5 Environmental Stories You Don’t Want To Miss

By Catherine Schuknecht

September 17, 2015

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Image by iStock/Merzavka

RENEWABLE RESORT: Aspen, Colorado has become the third city in the United States to run on 100 percent renewable resources. The Rocky Mountain city will now receive all of its energy from a combination of wind, hydroelectric, and solar power plus geothermal heat. 

FRIENDLY FUEL: Researchers at NASA have developed a more environmentally friendly way to power the thrusters that enable satellites to change direction and altitude. The high-performance green propellants will replace a dangerous fuel called hydrazine, making launch time less toxic and flammable.

TO BEE OR NOT TO BEE: The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has struck down the EPA’s approval of a harmful insecticide called sulfoxaflor. The chemical agent, a type of neonicotinoid that's toxic to our already at-risk bee population, is no longer approved for use in the United States.

GOT MILK?: Residents of Barrow, Alaska are paying $10 for one gallon of milk. Talk about an expensive latte. With warmer temperatures threatening their main food sources—whale, seal, and caribou meat—the prices of store-bought goods are on the rise.

SIERRA NADA: Sierra Nevada means snow-covered mountains in Spanish, so it might be time to change the name of the California mountain range. A new study estimates that snowfall in the range is at a 500-year low.