Maddie Stone

EartherEnvironmental Justice

Could Rising CO2 Levels Trigger a Nutritional Crisis?

A new analysis is reigniting a concern agricultural scientists have been voicing for years: That rising carbon dioxide could exacerbate malnutrition by reducing the nutrient content of staple crops. The study, published Monday in Nature Climate Change, projects that if atmospheric carbon dioxide levels rise to 550 parts per million (ppm)—a level conceivable by later … Continued

EartherConservation

Wow, Americans Are Selling a Lot of Dead Giraffes

A new report is drawing attention to fact that thousands of giraffe parts are imported into the U.S. for sale each year—which is extremely legal and fine according to U.S. and international law. Wait, what?! The report, which the Humane Society published Thursday following an investigation into the U.S. giraffe market, found that market to … Continued

EartherClimate Change

Australia Is Bracing for an ‘Insane Fire Season’

As the U.S. grapples with one of its worst wildfire seasons on record, Australia is getting a head start on what looks to be an equally brutal year of bushfires. Since early August—wintertime in the southern hemisphere—hundreds of bushfires have flared up in the Australian provinces of Queensland and New South Wales, prompting some local … Continued

EartherClimate Change

As the World Burns, There Will Be Fewer Firefighters to Share

As out-of-control wildfires raged across the West, U.S. firefighting authorities took a seemingly unusual step late last month: they called up Australia and New Zealand and asked for help. It was the first time the southern hemisphere nations had been called on to fight U.S. wildfires since the summer of 2015, when 68 firefighters from … Continued

Earther

The Wacky, Risky World of DIY Submarines

When marine scientist Shanee Stopnitzky learned that police had hauled her stolen yellow sub out of San Francisco Bay and taken it to an impound lot, she was relieved. Not for the vehicle, but for whoever took it for a joy ride. “If you don’t know what you’re doing, you can die,” Stopnitzky told Earther. … Continued

Earther

What Ancient Maya Forests Can Tell Us About Our Future

More than 3,000 years ago, the ancient Maya spread across the Yucatán Peninsula and neighboring areas, clearing rainforest for agriculture and cities as they went. Though their civilization mysteriously collapsed around the ninth century, it left an indelible mark on the region’s tropical rainforests, one that presents a warning to people clear-cutting the tropics today. … Continued

EartherEarth Science

Why Is Florida’s Red Tide Outbreak So Bad Right Now?

It’s been a summer of algae for the Sunshine State. Last month, Governor Rick Scott declared a state of emergency in counties whose waterways were befouled by blue-green algae blooms. On Monday, Scott found himself declaring another emergency for a separate red tide algae outbreak taking place across the state. The current red tide bloom … Continued

EartherClimate Change

Hotter Fires Could Mess With Entire Food Webs

As photos of charred forest remains emerge from California’s latest round of explosive wildfires, it’s becoming clear that a worsening wildfire season will have ecological consequences. And not just for the trees: Understory plants and fungi, and the food webs that depend on them, are also feeling the burn. A new study published in Global … Continued

EartherEarth Science

California’s Viral Fire Tornado Has Scientists Searching For Answers

Weather geeks went wild last week when the National Weather Service announced that the Carr Fire near Redding, California had spawned the equivalent of an EF-3 tornado on July 26. And for good reason: Fire tornados are among the rarest weather phenomena on Earth, and this vortex had the added distinction of possibly being the … Continued

EartherEarth Science

Kilauea’s Eruption Is on Pause—For Now

Three months and countless Olympic swimming pools of lava later, Kilauea seems to have pressed the pause button on its fiery eruption. But it’s too soon to tell if the Hawaiian volcano has chilled out for good. Over the weekend, scientists with the US Geological Survey noted a significant slowdown in the lava coming out … Continued

EartherClimate Change

Let’s All Take a Breath and Read That ‘Hothouse Earth’ Paper

If the past year of floods, fires, heat waves, and droughts are any indicator, climate change is going to be rough. But in case you weren’t already alarmed, a team of prominent climate scientists has penned a paper warning that just two degrees Celsius of human-caused warming could send us spiraling toward a “hothouse Earth”—one … Continued

EartherClimate Change

The Mendocino Complex Fire Is Now the Largest In California’s History [Updated]

An enormous wildfire in northern California may become the largest on record for the state, less than a year after the Thomas Fire in southern California earned that dubious distinction. It’s the latest reminder that we now live in an era of fast-growing, hard-to-contain megafires. Update 8/7: Well, it happened: The Mendocino Complex fire now … Continued

EartherEarth Science

New Research Could Reveal Which Parts of Your City Swelter the Most

Anyone who’s spent time in a city in the summer knows that these bastions of blacktop get uncomfortably hot compared with the surrounding countryside. But even within a city’s bounds, some neighborhoods swelter more than others, and that can have a big effect on who’s most threatened by heatwaves. Which is why citizen scientists are … Continued

EartherEarth Science

Scandinavia Is on Fire

A spate of incredibly hot, dry weather has descended on Scandinavia, contributing to the worst wildfire outbreak in recent memory. In other words, it’s just another week in the Anthropocene. Northern Scandinavia has been roasting for days, with temperatures climbing over 20 degrees Fahrenheit above normal  well north of the Arctic circle, thanks to an intense … Continued

Earther

Giant Iceberg Looming Over Greenland Village Is the Perfect Metaphor for 2018

If you needed a visual representation of our global environmental crisis in 2018, it doesn’t get much better (well, worse) than the gigantic iceberg looming over the village of Innaarsuit in Greenland, now seen from the vantage of space. Last week, news outlets began reporting that an alarmingly large iceberg had drifted close to Innaarsuit, … Continued

EartherEarth Science

Yosemite National Park Blanketed in Smoke as California Burns

There’s nothing like a trip to Yosemite National Park to escape the daily horrors of civilization and bask in the stark beauty of nature. Except this is 2018, so of course Yosemite is now shrouded in smoke from a raging, deadly wildfire. The Ferguson fire, which began Friday evening, has swelled to 12,525 acres, threatening … Continued

EartherClimate Change

A Warming Antarctica Could Be Primed For Invasive Species

In 2017, marine biologist Erasmo Macaya was shocked to discover bits of kelp on the remote Antarctic island of King George, hundreds of miles from its natural habitat. He knew he’d found something strange, but he wasn’t aware he’d just uncovered evidence of a journey spanning over 10,000 miles—one that could portend a mass migration … Continued

EartherEarth Science

Kilauea’s Eruption Produced This Tiny, Short-Lived Island

It’s been a minute since we checked in on Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano, but the pyrotechnic wonder that’s given us blue fire, rivers of lava, and volcanic tornados hasn’t slowed down. Recently, the eruption birthed something far more earthly but equally spectacular: A new island. Photos released by the US Geological Survey’s Hawaii Volcano Observatory (USGS … Continued

EartherConservation

Eight Critically Endangered Black Rhinos Are Dead After Botched Translocation [Updated]

In news that is appalling even by the standards of 2018, multiple outlets are reporting that eight black rhinos are dead after an attempt to translocate them to a wildlife park in southern Kenya last month. Black rhinos are the third most endangered rhino species on Earth, with only 5,000-5,500 of the majestic creatures left, … Continued

EartherConservation

Why Florida’s Largest Lake Is Filled With Toxic Algae, Again

In what has become a deeply unwelcome summertime tradition, Floridians are once again finding their waterways befouled with blue-green algae. Since June, an algae bloom of epic proportions has gripped Lake Okeechobee, the largest freshwater lake in the state. By last week, the bloom had engulfed 90 percent of the lake’s open water (436 square … Continued