Trump to Wind Down FEMA After Hurricane Season
President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he planned to start "phasing out" the Federal Emergency Management Agency after the hurricane season and that states would receive less federal aid to respond to natural disasters.Trump also said he planned to distribute disaster relief funds directly from the president's office."We're going to do it much differently," Trump said in a briefing at the White House in response to a question about when he planned to eliminate FEMA and what his message was to governors regarding states bearing more disaster-relief costs."We're
Oceans Protection Treaty Could Take effect from January
change, by absorbing around 30% of planet-heating CO2 emissions. But as the oceans heat up, hotter waters are destroying marine ecosystems and threatening the oceans' ability to absorb CO2.The drive for nations to turn years of promises into meaningful protection for the oceans comes as President Donald Trump pulls the United States out of climate projects and as some European governments weaken green commitments as they seek to support anaemic economies and fend off nationalists.The United States has not yet ratified the treaty and will not do so during the conference, Rebecca Hubbard, director of
UN Oceans Conference: The High Seas Treaty
60 countries have ratified it. Work then begins on setting up institutions and committees to implement the treaty, while its signatories expect to hold a first conference within a year.Despite its involvement in the original treaty negotiations, the United States under current President Donald Trump is not expected to ratify the treaty.WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING AT THE U.N. OCEANS CONFERENCE?Macron is co-hosting this third U.N. Oceans conference with Costa Rica, and with at least 55 heads of state, business leaders and civil society groups expected to attend the five-day event.Aside
Endangered Gulf of Mexico Whale Threatened by Oil and Gas Vessel Strikes
to oil and gas drilling in the Gulf of Mexico are likely to jeopardize the existence of the endangered Rice's whale.The analysis, known as a biological opinion, governs how endangered and threatened marine species should be protected from oil and gas activities in the region, which President Donald Trump has renamed the Gulf of America.There are an estimated 51 Rice's whales in the Gulf, according to the analysis, which sets speed restrictions and a requirement for vessels to maintain a 500-meter (547 yards) minimum distance from the species if spotted.A federal judge last year ordered the
First Deep-Sea Mining Company Asks Trump for International Permit
Deep-sea mining firm The Metals Co asked the Trump administration on Tuesday to approve its plans to mine the international seabed, making it the first such company to seek the government's permission to operate outside U.S. territorial waters.Last week President Donald Trump signed an order aiming to jumpstart mining in both domestic and international waters in an attempt to boost U.S. access to critical minerals and reduce China's market control.The move ratchets up tension between Washington and the United Nations-backed International Seabed Authority, which has been crafting mining standards
Trump Order Fast Tracks Subsea Mining
President Donald Trump signed an executive order aimed at boosting the deep-sea mining industry, marking his latest attempt to boost U.S. access to nickel, copper and other critical minerals used widely across the economy.The order, which Trump signed in private, seeks to jumpstart the mining of both U.S. and international waters as part of a push to offset China's sweeping control of the critical minerals industry.Parts of the Pacific Ocean and elsewhere are estimated to contain large amounts of potato-shaped rocks known as polymetallic nodules filled with the building blocks for electric vehicles
China Concerned About US Deep-Sea Metals Stockpile Plan
;create large quantities ready and available on U.S. territory to be used in the future," in case of a conflict with China that might constrain imports of metals and rare earths, the report said.China has placed some rare earth elements under export restrictions in retaliation to U.S. President Donald Trump's steep tariffs on Chinese goods, potentially cutting the U.S. off from critical minerals vital to everything from smartphones to electric car batteries.Following the report, the Chinese foreign ministry said that under international law, the seabed and its resources "are the common heritage
White House Aims to Eliminate NOAA Climate Research
The administration of President Donald Trump aims to eliminate the arm of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) that oversees research on climate change and refocus the U.S. fisheries service to support energy development, according to a draft White House budget document seen by Reuters.The moves are part of a plan to downsize NOAA dramatically, slashing agency funding by around $1.67 billion, or 27%, according to the proposal.The Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, known also as NOAA Research, would be closed under the proposal, along with $480 million in funding for
NOAA Fires Previously Reinstated Probationary Workers
the way for the Trump administration to fire thousands of employees, according to five sources familiar with the situation.The agency, which sits within the Department of Commerce, fired more than 800 employees on February 27, one of many federal agencies to fire probationary workers as President Donald Trump and billionaire ally Elon Musk seek to shrink the federal workforce.The employees were then reinstated on March 17 to administrative leave, during which they were paid but not permitted to work, in line with a federal court order that blocked the probationary worker firings."The Department
February 2025
