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Key oceans treaty crosses threshold to come into force

Sixty states have ratified a global treaty to protect the oceans - it will become law in January.

A global agreement designed to protect the world's oceans and reverse damage to marine life is set to become international law. The High Seas Treaty received its 60th ratification by Morocco on Friday, meaning that it will now take effect from January.The deal, which has been two decades in the making, will pave the way for international waters to be placed into marine protected areas.Environmentalists heralded the milestone as a "monumental achievement" and evidence that countries can work together for environmental protection."Covering more than two-thirds of the ocean, the agreement sets binding rules to conserve and sustainably use marine biodiversity," United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said.Decades of overfishing, pollution from shipping and warming oceans from climate change have damaged life below the surface. In the latest assessment of marine species, nearly 10% were found to be at risk of extinction, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).Three years ago countries agreed that 30% of the world's national and international waters - high seas - must be protected by 2030 to help depleted marine life recover.But protecting the high seas is challenging. No one country controls these waters and all nations have a right to ship and fish there. Currently just 1% of the high seas are protected, leaving marine life at risk from overexploitation. So, in 2023 countries signed the High Seas Treaty pledging to put 30% of these waters into Marine Protected Areas.But it was only able to enter force if more than 60 nations ratified it - meaning they agreed to be legally bound by it. With many nations requiring parliament approval, ratification can often take more than five years, Elizabeth Wilson, senior director for environmental policy at environmental NGO The Pews Charitable Trust, told the BBC at the UN Oceans Conference earlier this year. She said this was "record time". The UK introduced its bill for ratification to Parliament earlier this month. Kirsten Schuijt, director general of WWF International, hailed "a monumental achievement for ocean conservation" after the treaty threshold was reached. She added: "The High Seas Treaty will be a positive catalyst for collaboration across international waters and agreements and is a turning point for two-thirds of the world's ocean that lie beyond national jurisdiction."Mads Christensen, executive director of Greenpeace International, called it "a landmark moment" and "proof that countries can come together to protect our blue planet". "The era of exploitation and destruction must end. Our oceans can't wait and neither can we," he added.Once the treaty comes into force, countries will propose areas to be protected, and these will then be voted on by the countries that sign up to the treaty.Critics point out that countries will conduct their own environmental impact assessments (EIA) and make the final decision - although other countries can register concerns with the monitoring bodies.The ocean is crucial for the survival of all organisms on the planet. It is the largest ecosystem, is estimated to contribute $2.5 trillion to world economies, and provides up to 80% of the oxygen we breathe.

Climate
Conservation
Extinction

Should Portland expand or reduce fuels held at the energy hub on the Willamette River?

The city of Portland has unveiled four options for regulating development at the controversial fuel hub on the Willamette River in Northwest Portland.

The city of Portland has unveiled options for regulating development at the controversial fuel hub on the Willamette River in Northwest Portland. The effort to chart a future path for the Critical Energy Infrastructure Hub, a 6-mile stretch along U.S. 30 between the Fremont Bridge and the southern tip of Sauvie Island, has been years in the making, dating back to Portland’s ban on fossil fuel terminal construction a decade ago. It also comes in response to mounting concerns about the earthquake risks of fuel spills at the hub. And it follows intense pushback from environmentalists and some city residents over the city’s approval of Zenith Energy, a company seeking to convert from fossil fuel loading and storage to renewable fuels – such as biodiesel and renewable diesel – and sustainable aviation fuel. The four proposals released this week range from allowing for the expansion of renewable and aviation fuels at the hub to prohibiting all fuel storage expansion and reducing existing storage tank capacity at the terminals. More than 90% of Oregon’s fuel supply comes through the hub, which is home to Zenith and 10 other fuel terminals and more than 400 active storage tanks with the capacity to hold at least 350 million gallons of fuels, mostly gasoline, diesel, liquified natural gas and renewable fuels such as biodiesel and ethanol.Though the proposals would affect all the companies, Zenith is the flashpoint because it’s undergoing a state air quality permit renewal subject to public comment and city and state scrutiny. Zenith also could potentially expand the volume of the fuels it now handles because renewable fuels produce less pollution, allowing the company to store more of them without going over the proposed permit limits. The city chose the alternatives based on feedback from neighborhood and environmental groups, industry and labor representatives including Zenith and seismic experts from Portland State University, said Elliott Kozuch, a spokesperson with the city’s community and economic development service area. Numerous studies have shown the fuels could spill and explode if the soil under the tanks liquifies during a Cascadia-sized earthquake. And though renewable fuels, also called biofuels, release fewer hazardous air pollutants, they’re chemically similar to fossil fuels and hence carry similar risks of spillage and explosion.City officials believe the process to regulate development at the hub is needed to update Portland’s Comprehensive Plan – a long-range policy document that guides how the city will grow and develop – and strengthen the ban on fossil fuel expansion, Kozuch said. The city also hopes to promote safety upgrades to keep residents safe in the event of a mega-earthquake, Kozuch said.Portland in 2016 banned new fossil fuel terminal construction or expansion at the hub, after Canadian company Pembina Pipeline Corp. announced plans to construct a propane-export terminal in the city. It also limited fuel tanks to 2 million gallons. The prohibition was appealed to the state Land Use Board of Appeals several times and readopted by the City Council twice more with clarifications in 2019 and 2022. In the meantime, a fight ensued over Zenith, with the city in 2021 denying the company’s land use approval but the following year giving it the green light for five more years of crude oil storage as long as it transitions to all-renewable fuels by 2027. A lawsuit is now challenging that approval while the new City Council has directed the mayor to launch an investigation into how the city handled Zenith’s approval. The alternatives for the energy hub’s future mirror those tensions.Alternative 1 allows for the expansion of renewable and aviation fuel – although it requires additional city oversight and a higher standard for safety. This alternative would also expand the current prohibition on expansion of fossil fuel storage capacity to cover expansion of fossil fuel loading infrastructure such as pipes and valves. Alternative 2 allows for a limited expansion via a volume cap on storage capacity of renewable and aviation fuels. It also requires terminals to install spill mitigation measures and ground improvements to reduce risk in the event of an earthquake before expansion is permitted. Alternative 3 prohibits all fuel expansion – including the expansion of storage tank capacity and loading infrastructure – thus removing the exemptions for renewable and aviation fuels. Alternative 4 is the most stringent of all, calling for a drawdown of the amount of fuel held at the hub. Not only does it prohibit all fuel expansion, but it also requires all fuel terminals to reduce their storage by 17%. To Nancy Hiser, a Linnton resident and community advocate who has for years warned about the dangers of an earthquake-caused spill at the terminals, only the fourth alternative is acceptable. “Every gallon of fuel held at the hub adds risk to my community and everyone in Portland. Reducing the fuel held there reduces our danger,” said Hiser, who is among a group of community advocates that has been meeting with city officials since May to push for the fuel reduction. “The other three alternatives will allow an increase in the amount of fuel held at the hub, and therefore, will only increase our current risk.”The public can submit comments on the alternatives through Oct. 17. Residents can also learn about the project via four virtual events and an in-person open house. Following public hearings and testimony, the city’s Planning Commission will vote to forward the draft with any amendments to the Portland City Council, which will hold additional public hearings prior to the plan’s adoption. If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

