Category: environment
Environmental Crimes Bulletin – September 2024
View All Environmental Crimes Bulletins In This Issue: Cases by District/Circuit District/Circuit Case Name Statute(s) 8th Circuit Court of Appeals United States v. Harvey Allen Hugs BGEPA 11th Circuit Court of Appeals United States v. John R. Moore, Jr., et al. Maritime Jurisdiction Theft Southern District of California United States v. Michael Hart Greenhouse Gas Imports/ Conspiracy, American Innovation and…
No criminal charges for US billionaire Carl Icahn, who used company funds to secure personal loans worth billions
US settles with billionaire Carl Icahn for using company to secure personal loans worth billions Billionaire Carl Icahn and his company were charged by U.S. regulators with failing to disclose personal loans worth billions of dollars that were secured using securities of Icahn Enterprises as collateral. Icahn Enterprises and Icahn have agreed to pay $1.5 million and $500,000 in civil…
Berlin exchanges Nord Stream explosion data with Moscow — German foreign ministry
BERLIN, August 19. /TASS/. Berlin exchanges information regarding explosions at Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines but not the one that may jeopardize the course of investigation, a spokesperson of the German foreign ministry told reporters. “We exchange[information] with the Russian side,” he said. The investigation continues and therefore German authorities believe that interim results should not be…
Icahn, firm settle US SEC charges over alleged disclosure failures
Billionaire investor Carl Icahn and his firm Icahn Enterprises LP (IEP) have settled charges for failing to disclose pledges of the company’s securities as collateral for billions of dollars in personal loans, U.S. regulators said on Monday. The firm and Icahn agreed to pay $1.5 million and $500,000 in civil penalties, respectively, to settle the charges, the U.S. Securities and…
Canadian among 6 people missing as yacht sinks off Sicilian coast, Italian Coast Guard says
One man died and six people were missing after a luxury yacht was struck by an unexpectedly violent storm and sank off the Sicilian capital Palermo, the Italian Coast Guard said on Monday. The 56-metre-long sailboat, which was British registered, sank with 22 people on board shortly before sunrise, the coast guard said in a statement. The missing people were…
Water supply crisis getting worse in southern Gaza Strip
DUBAI, August 19. /TASS/. A water supply crisis is getting worse in the southern Gaza Strip as Israeli troops are destroying water wells, tanks and pipes, the Qatar-based Al Jazeera TV channel reports. According to the broadcaster’s report from Khan Yunis in southern Gaza, four out of the five major tanks in the city have been destroyed. Damage has also…
Tropical Storm Ernesto sends powerful swells, rip currents to US East Coast
Tropical Storm Ernesto churned away from Bermuda on Sunday and headed further out in the northeastern Atlantic, but it still sent powerful swells toward the U.S. East Coast, generating rip currents associated with at least one death and prompting many rescues.The National Weather Service posted a coastal flood advisory and warned of a high risk for rip currents along the…
Panama prepares to evacuate island in face of rising sea levels
On a tiny island off Panama’s Caribbean coast, about 300 families are packing their belongings in preparation for a dramatic change. Generations of Gunas who have grown up on Gardi Sugdub in a life dedicated to the sea and tourism will trade that next week for the mainland’s solid ground. They go voluntarily — sort of. The Gunas of Gardi…
EU investigates ‘greenwashing’ at 20 airlines
EU regulators have opened an investigation of 20 airlines over their potentially “misleading greenwashing practices”, including the claimed benefits of offsetting emissions from flying. The European Commission said on Tuesday that it had written to the airlines and to national consumer protection authorities “identifying several types of potentially misleading green claims”. The airlines were not named, but the national regulators…
Norfolk Southern agrees to pay $600M in Ohio train derailment settlement
Norfolk Southern has agreed to pay $600 million in a class-action lawsuit settlement related to a fiery train derailment in February 2023 in eastern Ohio. The company said Tuesday that the agreement, if approved by the court, will resolve all class action claims within a 20-mile radius from the derailment and, for those residents who choose to participate, personal injury…
EU nations obligated to protect citizens from climate change, human rights court rules
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled on Tuesday in favour of a group of elderly Swiss women who had argued that their government’s inadequate efforts to combat climate change put them at risk of dying during heatwaves. The European court’s decision on the case, brought by more than 2,000 women, could have a ripple effect across Europe and…
Court approves 3M settlement over ‘forever chemicals’ in public drinking water systems
Chemical manufacturer 3M will begin payments starting in the third quarter to many U.S. public drinking water systems as part of a multi-billion-dollar settlement over contamination with potentially harmful compounds used in firefighting foam and several consumer products, the company said. St. Paul, Minnesota-based 3M announced Monday that last year’s lawsuit settlement received final approval from the U.S. District Court…
Oil giants plan to bury massive amounts of CO2
LONDON – Just as they first ventured to do over a century ago, the world’s largest oil companies are staking claims far from home – this time to swallow, rather than spew, planet-warming industrial emissions. Carbon dioxide (CO2) storage is emerging as a potential multi-billion-dollar revenue stream for companies like ExxonMobil, Shell and Chevron, which are under global pressure to…
CEO of Singapore’s CIX carbon credit exchange resigns
SINGAPORE – Mr Mikkel Larsen, chief executive officer of Singapore’s Climate Impact X (CIX), a carbon credit exchange and marketplace, has announced his resignation, CIX said in a statement on March 21. Mr Larsen, 49, will remain in his role until a new or interim CEO is appointed. He will continue to serve as a member of CIX’s board thereafter,…
An Amsterdam court has ruled KLM’s sustainable aviation advertising misled consumers
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — In a decision hailed by an environmental group as a historic victory, an Amsterdam court ruled Wednesday that Dutch national airline KLM misled consumers in statements about sustainable aviation in a case that accused the carrier of “greenwashing.” Amsterdam District Court said in a statement that in some advertisements, that are no longer in use,…
Residents of Iceland town ordered to evacuate again as new volcanic fissures pose threat
REYKJAVIK: Residents of the Icelandic fishing town of Grindavik are facing a second evacuation as new volcanic fissures have opened nearby, prompting the National Commissioner of Police to issue an evacuation order, CNN reported. Grindavik, situated approximately 70 kilometres southwest of Reykjavik on the Reykjanes peninsula, had previously been evacuated in November due to heightened seismic activity that culminated in…