fiction prize.

Contenders for the Writers' Trust award include Toronto's Dan Werb, who won in 2022 for his look at the rise of coronaviruses and this time makes the cut with, "Our Wild Familiars: How Animals Are Adapting to Cities and Reshaping the Natural World."

Meanwhile, Vancouver writer-filmmaker Julian Brave NoiseCat, who co-directed the Academy Award-nominated documentary "Sugarcane," is up for his account of a quest to uncover his father's story in "We Survived the Night: An Indigenous Reckoning. 

Also on the short list are Richard Kelly Kemick of Calgary for his collection of humorous personal essays in "Decadence;" Trina Moyles of Whitehorse for her memoir "Black Bear: A Story of Siblinghood and Survival;" and Robert Moor of Halfmoon Bay, B.C. for "In Trees: An Exploration," which examines humanity's relationship to trees and the natural world.

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12:39 PM CDT

Environment

Vehicles drive along Old Route 4 in floodwater conditions, in Richmond County, Cape Breton, N.S., Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Steve Wadden

Some Cape Breton counties lift states of emergency as flood recovery continues

The Canadian Press 3 minute read Preview

Some Cape Breton counties lift states of emergency as flood recovery continues

The Canadian Press 3 minute read Updated: 2:14 PM CDT

SAINT PETER'S - Two Cape Breton counties have lifted their local states of emergency while another kept its travel restrictions in place Wednesday following widespread flooding over the weekend.

A slow-moving storm dropped more than 200 millimetres of rain on some parts of the Nova Scotia island in less than two days. It washed out roads and culverts, damaged bridges and temporarily left some people stranded in their neighbourhoods.

Victoria and Inverness counties lifted states of local emergency Tuesday evening, but Richmond County remained in a state of local emergency, which meant unnecessary travel was prohibited. Schools remained closed as a result.

The county's warden said the decision to maintain the state of emergency would allow for further assessment of roads and infrastructure in the hardest-hit areas. 

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Updated: 2:14 PM CDT

Environment

Curtis Richardson, an ecology professor at Duke University, holds peat soil Wednesday, May 6, 2026, in Belhaven, N.C. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)

Takeaways from AP story on a major effort to restore peatland in North Carolina

Tammy Webber, The Associated Press 3 minute read Preview

Takeaways from AP story on a major effort to restore peatland in North Carolina

Tammy Webber, The Associated Press 3 minute read Updated: 8:15 AM CDT

BELHAVEN, N.C. (AP) — Investors and scientists are restoring a 23-square-mile (60-square-kilometer) tract of peatland in North Carolina's Inner Banks to curb emissions of climate-warming carbon dioxide and regenerate native habitat.

Fifty miles (80 kilometers) of ditches dug decades ago for an abandoned farming venture drained much of the water from thousands of years of accumulated peat — partially decayed organic matter up to 15 feet (4.6 meters) deep — leaving the site vulnerable to drought and wildfires, altering native habitats and allowing it to emit 130,000 tons of carbon dioxide every year.

Here are key takeaways from The Associated Press’ reporting:

Why are peatlands important?

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Updated: 8:15 AM CDT

Environment

Neal Flanagan, right, a research scientist at Duke University, uses a tool to take a soil sample from a peatland as Curt Richardson, an ecology professor at Duke, observes Wednesday, May 6, 2026, in Belhaven, N.C. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)

In North Carolina, a race is on to restore critical peatland before it dries up or is destroyed

Tammy Webber And Joshua A. Bickel, The Associated Press 9 minute read Preview

In North Carolina, a race is on to restore critical peatland before it dries up or is destroyed

Tammy Webber And Joshua A. Bickel, The Associated Press 9 minute read Updated: 11:33 AM CDT

BELHAVEN, N.C. (AP) — The birds are up with the sunrise — warblers, flycatchers, sparrows and towhees calling across the treetops. Deer browse on tender buds emerging from dense shrubs. Black bears scrounge for roots, insects and other edibles.

It's an idyllic setting in North Carolina's Inner Banks, where fields of cotton, soybeans and corn stretch for miles, country roads wend through stands of pines and thousands of bird watchers converge to witness the spring migration.

But it's what’s underground that has drawn scientists and investors to this 23-square-mile (60-square-kilometer) tract: spongy, dense peat up to 15 feet (5 meters) deep.

They're here to save it.