Energy
Chemicals
Pollution

Newsom signs slate of climate, energy bills in California

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) on Friday signed a slate of bills regarding climate and clean energy in an effort to “lower electricity costs, stabilize the petroleum market and slash air pollution.” The measures signed into law include legislation to increase climate credits on utility bills, expand regional power markets out West, add $18 billion...

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) on Friday signed a slate of bills regarding climate and clean energy in an effort to “lower electricity costs, stabilize the petroleum market and slash air pollution.” The measures signed into law include legislation to increase climate credits on utility bills, expand regional power markets out West, add $18 billion to the California Wildfire Fund and allocate $1 billion annually to a high-speed rail project.  The cap-and-trade program, now to be known as “cap-and-invest,” was reauthorized through 2045, "making polluters pay for projects that support our most impacted communities, Newsom said in a statement. “We've got to manifest our ideals and our goals. And so this lays it out, but it lays it out without laying tracks over folks…the issue of affordability, as you heard, is top of mind,” Newsom said during a Friday signing event.  Amid the onset of refinery closures in the state, the governor approved a Republican-backed bill to support more offshore drilling in Kern County, an area rich with fossil fuel resources. Republican state Sen. Shannon Grove said the legislation will “stabilize fuel prices for all Californians” during a speech on the floor last week. The legislative package also earned applause from environmental advocates who have celebrated efforts by Newsom. “We applaud Governor Newsom and California legislators for leading the way in cutting pollution, lowering bills, and building more resilient communities. Now we must accelerate this kind of progress in California and across the nation to meet the full scale of the climate crisis,” Evergreen Action vice president for states Justin Balik said in a Friday statement. The California governor said Friday the state will push forward to lead the nation with “practical application business.” “We're getting it done here today,” Newsom said. “So finding a balanced approach, setting forth strategies to achieve audacious goals that simply no other large-scale jurisdiction in the world can lay claim to, and doing it in a way that reduces the burden on ratepayers and taxpayers.”

Climate
Energy

California Gov. Gavin Newsom Extends Cap-And-Trade Program Aimed at Curbing Carbon Emissions

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed a bill extending the state's cap-and-trade program through 2045

