Climate & Environment

Century-old Australian pines occupying the median on Miami Beach’s landmark Pine Tree Drive will be pruned this month, in the interest of public safety.

It’s difficult to comprehend how much plastic is used only once. About 40 percent of the 448 million tons produced each year is intended to be disposable, according to National Geographic, and what doesn’t get recycled or dumped in a landfill often ends up in the ocean.

If you live in, say, Maine or Oregon, you likely don’t spend a ton of time thinking about the meteorological concept of wind shear. But for Floridians, the concept becomes immediately important from June 1 through November 30 every year.

Coral reefs are more than just unique, irreplaceable ecosystems full of the Earth’s natural wonders: Studies show they also act as natural storm-surge barriers that help break up gigantic waves before they steamroll over cities such as Miami.

Dusty “Wild Man” Crum is a Sarasota, Florida native who’s been hands-on with nature his whole life. For years he’s been capturing and removing invasive pythons from the Everglades with a team of hunters, and now his efforts will be featured on a new Discovery Channel show: “Guardians of the Glades.”

Yesterday, the South Miami City Commission unanimously passed a resolution saying the city will transition to 100 percent clean, renewable energy by the year 2040.

Unfortunately, more rain is coming. The National Weather Service today warned that more severe thunderstorms are marching toward Miami as we speak.

Just in time for the weekend, a tropical disturbance moving through the Atlantic is expected to dump massive amounts of rain on Miami.

Florida Power & Light’s Turkey Point Nuclear Generating Station in South Miami-Dade has leaked saltwater into the Biscayne Aquifer, South Florida’s main source of drinking water. But the Florida Supreme Court said yesterday in a unanimous ruling that FPL is allowed to make Florida residents pay to clean up the mess its equipment created.

Last week, the Bal Harbour village council voted unanimously to ban the use and distribution of most single-use plastics, including straws, utensils, and shopping bags. The ordinance prohibits the use or distribution of single-use plastics in commercial establishments.

The National Weather Service is forecasting a “strong cold front” in South Florida starting Friday. The weather pattern will bring rain, thunderstorms, and strong winds to the Miami area, along with slightly cooler temperatures.

This weekend, Ultra will bring around 125,000 EDM fans to its new home on Virginia Key, a wildlife sanctuary that’s normally home only to manatees, birds, crocodiles and other protected wildlife. Despite a long list of concerns raised by local nonprofit Miami Waterkeeper and other environmentalists, the festival’s organizers insist no harm will be done to the island’s wild inhabitants.

Ever since Miami city commissioners approved Ultra Music Festival’s move from downtown to Virginia Key, environmentalists have worried about the impact on the island’s federally protected wildlife. Festival organizers conducted wildlife surveys and put together an environmental plan — but now one leading environmental nonprofit is blasting those efforts as…

Glyphosate is a popular ingredient in weed-killing herbicides because it’s extremely effective. It’s also a well-known pollutant — researchers have found the chemical in samples of the air we breathe, the food we eat, and even the beer and wine we buy from the liquor store.

When Miami city officials decided to tear out grass along Brickell Avenue and replace it with artificial turf last fall, residents were not pleased. A days-long protest ensued, complete with “Save me! I will die soon” signs on trees the protesters said would be smothered by the fake sod. Now,…

In late November, a woman showed up at the Pelican Harbor Seabird Station with a bizarre find: Two freshwater turtles that had been chained together. Attached to the chain was a bag packed with a cinnamon stick, two red voodoo dolls, and two photos of a couple.

The Florida Everglades sure seem like a place where oil rigs don’t belong. The unique habitat contains tons of endangered species — and humans have demonstrably corrupted it enough already. But today, Florida’s First District Court of Appeal in Tallahassee ruled that an investment company in Broward County…

On a cloudy Tuesday morning in South Beach, a man stands on a seawall at the edge of Biscayne Bay. Wind whips through the air, causing the water to ripple. A manatee nuzzles its face against a stormwater outfall pipe, and a plume of black, dirty water washes over it.

You might as well go ahead and buy one of those fancy stainless-steel straws. Over the past year or so, cities across the nation have taken steps to limit plastic straws and stirrers out of concern for the environment. Now Fort Lauderdale and Coral Gables are joining them.

Barbara DeLiberali and her family, thrilled to be trading the cold weather in Pennsylvania for a few days in the Bahamas, boarded the Norwegian Breakaway December 31, 2017. She and her husband, along with her daughter and son-in-law, had booked the cruise as a Christmas present and a surprise for her three young grandchildren.