President Donald Trump on Tuesday announced he is planning to eliminate the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) “as it exists today” after the 2025 hurricane season.

Trump said he wants to make disaster response and recovery the responsibility of states rather than the federal government.

“We want to wean off of FEMA, and we want to bring it down to the state level,” Trump said, as CNN reported. “A governor should be able to handle it, and frankly, if they can’t handle it, the aftermath, then maybe they shouldn’t be governor.”

Trump added that less federal aid would be provided for disaster recovery, with the funding to be distributed directly by the Oval Office.

“We’re going to give out less money… It’s going to be from the president’s office,” Trump said, as reported by The Hill. “As an example, I just gave out $71 million to a certain state. They were looking to do about $120 [million] — they were very happy with the $71 million.”

For months, Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem have repeatedly criticized FEMA, calling the agency unnecessary and ineffective and vowing to phase it out.

WATCH: “We want to see FEMA eliminated.”

Trump & Noem say they want to end FEMA and give storm-torn states LESS money — while Trump takes personal credit for it. (Likely helping Red states more readily)

As they take credit for the job FEMA is currently doing.

[image or embed]

— The Tennessee Holler (@thetnholler.bsky.social) June 10, 2025 at 1:34 PM

“You’ve been very clear that you want to see FEMA eliminated as it exists today, so I’m preparing all of these governors [so] that they will have more control over the decisions on how they respond to their communities so that it can happen faster,” Noem told Trump on Tuesday, as The Hill reported.

Noem and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth are co-chairs of a newly established FEMA Review Council, which is expected to give recommendations on how to dramatically reduce the role of the agency and reform its mission and operations, reported CNN.

Noem said the administration was “building communication and mutual aid agreements among states to respond to each other so that they can stand on their own two feet with the federal government coming in in catastrophic circumstances with funding,” as The Hill reported.

Plans to shutter FEMA have confused state and federal emergency managers, who do not believe localized efforts would be able to replace the agency’s strong infrastructure. They said the budgets and personnel of most states would not be enough to tackle the most catastrophic disasters alone, even with a federal financial safety net.

“This is a complete misunderstanding of the role of the federal government in emergency management and disaster response and recovery, and it’s an abdication of that role when a state is overwhelmed,” a FEMA leader told CNN. “It is clear from the president’s remarks that their plan is to limp through hurricane season and then dismantle the agency.”

NOAA predicts this year’s hurricane season will be “above-normal” with as many as 19 named storms.

Following months of upheaval and layoffs, the 2025 hurricane started on June 1 with FEMA short-staffed and underprepared.

The agency has lost 10 percent or more of its staff since January, including much of its senior leadership. It is projected that FEMA will lose nearly 30 percent of its workforce before the end of this year, shrinking it from roughly 26,000 to about 18,000.

Noem recently reopened some FEMA training centers and continued contract extensions for employees who are deployed during disasters in a last-minute effort to shore up hurricane preparedness.

The Trump administration has discussed ending the practice of FEMA staff going door-to-door to assist people in applying for disaster aid, reported The Washington Post. It has also talked about the possibility of raising the damage threshold for communities to qualify for federal assistance.

“It has not worked out well,” Trump said on Tuesday of FEMA’s historic disaster response. “It’s extremely expensive. When you have a tornado or a hurricane or you have a problem of any kind in a state, that’s what you have governors for. They’re supposed to fix those problems.”

The post Trump Plans to ‘Wean off of FEMA’ After Hurricane Season, Saying States Can ‘Handle It’ appeared first on EcoWatch.

https://www.ecowatch.com/trump-fema-2025-hurricane-season.html

According to a recent analysis from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), the U.S. produced a record amount of energy last year, totaling 103 quadrillion British thermal units (BTUs).

The amount of energy produced in 2024 surpassed the previous record set in 2023 by 1%. However, while U.S. energy production is up, including for solar and wind sources, several other types of renewable energy sources stalled or even declined in 2024.

According to the analysis, natural gas accounted for most of the energy production in the U.S. in 2024, making up 38% of the energy mix. Natural gas has been the country’s largest source of produced energy since 2011, EIA reported.

