California struck a secret deal with automakers to thwart Trump’s attempt to reduce fuel-efficiency standards

States' rights in action.

via Corey Thompson / Flickr

One of the United States' greatest weapons against tyranny are states rights.

While they've typically been championed by conservatives who don't want to abide by federal dictates, the left-leaning state of California has been using its rights to push back against Trump's harmful environmental policies.

While the Trump Administration has been rolling back federal climate regulations, the state of California has created its own aiming to get 100% of the state's electricity from renewable sources by mid-century.

"What we're seeing is a tale of two climate nations," said Barry Rabe, a professor of public policy at the University of Michigan, told the New York Times. "The split has become much more pronounced in recent years."

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Planet

Disney's plastic straw ban kind of sucks. Here are 4 better ideas.

The Walt Disney Company is the latest company to hop on the plastic straw-free bandwagon.

Joining Starbucks and Marriott, Disney has said it will eliminate plastic straws, stirrers, and cups in its theme parks, cruise ships, and stores. The company said it will start phasing out the products by mid-2019 and expects to save 175 million straws and 13 million stirrers every year.

But here's the thing: There are major drawbacks to a total plastic straw ban.

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Heroes

Arnold Schwarzenegger is taking the oil companies to court with a brilliant lawsuit.

He may be an iconic action movie star, but Arnold Schwarzenegger's fight for the environment may soon eclipse his biggest box-office hits.  

During his time as governor of California, Schwarzenegger demanded stronger environmental regulations. More recently, he took part in a vegan challenge with director James Cameron to bring attention to the environmental cost of the meat industry.

Now, he's taking on Big Oil.

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Heroes

Bright blue dogs might be pollution's weirdest effect ever.

What the heck is going on here?

One of these things is not like the others. Image from Business Insider/YouTube.

Sometimes people like to call the (pretty darn adorable) Australian Cattle Dog a blue heeler. But some stray dogs from the city of Navi Mumbai, India, just turned really blue. We're talking bright, cotton-candy Smurf blue.

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