Three Mile Island, and Nuclear Hopes and Fears

Experimental Efforts to Harvest the Ocean’s Power Face Cost Setbacks

By JOSHUA HUNT and DIANE CARDWELL

The shuttering of an ambitious project is the latest setback for the nascent wave energy sector in the United States.

Forced to Flee Radiation, Fearful Japanese Villagers Are Reluctant to Return

By MARTIN FACKLER

Three years after the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident, the government has reopened the evacuated community of Miyakoji. But many do not want to come back.

Nuclear Industry Gains Carbon-Focused Allies in Push to Save Reactors

By MATTHEW L. WALD

Environmentalists are pushing to preserve old nuclear reactors whose economic viability is threatened but that produce no greenhouse gases, which could help meet national climate goals.

Afghanistan: Floods Kill Dozens

By REUTERS

Over 100 people have been killed and thousands have been left homeless by flash floods in northern and western Afghanistan, officials said Friday.

Xishuangbanna Journal

In Land That Values Ivory, Wild Elephants Find a Safe Haven

By ANDREW JACOBS

Government protections are helping Asian elephant numbers rise, but forests are rapidly giving way to rubber and other cash crops.

A Partnership to Help the Tallest Residents in Yosemite Park

By CAROL POGASH

Philanthropic organizations known for lending a helping hand are funneling millions of dollars into the nation’s major national parks.

Observatory

Blue-Footed Boobies, a Galápagos Treasure, Under Threat

By DOUGLAS QUENQUA

The population of boobies, known for their brightly colored feet and signature mating dance, has halved, researchers say, though it’s not clear why breeding activity is so low.

China: Legislature Toughens Environmental Law

By EDWARD WONG

The Chinese legislature decided Thursday to revise the country’s environmental protection law to allow for stricter punishments against companies or individuals caught polluting the environment, according to a report by Xinhua, the state news agency.

Study Finds Less Green in the Congo Rain Forest

By HENRY FOUNTAIN

Scientists say that a long drought that has affected trees in Central Africa could help them understand how global warming may harm vegetation.

The Upshot

Forty-Four Years of Earth Day

By ALAN FLIPPEN and DAMON DARLIN

By a number of measures, the United States is cleaner than it was on the first Earth Day in 1970.