Environment – Winnipeg Free Press

A tree lies on top of a damaged home where authorities say a man was killed during a weekend storm in Stockbridge Township, Mich., seen on Tuesday, April 1, 2025. (Jacob Hamilton/Ann Arbor News via AP)

Forecasters warn of deadly floods and strong tornadoes in parts of the Midwest and South

Jeff Martin, The Associated Press 4 minute read Updated: 4:55 AM CDT

As severe thunderstorms threatened to hit parts of the Midwest and South on Wednesday, forecasters warned of potentially deadly flash flooding, strong tornadoes and baseball-sized hail.

At least one tornado was observed Tuesday night around Salina, Kansas, about 90 miles (145 kilometers) north of Wichita, according to the National Weather Service.

The potent storm system was expected to bring the threat of “significant, life-threatening flash flooding” starting Wednesday, according to the Weather Prediction Center, a part of the weather service.

The new flood threat came as residents in parts of Michigan continued to dig out from a weekend ice storm.

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Liberal Leader Mark Carney makes no Indigenous announcement in Winnipeg

Alessia Passafiume, The Canadian Press 6 minute read Preview

Liberal Leader Mark Carney makes no Indigenous announcement in Winnipeg

Alessia Passafiume, The Canadian Press 6 minute read Yesterday at 11:38 PM CDT

WINNIPEG - Liberal Leader Mark Carney said Tuesday that while he didn't meet with Indigenous people or announce new policies while visiting the city with the largest urban Indigenous population in Canada, reconciliation is still fundamental for his party.

Speaking in Winnipeg, Carney spoke about a series of affordability measures his government would take, one day before U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to impose wide-ranging tariffs on multiple countries, including Canada.

But the issue of reconciliation was missing from the agenda altogether, despite the presence of a large group of Indigenous people at the event.

"In my opening remarks as prime minister, on the day that I was sworn in, I acknowledged the fundamental role of First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples to the founding of our country," Carney replied when asked what message his party is sending to a demographic that helped the Liberals form government in 2015.

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Yesterday at 11:38 PM CDT

Liberal Leader Mark Carney responds to a question during a campaign stop on Tuesday, Apr. 1, 2025 in Winnipeg. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

High waves cause damage on Sydney waterfront

The Associated Press 2 minute read Preview

High waves cause damage on Sydney waterfront

The Associated Press 2 minute read Updated: 2:00 AM CDT

SYDNEY (AP) — Sydney beachfront properties were flooded and coastal infrastructure damaged after a large swell combined with a king tide to batter the Australian shore, officials said Thursday.

Several homes were evacuated at Botany Bay in Sydney’s south around midnight as waves surged across the coast, according to New South Wales State Emergency Service spokesman Andrew Edmunds.

Further north at Sydney’s premier Bondi Beach, the coast was lashed by a 5.5-meter (18-foot) swell, officials said.

Windows were shattered at Bondi Icebergs Swimming Club, a waterfront pool, gymnasium and restaurant complex. CCTV footage showed waves bursting through glass doors after 11 p.m. on Tuesday.

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Updated: 2:00 AM CDT

A man takes a photo as large swells hit Sydney's Bondi Beach Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

Dog of captain who lost boats in Lahaina wildfire barks with delight during whale encounter

Jennifer Sinco Kelleher, The Associated Press 3 minute read Preview

Dog of captain who lost boats in Lahaina wildfire barks with delight during whale encounter

Jennifer Sinco Kelleher, The Associated Press 3 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 6:08 PM CDT

HONOLULU (AP) — A Hawaii boat captain who rebuilt her whale-watching tour business after losing three boats in the deadly 2023 Lahaina wildfire captured iPhone footage of her dog barking excitedly when a humpback swam near them over the weekend and poked its head out to greet Macy, a golden retriever.

Chrissy Lovitt and Macy, 11, were in a fishing boat about 2 miles (roughly 3 kilometers) off Lahaina on Saturday when they spotted a humpback whale in the waters.

“And he heard her barking and he just swam over to meet her,” Lovitt recalled Tuesday. “And it was the best day of her life.”

In the video, Macy is seen barking frantically as the whale nears the boat. The whale's head emerges and it appears to turn and look at the excited dog.

