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Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times/TNS

Plan to kill Catalina Island deer using sharpshooters in copters is opposed by LA County

LOS ANGELES — A plan to kill all the mule deer on Catalina Island using aerial sharpshooters from helicopters was strongly opposed by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday.

The controversial program as proposed by the Catalina Island Conservancy aims to eradicate up to 2,000 deer on the island that the conservancy says are ...Read more

Evan Simko-Bednarski/New York Daily News/TNS

JFK Airport parking lot to become biggest solar array in New York

NEW YORK — The future is looking sunny for Kennedy Airport’s long-term parking lot No. 9.

Construction began Tuesday on a solar array meant to cover some 21 acres of the lot while maintaining the car park beneath.

“If that sounds big, it is,” said Rick Cotton, executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

“It ...Read more

Courtesy Colorado Parks and Wildlife/TNS/TNS

Reintroduced gray wolf found dead in Larimer County, Colorado

DENVER — One of 10 gray wolves reintroduced to Colorado in December was found dead in Larimer County, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service confirmed.

Federal officials found out about the wolf on Thursday, agency spokesperson Joe Szuszwalak said in an email Tuesday night.

Initial evidence shows the wolf likely died of natural causes, ...Read more

Gregg Newton/Getty Images of North America/TNS

SpaceX launch marks 300th successful booster landing

ORLANDO, Fla. — SpaceX sent up the 30th launch from the Space Coast for the year on Tuesday evening, a mission that also featured the company’s 300th successful booster recovery.

A Falcon 9 rocket carrying 23 of SpaceX’s Starlink internet satellites blasted off at 6:17 p.m. Eastern time from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Space ...Read more

What is curtailment? An electricity market expert explains why states sometimes have too much wind or solar power

Curtailment has a special meaning in electric power systems. It describes any action that reduces the amount of electricity generated to maintain the balance between supply and demand – which is critical for avoiding blackouts.

Recently, curtailment has made news in states like California and Texas that are adding a lot of wind and ...Read more

BRANDON BELL/POOL/AFP/Getty Images North America/TNS

Superfund designation for PFAS raises concern over liability

WASHINGTON — The EPA has issued a final rule that will list the two most widely used forms of PFAS chemicals under the law governing Superfund sites, spurring worries in Congress over the liability for industries that merely received products that contained them.

The agency’s final rule designates perfluorooctanoic acid, or PFOA, and ...Read more

SpaceX launch this evening would mark 300th booster landing if successful

ORLANDO, Fla. — SpaceX is set to send up the 30th launch on the Space Coast this year targeting an evening liftoff Tuesday that would see the 300th booster recovery if successful.

A Falcon 9 rocket carrying 23 of SpaceX’s Starlink internet satellites is aiming to launch at 6:17 p.m. at the opening of a four-hour window Tuesday that runs ...Read more

Erika Schultz/Digital Image/TNS

State's new law involving PSE aspires to set a course for the future

SEATTLE —Over the past couple of years, Washington lawmakers have wrestled with a daunting task.

The problem: The state's largest utility, Puget Sound Energy, sells natural gas to nearly 1 million customers and burns gas and coal to electrify cities. That contributes millions of metric tons of planet-warming gases to the atmosphere.

It makes...Read more

TONY KENNEDY/Minneapolis Star Tribune/TNS

Wildlife agency: Sturgeon won't go on endangered species list

Fishing for lake sturgeon in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan is not a threat to the ancient species, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service concluded in its decision not to list the giant fish under the Endangered Species Act.

Monday's ruling after a yearlong review ends the possibility the largest freshwater fish in North America will be put off...Read more

Dreamstime/Dreamstime/TNS

ENV-STURGEON // Wildlife agency: Sturgeon won't go on endangered species list

Fishing for lake sturgeon in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan is not a threat to the ancient species, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service concluded in its decision not to list the giant fish under the Endangered Species Act.