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Updated: 11:33 AM CDT

Environment

A milder-than-normal fall is in the forecast for much of Canada, as shown in this handout 2026 fall forecast map provided by The Weather Network. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Handout - The Weather Network (Mandatory Credit)

Winter to wait on the sidelines as El Nino extends fall: The Weather Network outlook

Jordan Omstead, The Canadian Press 5 minute read Preview

Winter to wait on the sidelines as El Nino extends fall: The Weather Network outlook

Jordan Omstead, The Canadian Press 5 minute read 5:00 AM CDT

It's shaping up to be a mild fall across much of Canada, The Weather Network's forecast suggests, with a potentially historic El Nino expected to prolong the season and delay winter's arrival.

September and October will still bring the usual swings between warm spells and bursts of chilly, stormy weather, the network's three-month outlook says. But the balance is expected to trend milder and, in many regions, drier than normal as the season progresses, said senior meteorologist Doug Gillham.

"Winter is probably going to wait on the sidelines for a while," he said in an interview.

The main reason is El Nino, the climate phenomenon tied to shifting patches of warm water in the Pacific Ocean, Gillham said.

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5:00 AM CDT

Environment

Boats cruise on Musi River amid haze from wildfires in Palembang, South Sumatra, Indonesia, Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Muhammad Hatta)

More schools close in Indonesia due to worsening haze from forest fires

Muhammad Hatta And Niniek Karmini, The Associated Press 3 minute read Preview

More schools close in Indonesia due to worsening haze from forest fires

Muhammad Hatta And Niniek Karmini, The Associated Press 3 minute read 3:54 AM CDT

PALEMBANG, Indonesia (AP) — Schools in the capital of Indonesia’s South Sumatra province switched to remote learning Wednesday as worsening haze from forest and peatland fires pushed air pollution to unhealthy levels, adding to disruptions that have already affected more than 1.4 million students across the country, officials said.

Indonesia has been plagued by forest and land fires for decades but an intensifying El Nino pattern and a prolonged dry season made the impact of the fires especially dire this year. Toxic haze and smoke have spread far beyond Indonesia’s borders in Southeast Asia, creating a regional health crisis.

The smoke has drifted as far as the Philippines, more than 800 kilometers (500 miles) away, and breached Malaysia's emergency-level threshold, forcing authorities to declare an emergency last week in a town in Sarawak state on Borneo Island.

In Palembang, the capital city of South Sumatra province, schools from kindergarten to junior high were ordered to start conducting classes online Wednesday under an emergency measure.

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3:54 AM CDT

Environment

Athletics Canada National Team trail runner, Kalie McCrystal, is shown in this undated handout photo posted by Athletics Canada on their X page. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Handout — X, @AthleticsCanada (Mandatory Credit)

Mountain trail runners describe appeal and peril of sport as Canadian still missing

Darryl Greer, The Canadian Press 5 minute read Preview

Mountain trail runners describe appeal and peril of sport as Canadian still missing

Darryl Greer, The Canadian Press 5 minute read Updated: 4:56 PM CDT

It's been just over a year since mountain runner Margaux Cohen suffered a life-changing injury while hiking a mountain in Squamish, B.C., after her dog Zion lost his footing, sending them both tumbling nearly 20 metres down a rocky slope.

Cohen said she's still recovering from a fracture of her tibial plateau, but Zion is "doing great," and she visited the spot where the fall occurred just last week. 

"Seeing the cliff a year later was pretty insane because I don't think I remembered how high I fell from," she said. "The last week I've been feeling even more grateful to be alive because it's pretty crazy." 

For so-called "skyrunners" or ultra-runners like Cohen, the adrenalin rush of tackling dangerous mountain terrain is worth the risk, which is ever-present on local mountains and famous peaks including the Matterhorn, where famed Canadian skyrunner Kalie McCrystal has been missing for more than a week.

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Updated: 4:56 PM CDT

Environment

Flood debris lines Bright Angel Canyon near where it meets the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon, Monday, Aug. 31, 2026, at Grand Canyon National Park, Ariz. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Grand Canyon water supply to be restored in weeks, not months

Wufei Yu And Hannah Schoenbaum, The Associated Press 4 minute read Preview

Grand Canyon water supply to be restored in weeks, not months

Wufei Yu And Hannah Schoenbaum, The Associated Press 4 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 9:46 PM CDT

PHOENIX (AP) — National Park Service officials expect to restore a reliable water supply in the Grand Canyon in weeks — not months — as the deadly flash flood didn’t damage most of a near-complete pipeline project, they said Tuesday.