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Updated: Yesterday at 6:08 PM CDT

This photo provided by Chrissy Lovitt shows Macy, a golden retriever dog, whale-watching off Lahaina, Hawaii on Saturday, March 29, 2025. (Chrissy Lovitt via AP)

Northern Michigan – no stranger to wild weather – tries to cope with days of no power

Ed White, The Associated Press 3 minute read Preview

Northern Michigan – no stranger to wild weather – tries to cope with days of no power

Ed White, The Associated Press 3 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 8:40 PM CDT

The tip of Michigan's mitten struggled through another day without electricity Tuesday as restless residents tried to stay warm while utilities scrambled to restore power in a region waylaid by weekend freezing rain that brought down countless trees and poles.

Schools in several counties were closed again at the top of the Lower Peninsula. Sheriff's deputies armed with chain saws cleared roads and were even delivering oxygen for the homebound. Drivers idled their vehicles in gas station lines that were blocks long.

Northern Michigan lives with crazy weather — Gaylord got 199 inches (5 meters) of snow this winter — but this wave is much different.

“It's an ice situation. The trees and power lines are loaded, literally,” Charlevoix County Sheriff Chuck Vondra said. "Everything is caving in."

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Updated: Yesterday at 8:40 PM CDT

Debris and ice-covered trees cover Curtisville Road that turns into Ausable Valley River Road in Oscoda County, Mich. on Tuesday, April 1, 2025. (Kaytie Boomer /The Bay City Times via AP)

Storms could unleash deadly floods, strong tornadoes in large part of US in coming days

Jeff Martin, The Associated Press 5 minute read Preview

Storms could unleash deadly floods, strong tornadoes in large part of US in coming days

Jeff Martin, The Associated Press 5 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 8:49 PM CDT

Forecasters are warning of potentially deadly flash flooding and strong tornadoes as more rounds of thunderstorms are poised to strike parts of the Midwest and South.

The potent storm system will bring the threat of “significant, life-threatening flash flooding” starting Wednesday, according to the Weather Prediction Center, a part of the National Weather Service.

The new flood threat also comes as residents in parts of Michigan continue to dig out from a weekend ice storm.

Floods could inundate towns, sweep cars away

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Updated: Yesterday at 8:49 PM CDT

A barn that collapsed from Sunday's severe storm along 92nd Street SE in Gaines Twp., Mich., on Monday, March 31, 2025. (Joel Bissell/MLive.com/Kalamazoo Gazette via AP)

Severe storms batter Greek islands for a second day, with Crete hardest hit

Associated Press, The Associated Press 2 minute read Preview

Severe storms batter Greek islands for a second day, with Crete hardest hit

Associated Press, The Associated Press 2 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 8:52 PM CDT

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Severe storms battered islands in Greece for a second day Tuesday, with Crete experiencing the heaviest rainfall. Authorities on Paros and Mykonos, meanwhile, worked to clear overturned cars and debris following hailstorms and torrential downpours.

On Monday, storms in Paros sent cars floating into the sea and flooded homes and businesses with water and mud. Authorities have requested emergency government assistance to address road and infrastructure damage. Nearby Mykonos also endured hailstorms and powerful winds.

Rescue crews on Crete assisted seven people in vehicles trapped by floodwaters while rockslides and road closures were reported on the island after the storm overnight pushed toward the southeast. The highest rainfall in the previous 24 hours through Tuesday afternoon was recorded near the Cretan port of Chania, according National Observatory of Athens.

Rhodes faced gale-force winds that toppled trees and damaged vehicles.

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Updated: Yesterday at 8:52 PM CDT

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Conservatives pledge to enact energy sector’s recommendations to boost growth

Sarah Smellie, The Canadian Press 7 minute read Preview

Conservatives pledge to enact energy sector’s recommendations to boost growth

Sarah Smellie, The Canadian Press 7 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 10:15 PM CDT

ST. JOHN'S, N.L. - Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre promised Tuesday to enact a set of five demands from the country's energy sector if his party forms government — and contrasted that commitment with what he called the Liberals' "radical keep-it-in-the-ground policies."

In an open letter dated March 18, five days before the election campaign began, the heads of 14 energy companies called on all party leaders to capitalize on increasing public support for expanding the sector in the face of U.S. tariffs.

"Canadians increasingly see the importance of using our abundant energy to ensure Canada can defend its sovereignty, play a role in the world as a force for good, and improve our overall economic competitiveness and prosperity," the letter says.

Titled "Build Canada now," the letter outlines "how Canadian energy can help strengthen Canada's economic sovereignty."

