Environment | WPN World People News

Today, Oceana, which was represented by Earthjustice, sued the federal government to end the overfishing of dusky sharks in U.S. waters. Dusky shark populations off the Atlantic and Gulf coasts have plummeted by 85 percent in the past two decades as a result of overfishing and bycatch—the incidental capture of fish and ocean wildlife.

The Clean Power Plan lays the foundation for a transformational shift to clean energy and healthier communities, but climate deniers will stop at nothing to see it overturned.

The use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) remains controversial, which is why the EU has very strict rules and complex authorisation procedures concerning their cultivation and commercialisation. Since April 2015, EU countries are able to ban the cultivation of GMOs on their territory, but should they have the same power regarding their commercialisation?

Emissions testing fraud should be investigated thoroughly and those responsible should face appropriate sanctions, say MEPs in a resolution voted on Tuesday. They say that the EU emissions testing system should be strengthened to ensure that EU emission limits are respected and that vehicles exceeding these limits are discovered quickly. They also recommend considering whether to establish an EU-level surveillance authority.

The inaugural Central Asia Earthquake Risk Reduction Forum took place on October 27-28 in Almaty, organized by the World Bank Group. Over 70 policy makers, experts and practitioners from governments of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, as well as regional research and academic institutions, universities and civil society groups, international experts, media, development partner representatives, and World Bank staff will attend the Forum.

As part of EPA’s Green Power Partnership, more than 1,300 organizations are purchasing billions of kilowatt-hours of green power annually, avoiding carbon pollution equal to that created by the electricity use of more than 2.5 million American homes.

Greenpeace Japan Tuesday condemned the Japanese government’s decision to allow construction of a military base in Okinawa to proceed, despite 80% of local people being opposed, and despite the fact that the Bay where the base will be constructed is home to 262 endangered species, including the rare Japanese dugong.

EPA, the U.S. Department of Justice and the State of Iowa have reached a proposed settlement of alleged Clean Water Act violations by the City of Waterloo, Iowa, that will require the city to assess its sanitary sewer system and develop a master plan to eliminate unlawful sewer overflows and bypasses.

Greenpeace has filed a complaint with the European Ombudsman regarding the Commission’s failure to disclose policy options considered as part of its plan to give countries the right to opt out of GM crops authorised in the EU for use as food and animal feed.

Chin State, remote and mountainous and one of the poorest regions in Myanmar, was among the hardest-hit by floods.