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday extended a signature state program aimed at reducing planet-warming emissions through 2045, a move Democrats cheered but Republicans warned would raise gas prices.The program known as cap and trade sets a declining limit on total greenhouse gas emissions in the state from major polluters. Companies must reduce their emissions, buy allowances from the state or other businesses, or fund projects aimed at offsetting their pollution. Money the state receives from the sales funds climate-change mitigation, affordable housing and transportation projects, as well as utility bill credits for Californians. It was set to expire after 2030. The law Newsom signed Friday at the Morrison Planetarium in San Francisco potentially boosts carbon-removal projects and requires the program to align with California's target of achieving so-called carbon neutrality by 2045. That means the state will remove as many carbon emissions as it releases. The law changes the name to “cap and invest” to emphasize that the money goes toward other programs.“We’re doubling down on our best tool to combat Trump’s assaults on clean air – Cap-and-Invest – by making polluters pay for projects that support our most impacted communities,” Newsom, a Democrat, said in a statement. Newsom also signed a law committing $1 billion in program revenue for the state’s long-delayed high-speed rail project, $800 million for an affordable housing program, $250 million for community air protection programs and $1 billion for the Legislature to decide on annually.He approved other measures aimed at advancing the state’s energy transition and lowering costs for Californians. They include laws to speed up permitting for oil production in Kern County, refill a fund that covers the cost of wildfire damage when utility equipment sparks a blaze and allow the state’s grid operator to partner with a regional group to manage power markets in western states. Newsom also signed a bill that would increase requirements for air monitoring in areas overburdened by pollution and codify a bureau within the Justice Department created in 2018 to protect communities from environmental injustices.California has some of the highest utility and gas prices in the country. Officials face increased pressure to stabilize the cost and supply of fuel amid the planned closures of two oil refineries that make up roughly 18% of the state’s refining capacity, according to energy regulators.Environmental justice advocates said the cap-and-trade extension doesn't go far enough to address air pollution impacting low-income Californians and communities of color more likely to live near major polluters. The program's “cap” applies to planet-warming emissions, not other pollutants impacting air quality. Cap and trade doesn't set emissions limits for individual facilities, meaning an industrial polluter could continue to emit the same amount of greenhouse gases over time so long as it has the right amount of credits or offsets.Other critics of the cap-and-trade extension are worried about it raising costs. The program has increased gas costs by about 26 cents per gallon, according to a February report from the Independent Emissions Market Advisory Committee, a group of experts that analyzes the program. It has played “a very small role” in increasing electricity prices because the state’s grid isn’t very carbon intensive, the report says.“I said it in June and I’ll say it again: legislative Democrats live in ‘Bizarro World,’" said Republican state Sen. Tony Strickland. “Their idea of tackling affordability is extending the Cap-and-Trade program, a hidden tax that drives up costs on everything from gas to groceries. That’s not climate leadership. I call it economic sabotage.”But Democratic Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin, who wrote the reauthorization bill, said it will help the state fight climate change because “the cost of inaction is immeasurable.” She referenced the devastating wildfire that ripped through Pacific Palisades in her district in January.Daniel Barad, the western states acting co-director for the Union of Concerned Scientists, said last week that the extension comes at a key time."The most important thing is it extends it to 2045, which was the most critical thing that the state could have done, especially in the face of federal rollbacks and attacks on California's authority to enforce our lifesaving regulations,” he said.Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Photos You Should See – Sept. 2025

Business
Climate
Energy

Newsom signs climate overhaul, extending cap and trade while boosting oil drilling

A set of laws Gov. Gavin Newsom signed today extends California clean-energy programs while taking steps to shore up oil and gas production. It also opens the door to a Western energy grid.

In summary A set of laws Gov. Gavin Newsom signed today extends California clean-energy programs while taking steps to shore up oil and gas production. It also opens the door to a Western energy grid. Gov. Gavin Newsom today signed a sweeping package of climate and energy policies to extend the cap-and-trade greenhouse gas emissions program, increase oil drilling and allow the state to create a Western regional electricity market.  The overhaul that Newsom and top lawmakers negotiated in the final days of the legislative session amid heavy lobbying last week reflects urgency in the Democratic Party to preserve its climate goals while simultaneously reining in the surging gas and energy costs that have threatened to drive voters to the right.  Lawmakers opened the session this year declaring a focus on making California more affordable, following a bruising national election for Democrats. The energy package was central to that goal, with progressives proposing to lower costs with industry regulations. But after two years declaring special sessions targeting the oil and gas industry, Newsom began to warm up to them as oil refineries announced closures that could send gas prices spiking. As a result, one of the bills he signed Friday would boost domestic oil production in Kern County by approving a long-delayed environmental impact report for new wells.  “We have to effectively transition,” Newsom said at an event in San Francisco. “This is not an ideological endeavor. We’re in the practical application business. We’ve got to manifest our ideals and our goals. So this lays it out. But it lays it out without laying tracks over folks.” The biggest part of the complex package he signed were bills to extend the state’s cap and trade program, which since 2013 has put a price tag on carbon emissions. The program caps the amount of greenhouse gases that polluting industries can emit, and to a limited extent allows companies that cut emissions to sell permits to other companies that pollute. The program raises money for many of the state’s climate programs.  The extension leaves the program largely the same, which disappointed environmental justice advocates who argued it has allowed oil and gas to continue polluting near low-income communities. In a nod to those concerns, Newsom also signed another bill in the package that creates a state fund to monitor pollution mitigation in disadvantaged communities. He also signed two bills affecting the electricity grid. One would allow the state to create a Western regional energy market, allowing the state to trade more electricity with neighbors.  Proponents, including mainstream environmental groups, say the idea would lower prices by allowing California producers to sell excess clean energy during times the state doesn’t need it — when it’s sunny, but not hot, for example, while importing power during heat waves and other high-demand times.  The other bill aims to lower the cost of transmission infrastructure for customers by setting up a public financing system for building new power lines. It would also prevent some utilities’ wildfire mitigation costs from being passed on to customers, and replenish the state’s wildfire fund by $18 billion. The money, paid by shareholders and ratepayers over the next decade, is used to pay wildfire victims.  The package Newsom signed leaves one imminent concern unaddressed: upcoming refinery closures. Negotiations late in the legislative session to keep two Bay Area refineries open have so far failed to produce any deals.  Some Democrats simply didn’t want to give more to the oil industry, while others disagreed on how much support the state should provide, Assemblymember Lori Wilson, a Suisun City Democrat, told CalMatters last week. Wilson had been pushing for the state to support the Valero refinery in Benicia that is now set to close by the end of the year without a deal, costing the city its largest private employer.  Cayla Mihalovich is a California Local News fellow.

