California regulators voted Tuesday to strengthen state safeguards for thousands of wetlands and streams that are about to lose federal protections in a Trump administration rollback of the Clean Water Act. Nearly 90 percent of California's historic wetlands have been filled in or plowed under, and the state has said it is vital to preserve what remains.

Businesses and residents expressed concern Monday about the environmental and economic fallout from a fire at a Houston-area petrochemical storage farm that sent huge plumes into the air for days and prompted the partial closure of one of the busiest commercial waterways in the U.S. Officials said it could be several more days before a section of the Houston Ship Channel reopens. Investigators with Harris County, which includes Houston, said they have delivered a subpoena to Intercontinental Terminals Company — the firm that owns the facility — to preserve any evidence regarding the cause of the blaze. Students returned to class after the fire prompted school closures near the facility.

Officials in Northern California put the number of homes lost there at nearly 8,800, and the sheriff said the task of recovering remains had become so vast that his office brought in 287 more searchers Wednesday, including National Guard troops. The search crews used 22 cadaver dogs, and so far 56 bodies have been recovered.

A new study says a rare fire tornado that raged during the deadly wildfire this summer in Northern California was created by a combination of scorching weather, erratic winds and an ice-topped cloud that towered miles into the atmosphere. The churning funnel of smoke and flame killed a firefighter as it exploded in what already was a vast and devastating wildfire in July.

Scientists warn that if the voracious Asian carp become established in the Great Lakes, they could out-compete native species and harm the region's $7 billion fishing industry. "Given the costs of Asian carp invading our Great Lakes, inaction is not an option," said Sen. Debbie Stabenow, a Michigan Democrat and co-chair of the Senate Great Lakes Task Force.

The conflict between the need for more housing in California and the danger of building in fire-prone mountains was decided in favor of homes Tuesday as Los Angeles County supervisors approved a massive rural housing development. The supervisors voted 4-1 to approve a 19,000-home project amid a statewide housing shortage, high rents and a very visible homelessness crisis even as recent wildfires have drawn attention to the danger of building in rural terrain that rings California's urban areas.

New York State DEC Commissioner has announced changes that are being considered to amend state regulations and designations for protecting endangered and threatened species across the state.

A citizen panel that votes on air pollution permits was set to decide Monday whether Virginia's most powerful corporation can build a natural gas compressor station in a historical African-American community. But the state on Sunday announced the meeting was being pushed back to Dec. 19 because of a winter storm that has made roads dangerous.

International climate change negotiations may appear fruitless and frustrating, but there is hope for action in the state of Wisconsin following the recent COP25 and the first meeting of Governor Evers’ Task Force on Climate Change. It is important to see state and local governments stand up for climate action despite the federal government’s clear disengagement during this critical time.

The state Department of Environmental Conservation and Attorney General Letitia James filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday, claiming that it violated federal law when it issued a “Certificate of Completion” to General Electric Company in April for its removal of polychlorinated biphenyls from the Hudson River.