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Updated: Yesterday at 10:15 PM CDT

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and his wife Anaida Poilievre look out at the crowd at a rally in Fredericton, N.B., on Monday, March 31, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Stephen MacGillivray

Blink and you could miss them. 10 native spring ephemerals that bring early color to the garden

Jessica Damiano, The Associated Press 5 minute read Preview

Blink and you could miss them. 10 native spring ephemerals that bring early color to the garden

Jessica Damiano, The Associated Press 5 minute read Yesterday at 8:23 AM CDT

Spring brings the return of color to the garden as bulbs bloom, perennials re-emerge, and new annuals settle in. But there’s a less common category of plants that’s also worth knowing: native spring ephemerals.

Compared to most garden plants, ephemerals are fleeting, but their role in bridging the gap between winter and spring is invaluable.

Ephemerals come to life in very early spring to take advantage of the season’s increased soil moisture, early spring rains and the availability of sunlight under leafless trees.

They poke up, grow quickly, put on a colorful show and then go dormant all within 6 to 8 weeks, typically from when the last snow melts to when the trees leaf out. And unlike plants that leave fading foliage behind, ephemerals retreat without a trace — or nearly so — allowing you to take advantage of the precious real estate left behind for later-season, shade-loving perennials.

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Yesterday at 8:23 AM CDT

This July 12, 2005, image provided by Bugwood.org shows dutchman's breeches (Dicentra cucullaria). (Joseph OBrien/USDA Forest Service/Bugwood.org via AP)

A Jesuit priest prefers prison over a fine to draw attention to climate change

Kirsten Grieshaber, The Associated Press 3 minute read Preview

A Jesuit priest prefers prison over a fine to draw attention to climate change

Kirsten Grieshaber, The Associated Press 3 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 7:18 AM CDT

BERLIN (AP) — A Jesuit priest says he prefers going to prison than paying a 500-euro ($541) fine for participating in a climate activists' street blockade in the southern German city of Nuremberg.

The Rev. Jörg Alt started serving his nearly monthlong prison sentence on Tuesday in Nuremberg.

“Today, I am starting my 25-day alternative custodial sentence in Nuremberg prison,” he said before entering the prison. “I don’t like doing this, especially as my health is no longer the best at the age of 63. But I see no alternative, because it’s the last form of protest I have left in this specific case to draw attention to important issues” such as climate change.

In November, Alt said that "as a priest, I have no income and no bank account due to my vow of poverty and that I do not want to harm the order and my fellow brothers by paying my fine,” German news agency dpa reported.

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Updated: Yesterday at 7:18 AM CDT

FILE - Priest Joerg Alt addresses supporters prior to the beginning of his trial at a court in Munich, Germany, May 3, 2023. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader, File)

Quebec remains on board with carbon pricing, but how long will it last?

Maura Forrest, The Canadian Press 5 minute read Preview

Quebec remains on board with carbon pricing, but how long will it last?

Maura Forrest, The Canadian Press 5 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 3:54 PM CDT

MONTREAL - Pressure is starting to mount on Quebec to reconsider its cap-and-trade emissions pricing system after the federal consumer price ended Tuesday.

There has long been a broad consensus in Quebec on the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and the province’s cap-and-trade system, launched in 2013, has never been especially controversial.

But some say Prime Minister Mark Carney’s decision to scrap the federal consumer carbon price could change that — especially once Quebecers notice the difference at the pump.

As of Tuesday, the federal consumer carbon levy, which applied in most provinces and territories, has officially been scrapped. British Columbia, which was the first province to impose its own carbon price in 2008, has also repealed its tax.

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Updated: Yesterday at 3:54 PM CDT

A man pumps gas in Montreal on March 4, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes

Drivers look for relief at the pump after B.C. ends consumer carbon tax

Brenna Owen, The Canadian Press 6 minute read Preview

Drivers look for relief at the pump after B.C. ends consumer carbon tax

Brenna Owen, The Canadian Press 6 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 6:49 PM CDT

British Columbia drivers looked to the gas pumps Tuesday for a sign of tax relief after the early-morning approval of legislation that ended the province's consumer carbon tax after 17 years.

The NDP government fast-tracked the bill in an effort to kill off the tax in time to coincide with the demise of the federal version of the levy on April 1, though it was around 1:30 a.m. Tuesday before it finally passed third reading in the legislature.

Premier David Eby had said Monday drivers could expect gas prices to fall by about 17 cents a litre with the end of the tax.

But some drivers who delayed getting fuel were disappointed when they stopped at the pump on Tuesday.

