Business

Ross Gelbspan, an investigative journalist whose reporting on climate change exposed a campaign of disinformation by oil and gas lobbyists to sow doubt about global warming — a denialism that was embraced by Republican officials and, in some cases, by a credulous news media — passed away on January 27 at his home in Boston. He was 84. The cause was chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, his wife, Anne Gelbspan, said. Mr. Gelbspan, who worked for The Philadelphia Bulletin, The Washington Post, The Village Voice, and The Boston Globe, had a diverse career that included reporting on dissidents in the Soviet...

Climate change is stretching the length of time parts of the Far North go without sea ice, which polar bears rely on to hunt their preferred prey: blubbery, calorie-rich seals. When the ice melts in summer, the bears move onto land and face two options. They can rest and slow down to a state approaching hibernation, or they can forage for alternative food like berries, bird eggs, and small land animals. Scientists tracking 20 polar bears in Manitoba, below the Arctic Circle at the southern end of the animals’ range, found that the option the polar bears chose didn’t make...

Around ten years ago, California made history by being the first state in the US to ban single-use plastic bags as a way to address the growing plastic waste issue. However, this move led to the introduction of reusable, heavy-duty plastic bags that were offered to shoppers for a small fee. Despite being designed for multiple uses and technically recyclable, many retailers considered them exempt from the ban.Unfortunately, these heavy-duty bags didn't see much reuse as they closely resembled the flimsy bags they replaced. Despite bearing a recycling symbol, very few of them were actually recycled. As a result, last...

Coal, nickel, palm oil, rainforests. The riches of Indonesia matter to the rest of the world. Therefore, so does its presidential election. Early results on Wednesday in the world’s third-largest democracy signaled the victory of Prabowo Subianto, a former army general linked to human rights abuses, as the country’s next president. The new government’s approach on the management of its natural resources could have a significant effect on the world’s ability to keep global warming to relatively safe levels. Environmentalists are also watching what the vote might mean for their ability to operate freely in a country with a history...

A new study has found that rising temperatures could increase the area threatened by crop-devouring locusts by up to 25 percent in the coming decades. This is due to more regions experiencing cycles of drought and heavy rain that create ideal conditions for biblical swarms of locusts. Locusts have long been a problem for farmers in northern Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia, thriving in hot, dry conditions but needing occasional rainfall to hatch their eggs. Human-caused climate change is heating up their habitats and intensifying sporadic rains, exposing new areas to potential infestations. Xiaogang He, an assistant professor...