Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf is taking a big step in his effort to fight climate change in the nation’s fourth-biggest emitter of greenhouse gases.The Democratic governor on Thursday ordered his administration to start working on regulations to bring Pennsylvania into a nine-state consortium that sets a price and limits on …

The sloth – a super slow tree dweller that spends most of its life hanging upside down – isn’t on an endangered species list.  But human activity hasn’t  been kind to the popular creature who lives in the tropical rain forests of Central and South America. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi tell …

Hawaii’s vibrant reefs are home to amazing populations of corals and fish, which are under growing stress and danger from a spike in  ocean temperatures.  A similar underwater heatwave damaged the reef four years ago. Now, researchers are using divers and satellites to study these corals and find ways to …

Ebola is again spreading quickly in several African countries, with the Democratic Republic of Congo in particular peril. VOA’s Plugged In traveled with U.S. health officials in mid-September to the epicenter of the outbreak, along the country’s remote northeast border. The U.S.-led delegation brought hope and medicine to the region, …

A Virginia doctor who prosecutors said ran his medical practice like an interstate drug distribution ring was sentenced Wednesday to 40 years in prison for illegally prescribing opioids.Dr. Joel Smithers of Greensboro, North Carolina, was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Abingdon.This undated photo provided by the Southwest Virginia Regional …

A new video that shows people casually discussing gene editing and designer babies is making waves because of who posted it: the government-funded group leading efforts to set standards for the ethically dicey science.The National Academy of Sciences posted the video earlier this week. It also sent a tweet that …

Thousands of people protested Tuesday in the northern French city of Rouen to denounce the consequences for health and the environment of last week’s fire at a chemical factory. The blaze that broke out early Thursday ravaged the Lubrizol chemical plant in Rouen, a port city on the river Seine …

Johnson & Johnson said on Tuesday it will pay $20.4 million to settle claims by two Ohio counties, allowing the U.S. healthcare giant to avoid an upcoming federal trial seeking to hold the industry responsible for the nation’s opioid epidemic.J&J became the fourth drugmaker to settle claims ahead of the …

In the first few days of the four-month ban on all vaping products in Massachusetts, Laura Lee Medeiros, a medical marijuana patient, began to worry.The 32-year-old massage therapist has a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) from childhood trauma. To temper her unpredictable panic attacks, she relied on a vape …

NASA’s InSight lander on Mars has captured the low rumble of marsquakes and a symphony of other otherworldly sounds.Scientists released an audio sampling Tuesday. The sounds had to be enhanced for humans to hear.InSight’s seismometer has detected more than 100 events, but only 21 are considered strong marsquake candidates. The …

A U.S. government watchdog on Tuesday harshly criticized the Drug Enforcement Agency for its response to the opioid crisis, saying that amid a surge in opioid-related deaths the agency failed to use its most powerful deterrent and authorized an increase in pain pill output.A report released by Justice Department Inspector …

Botswana has started offering free antiretroviral therapy (ARV) to foreign sex workers, following a decision to extend treatment to non-citizens. An estimated 30,000 foreigners living in Botswana are HIV positive, and most are sex workers. Until now, the southern African nation was one of only a few countries that did …

Eating red meat is linked to cancer and heart disease, but are the risks big enough to give up burgers and steak?A team of international researchers says probably not, contradicting established advice. In a series of papers published Monday, the researchers say the increased risks are small and uncertain and …

Scientists who gave fruit flies a triple drug combination treatment and found that it extended their lives by almost 50% say their work offers clues on how to fight aging in people.The researchers said their aim is not to find the secret of eternal life, but to figure out the …

An expert monitoring a fast-moving glacier on the Italian side of the Mont Blanc massif says a small section has picked up speed and could break off in the coming days.  Fabrizio Troilo, a glaciologist with the Safe Mountain Foundation, said Monday that the piece — measuring some 27,000 cubic meters …

Thailand’s prime minister urged residents of Bangkok to wear face masks on Monday after smog covered parts of the capital in what some fear is a harbinger of more pollution to come.Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha warned in a statement on his Facebook page that the concentration of tiny dust particles …

Gabon is one of the greenest countries in the world, with 88 percent of its land covered by forest. A historic agreement between Gabon and Norway is seeking to ensure it stays that way. Through the U.N.-backed Central African Forest Initiative (CAFI), Norway will pay Gabon up to $150 million over 10 …

They choke coral reefs, clog waterways, and provide a near-permanent mark on the landfills they occupy.  One environmental agency (WWF) estimates that Pakistan’s port city of Karachi produces five-to-seven-thousand tons of plastic each day. A ban on plastic bags in the region is due to go into effect this week. …

Health experts say Nigeria is seeing increasing cases of heart disease. Low awareness, lack of adequate medical facilities and expertise are major factors worsening the situation in the country. But a non profit is collaborating with the World Heart Federation to provide proper education and treatment for underprivileged patients.Participants chat …

Hundreds of thousands of people joined teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg for a march in Montreal Friday, part of a second wave of global protests demanding action on climate change.Thunberg responded to critics, including U.S. President Donald Trump, saying she doesn’t “understand why grown-ups would choose to mock children and …

U.S. health officials said Friday that their investigation into an outbreak of severe vaping-related illnesses was increasingly focused on products that contain the marijuana compound THC.    Most of the 800 people who got sick vaped THC, the ingredient in marijuana that causes a high, according to the Centers for …

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi told the annual gathering of world leaders at the United Nations on Friday that India was launching a campaign to stamp out the use of single-use plastics.”Even as I am addressing you today, a very large campaign is being started across the entire country to …

Students took to the streets across the globe in the hundreds of thousands Friday for a second wave of worldwide protests demanding swift action on climate change.The protests were inspired by Swedish teenager Greta Thunberg, who spoke to world leaders this week at a United Nations summit in New York.Friday’s …

Health experts warn we are due for a cataclysmic pandemic — they just don’t know when it will happen.The warning was delivered this week to world leaders at the U.N. General Assembly by a special global health monitoring group that said the next pandemic could traverse the world in 36 …

This week, world leaders at the U.N. General Assembly heard warnings about massive loss of life and diseases that could circle the global in just three days. VOA’s Carol Pearson reports that a special global preparedness monitoring group issued a report that says inaction will have grim consequences. The report …