This was followed by crude oil, which made up 27% of the domestically produced energy mix in the U.S. last year.

Coal reached its lowest output for a year since 1964, totaling 512 million short tons and making up 10% of total energy production in the U.S.

On the renewables front, solar, wind and biofuel energies each separately set records in 2024. Solar capacity increased 25%, while wind capacity increased 8%. Biofuels reached 1.4 million barrels per day of production, an increase of 6% compared to the previous records set for biofuels in 2023.

Other renewable energy sources did not beat records, though. As EIA reported, “Output from other energy sources that are primarily used for electric power generation either peaked decades ago (hydropower and nuclear) or fell slightly from their 2023 values (geothermal).”

Earlier in 2025, EIA predicted that solar and wind capacity would continue to grow this year, with utility-scale solar capacity expected to add 32.5 gigawatts, utility-scale wind capacity to add 7.7 gigawatts and battery storage to add 18.2 gigawatts.

However, the U.S. could face challenges to expanding renewables and reducing reliance on fossil fuels as the current administration has planned to suspend permits and leases for wind energy projects and has proposed opening up National Petroleum Reserve lands in Alaska for fossil fuel extraction.

Meanwhile, renewable energy is in high demand globally. Earlier this year, China invested more money into renewable energy sources over coal from overseas for the first time, and the country has set a record for new solar and wind installations in 2023 and again in 2024. In the EU, electricity generation from solar power surpassed electricity from coal power in 2024 for the first time.

Experts have predicted that renewables will continue to grow in the U.S. and abroad, but poor policies could cause the U.S. to fall behind in the global clean energy transition, leading to $50 billion of lost exports.

The post U.S. Produced Record Amount of Energy in 2024, EIA Reports appeared first on EcoWatch.

https://www.ecowatch.com/us-energy-production-record-2024.html

As a testament to the exquisiteness of the ocean and the art of photography, the winners of the 2025 United Nations World Oceans Day Photo Competition were selected from thousands of submissions from around the world, inspired by this year’s theme, “Wonder: Sustaining What Sustains Us.”

The world’s oceans are ever-changing places of magnificent vastness and beauty. The images the winners of this year’s competition captured give us a glimpse into a liquid world of myriad colors, characters and struggles to survive in marine habitats that present many challenges, including heat waves, plastic pollution and anthropogenic pressures.

“Since its inception in 2008, United Nations World Oceans Day (UN WOD) has been celebrated on June 8 to underscore ocean’s importance to the planet and our lives. In honor of the 2025 UN WOD theme, ‘Wonder: Sustaining What Sustains Us,’ the United Nations is spotlighting the ocean’s essential wonder — from the wonders it consists of to the wonders it ignites — through a series of celebratory activations in Nice, France,” a press release from Oceanic Global said.

Historically, UN WOD has been hosted at the UN headquarters in New York, but moved overseas this year to take place ahead of the UN Ocean Conference (UNOC), held June 9 to 13 in Nice.

The winners of the photo competition — chosen by a panel of world-renowned judges from thousands of entries submitted by amateur and professional photographers — were announced on World Oceans Day as part of the UN WOD celebration in Nice.

This year’s judges were Ipah Uid Lynn, an underwater photographer from Malaysia; wildlife photographer Vanessa Mignon from France; William Tan, an underwater photographer from Singapore; and underwater photographer Marcello Di Francesco of Italy. Since the competition began in 2014, Ellen Cuylaerts, an underwater and wildlife photographer, has been its curator.

The 2025 photo competition featured three recurring categories: Big and Small Underwater Faces; Underwater Seascapes; and Above Water Seascapes, as well as a fourth category added to celebrate the 2025 UN World Oceans Day theme of the same name: Wonder: Sustaining What Sustains Us.

The four first-place winners — each from a different country — were Andrey Nosik of Russia, Dani Escayola of Spain, Leander Nardin of Austria and Rachel Moore of the United States.

The first-, second- and third-place winners from each category are featured in a virtual gallery.