Climate
Energy
Pollution

Wildfire Smoke Will Likely Kill Thousands More Americans Each Year

A new analysis finds that 30,000 more Americans are expected to die from wildfire-smoke exposure annually by 2050

Wildfire Smoke Will Likely Kill Thousands More Americans Each Year A new analysis finds that 30,000 more Americans are expected to die from wildfire-smoke exposure annually by 2050 Sara Hashemi - Daily Correspondent September 19, 2025 1:13 p.m. The annual average concentration of PM 2.5 expected in 2050.  Stanford University As our planet continues to warm, the number of Americans who die each year from wildfire smoke could rise from 40,000 today to 71,000 in 2050, finds a recent study. Scientists usually focus on PM 2.5—particulate matter that measures 2.5 microns across and can penetrate the lungs and bloodstream—to track air quality. While there have been studies on the effects of PM 2.5, most of them haven’t focused on wildfire smoke exposure. This new work provides a sobering look at just how many lives will be impacted by wildfires in the coming decades. The analysis, published in the journal Nature on Thursday, combined two decades of death records with climate and wildfire data across North America. The researchers used a machine learning model to predict how changes in wildfire emissions in one place affected smoke concentrations in another. They found that when smoke exposure was higher, there were more deaths. “This paper is a wake-up call for people,” says Kai Chen, an environmental epidemiologist at the Yale School of Public Health who was not involved in the study, to Sachi Kitajima Mulkey and Harry Stevens at the New York Times. “It shows this is a nationwide problem, and it’s tied to climate change.” Quick fact: The state of wildfires Over the past 20 years, the frequency and intensity of extreme wildfires around the globe have more than doubled, according a study in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution published in June 2024. Some states will be impacted more heavily than others. The largest projected increases in death are in California and New York, with 5,060 additional deaths and 1,810 additional deaths a year, respectively. Washington, Texas and Pennsylvania will also see significantly more deaths compared to other states. The study also measures the economic impacts of smoke-related deaths, and found that they translate to $608 billion in annual damages by 2050. That exceeds costs from all other climate-driven damages in the United States, combined. A separate study, also published in Nature this week, further highlights the devastating impact of wildfire smoke not just in the United States, but around the world. The researchers estimate that 1.4 million people will die from wildfire smoke around the world each year by the end of the century—six times more than the current death toll—and most of those deaths will occur in Africa. The authors of the first paper stress that these numbers depend on how we respond to climate change. The models don’t consider worsening climate scenarios, but they also don’t consider possible adaptations. Marshall Burke, an environmental economist at Stanford University and study co-author, tells the New York Times that encouraging the use of air filters and masks during smoke events could also lead to improvements. “The numbers are really striking, but those don’t need to be inevitable,” Minghao Qiu, an environmental scientist at Stony Brook University and the paper’s lead author, tells Matt Simon at Grist. “There are a lot of things we could do to reduce this number.” Burke tells Oliver Milman at the Guardian, “If we want to reduce impacts in the next 30 years, mitigation is important, but it’s actually not the key lever." He adds, “The two key levers are reducing extreme wildfire activity through other approaches, so fuels management, and second, making sure we are well protected when smoke events happen. Right now we are not very well protected.” Get the latest stories in your inbox every weekday.

Climate
Health
Nature

See 15 Breathtaking Bird Images From the 16th Annual Audubon Photography Awards

This year’s competition expanded to Chile and Colombia and introduced new prizes focused on migratory species, habitats and conservation

