5 Environmental Stories You Don’t Want to Miss

By Dakin Hewlett

May 13, 2016

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Photo by iStockphoto/dmbaker

IN THE LINE OF FIRE: Canadian wildfires that erupted earlier this month have burned approximately 400,000 acres, forcing major oil producers in Fort McMurray, Alberta, to shut down operations. Oil exports from Canada’s oil sands to the United States may be threatened.

WASTE NOT: A British nonprofit that campaigns to end food waste fed thousands of New Yorkers for free on Tuesday, using food that would have otherwise been thrown away: surplus from wholesalers or farms and produce with cosmetic imperfections.

PADDLE V. PLASTIC: On Wednesday, adventurer Lizzie Carr set off on a three-week-long stand-up-paddleboarding journey to raise awareness about plastic pollution. If she’s successful, Carr will be the first person to paddleboard approximately 400 miles along the length of England via connected waterways from Surrey to Cumbria.

THIN AIR: A new report by the World Health Organization has shown that air pollution is highest in the world’s poorest cities. In low- and middle-income countries with more than 100,000 inhabitants, 98 percent of cities do not meet WHO air quality guidelines, compared to 56 percent of cities in high-income countries.

BISON CROWNED: President Barack Obama signed the National Bison Legacy Act into law, making the North American bison the first official mammal of the United States.