Obama names new national monuments in Utah and Nevada despite opposition
President Barack Obama designated two national monuments Wednesday at sites in Utah and Nevada that have become key flashpoints over use of public land in the U.S. West.
Nations
Canada declares high-speed internet a basic service
The regulator has now officially declared broadband access as necessary for the quality of life of all citizens, a claim backed by up to CAD$750 million (US$556 million) in new funding to bring every last Canadian online.
U.K. mass surveillance ruled illegal by E.U. court
Europe’s highest court says that the provision for mass surveillance contained in the recently-passed Investigatory Powers Act ‘cannot be considered to be justified within a democratic society’.
Obama bans drilling in parts of the Atlantic and the Arctic
President Obama announced on Tuesday what he called a permanent ban on offshore oil and gas drilling along wide areas of the Arctic and the Atlantic Seaboard as he tried to nail down an environmental legacy that cannot quickly be reversed by Donald J. Trump.
U.S. jurisdictions take steps to reform ‘dishonest’ bail system
It is common for judges to set bail based solely on the charges a defendant faces, without regard to the defendant’s criminal history or financial means.
Reversing course, E.P.A. says fracking can contaminate drinking water
The Environmental Protection Agency has concluded that hydraulic fracturing, the oil and gas extraction technique also known as fracking, has contaminated drinking water in some circumstances, according to the final version of a comprehensive study first issued in 2015.
Slovenia makes drinking water constitutional right
Slovenia has made access to drinking water a constitutional right in a bid to protect the Alpine nation’s water resources from excessive exploitation. Lawmakers late Thursday approved the change in a 64-0 vote in the 90-member parliament.
Germany is building the world’s first wind turbines with built-in hydroelectric batteries
Wind blows. Water falls. But for the first time, one is now powering the other. Engineers in Germany are storing water for hydroelectricity inside wind turbines allowing the towers act like massive batteries once the wind stops blowing.
Scotland is set to be 100% zero-carbon by 2020
A world run completely on renewable energyit sounds to be an impossible feat, but in a some places around the world, people have stopped burning fossil fuels for electricity. Another country is about to join the club: Scotland.
170 countries agree to ban HFCs in landmark climate change agreement
The agreement was seven years in the making. HFCs became common after ozone-depleting chlorofluorocarbons (CFC) were phased out by the 1987 Montreal Protocol. Though the amount of HFCs released by humans into the atmosphere is small, HFCs are known as a “super greenhouse gas.” The chemical compound traps heat 1,000 times quicker than carbon dioxide.