The winners of the photography competition will be presented live during a conference panel on June 11. The images will also be on display throughout the week in gallery exhibitions at Nice’s NEO VogelART LAB and The Explorer’s Club in New York.

“With the two UN ocean events taking place back-to-back, the UN WOD celebration sets the stage for decision-makers at UNOC and around the world to honor the ocean’s wonder when determining its fate,” the press release said.

Here are the stunning photos by the winners of the 2025 UN World Oceans Day Photo Competition!

Category 1: Wonder: Sustaining What Sustains Us

First Place: Rachel Moore, United States @moore_rachel

“This photo, taken in Mo’orea, French Polynesia in 2024, captures the eye of a humpback whale named Sweet Girl, just days before her tragic death. Four days after I captured this intimate moment, she was struck and killed by a fast-moving ship. Her death serves as a heartbreaking reminder of the 20,000 whales lost to ship strikes every year. We are using her story to advocate for stronger protections, petitioning for stricter speed laws around Tahiti and Mo’orea during whale season. I hope Sweet Girl’s legacy will spark real change to protect these incredible animals and prevent further senseless loss.”

Second Place: Luis Arpa Toribio, Spain @luis.arpa.photo

“A juvenile pinnate batfish (Platax pinnatus) captured with a slow shutter speed, a snooted light, and deliberate camera panning to create a sense of motion and drama. Juvenile pinnate batfish are known for their striking black bodies outlined in vibrant orange—a coloration they lose within just a few months as they mature. I encountered this restless subject in the tropical waters of Indonesia’s Lembeh Strait. Capturing this image took patience and persistence over two dives, as these active young fish constantly dart for cover in crevices, making the shot particularly challenging.”

Third Place: Steven Lopez, United States @explorersphotography

“Shot in Cuba’s Jardines de la Reina—a protected shark sanctuary—this image captures a Caribbean reef shark weaving through a group of silky sharks near the surface. Using a slow shutter and strobes as the shark pivoted sharply, the motion blurred into a wave-like arc across its head, lit by the golden hues of sunset. The abundance and behavior of sharks here is a living symbol of what protected oceans can look like.”

Honorable Mention: Ollie Clarke, United Kingdom @ollieclarkephoto

Ollie Clarke

“Humpback whales in their thousands migrate along the Ningaloo Reef in Western Australia every year on the way to and from their calving grounds. In four seasons of swimming with them on the reef here, this is the only encounter I’ve had like this one. This pair of huge adult whales repeatedly spy hopped alongside us, seeking to interact with and investigate us, leaving me completely breathless. The female in the foreground was much more confident than the male behind and would constantly make close approaches, whilst the male hung back a little, still interested but shy. After more than 10 years working with wildlife in the water, this was one of the best experiences of my life.”

Category 2: Big and Small Underwater Faces

First Place: Andrey Nosik, Russia @andreynosik

“This photo of a Japanese warbonnet (Chirolophis japonicus) was captured in the Sea of Japan, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) southwest of Vladivostok, Russia. I found the ornate fish at a depth of about 30 meters (100 feet), under the stern of a shipwreck. This species does not appear to be afraid of divers—on the contrary, it seems to enjoy the attention—and it even tried to sit on the dome port of my camera.”

Second Place: Giacomo Marchione, Italy @marchione.giacomo

“On one of my many blackwater dives in Anilao, in the Philippines, my guide and I spotted something moving erratically at a depth of around 20 meters (65 feet), about 10 to 15 centimeters in size. We quickly realized that it was a rare blanket octopus (Tremoctopus sp.). As we approached, it opened up its beautiful blanket, revealing its multicolored mantle. I managed to take a few shots before it went on its way. I felt truly privileged to have captured this fascinating deep-sea cephalopod. Among its many unique characteristics, this species exhibits some of the most extreme sexual size-dimorphism in nature, with females weighing up to 40,000 times more than males.”

Third Place: Lars von Ritter Zahony, Germany @larsvonritterzahony

“Trips to the Antarctic Peninsula always yield amazing encounters with leopard seals (Hydrurga leptonyx). Boldly approaching me and baring his teeth, this individual was keen to point out that this part of Antarctica was his territory. This picture was shot at dusk, resulting in the rather moody atmosphere.”