Officials said that they were just over a month away from completing a major upgrade to the sole 12.5-mile-long (20-kilometer) Transcanyon Waterline, which supplied water for millions of visitors to the Grand Canyon’s South Rim and about 1,600 residents of Grand Canyon Village.

Construction of a temporary water intake that matches the park’s pre-flood pumping capacity will start this week. Park officials encourage residents and tourists to continue conserving water as they work on a more than $200 million repair and upgrade project.

Before the floods, officials said the project would ensure the park can meet its water supply needs for the next 50 years or more.

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Updated: Yesterday at 9:46 PM CDT

Environment

Tarpaulins cover the ice cave of the 'Mer de Glace' glacier to prevent it from melting, at the Montenvers station in Chamonix, France, Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani)

Nepal’s flood disaster and the impact of climate change loom large in the icy shadow of Mont Blanc

Alex Turnbull And John Leicester, The Associated Press 6 minute read Preview

Nepal’s flood disaster and the impact of climate change loom large in the icy shadow of Mont Blanc

Alex Turnbull And John Leicester, The Associated Press 6 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 11:39 PM CDT

CHAMONIX-MONT-BLANC, France (AP) — For centuries, French and Italian mountain communities on the flanks of Western Europe's highest peak have gazed upon seemingly eternal glaciers and snow that gave the colossus its name: Mont Blanc, the white mountain.

But climate warming is dismantling the picture at alarming speed.

Europe's record heat waves this summer savaged permafrost that for millennia has acted like glue on the Alpine landscape. Defrosting cliffs came apart as high-altitude cold gave way to higher temperatures, sending rock falls cascading from the heights. A famously dangerous rock-prone gully that climbers have long braved on ascents to the summit, 4,805 meters (15,766 feet) up, became temporarily impassable.

“We weep for our mountain, the way it's changing. It hits us in the gut,” said Stéphane Bozon, a deputy mayor in Chamonix-Mont-Blanc, a French town at the foot of the giant that straddles France's border with Italy.

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Updated: Yesterday at 11:39 PM CDT

Environment

An aerial view of a sinkhole which collapsed the driveway of a coastal mansion owned by actor Nicolas Cage Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2026, in Malibu, Calif. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

Driveway of coastal mansion owned by Nicolas Cage collapses

The Associated Press 2 minute read Preview

Driveway of coastal mansion owned by Nicolas Cage collapses

The Associated Press 2 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 9:05 PM CDT

MALIBU, Calif. (AP) — The driveway of a coastal mansion in Malibu owned by actor Nicolas Cage collapsed Tuesday morning, opening up a giant hole in front of the house.

The collapse caused a gas leak just before 6 a.m., prompting authorities and a utility to respond. Utility SoCalGas said the leak was under control several hours later, but that it was temporarily shutting off natural gas services for an 85-foot (26-meter) section of the street as a precaution against coastal erosion.

Representatives for Cage did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Property records show the property was sold in 2024, and the prior owned told the New York Times at the time of the sale that Cage was the buyer.

The mansion was damaged during a Los Angeles-area coastal flooding advisory over lingering effects of Marie, which had been a hurricane before turning back into a tropical storm. While Marie did not make landfall, it brought rain and churned up dangerous waves along the Southern California coastline over the holiday weekend.

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Updated: Yesterday at 9:05 PM CDT

Environment

Joel Petersen carries a net of whitefish aboard a boat near Leland, Mich., 2025. (Josh Boland/Bridge Michigan via AP)

With no time to spare, Michigan hatches a Great Lakes whitefish rescue plan

Kelly House/bridge Michigan, The Associated Press 4 minute read Preview

With no time to spare, Michigan hatches a Great Lakes whitefish rescue plan

Kelly House/bridge Michigan, The Associated Press 4 minute read Yesterday at 1:00 PM CDT

With time running out to save the Great Lakes’ whitefish from a deadly mussel invasion, Michigan officials have a moonshot plan to pluck fish from Lake Michigan and breed them in captivity.

With sustained money, effort and luck, the fish’s offspring could one day help repopulate the lake after humans quell the mussels that have pushed the lake’s wild whitefish to near-collapse.

“It’s really about saving those genetic stocks right now,” said Doug Craven, natural resources director for the Little Traverse Bay Band of Odawa Indians. “If we don’t do it this year, there may not be enough wild fish in those stocks” to do it in the future.

Armed with $350,000 from the recently passed state budget and nearly $900,000 from the Great Lakes Fishery Trust, state and tribal scientists will fan out from Naubinway to Saugatuck this fall to collect the spawning fish.

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Yesterday at 1:00 PM CDT

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