Thanks to El Nino, South Africa’s rainfall last year was the lowest since records began in 1904. (MUJAHID SAFODIEN/AFP/Getty Images) Faced with crippling drought, South Africa has announced it will loosen regulations on genetically modified crops in an effort to stave off a looming "food crisis," according to a by Reuters. “In anticipation of the volumes expected to be imported into South Africa, the (GMO) Executive Council has approved the adjustment of a permit condition which relates to the handling...

Officials in Beijing, China’s massive capital city, have recently announced that they will raise the threshold standard to issue the highest pollution warnings starting in March. In the future, the requirements for a "red alert" in Beijing and surrounding provinces, like Tianjin and Hebei, will have to in Air Quality Index readings, reported Xinhua, China’s state media agency. Red alerts will also be issued if the daily forecast AGI is projected to climb above 200 for four consecutive days or...

Disney has teamed up with Duke Energy Corporation to build a 5-megawatt solar facility spanning 20 acres and equipped with 48,000 solar panels. (nearmap) Disney’s new 20-acre solar farm may be unusual for a typical power plant, but it’s Mickey Mouse shape is perfect for the “happiest place on Earth.” In an effort to make its resorts more environmentally sustainable, the theme park giant has teamed up with Duke Energy Corporation to and equipped with 48,000 solar panels, according to...

Climate change will hurt fishermen in poorer countries as fish are drawn away from the equator. (NINA LARSON/AFP/Getty Images) A new study says fish getting pushed to the poles by climate change will put a strain on global wealth resources, hurting fishermen living in poorer countries. Scientists at Rutgers, Princeton, Yale and Arizona State University found in a new report entitled "," published in the journal Nature Climate Change, that rising global temperatures will significantly disperse fish — an essential...

The Fin whale, which grows up to nearly 88 feet long, weighing as much as 270,000 pounds, is the second largest whale. Here, a wild Fin whale is seen in the Pacific Ocean some 6 miles off the coast of Long Beach on January 19, 2012 in California. (Frederic J. Brown/AFP/Getty Images) Growing up to 85 feet long, the majestic fin whale is the second largest living animal on Earth. Though they are large in size, they are not large...

Passersby spotted this blue ice near the Mackinac Bridge in Michigan between Feb. 19 and 21, 2016. (Courtesy of Kelly Alvesteffer and Rob LaLone) A couple on vacation made a stunning discovery while sitting in a restaurant overlooking the Mackinac Bridge, which connects the Upper and Lower peninsula of Michigan. Kelly Alvesteffer, who was traveling with her fiancéRob LaLone,witnessed an eye-popping natural phenomenon that gave the floating ice in the Strait of Mackinac a turqouisetint. They took several snaps on...

A built up pile of waste takes over the streets in Beirut's northern suburb of Jdeideh on Feb. 25, 2016. Lebanon canceled a plan to export its waste to Russia, sending Beirut's six-month garbage crisis back to square one as mountains of trash choke the city's air and streets. (Joseph Eid/AFP/Getty Images) The Lebanese capital of Beirut is and it doesn't appear that life rafts will be provided any time soon. In July, one of the city's primary landfills reached...

Despite great strides toward environmental conservation and the protection of human health among world nations following last year's , many countries are still failing to make the grade. According to the recently 2016 Environmental Performance Index (EPI) from researchers at Yale and Columbia universities — which evaluates 180 countries based on metrics related towater resource protection, air quality, waste management, forest preservation, biodiversity and a number of other factors — the countries that scored the worst were comprised mostly of...

The Environmental Protection Agency was intentionally trying to open a Colorado mine filled with millions of gallons of wastewater that triggered an environmental disaster, and Utah Rep. Rob Bishop said he has the email to prove it. At an Interior Department Budget hearing Tuesday, Bishop and other House Republicans questioned Interior Secretary Sally Jewell about the Aug. 5 Gold King Mine blowout , according to the Denver Post. During the spill, toxic water filled with arsenic, lead and other contaminants,...

An example of the Mushroom Packaging created by Ecovative. Furniture and housewares retailer Ikea is considering switching to this fungus-based product as an eco-friendly alternative to polystyrene. Furniture and houseware chain Ikea is contemplating whether to use packaging made out of mushrooms as an environmentally-friendly alternative to the polystyrene it currently uses. Ikea’s head of sustainability Joanna Yarrow told The Telegraph that the company is considering using biodegradable mycelium fungi packaging as part of its efforts to lessen waste and...

The 2016 Iditarod Sled race has critically low levels of snow. (JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images) Organizers of Alaska's famous Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race are scrambling to save the ceremonial start of the event, as an unusually mild winter has thrown the competition into disarray. Warm temperatures in Anchorage have threatened to hinder Saturday's start and are forcing officials to explore their options, including reaching out to other Alaskan cities for help.According to the Alaska Dispatch News, seven rail cars loaded...

Meteorologist Ari Sarsalari talk about the mystery of the missing ice. A chunk of ice four times the size of Arizona is gone. ...

Tim Elam works on deploying the Ice Diver, which if successful will melt its way through the ice with electrical heating. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images) Greenland's ice has been darkening for two decades, absorbing more sunlight as the melting process accelerates, according to a new study. Published in European geosciences journal The Cryosphere, the Earth Institute at Columbia University used satellite data to study the darkened ice, as well as the origins of this darker tint. It isn't soot from nearby...