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The Trump administration has approved more oil and gas drilling across Alaska’s Arctic national wildlife refuge (ANWR), prompting widespread criticism from environmental conservation organizations.

On Thursday, the interior secretary announced the opening of 1.56m acres across ANWR’s coastal plains, which is home to various wildlife including polar bears, caribou and moose, as well as whales and seals.

The interior department also announced an oil and gas lease sale with the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska this winter, which is set to mark the first sale in the 23m-acre reserve since 2019. Thursday’s announcement comes as part of the Trump administration’s reversal of Joe Biden’s decision in 2024 to expand federal protections across the reserve.

In addition, the department reissued necessary permits to establish the Ambler Road Project, a controversial proposal for a 211-mile gravel road, part of which will be built through south-western Alaska’s Izembek national wildlife refuge.

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Icelanders may be the last group of people on Earth to experience the pesky bite of a mosquito.

This week, Iceland recorded the presence of the insects within its borders for the first time in the Nordic nation's history.

The discovery of three Culiseta annulata mosquitoes was confirmed Monday by the Natural Science Institute of Iceland, which said the mosquitoes likely arrived by freight and appeared to be able to withstand Iceland's climate. (There have been previous reports of mosquitoes found in airplanes in Iceland.)

The institute noted that the mosquitoes were one of a number of new insect species discovered in Iceland in recent years due to a warming climate and the growth of international transportation.

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A shocking discovery on a small parcel of land in Wyoming might’ve just changed the world as we know it.

Over 2.34 billion metric tons of some of the rarest materials on earth was recently found in a mining operation in rural Wyoming, and analysts are already calling it ‘the mother lode’.

This discovery already makes this mine one of the global leaders in rare earth materials.

But in a shocking revelation, that 2.34 billion tons could be an understatement.

“This exceeded our wildest dreams, and we only drilled on about 25% of the property,” said Donald Swartz, CEO of American Rare Earths, the company behind the discovery.

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The 2025 Atlantic hurricane season might have at least one more trick up its sleeve.

A tropical wave in the central Atlantic Ocean shows signs of organizing as it makes its way west toward the Caribbean Sea, forecasters said Oct. 17.

"Interests in the Caribbean from Jamaica to Puerto Rico should monitor this tropical wave in the coming days," said meteorologist Ryan Maue in an Oct. 17 Substack post.

If it becomes a tropical storm, it would be the 13th named storm of the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season. It would likely get the name Melissa.

According to the National Hurricane Center, in a forecast released on the morning of Oct. 17, "A tropical wave located over the central tropical Atlantic more than 1,000 miles east of the Windward Islands continues to produce a large area of showers and thunderstorms. Gradual development of this system is possible over the next several days while it moves generally westward at 15 to 20 mph.

Late October hurricane outlook warns of tropical trouble
A tropical wave in the central Atlantic Ocean shows signs of organizing as it makes its way west toward the Caribbean Sea.

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Thanks to the dire condition of the Earth's coral reefs, the planet has now reached its first tipping point for human-caused climate change, according to a new report by scientists in Europe.

The second Global Tipping Points Report, released Oct. 13, said warm-water coral reefs – on which nearly 1 billion people and a quarter of all marine life depend – are "passing their tipping point."

According to the report, widespread coral dieback is taking place and – unless global warming is reversed – extensive reefs as we know them will be lost, although small refuges may survive and must be protected.

What is a 'tipping point'?

A “tipping point” occurs when a small change tips a system into a new state, causing significant and long-term transformation. With the climate, these points of no return are specific moments when the planet has warmed so much that certain effects become irreversible.

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Dr Jane Goodall, who died today at 91, devoted her life to the study and conservation of chimpanzees and the other great apes.

Through her pioneering new ways to study them, Goodall discovered that chimps used tools, created complex societies and could be so aggressive they could even kill one another.

This suggested that chimps and humans are likely to have common ancestors - and was ground-breaking information.

Goodall’s work made waves amongst her fellow researchers, and the public enthusiastically responded to her revelations.

The idea that chimps and humans were related spurred debates about what it means to be human, inspiring a rethink on animal rights. Her books were so widely read that when one of Jane’s subjects Flo died in 1972, The Sunday Times ran an obituary.

Goodall remained active until the days before her death, engaged on a speaking tour of the US, and travelled the world widely to discuss her life and campaign to better understand the natural world.

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In the wake of the deadly flash floods in Texas on July 4, Texas leaders are betting on the lifesaving potential of flood warning sirens.

"What can we do better looking forward? We need sirens," said Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick in an interview this week with NBC 5 in Dallas-Fort Worth. The floods killed at least 120 people.

Weather warning sirens are installed outside on tall poles and make a loud wailing sound to warn people in the area when water levels rise, signaling an imminent flood. Some also broadcast spoken warnings and directions about how to get to safety. These types of sirens are widely used in the United States to warn people about tornadoes and tsunamis but are much less common in areas that flood.

"If you had sirens blasting," Patrick said, "and if people had known 'if you hear a siren get to high ground,' maybe that would have saved some lives."

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