See 15 Breathtaking Bird Images From the 16th Annual Audubon Photography Awards This year’s competition expanded to Chile and Colombia and introduced new prizes focused on migratory species, habitats and conservation Marta Hill - Staff Contributor September 19, 2025 12:02 p.m. A Brandt's cormorant carries red grape algae and seagrass in La Jolla, California. Barbara Swanson / Audubon Photography Awards. 2025 Plants for Birds Winner, United States and Canada From an island off the coast of Colombia, to northern Chile, to Washington state, the National Audubon Society’s yearly photography contest spread its wings and documented eye-catching birds across much of the Western Hemisphere. The conservation nonprofit revealed the prize winners in its 16th annual contest on Wednesday, featuring 17 overall winners and 15 honorable mentions. The submissions to this year’s contest were judged anonymously by two independent panels. For the first time, photographers from Chile and Colombia were invited to submit their work to the Audubon Photography Awards in a new contest alongside the long-standing one for photographers from the United States and Canada. These two South American countries boast some of the “most astounding avian biodiversity,” write the editors of Audubon magazine, and are home to many migratory birds that might breed in North America. Several of the species featured in this year’s winners—including the royal tern, snow goose and blackburnian warbler, which migrate between the South American countries and Canada and the United States—are vulnerable to climate change, the National Audubon Society says in a statement. With those facts in mind, this year’s contest includes two new categories: Birds Without Borders and Conservation. The former features birds with migratory journeys that cross international boundaries and the latter depicts conservation challenges currently facing avian species. “This is our first year awarding the Conservation prize, and the winning photographs powerfully capture both the challenges birds face and the ways they adapt,” says Sabine Meyer, photography director for the National Audubon Society, in the statement.Grand Prize Winners: Ringed Kingfisher and Magnificent Frigatebird A Ringed kingfisher takes off from the water after diving to hunt fish in Valdivia, Chile. Felipe Esteban Toledo Alarcón / Audubon Photography Awards. 2025 Grand Prize Winner, Chile and Colombia With every drop of water perfectly frozen mid-splash, the Chile and Columbia contest’s Grand Prize-winning photo captures a ringed kingfisher just after a dive. Photographer Felipe Esteban Toledo Alarcón was trying to photograph frogs’ mating rituals, when he got the opportunity to capture this crisp photo of the blue and white bird. Ringed kingfishers, the largest of the kingfisher species in the Americas, dive headfirst into their hunts for fish—literally. These birds perch at a spot up to 30 feet in the air, keeping a lookout for fish, then dive in when they see one, according to Audubon. “After the bird made six dives, I got the image that I’d been chasing: a kingfisher explosively rising out of the water, displaying its beauty, elegance and power,” the Chilean photographer tells Audubon. Nearly two dozen magnificent frigatebirds fly in front of the sun, which is ringed by a bright halo, in Teacapán, Mexico. Liron Gertsman / Audubon Photography Awards. 2025 Grand Prize Winner, United States and Canada The winner from the United States and Canada contest captures birds in a different way: in silhouette. Shot looking up at the sun in Mexico, the image by photographer Liron Gertsman reveals a flock of magnificent frigatebirds framed by a sun halo. “This image immediately stood out in this year’s competition. The layers are deep, the silhouettes remarkable and the whimsical, mystical feeling of the image is outstanding,” judge Daniel Dietrich tells Audubon.Conservation Winners: Burrowing Owl and Savanna Hawk A burrowing owl peers out from a stack of lumber on Marco Island, Florida. Jean Hall / Audubon Photography Awards. 2025 Conservation Winner Jean Hall’s striking image of a burrowing owl is the inaugural Conservation prize winner for the United States- and Canada-based contest. The owl—a “defiant guy,” as she tells Audubon—is sitting in a stack of lumber, a stark contrast to its normal nesting environment of underground burrows. Hall first found this owl on an outing with a biologist as part of her role as a volunteer with Audubon of the Western Everglades’ Owl Watch program. After spotting the bird’s unusual hangout spot on Marco Island in Florida, Hall went back on a handful of occasions, hoping to glimpse the owl again. Unlike most owl species, burrowing owls are diurnal, meaning they are more active during the daytime, at least during breeding season. “You just had to hope. You had to be patient. And finally, the light was decent—because you have to worry about the light—and he popped out at the right time,” Hall tells Smithsonian magazine. Burrowing owls usually nest in underground burrows, either by repurposing tunnels from prairie dog colonies or digging their own holes. The housing search is getting harder for burrowing owls, though, as suitable land is taken up by agriculture and housing developments, according to Audubon. “We humans continue to expand into wild places, often aggressively displacing local wildlife. This image shocked me immediately, because it shows that,” contest judge Lucas Bustamante tells the publication. “This lumber pile used to be a forest—now processed as timber—and yet the burrowing owl still finds habitat in such an unnatural place.” When Hall first started doing wildlife photography, she focused on beauty and behavioral shots, but one of the scientists she’s worked with over the years shifted her perspective on the role of her photographs. “I used to walk away when something awful was happening. I didn’t want to document it,” Hall tells Smithsonian magazine. “These biologists were telling me, ‘You’re going to make much, much more of an impact if you start documenting bad stuff.’ That was like a light bulb went on about treating this more journalistically.” Though she has been entering Audubon’s contest for about a decade and has been recognized in the top 100 images before, this marks Hall’s first time winning an Audubon contest category outright. “I couldn’t believe it,” she says. “It was a burrowing owl, which in many ways was my spark bird,” a birding term for the species that ignites someone’s interest in the animals. “I fell in love with burrowing owls on Marco [Island] so deeply.” A savanna hawk stands in front of a controlled burn that got out of hand in Colombia. Luis Alberto Peña / Audubon Photography Awards. 2025 Conservation Winner, Chile and Colombia The conservation winner from the Chile and Colombia contest similarly shows a bird in a bit of an unnatural setting. That is where the similarities end. Luis Alberto Peña’s photo captures a savanna hawk’s intense gaze against the striking background of a controlled burn of a rice field. “Attentive and patient, this bird never strayed from the dense smoke and heat; in fact, it returned again and again, hoping to hunt disoriented animals fleeing the flames,” he tells Audubon. “Before I left, I captured this visual testimony to one of the many ways that wildlife survives and adapts in the face of extreme environmental conditions.”Birds Without Borders Winners: Royal Tern and Snow Goose An adult royal tern feeds its young a fish on San Andrés Island, Colombia. Jacobo Giraldo Trejos / Audubon Photography Awards. 2025 Birds Without Borders Winner, Chile and Colombia The winners of the new Birds Without Borders category highlight animals more than 1,000 miles apart. Jacob Giraldo Trejos won the category in the South American contest with an eye-catching image of an adult and juvenile royal tern sharing a meal. Unlike most songbirds, these seabirds have a long adolescence, according to Audubon, with the parents feeding their hatchlings for up to eight months. “Many people think that dedication and affection for our young is exclusive to humans, but nature, as usual, proves us wrong,” the Colombian photographer tells Audubon. “I feel a deep respect for these birds’ efforts: Photographing this moment was a privilege worth every second—and every drop of sweat.” The photo’s technical qualities—its sharpness, soft background and well-controlled light—add to its visual effect, contest judge Natalia Ekelund tells Audubon. “The moment of the food being delivered in mid-flight, with the adult’s wings open and the terns’ gazes intertwined, creates a powerful visual narrative,” Ekelund adds. Thousands of snow geese at the moment the flock started to take off. Yoshiki Nakamura / Audubon Photography Awards. 2025 Birds Without Borders Winner, United States and Canada For all the sharpness the photo of royal terns brought, the North American Birds Without Borders winner brought just as much movement and blurring. Shot in Mount Vernon, Washington, photographer Yoshiki Nakamura’s image captures the “mesmerizing mixture of order and chaos” that the simultaneous launch of a flock of snow geese creates, he tells Audubon. “To express this ephemeral choreography, I used a slow shutter speed. The result is what I call a ‘melting flight’: a blend of motion, form and instinct,” Nakamura says to the publication. “What I find most beautiful is how this chaos has coherence. There are no collisions, no commands—just a shared sense of movement.” “Snow geese are creatures of habit,” according to Audubon, with mated pairs returning to the same spot every summer. Young birds learn these migration routes from older generations, creating huge flocks, sometimes numbering more than 10,000, in the same areas year to year. “The blurred wings of the lifting flock dominate upon first look. It takes little time to then get lost in identifying the hundreds of individual geese emerging from the chaos. Your eyes travel nonstop throughout the image as they seek explanation,” contest judge Dietrich tells Audubon. Here are more of the photographs honored in the contest, capturing eye-catching birds, their stunning behaviors and the habitats that help them thrive.Birds in Landscapes Winners: Northern Gannet, Blue-Headed Parrot and Chilean Flamingo Thousands of northern gannets sit atop a dark rock in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Joe Subolefsky / Audubon Photography Awards. 2025 Birds in Landscapes Winner, United States and Canada Two blue-headed parrots peer out from a tree near a road in Cali, Colombia. Shamir Shah / Audubon Photography Awards. 2025 Birds in Landscapes Colombia Winner A group of Chilean flamingos stand in Puerto Natales, Chile. Caro Aravena Costa / Audubon Photography Awards. 2025 Birds in Landscapes Chile Winner Plants for Birds Winners: Brandt’s Cormorant and Purple-Backed Thornbill A purple-backed thornbill dips its beak into a cluster of golden floewrs in Caldas, Colombia. Cristian Valencia / Audubon Photography Awards. 2025 Plants for Birds Colombia Winner A Brandt's cormorant carries red grape algae and seagrass in La Jolla, California. Barbara Swanson / Audubon Photography Awards. 2025 Plants for Birds Winner, United States and Canada Youth Winners: Blackburnian Warbler and Long-Eared Owl A long-eared owl flies above a marsh in Fremont, California. Parham Pourahmad / Audubon Photography Awards. 2025 Youth Winner, United States and Canada A blackburnian warbler perches on a branch, holding a month in its beak, in Valle del Cuaca, Colombia. Camilo Sanabria Grajales / Audubon Photography Awards. 2025 Youth Winner, Colombia and Chile Coastal Birds Winner: American Oystercatcher A black and white American oystercatcher feeds a chick a mollusk in Antofagasta, Chile. Francisco Castro Escobar / Audubon Photography Awards. 2025 Coastal Bird Chile Winner Female Bird Winner: Chipping Sparrow A chipping sparrow sits on a branch holding fine strands of material in her bill near Boise, Idaho. Sean Pursley / Audubon Photography Awards. 2025 Female Bird Winner, United States and Canada Get the latest stories in your inbox every weekday.

