ICYMI: Goldfish Takeover, Tongass Makeover & King Coal’s Reign Over

A weekly roundup for busy people

By Paul Rauber

July 16, 2021

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Illustration by Peter Arkle

Large schools of giant goldfish are taking over some US lakes. 

Reversing a late move by the Trump administration, President Biden will reinstate the Roadless Rule in Alaska’s Tongass National Forest, effectively ending large-scale logging of old-growth trees there. 

Deforestation and burning have made the Brazilian Amazon a net emitter of carbon.

Across the United States, 71 large fires have burned nearly a million acres.

In California, insurers are starting to refuse to renew fire coverage for wineries.

The water level in Lake Mead is dropping by a foot a week

A new study shows that climate change makes a statistically significant increase in extreme weather events worldwide.  

Thawing permafrost in Alaska is damaging the Trans-Alaska Pipeline.  

The 300-mile Mountain Valley Pipeline, which carries methane gas from West Virginia to Virginia, claims it will be carbon neutral.

The Biden administration unveils a tool that will allow for instant permitting of rooftop solar installations. 

US coal production hits a 55-year low.  

Maine will charge companies for getting rid of their nonrecyclable packaging materials.

Children raised where there are high levels of lead in the air can grow up to be unpleasant and disagreeable adults.  

Giant pandas are no longer endangered. China reports that there are now 1,800 in the wild, thanks to conservation efforts and habitat expansion.  

Remote cameras detect four new wolf pups on Isle Royale, Michigan—good news for the long-running effort to keep moose numbers in check. 

The first beaver kit since Shakespeare’s time is born in Exmoor, Somerset, England.