Monday's ruling after a yearlong review ends the possibility the largest freshwater fish in North America will be put off...Read more

Karl Merton Ferron/Baltimore Sun/TNS

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore issues executive order calling for environmental literacy

BALTIMORE — Gov. Wes Moore issued an executive order Monday establishing an environmental literacy program in an effort to empower Maryland youth to conserve and restore the state’s natural resources in the face of climate change.

“We owe it to the people of Maryland to keep our drinking water clean, keep our air safe, and preserve our ...Read more

Joe Cavaretta/Sun Sentinel/TNS

Florida plans $850 million in Everglades restoration projects in next year

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Florida officials and environmental advocates on Monday touted major progress toward Everglades restoration, which has been advanced by dozens of state-funded projects.

The state has pumped billions of dollars into the effort, as the gusher of tax money flowing into state government in recent years has helped fund a ...Read more

Dreamstime/Dreamstime/TNS

'The definition of poaching': Conspiracy alleged after group hunted dozens of deer in California

SACRAMENTO — A group of Nevada County residents are facing charges in what hunting experts are calling one California’s largest deer poaching cases in years. Brought by District Attorney Jesse Wilson, six individuals allegedly conspired to commit several hunting crimes.

Led by one man, the complaint alleges that the group drove around at ...Read more

Why don’t female crickets chirp?

Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to curiouskidsus@theconversation.com.

Why don’t female crickets chirp? – Avery, age 8, Los Angeles

Insects communicate in lots of different ways, for many reasons. Some, such as butterflies and beetles, use ...Read more

Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune/TNS

Wind and solar in limbo: Long waitlists to get on the grid are a 'leading barrier'

Ninety miles west of Chicago, the corn and soybean fields stretch to the sky, and dreams of the clean energy future dangle — just out of reach.

To the east of Route 52, there’s the first phase of the 9,500-acre Steward Creek solar farm, in the works since 2019.

To the west, there’s South Dixon Solar, which once hoped to begin ...Read more

Loren Holmes/Anchorage Daily News/TNS

Native village proposes new option for restoring Eklutna River

As Southcentral Alaska electric utilities push forward with a much-contested plan to reduce the impacts of a hydroelectric project on fish and wildlife, the Native Village of Eklutna is proposing an alternative option to restore water to the full length of Eklutna River.

The Chugach and Matanuska electric associations and Anchorage's hydropower...Read more

Glen Stubbe/Minneapolis Star Tribune/TNS

Minnesota House lawmakers push forward fertilizer tax to clean up contaminated wells

Minnesota would tax farmers $0.40 per ton of fertilizer to help test and clean up thousands of private wells contaminated with agricultural runoff under a bill that cleared the House's main agricultural committee.

The proposed tax is smaller than earlier versions that had called for charging up to $0.99 per ton in the first year and escalating ...Read more

MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP/Getty Images North America/TNS

Meteor shower to peak soon. Here's when and the best way to watch

One of the oldest known meteor showers is streaking through the sky above California.

The Lyrid meteor shower was first recorded in 687 B.C. and has been studied for more than 2,000 years, according to NASA.

The meteor shower occurs every April, peaking this year on Monday.

Here’s the best way to catch a glimpse of this celestial event.

...Read more

Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times/TNS

Mojave desert tortoise officially joins California's endangered list

The California Fish and Game Commission has formally recognized the Mojave desert tortoise as endangered.

The designation, granted Thursday, is the latest in a long series of steps to try to protect the dwindling population of the desert creature, which biologists say is heading toward extinction.

The tortoise was designated as threatened ...Read more

Wild turkey numbers are falling in some parts of the US – the main reason may be habitat loss

Birdsong is a welcome sign of spring, but robins and cardinals aren’t the only birds showing off for breeding season. In many parts of North America, you’re likely to encounter male wild turkeys, puffed up like beach balls and with their tails fanned out, aggressively strutting through woods and parks or stopping traffic on your street....Read more