"The widespread, severe flooding in the Midwest over the last month has exposed the vulnerabilities in a levee system that is now so full of holes that many here ruefully describe it as “Swiss cheese.”"

"Something is killing apple trees across the American countryside, and the epidemic is reaching plague-like levels. Worst yet, scientists are completely clueless as to what is causing the mysterious pestilence."

"The U.S. Air Force said Wednesday that it needs $350 million in emergency funds this year to cover cleanup and basic repair costs after this month’s devastating floods at Offutt Air Force Base."

"When Hurricane Maria shattered Puerto Rico's power grid in 2017, it set off the longest major blackout in U.S. history. The island territory's political leaders faced a choice: rebuild the long-troubled centralized electric grid, which had been powered largely by imported diesel fuel and coal, or ditch the costly fuel imports and start over by building a more resilient grid powered by clean energy."

"On Thursday, 41 scientists published the first worldwide analysis of a fungal outbreak that’s been wiping out frogs for decades. The devastation turns out to be far worse than anyone had previously realized."

"Flooding in the Midwest temporarily cut off a Superfund site in Nebraska that stores radioactive waste and explosives, inundated another one storing toxic chemical waste in Missouri, and limited access to others, federal regulators said Wednesday. The Environmental Protection Agency reported no releases of hazardous contaminants at any of eight toxic waste sites in flooded parts of Missouri, Nebraska and Iowa."

"Water levels in overflowed creeks are slowly starting to decline on the Pine Ridge Reservation."

"The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says it is assessing two Superfund sites located in areas that have seen overwhelming floods in recent weeks."

"More than 1 million private wells that supply drinking water in mostly rural parts of the Midwest could face the risk of contamination from floodwater, posing a health concern that could linger long after the flooding subsides."