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Updated: Yesterday at 6:49 PM CDT

Minister of Finance Brenda Bailey tables her first budget in the legislative assembly at legislature in Victoria, B.C., on Tuesday, March 4, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito

Gas prices drop as consumer carbon price ends, but full impact yet to be felt

Lauren Krugel, The Canadian Press 3 minute read Preview

Gas prices drop as consumer carbon price ends, but full impact yet to be felt

Lauren Krugel, The Canadian Press 3 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 3:03 PM CDT

CALGARY - Gasoline prices are coming down in Canada as the consumer carbon charge drops to zilch from 17.6 cents per litre, but motorists had yet to feel the full impact of the change on Tuesday.

"The pace is going to vary province to province, city to city, station to station," said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at price tracking website GasBuddy.com.

"There are some complexities behind the scene that may cause some stations to have to wait to pass it along."

For instance, some retailers may still need to reprogram their software to account for the decrease.

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Updated: Yesterday at 3:03 PM CDT

Consumers are paying a new price on their carbon emissions starting today — $0. A man pumps gas in Montreal, Friday, March 4, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes

On the heels of a dry winter, firefighters around the US brace for wildfire risks

Ty Oneil And Susan Montoya Bryan, The Associated Press 5 minute read Preview

On the heels of a dry winter, firefighters around the US brace for wildfire risks

Ty Oneil And Susan Montoya Bryan, The Associated Press 5 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 2:21 PM CDT

PRESCOTT, Ariz. (AP) — From the southwestern U.S. to Minnesota, Iowa and even parts of New Jersey, it seemed that winter never materialized.

Many communities marked their driest winters on record, snowpack was nearly nonexistent in some spots, and vegetation remains tinder dry -- all ingredients for elevated wildfire risks.

More than 1,000 firefighters and fire managers recently participated in an annual wildfire academy in Arizona, where training covered everything from air operations to cutting back brush with chain saws and building fire lines. Academy officials say there is a consensus that crews will be busy as forecasts call for more warm and dry weather, particularly for the Southwest.

The lack of moisture and warm temperatures can combine to increase the rate of spread and intensity of fire, said Roy Hall, the prescribed fire officer for the Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management. He says it has been dry in his state for months.

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Updated: Yesterday at 2:21 PM CDT

Firefighter John Ward works to control the Black Cove Fire Wednesday, March 26, 2025, in Saluda, N.C.. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)

Tennessee Valley Authority, the nation’s largest public utility, appoints a new CEO

Jonathan Mattise, The Associated Press 4 minute read Preview

Tennessee Valley Authority, the nation’s largest public utility, appoints a new CEO

Jonathan Mattise, The Associated Press 4 minute read Monday, Mar. 31, 2025

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The nation's largest public utility on Monday promoted one of its top executives to CEO, putting Don Moul in charge of the Tennessee Valley Authority as President Donald Trump has cast renewed attention on the federal entity.

The utility announced that its board picked Moul as president and chief executive to replace Jeff Lyash, who said in January that he would retire no later than September. The move comes less than a week after Trump removed one of the utility's board members without indicating why. With the firing of Michelle Moore, an appointee of former President Joe Biden, the board currently has five members and four vacancies.

The board firing and CEO hiring come after Tennessee's two Republican U.S. senators urged officials to opt for “an interim CEO trusted by the president” before hiring someone long-term.

Moul has served as TVA's executive vice president and chief operating officer since June 2021. In a news release announcing his selection, TVA focused in part on Moul's leadership in the advancement of nuclear energy technologies and his experience as a licensed senior reactor operator. He starts in the new role on April 9.

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Monday, Mar. 31, 2025

FILE - Members of the Tennessee Valley Authority Board of Directors listen to members of the public during a meeting, May 8, 2024, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV, File)

EPA chief Zeldin says he is closing the agency’s one-room museum, saving taxpayers $600,000 a year

Matthew Daly, The Associated Press 2 minute read Preview

EPA chief Zeldin says he is closing the agency’s one-room museum, saving taxpayers $600,000 a year

Matthew Daly, The Associated Press 2 minute read Monday, Mar. 31, 2025

WASHINGTON (AP) — EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin says he is closing a one-room museum at the agency's Washington headquarters, saving taxpayers $600,000 a year in operating costs.

Zeldin, who has vowed to slash agency spending, said in a video posted Monday that the museum cost $4 million to build and attracted fewer than 2,000 visitors since it opened last year.

The museum is “yet another example of waste by the Biden administration,” he said, adding that it is overly focused on environmental justice and climate change, two Biden administration priorities.

While admission is free, the museum's operating costs — coupled with low attendance — means it costs taxpayers about $315 per visitor, Zeldin said. “This shrine to EJ (environmental justice) and climate change will now be shut down for good,'' he said.

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Monday, Mar. 31, 2025

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