"One person's whimsy is another person's eyesore. Plus, it's bad for the trees."

"U.S. cities that have been forced to rely on nonprofit groups and corporations to drive tree-planting efforts and boosting their urban “canopy” could soon get a new ally—the federal government."

"The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has been collecting a lot of information about flood risks across America, including the increased risk of flooding linked to climate change. But the agency has not effectively used that new knowledge to persuade more Americans to buy flood insurance, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office."

"Under orders from President Biden, EPA has taken its first overt step to revisit one of the Trump administration’s most bitterly contested air quality rollbacks."

"After a record start, followed by a near-silent July, the Atlantic hurricane season looks like it will be busier than meteorologists predicted a few months ago."

"The Biden administration is planning to unveil new emissions rules for cars tomorrow [Thursday] during an event at the White House featuring industry officials and electric vehicles, according to three sources."

"Surrounded by fires, parched by drought, and shut down by the pandemic – residents of California’s scenic South Lake Tahoe thought they’d endured everything. That was until this week, when the US Forest Service announced it was closing several popular sites after discovering bubonic plague in the chipmunk population."

"Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions (CRES) on Tuesday launched a $1.5 million TV, radio and digital ad campaign to build GOP support for the bipartisan infrastructure bill. The advocacy group, which urges Republicans to support clean energy policies, is targeting nine GOP senators who have expressed interest in voting for the bill."

"The Biden administration is proposing to revoke Trump-era rollbacks to washer, dryer and dishwasher efficiency."

"This summer's low-oxygen dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico along the Louisiana coast covered 6,334 square miles - 10 times the size of Lake Pontchartrain and well above the average size for the past five years, researchers said Tuesday."