Dharna Noor

EartherConservation

The Department of Agriculture Killed 1.2 Million Wild Animals Last Year

The mission of Wildlife Services, an office in the Department of Agriculture (USDA), is “to provide federal leadership and expertise to resolve wildlife conflicts to allow people and wildlife to coexist.” In practice, that means slaughtering animals in droves. New data the USDA released this week shows that in 2019, the program killed approximately 1.2 … Continued

Earther

Exxon Just Got Dethroned as the Top U.S. Energy Company

On Wednesday, Chevron became the biggest oil company in America. It’s the first time Exxon and its predecessor, Standard Oil, haven’t occupied the throne since the late 1800s. RIP to a real(ly bad) one. The covid-19 pandemic has not been kind to Exxon. It’s lost over $1 billion since the crisis began, with its analysts … Continued

Earther

Climate Change and Bad Planning Caused California’s Rolling Blackouts

Amid record breaking heat in mid-August, energy officials cut power to millions of people across California for up to 90 minutes at a time. In a preliminary report released Tuesday, the state’s three main energy agencies unpacked exactly why those blackouts happened. The finding show the state wasn’t ready despite the warning signs, and that … Continued

Earther

Hundreds of Dead Animals Washing Up on a Beach Is Russia’s Latest ‘Ecological Catastrophe’

Hundreds of sea creatures’ bodies have washed up onto the shore in Russia’s Far East. All signs point to water pollution in what is the latest in a series of environmental catastrophes to befall Russia this year. The contamination, first reported last month, has left a bubbly yellow sludge on the water offshore of the … Continued

Earther

This Year’s Hole in the Ozone Is Twice the Size of the U.S.

If you’ve been looking to cast yourself into a deep hole from which you can never return (I have!), the one in the ozone layeris a prime choice right now. The hole in the atmosphere’s ozone layer just reached its maximum annual size, experts at European Union’s Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (ECMWF) said on Tuesday. … Continued

Earther

Exxon’s Leaked Five-Year Plan Is a Climate Disaster

Earlier this year, Exxon promised to slash its methane emissions and reduce its gas burning, but it seems it had some other plans in the works, too. New internal documents reviewed by Bloomberg show that the energy giant’s business plans would increase its carbon pollution by 17% by 2025. In total, the additions would be equivalent … Continued

Earther

40 Percent of the Amazon Is on the Brink of Transitioning to Savanna

Huge swaths of the Amazon have gotten so dry that they may be on the brink of transitioning into an entirely different kind of ecosystem, new research published in Nature Communications warns. Rainforest ecosystems are very sensitive to changes in precipitation, since their rich, wildlife-sustaining foliage depends on receiving moisture. But thanks to climate change, … Continued

Earther

David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet Nails the Planetary Problems But Misses the Political Ones

David Attenborough is 93. Over the course of his lifetime, the beloved natural historian and broadcaster has seen the planet go through unimaginable changes. Atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases have soared, as has the human population, while biodiversity has declined precipitously. He details these shifts in a new documentary released on Netflix on Sunday, which … Continued

Earther

Ignoring Freshwater Ecosystems Could Doom the Amazon Rainforest

In, um, other news: By taking a different approach to conservation, the world could make biodiversity-renewing projects far more effective at protecting freshwater species, according to a new study in Science focused on areas of the Amazon rainforest. Bear with me. I know this isn’t nearly as attention-grabbing as the revelation that the president has … Continued

Earther

Elite Law Firms Are Helping the Fossil Fuel Industry Fry the Planet

Most of the nation’s top law firms are failing us on the climate crisis. A report conducted by the newly-formed legal student group Law Students for Climate Accountability, analyzed the work of the 100 most prestigious law firms in the U.S. The study is the first to detail the role that leading law firms play … Continued

EartherConservation

The Trump Administration Hid Polar Bear Research That Could Threaten Its Plan to Drill the Arctic

A federal study found that oil and gas drilling in Alaska puts polar bears at risk. But U.S. Geological Survey Director James Reilly, the head of the department that conducted the research, refused to make the study public, the Washington Post reported on Wednesday. The Interior Department’s research looked into the number of polar bears … Continued

EartherClimate Change

We Can Use Less Energy and Still Have Good Lives

At last night’s presidential debate, former Vice President Joe Biden refused to endorse the Green New Deal but reaffirmed some of his campaign’s climate promises. “We’re going to build an economy that in fact is going to provide for the ability of us to take 4 million buildings and make sure that they in fact … Continued

Earther

Lockheed Martin Is Getting Sued for Creating an ‘Environmental Nightmare’ in Florida

On Monday, lawyers filed two suits against Lockheed Martin. They allege that the weapons manufacturer spawned an “environmental nightmare” by exposing people to toxic chemicals in Orlando. Just in case you needed another reason to fight the military industrial complex. Law firm Morgan and Morgan filed the two complaints against the arms and defense contractor … Continued

Earther

Will Chris Wallace Ask These Climate Questions at Tonight’s Debate or Is He a Coward?

Tonight is first debate between an uninspiring moderate presidential candidate in former Vice President Joe Biden and an absolute monster in our current president, Donald Trump. Can’t wait! Ahead of the show, Fox News host Chris Wallace, who’ll be moderating the train wreck, announced the six topics he’ll focus on in his questions. They include … Continued

EartherConservation

Scientists Created an Enzyme Cocktail That Eats Plastic

A gross fact of life is that we’re all ingesting plastic. Turtles eat plastic. Birds eat plastic. And one study found that humans eat a credit card worth of plastic each week. Now, scientists have engineered enzymes to eat plastic, too—but that may actually be a good thing. In a study published in the Proceedings … Continued

Earther

California’s Wildfire Season Reignites as Flames Roar Into Towns Across Wine Country

California’s scary wildfire season, which has scorched a record 3.6 million acres, isn’t over yet. Throughout the Northern California, tens of thousands of people are vacating their homes again as new fires ignited across the region. Over the weekend, triple-digit heat, low humidity, and strong Diablo winds fanned the flames of two fires, the Zogg … Continued

Earther

The Quiet of Covid-19 Has Birds Singing Sultrier Songs

While social distancing measures have pushed many people into sexless, joyless bubbles, San Francisco birds are getting flirtier and more coy. I’m glad someone’s getting some. Coronavirus precautions and shutdowns have have made cities a lot quieter. In a study published in Science this week, researchers found that, with fewer cars roaring, people chattering, and … Continued

EartherConservation

California’s Joshua Trees Become the First Plants to Receive Protections Due to Climate Change

Western Joshua trees, those strange-looking, tall beauties of Southern California, are the first-ever plant species to be protected under the California Endangered Species Act because of the threat of climate change. In a historic move this week, the state’s Fish and Game Commission voted unanimously in favor of a petition that provides the plants protected … Continued

Earther

Why Unions Are the Key to Passing a Green New Deal

There’s a persistent conservative myth that the clean energy transition must come at the expense of employment. Nothing could be further from the truth, though. The Congressional resolution on a Green New Deal, introduced by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Ed Markey last February, includes a proposal guarantee employment to all those who want it. … Continued

EartherClimate Change

New Study Shows We Actually Do Live in Hell

The climate crisis is bringing hellish conditions to the U.S. Drought? Yup. Heat waves? Big time. And when those two forms of extreme weather transpiring at the same time, the combination is devastating. Just look at what we’re seeing with the record-breaking wildfires out West. New research shows that the U.S. is seeing a lot … Continued