Conservation
Agriculture
Climate

Wildfire Smoke Now Kills 41,000 Americans a Year, Study Finds

By I. Edwards HealthDay ReporterFRIDAY, Sept. 19, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Every summer, hazy skies and the smell of burning wood remind Americans...

FRIDAY, Sept. 19, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Every summer, hazy skies and the smell of burning wood remind Americans that wildfires affect far more than just the communities where they ignite.Their smoke drifts for hundreds, even thousands of miles, darkening the air in cities across the nation. But the health impact goes far beyond watery eyes and coughs.A new study shows wildfire smoke is now responsible for more than 41,000 deaths in the United States every year.And by 2050? Researchers warn that smoke could become the deadliest climate-driven threat to Americans, claiming tens of thousands more lives each year.Further, by midcentury, smoke-related deaths are expected to climb by another 26,500 to 30,000 per year, making wildfire smoke the deadliest climate-driven health threat for Americans, more dangerous than extreme heat, crop losses or rising energy costs, according to the study published Sept. 18 in the journal Nature.“Wildfire smoke is a much larger health risk than we might have understood previously,” study author Marshall Burke, a professor of environmental social sciences at Stanford University, said in a news report published by NBC News.The research estimated deaths by combining data with satellite smoke tracking and climate models. The results suggest wildfire smoke is erasing decades of clean air progress from the Clean Air Act, especially in western states and places such as New York.Experts warn that tiny particles in smoke can lodge deep in the lungs and enter the bloodstream, raising the risk of asthma, lung cancer, preterm birth, miscarriage and heart disease.And when wildfires burn buildings and plastics and not just trees, the mix of chemicals may be even more toxic.Dr. Joel Kaufman of the University of Washington, who studies air pollution, said, “These results imply, if anything, wildfire smoke may be more toxic” than other common forms of pollution.The study projects that the annual death toll tied to wildfire smoke will rise 64% to 73% by 2050.While the findings rely on models rather than individual death tracking, health leaders say, this shows why it’s urgent to act on climate change and protect the air we breathe.“It strengthens what we are saying about wildfires being connected to climate change and subsequent public health impacts,” said Dr. John Balmes of the American Lung Association.SOURCE: NBC News, Sept. 18, 2025Copyright © 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Health
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Wildfire smoke will kill nearly 1.4m each year by end of century if emissions not curbed – study

Separate research found that at the current rate of global heating, more than 70,000 people will die in the US by 2050Smoke billowing from wildfires will cause a growing number of deaths around the world in the decades ahead as the planet continues to heat up, new research has found.Wildfire smoke is expected to kill as many as 1.4 million people globally each year by the end of the century if planet-heating emissions are not curbed, according to a study published on Thursday. Continue reading...

Smoke billowing from wildfires will cause a growing number of deaths around the world in the decades ahead as the planet continues to heat up, new research has found.Wildfire smoke is expected to kill as many as 1.4 million people globally each year by the end of the century if planet-heating emissions are not curbed, according to a study published on Thursday.Separate research, released on the same day, finds a similar spike in wildfire smoke deaths just in the US, with more than 70,000 people set to die in America this way by 2050 at the current rate of warming, up from the 40,000 who die this way each year at this time.Breathing in smoke from burning forests is thought to be about 10 times more toxic than inhaling other air pollution given off by the burning of fossil fuels, with scientists recently warning the impact of this pollution has been severely underestimated in terms of its impact upon our health.Wildfire smoke contains ash and soot that contain tiny particles, called PM2.5, which can, when inhaled, burrow deep in people’s lungs and cause an array of respiratory and heart problems.The reach of this threat is extensive, too – recent research estimated that 22,000 people in Europe were killed due to plumes of wildfire smoke coming from vast forest fires in Canada in 2023, along with many more fatalities in North America.Fire has long been a feature of landscapes and a variety of factors, such as the management of forests, can influence conflagrations. The area around the world affected by wildfires has actually decreased in the past two decades, mainly due to changing agricultural practices, but, crucially, the number of people exposed to fires has significantly grown in this time.The climate crisis is the driving force behind the trend of larger, fiercer fires, according to Minghao Qiu, an atmospheric researcher at Stony Brook University. “More warming and higher fuel aridity means that the vegetation gets drier, therefore higher wildfire risks,” he said.Qiu led the US-focused research, published in Nature, that found that just over 71,000 people are expected to die annually in the country by 2050 due to wildfire smoke on current warming trends.California, scene of many huge fires including current blazes that threaten the state’s storied sequoia trees, will bear the brunt of these deaths but the smoke will also take a major toll in states such as New York and Texas, the research found.If emissions aren’t cut, the US could suffer annual economic damages of $608bn by 2050 due to wildfire smoke, more than all other climate hazards combined, the authors estimated.“Wildfire smoke is by far the largest in terms of overall health damages and that’s a new finding,” said Marshall Burke, an environmental scientist at Stanford and study co-author. “The numbers are really striking.”Wildfires are an increasing global problem, too, with huge blazes seen in countries such as Canada, Spain and Portugal this year. Much of the harm from smoke is set to be inflicted upon Africa, however, according to another new study, also published in Nature, by an international team of scientists.The research estimates that worldwide 1.4 million people will die by the end of the century due to wildfire smoke, about six times more than the present death toll, but that this burden will fall unequally. While the US and Europe could suffer a doubling in wildfire smoke deaths, Africa is expected to be worst affected, with 11 times more fire-related deaths compared with current norms.Longterm wildfire smoke risk will be lessened if the world finally manages to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. However, the death toll for the coming decades will be influenced more by shorter-term adaptation, Burke said.“If we want to reduce impacts in the next 30 years, mitigation is important, but it’s actually not the key lever,” he said.“The two key levers are reducing extreme wildfire activity through other approaches, so fuels management, and second, making sure we are well protected when smoke events happen. Right now we are not very well protected.”

