Free Republic

The California Fish and Game Commission voted Thursday to extend the ban on abalone harvesting in Northern California until 2036, citing the decline in red abalone populations and ongoing environmental challenges. This is the longest extension for this ban since the initial 2018 closure. "Monterey Abalone Company is one of only two abalone farms left on the California coast. The farm caters to a small number of walk-up clientele and white tablecloth restaurants, where a plate of two or three red abalone might go anywhere from $56 to $80 dollars. Today, farms offer the only legal way to eat Californian...

One of India’s largest cities, Chennai, is dealing with a crippling crisis: It has run out of water. In the middle of a particularly hot summer, the four lakes that supply the capital of the southern state of Tamil Nadu have dried up; together they contain just 1% of the volume they did last year. Residents don’t have enough water to drink, bathe or wash clothes. People are working from home; malls have closed their bathrooms; and restaurants have shut their doors. The natural instinct is to blame the situation on climate change and, indeed, the last monsoon’s rains were...