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Norfolk Southern rethinks how company responds to problems with overheating bearings after train derailment

The new rules Norfolk Southern issued the following day said that in a situation like that when any damage is noticed on a hot bearing, the railroad will send out a mechanical inspector to look at a car before it is moved.

August 01, 2023

Plant poachers damage Cook County forest preserves as demand for ramps and morels makes foraging more profitable

Some gather small amounts of plants for personal use, but the majority of foraging is strictly to sell to restaurants for profit, forest preserve officials say.

August 01, 2023

Water is refreshing in the heat, right? In parts of Florida this past week, not so much

Earlier this week, sea surface temperatures reached as high as 101.2 degrees Fahrenheit (38.4 degrees Celsius) around the state’s southern tip in Manatee Bay, according to the National Weather Service — although scientists said the context for Monday’s reading is complicated.

Public interest vs. private homes: Climate change and erosion fuel disputes along Lake Michigan’s shoreline

Ogden Dunes wants to build another stone retaining wall to break waves, but environmentalists are citing the public trust doctrine and the long-term harm these walls will do to the shoreline.

Piping plover chick roaming Montrose Beach revealed to be a relative of Chicago’s beloved Monty

Four additional chicks from New York state — including three nieces or nephews of Monty — were released further north, at Illinois Beach State Park in Lake County.

Chicago’s downtown buildings are slowly sinking. The culprit? Underground climate change, study shows.

Buildings are unlikely to crumble because of underground climate change, a researcher says, but damage could lead to costly upkeep.

Volunteers monitor endangered piping plover chicks released on Lake County beach; ‘They were right at home’

Those chicks — and another hatched at a captive-rearing facility in Michigan — have been running around on the sand between Illinois Beach State Park and Waukegan Beach in Lake County for a few weeks, and roughly 20 local volunteers like Moss have been closely watching the young shorebirds to keep them safe until they fly south for the winter.

CO2 pipeline company conducted a 24/7 drilling operation for 2 months across from family’s Nokomis home: ‘They’ve created chaos.’

Navigator opponents, many of them landowners who don’t want to live near pipelines carrying a potentially suffocating gas, have voiced numerous concerns, including that underground carbon storage has never before been done at this scale.

Push to build more CO2 pipelines and store vast amounts of the gas underground in Illinois raises alarms about safety regulations

Calls for moratoriums come as the nation faces a potential “tsunami” of new carbon dioxide pipelines, driven by billions of dollars in federal incentives aimed at combating climate change.

Sick of hearing about record heat? Scientists say those numbers paint the story of a warming world

Nearly every major climate-tracking organization proclaimed June the hottest June ever. Then July 4 became the globe’s hottest day, albeit unofficially, according to the University of Maine’s Climate Reanalyzer. It was quickly overtaken by July 5 and July 6. Next came the hottest week, a tad more official, stamped into the books by the World Meteorological Organization and the Japanese Meteorological Agency.

Weather sensors at Chicago State University are part of an effort to monitor climate change in vulnerable communities

The sensors will measure temperature, air quality, wind speed, precipitation and soil conditions, which will tell scientists what is happening to the microclimates of Chicago’s most vulnerable neighborhoods.

As smoke hits Chicago again, experts say climate change is increasing the severity and reach of Canadian wildfires

Droughts create ideal conditions for wildfires in the northern forests of Canada to burn longer. More rain leads to vegetation growth, increasing how much fuel is available to burn. Research shows that there’s a risk for more fires and ones that are harder to put out.

Weather service issues air quality alert through Sunday night as Chicagoans deal with more hazy skies from wildfire smoke

Chicago’s air quality ranked among the top 10 worst cities in the world Sunday and worst in the United States, according to the global monitoring site IQAir.

Costly Deep Tunnel flooding project can’t handle Chicago area’s severe storms fueled by climate change

Recent storms suggest rain can now fall so quickly that stormwater tunnels can’t move runoff to McCook Reservoir fast enough to prevent sewage overflows and basement backups.

Advocates praise bills aimed at reducing plastic and polystyrene use; some restaurants have concerns

One bill would require state agencies and public universities to reduce their purchase of single-use plastics.

Residents of PFAS-polluted island file $42.4 million in claims against Wisconsin city

Residents of an island polluted with PFAS chemicals have filed claims demanding more than $40 million from a western Wisconsin city they say is responsible for the contamination.

Meet Searocket, Wild Indigo and Prickly Pear: The first captive-reared piping plover chicks released in Chicago

The names of the chicks — Sea Rocket, Wild Indigo and Prickly Pear — were inspired in the native plants of the Montrose Beach Dunes Natural Area, according to local birding and conservation organizations.

Landmarks: ‘Often forgotten’ reversal of Calumet River a key part of Chicago area water strategy

Dick Lanyon, who worked 48 years with the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, will talk about the reversal of the Calumet River and draining the south suburbs July 23 at Pullman Exhibit Hall.

Northern lights probably won’t dance across Chicago skies this week, scientists say

While scientists previously predicted that people in Illinois could glimpse the northern lights this week, an updated forecast shows that the picturesque display is unlikely.

Record monsoon rains have killed more than 100 people in northern India this week

Officials say that record monsoon rains have killed more than 100 people in northern India this week.

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