Environment | WPN World People News

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Wednesday it has completed enforcement actions with the Travaasa Hotel Hana Resort in Hana, Maui, Vacation Inns International on the North Shore, Oahu, and Shaka’s in Pahoa on the Big Island, for failure to close their large capacity cesspools. Travaasa will pay a penalty of $187,500, Vacation Inns International will pay $40,000, and Shaka’s will pay $82,425.

While all organic apples tested are free of pesticides, 83% of the tested conventional apples were contaminated with pesticide residues – with 60% containing two or more substances. These results published by Greenpeace Wednesday were obtained from testing supermarket apples purchased in 11 European countries.

For the first time, an unprecedented alliance of Heads of State, city and state leaders, with the support of heads of leading companies, have joined forces to urge countries and companies around the globe to put a price on carbon.

Renewable energy

UNICEF is on high alert after Typhoon Koppu (local name Lando) made landfall in the Philippines on Sunday morning. The slow moving typhoon has brought torrential rain and strong winds, causing floods, landslides, flying debris, power outages, downed communication lines, and damaged roads and bridges.

U.S. Interior Department announced it would cancel upcoming oil and gas lease sales in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas scheduled for 2016 and 2017, following Shell’s decision to end for the foreseeable future its oil exploration efforts in the Arctic Ocean. Also today, the agency announced that it had denied requests for extensions of leases currently held by Shell and Statoil in the Arctic Ocean. Those leases are set to expire in 2017 and 2020.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Fort Lincoln Retail, LLC have reached a settlement over alleged violations of Clean Water Act regulations designed to protect America’s waterways from polluted stormwater runoff.

Today, EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy joined private and public sector leaders for a second annual White House roundtable discussion about the progress made and new steps taken to curb emissions of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), potent greenhouse gases used in refrigeration and air conditioning. Administrator McCarthy announced several new actions the agency will take to help support a smooth transition to climate-friendly alternatives to HFCs.

A man stands in a flooded section of Nget Chaung camp for internally displaced people in Pauktaw township, Rakhine State. UNHCR was at Nget Chaung to assess damage and identify needs after Cyclone Komen recently swept through western Myanmar.

The EU and its member states must call for a 40% cut in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and scale up climate finance commitments at the COP21 UN climate talks in Paris, Parliament said on Wednesday. MEPs also say a share of revenues from the EU's carbon market allowances should be earmarked for climate finance, and the aviation and shipping sectors should initiate measures to curb their emissions by the end of 2016.