"Michigan legislators were poised Tuesday to remove legal protections from many of the state’s wetlands and other inland waterways, which provide wildlife habitat and perform vital tasks such as preventing floods."

"Throw-away plastic items such as straws and polystyrene cups will be banned in the European Union by 2021, EU officials agreed on Wednesday, as they passed measures to cut plastic use in a bid to reduce marine litter."

"Congress has agreed to make it easier to kill sea lions threatening fragile runs of salmon in the Northwest."

"Major hurricanes, devastating wildfires, a drought and a series of extreme storms ran up the count of billion-dollar U.S. climate and weather disasters."

"As Hurricane Michael quickly gained strength over the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico in October, Tyndall Air Force Base began sending its stealth fighters to safer bases—all but the more than a dozen planes undergoing maintenance. Two days later, the base was being ripped apart by 155 mile-per-hour winds that left it littered with the twisted metal of torn-away rooftops and hangars.

"Potentially billions of dollars in damages are at stake in more than a hundred lawsuits against chemical companies, manufacturers, the U.S. military, and others for contaminating water supplies with toxic per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, a class of more than 4,000 man-made chemicals known collectively as PFASs."

"More than two dozen futurists, environmental scientists and others from around the world recently put their heads together to do a “horizon scan” of emerging trends that are getting relatively little attention but have the potential to have substantial impact on biodiversity conservation in the future."

"City officials in Newark said they learned in October that lead water contamination wasn’t just affecting a dozen homes, but was a “widespread problem,” potentially impacting as many as 40,000 residents. But, a newly-released email shows officials were warned at least seven months earlier — months they spent insisting the water was “absolutely safe to drink,” and assuring residents that the issue was confined to a small number of homes."

"Eleven of Georgia’s 12 coal-powered plants are leaking chemicals into the groundwater, according to a study by a group of environmentalists that was released Thursday."

"With scientists warning that the Northwest’s beloved killer whales are on the brink of extinction, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee announced dramatic plans Thursday to help the population recover — including $1.1 billion in spending and a partial whale-watching ban."