"Pope Francis’ care for the environment was telegraphed early in his papacy. His chosen name honored St. Francis, the Italian friar who proclaimed “Praise God for all his creatures.” As pope, Francis called for immediate action on climate change and exhorted the world’s Catholics to “better recognize the ecological commitments which stem from our convictions.”"

"Heidi Ahonen is a bioacoustician recording whale calls, whistles and songs to understand if the marine mammals are crossing paths with krill fishing vessels in one of the most extreme environments on Earth."

"Up to 17 percent of the planet’s agricultural land may be contaminated by toxic heavy metals, a new study has found. As many as 1.4 billion people reside in areas with soil dangerously polluted with compounds like arsenic, cadmium, cobalt, chromium, copper, nickel and lead, according to the study, published in Science."

"Endangered sea turtles show signs of recovery in a majority of places where they’re found worldwide, according to a new global survey released Thursday."

"President Trump on Thursday said he was allowing commercial fishing in one of the world’s largest ocean reserves, introducing industrial operations for the first time in more than a decade to a vast area of the Pacific dotted with coral atolls and populated by endangered sea turtles and whales."

"For years, the U.S. Justice Department has worked to unravel a global hacking campaign that targeted prominent American climate activists. Now, public tax filings reviewed by NPR reveal an unexpected link between the company that allegedly commissioned the attacks and some of the victims."

"Many of the world’s largest shipping nations decided on Friday to impose a minimum fee of $100 for every ton of greenhouse gases emitted by ships above certain thresholds, in what is effectively the first global tax on greenhouse gas emissions."