Climate
Crisis
Forests

Ministers yet to seek climate advice on Heathrow expansion

The government faces calls to give the Climate Change Committee a bigger role in advising on airport expansion.

Ministers yet to seek climate advice on Heathrow expansionJoshua NevettPolitical reporterPA MediaThe UK government's climate change advisory panel has said it has not yet been asked to formally assess how plans to expand Heathrow airport would impact on carbon emmission targets.The Climate Change Committee (CCC) told the BBC it would give a view on plans to build a third runway at Heathrow if advice was requested.The government said the expansion must not breach the UK's legally binding target of lowering emissions to net zero by 2050.The CCC is required by law to assess whether the target will be met and it has repeatedly cautioned against airport expansion.The government said it was assessing initial proposals on Heathrow expansion and would engage with the committee during the process.Ministers can ask the CCC for ad-hoc advice on specific policy issues but is under no legal duty to follow it.Lord Deben, a former CCC chairman, said there was "limited space for aviation growth" without emissions reductions."If they give planning permission for expansion of Heathrow that inevitably means there will be less opportunity for other airports in Britain," Lord Deben said."This must be a sensible, logical decision and the CCC must be involved in giving advice."Greenpeace UK said there was an obvious need for independent experts at the committee "to assess the real risks and costs of any expansion"."Any attempt to side-step them would show a complete lack of confidence in Labour's stated position regarding the tests a new runway needs to pass, and more importantly, miss the legal requirement for UK carbon reductions," Dr Douglas Parr, Policy Director for Greenpeace UK, said.The CCC also told the BBC it had not been asked to provide advice on any future expansion of Gatwick Airport.A decision on a proposed second runway at Gatwick is expected in the coming weeks after Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said she was "minded to approve" the expansion in February.Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced the Labour government was backing plans for a third runway at Heathrow in January this year.Reeves said Heathrow expansion, delayed for decades over environmental concerns, would "make Britain the world's best connected place to do business" and boost economic growth.At the time, the government said the expansion "must be delivered in line with the UK's legal, environmental and climate obligations".The expansion of Heathrow has long been opposed by green groups and it is expected to face resistance and probably legal challenges, not least because of its environmental impact.In July, the CEO of Heathrow Airport, Thomas Woldbye, insisted the expansion proposal was in line with the aviation industry's target to be net zero by 2050.But he acknowledged that planning permission would not be granted by the government unless legal limits of emissions were adhered to.The government wants to review planning guidelines that will shape its decisions to expand Heathrow, Gatwick and other major airports.Giving evidence to MPs this week, the CCC's chief economist, Dr James Richardson, said it wasn't too late to influence the review, which has not been launched yet.But Labour MP Barry Gardiner said he was seriously worried the CCC was "acquiescing in what the government is planning for aviation".He questioned why the government had not sought the CCC's advice before announcing its support for Heathrow's expansion.ReutersThe Climate Change Committee gave its most recent advice on aviation emissions in the Seventh Carbon Budget.The budget, published in February, said the sector can reach net zero through the roll-out of sustainable aviation fuel, the electrification of planes, and managing growth in demand for flights.But the committee suggested limiting airport expansion to reduce emissions and warned the development of low-carbon aviation technologies was "uncertain"."The aviation sector needs to take responsibility for its emissions reaching net zero by 2050," the committee said."The cost of decarbonising aviation and addressing non-CO2 effects should be reflected in the cost to fly. This will help manage growth in aviation demand in line with net zero."A Department for Transport spokesperson said: "The government is assessing initial proposals on Heathrow expansion – a significant step towards unlocking growth, creating jobs, and delivering vital national infrastructure to drive forward our Plan for Change."The assessment of proposals is being conducted to support the forthcoming Airports National Policy Statement review, and we will engage the Climate Change Committee throughout this process."We have been clear any airport expansion proposals need to demonstrate they contribute to economic growth, can be delivered in line with the UK's legally binding climate change commitments, and meet strict environmental requirements on air quality and noise pollution."Additional reporting by BBC transport correspondent Katy Austin

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