The city endured its worst air pollution in over a decade this past March, but in an effort to clear the air, the Mexico's environment minister just announced a massive reforestation effort, along with plans to replace aging taxis with hybrid cars. Agence France-Presse
This week at least 19 Senators are speaking out in support of the Senate Web of Denial Resolution, which condemns fossil fuel-funded companies and groups that spread misinformation about climate change. The report compares the actions of the oil and gas industry to Big Tobacco's corporate deceit. DeSmog Blog
Seventeen attorneys general have now subpoenaed the oil giant for internal documents on its decades-long cover up of the role of fossil fuels in climate change. But apparently Exxon is still at it—the company recently spent more than half a million dollars on groups spreading misinformation about climate change.ThinkProgress
While climate change and El Niño teamed up this year to create the worst coral bleaching event in recorded history, mangroves in Australia's Gulf of Carpentaria felt the burn, too. A mangrove expert says some 7,000 hectares of these ecologically-important trees have now died. The Guardian
Environmentalists say Florida hasn't done enough to reduce phosphorus pollution, which triggers algae blooms, from farms and cities within the lake's massive watershed. While the target phosphorus level is 105 metric tons per year, a whopping 450 metric tons were dumped into the lake last year. Eagle-Tribune
Awaroa Beach, on the country's South Island, will be given to the public after almost 40,000 people collectively donated $1.7 million to buy it. Abel Tasman National Park will run the beach, and local Maori groups will be involved in the land's future management. BBC
The Interior Department's new safety standards are the first to specifically address the Arctic and require emergency response plans that take into account the region's dangerous conditions. Still, environmental groups (including NRDC) say that no matter how strict they are, no rules can make it safe to drill in the Arctic. The Hill
Lesbia Yaneth Urquía, a 49-year-old member of the indigenous rights organization Consejo de Organizaciones Populares e Indígenas de Honduras, was found dead this week in the town of Marcala. Urquía was the third COPINH activist to be murdered this year—Berta Cáceres and Nelson García were both killed in March. VICE News
North Hampstead has been building bat houses in parks since 2007 to control the mosquito population without harmful pesticides—bats can eat up to 1,000 mosquitoes per hour(!). Aedes albopictus, which is capable of transmitting the Zika virus, lives on Long Island, and a potential introduction is extra incentive to keeping the biters at bay. New York Times
Pesticides, monocultures, urbanization, and habitat destruction are all contributing to significant drops in the number of insects around the globe. From too few pollinators to declines in birds that rely on insects for food, the impacts on humans and wildlife could be enormous. Yale Environment 360