Australia blocks proposed coal mine adjacent to Great Barrier Reef Marine Park

Australian environment minister Tanya Plibersek has blocked a proposed open-pit coal mine just six miles from the Great Barrier Reef, raising hopes among advocates that she will block other potentially destructive projects.

“I have decided not to approve the Central Queensland Coal Project because the risks to the Great Barrier Reef, freshwater creeks, and groundwater are too great,” Plibersek said. “Freshwater creeks run into the Great Barrier Reef and onto seagrass meadows that feed dugongs and provide breeding grounds for fish.”

https://e360.yale.edu/digest/australia-blocks-great-barrier-reef-coal-mine

Türkiye | Earthquake partly destroys 1500-year-old Gaziantep Castle

(CNN) — The earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria on Monday has badly damaged Gaziantep Castle, a historic site and tourist attraction in southeastern Turkey.

The castle collapsed during the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck in the early hours of February 6.

https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/gaziantep-castle-destroyed-turkey-earthquake/index.html

USNPS study concludes President Polk home meets most criteria for admittance to NP system

The National Park Service on Monday transmitted the James K. Polk Presidential Home Special Resource Study (SRS) to Congress, concluding that the 11th president’s Columbia, Tennessee, residence and adjacent property meet three of four criteria for potential inclusion in the National Park System.

Congress passed Public Law 116-9 in 2019 directing the study be conducted of the only surviving residence associated with Polk besides the White House.

https://www.chattanoogan.com/2023/2/6/463719/National-Park-Service-Transmits-James.aspx