Category 3: Underwater Seascapes

First Place: Dani Escayola, Spain @daniescayola

Second Place: Gerald Rambert, Mauritius @gerald_rambert

This shot captures a school of rays resting at a cleaning station in Mauritius, where strong currents once attracted them regularly. Some rays grew accustomed to divers, allowing close encounters like this. Sadly, after the severe bleaching that the reefs here suffered last year, such gatherings have become rare, and I fear I may not witness this again at the same spot.”

Third Place: Pedro Carrillo, Spain @pedrocarrillophoto

“La Rapadura’ is a natural hidden treasure on the northern coast of Tenerife, in the Spanish territory of the Canary Islands. Only discovered in 1996, it is one of the most astonishing underwater landscapes in the world, consistently ranking among the planet’s best dive sites. These towering columns of basalt are the result of volcanic processes that occurred between 500,000 and a million years ago. The formation was created when a basaltic lava flow reached the ocean, where, upon cooling and solidifying, it contracted, creating natural structures often compared to the pipes of church organs. Located in a region where marine life has been impacted by once common illegal fishing practices, this stunning natural monument has both geological and ecological value, and scientists and underwater photographers are advocating for its protection. (Model: Yolanda Garcia).”

Honorable Mention: Lars von Ritter Zahony, Germany @larsvonritterzahony

“With only orcas as their natural predators, leopard seals are Antarctica’s most versatile hunters, preying on everything from fish and cephalopods to penguins and other seals. Gentoo penguins are a favored menu item, and leopard seals can be observed patrolling the waters around their colonies. For this shot, I used a split image to capture both worlds: the gentoo penguin colony in the background with the leopard seal on the hunt in the foreground.”

Category 4: Above Water Seascapes

First Place: Leander Nardin, Austria @akela.world

“A serene lake cradled by arid dunes, where a gentle stream breathes life into the heart of Mother Earth’s creation: Captured from an airplane, this image reveals the powerful contrasts and hidden beauty where land and ocean meet, reminding us that the ocean is the source of all life and that everything in nature is deeply connected. The location is a remote stretch of coastline near Shark Bay, Western Australia.”

Second Place: Nur Tucker, United Kingdom/Turkey @nurtuckerphotography

Nur Tucker

“Northern gannets (Morus bassanus) soar above the dramatic cliffs of Scotland’s Hermaness National Nature Reserve, their sleek white bodies and black-tipped wings slicing through the Shetland winds. These seabirds, the largest in the North Atlantic, are renowned for their striking plunge-dives, reaching speeds up to 100 kph (60 mph) as they hunt for fish beneath the waves. The cliffs of Hermaness provide ideal nesting sites, with updrafts aiding their take-offs and landings. Each spring, thousands return to this rugged coastline, forming one of the UK’s most significant gannet colonies. It was a major challenge to take photos at the edge of these cliffs at almost 200 meters (650 feet) with the winds up to 30 kph (20 mph).”

Third Place: Andrey Nosik, Russia @andreynosik

Andrey Nosik

“Paradise Harbour is one of the most beautiful places on the Antarctic Peninsula. When I visited, the sea was extremely calm, and I was lucky enough to witness a wonderfully clear reflection of the Suárez Glacier (aka Petzval Glacier) in the water. The only problem was the waves created by our speedboat, and the only way to capture the perfect reflection was to lie on the bottom of the boat while it moved towards the glacier.”

Honorable Mention: Ken Findlay, South Africa @kenfinphoto

“Ken Findlay

A South Atlantic swell breaks on the Dungeons Reef off the Cape Peninsula, South Africa, shot while photographing a big-wave surf session in October 2017. It’s the crescendoing sounds of these breaking swells that always amazes me.”

The post Meet the Winners of the 12th Annual UN World Oceans Day Photo Competition appeared first on EcoWatch.

https://www.ecowatch.com/un-world-ocean-day-photo-contest-2025.html