In an effort to rein in marine pollution, Maine passed a bill banning food containers made from Styrofoam on Tuesday, making it the first state to enact such legislation, according to Natural Resources Council of Maine.
Details: The law will take effect in 2021 and applies to single-use food and drink foam containers often used by restaurants and retailers. Hospitals, food distributors and state-funded meals-on-wheels programs are exempt from having to eliminate the polystyrene containers, per the AP.
Scientists have detected the "fingerprint" of human-caused global warming on drought patterns around the world dating back as long ago as 1900, according to a new study published Wednesday. The research shows how various human influences, from greenhouse gas emissions to pollutants that contribute to smog can influence soil moisture on a global scale.
Why it matters: While global warming has altered temperature and precipitation, and has exacerbated individual droughts in some parts of the world, scientists have been unable to detect a global warming signal in the occurrence or severity of droughts worldwide. This new study, published Wednesday in the journal Nature, attempts to address the detection of a human influence on drought since emissions of planet-warming greenhouse gases began to increase at the start of the Industrial Revolution.
We knew it was important, of course, but a new CNN poll released Tuesday shows it's solidly in the top of Democratic primary voters' issues for 2020.
By the numbers: 96% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents say it's very or somewhat important for a presidential candidate to promise aggressive action on climate change.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said Tuesday that Beto O’Rourke’s new climate change plan isn’t aggressive enough, especially when compared with the Green New Deal — but in fact neither are tethered to economic reality or precedent.
Driving the news: Backers of the GND, including the New York Democrat, are pushing a goal of net zero U.S. greenhouse gas emissions as soon as 2030. The new plan by O’Rourke, one of numerous Democratic presidential hopefuls, calls for that by 2050.
Investors are closely watching the clash in Venezuela with a clear and vested interest in President Nicolás Maduro's ouster. They also have become less convinced the opposition can succeed.
Why it matters: Despite calls of support from President Trump and politicians around the globe, investors tell Axios they are starting to lose faith in the opposition's ability to topple Maduro alone, given an apparent increase of support from Russia.
At least 22 reported tornadoes touched down across the southern Plains and South-Central U.S. on Tuesday, as forecasters alert for more potential twisters in Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri and parts of Illinois, tearing trees out of the ground, ripping roofs off of homes and knocking down power lines.
Details: According to the National Weather Service, the most severe storms are expected along a 1,000-mile stretch from central Texas to central Illinois, while the greatest risk for tornadoes centers on an area from south-central Oklahoma to southwestern Missouri. The risk of isolated tornadoes, high winds, baseball-sized hail and torrential downpours remains throughout the evening, while severe thunderstorms are likely to expand across the Midwest into Wednesday as a spring storm shifts east.
Tropical Cyclone Fani is intensifying over the western Bay of Bengal, and it is forecast to hit somewhere between the Indian states of coastal Odisha and West Bengal as a potentially devastating Category 4 or greater storm as this weekend approaches.
Why it matters: Coastal India as well as neighboring Bangladesh are extraordinarily vulnerable to the range of hazards such storms bring, including high winds, storm surge flooding and inland flooding from heavy rainfall.
Steve Ballmer's USAFacts is out with its third annual report looking at the world through the eyes of government data. His nonprofit is founded on the belief that, armed with more details, voters will be able to make better decisions.
The bottom line: Rising federal deficits, soaring health care costs, lowering life expectancies, and rising fire suppression costs are among the report's main findings.
Billionaire investor Warren Buffett is getting involved in the high-stakes fight between Chevron and Occidental Petroleum to buy Anadarko Petroleum, CNBC reports.
Why it matters: The story notes that "Berkshire could make Occidental a more formidable suitor." Occidental is smaller than Chevron but is seeking to trump its bigger rival in the battle for Anadarko, which holds attractive acreage in the booming Permian Basin among other assets.
