The Trump administration is slapping sanctions on 13 "current and former Venezuelan officials associated with the Nicolas Maduro regime" in Venezuela who have been involved with corruption, human rights abuses, or those who are degrading order in Venezuela, senior administration officials told reporters Wednesday.
If carried out, this would fall under an already existing executive order.
Harmful fishing practices and high sediment pollution are disturbing the world's oyster reefs, and these disturbances could significantly impact levels of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere, according to a new study. Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill studied the carbon buried in 22 different reefs and found that, when disrupted, the reefs become sources of atmospheric carbon dioxide.
Why it matters: Higher levels of CO2 in the atmosphere can accelerate the effects of climate change, and oyster reefs may have a role in that process.
The U.K. will ban the sale of new gasoline- and diesel-driven vehicles starting in 2040 toward a goal of removing them from British roads a decade later and shifting the country to fully electric cars, per the Financial Times.
The prohibition, to be announced today, is driven by environmental policy — to bring down U.K. emissions within EU pollution standards. But, coming two weeks after France announced a similar ban, its impact could be much broader.
Why this matters: Previously, the Netherlands and India, too, said they were banning the sale of new gasoline- and diesel-powered vehicles by 2025 and 2030, respectively. Saying and doing are different things. But taken together, the bans put serious weight behind bullish forecasts for electric car penetration, and could lead oil companies, carmakers, petro-states and geostrategists to recalibrate policies that forecast a much slower penetration of electric cars into the market.
