Yessenia Funes

EartherEnvironmental Justice

Hurricane Harvey Housing Relief Is Officially Ending 

If you’re a Texan whom Hurricane Harvey royally fucked, tough luck. The Federal Emergency Management Agency announced Monday that displaced Harvey survivors have until Saturday to figure their shit out. The agency is finally ending its Transitional Sheltering Assistance program after more than 10 months since the Category 4 storm struck the Gulf Coast—and after … Continued

EartherEnvironmental Justice

Judge Hands Oil Companies a Win in High Profile Climate Lawsuit

Some cities think oil companies should foot the bill for their climate change impacts. At least one judge begs to differ. District Court Judge William Alsup in San Francisco dismissed a major climate lawsuit Monday that the cities of San Francisco and Oakland filed against Big Oil bros like ExxonMobil, BP, and Chevron last year. The … Continued

EartherEnvironmental Justice

Scott Pruitt’s Home State Now Gets to Regulate Its Coal Ash

Coal ash is nasty stuff. Full of dangerous metals like lead and mercury, the ash left over after the combustion of coal can increase a person’s risk for cancer and mess with their brain health. That however, isn’t stopped President Donald Trump and his boy Scott Pruitt over at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from … Continued

EartherClimate Change

Turns Out Our Methane Emissions Are Really Fucking Bad

Methane comes from more than cows. As notorious a poster child cattle have become, a huge portion of our methane emissions are produced by the oil and gas industry. A study out Thursday explores how much worse these greenhouse gas emissions actually might be. Published in Science, the study’s analysis of national methane emissions from … Continued

EartherEnvironmental Justice

Puerto Rico Wants to Hand Its Energy Crisis Over to the Private Sector

Puerto Rico is finally taking its energy system private. Gov. Ricardo Rosselló signed a bill Wednesday to sell pieces of the Puerto Rican Electric Power Authority (PREPA). The system’s been in shambles since Hurricane Maria hit last year, and this is seemingly the governor’s final attempt to salvage it. This move doesn’t come as a … Continued

EartherEnvironmental Justice

Michigan Is Done Helping Flint Test Its Water

Michigan won’t be handling water testing in Flint anymore. After assuming that responsibility in 2016, the state is officially handing it back to the city starting in July, according to The Flint Journal/M-Live. This is, in theory, a good thing. It indicates a return to normality for the city of nearly 100,000, all of whom … Continued

EartherEnvironmental Justice

Did Hurricane Maria Worsen Puerto Rico’s Asthma Crisis?

Puerto Rico’s still reeling from the shock of Hurricane Maria, a disaster that may have led to the death of thousands. Nearly nine months later, doctors and physicians are alerting the public to another hidden health crisis: asthma. Now, this respiratory illness is nothing new for Puerto Ricans. In fact, Puerto Ricans (both on and … Continued

EartherEnvironmental Justice

Deadly Monsoon Rains Have Displaced a Million People—and They’re Not Letting Up

The monsoon season can be a matter of life and death for people in South Asia. On the one hand, its rains nourish crops that feed millions. On the other, floods and landslides can create deadly hazards, as evidenced by what’s going on in northeast India and Bangladesh right now. Over the weekend, heavy rains … Continued

EartherEnvironmental Justice

Navajo Coal Plant Drama Continues as Groups Sue to Clean Up Mine

When it comes to Arizona’s embattled Navajo Generating Station, groups on both sides can’t stop, won’t stop. The major coal power plant is set to shut down by the end of next year, but the Peabody Energy-owned mine supplying said coal isn’t. In fact, the Department of Interior’s Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement … Continued

EartherEnvironmental Justice

Let’s Call Gang Violence What It Is: Pollution

Growing up in my predominantly black and Latino town of Uniondale on Long Island, “the outdoors” was never about being healthy. One of my clearest childhood memories involves a group of girls beating me up at a park because they confused me for someone else. As a teenager, parks were where kids went to shoot … Continued

EartherEnvironmental Justice

What Could Have Caused That Major Pipeline Explosion in West Virginia?

The Nixon Ridge Pipeline in West Virginia exploded spectacularly Thursday, creating a fireball visible for miles. While TransCanada is still investigating why exactly this brand new, “best-in-class” pipeline blew up, we can offer some informed speculation. After all, this is not the first natural gas pipeline to explode. All it takes for a pipeline to … Continued

EartherEnvironmental Justice

Solar Is Killing Major Arizona Coal Plant Despite Tribes’ Wishes

No number of protests are likely to keep a major coal-fired power plant in Arizona open. In fact, its biggest customer finalized a couple contracts Thursday to replace their power source when the plant shutters next year. The Navajo Generating Station, the largest coal plant in the West, has been through a serious game of … Continued

EartherEnvironmental Justice

Louisiana Ignores Courts, Allows Bayou Bridge Pipeline to Proceed

In Louisiana, the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is disputing a judge’s ruling that it broke the law—all in the name of a crude oil pipeline set to run 163 miles through the state. District Court Judge Alvin Turner ruled last month to pause a key permit the department had granted the Bayou Bridge Pipeline … Continued

EartherEnvironmental Justice

Puerto Rico’s Grid ‘Almost Certain to Collapse Again’ When Next Hurricane Hits: Report

Hurricane season has returned, and Puerto Rico isn’t ready. Even a small hurricane could mess up the power grid again, throwing over 3 million American citizens back into the dark. That’s according to a detailed new report by the The Associated Press, which reminds us that officials believe the island’s precarious power grid is “almost certain … Continued

EartherEnvironmental Justice

Antarctica’s First Pride Celebration Is Officially Here

More than scientific research goes down in Antarctica. With Pride Month officially starting Friday, celebrations are popping off at all ends of the world—including near the South Pole. Who said a continent devoted to ice, climate and Earth science can’t also be a place for the queerios of the world to party? After all, we … Continued

EartherEnvironmental Justice

Topsoil Service Con-Man Who Terrorized Australia With Asbestos Is Getting Locked Up

These days, the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s got no shame cozying up to polluters. Head to Australia, though, and it’s a whole different game. Ever heard of Dib Hanna? Me neither, but apparently, he’s a notorious criminal in Sydney, Australia. His crime? Serial asbestos dumper. (And no, I’m not kidding.) Hanna’s dumping spree has … Continued

EartherEnvironmental Justice

Companies Want to Begin Exploring the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for Oil by Winter

The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) is no longer safe. Two Alaska Native corporations and an oil services form have jointly applied to begin seismic testing on the refuge’s pristine 1.5 million-acre coastal plain—the calving grounds of the Porcupine caribou herd, which the nearby Gwich’in First Nation relies on for food security and culture. This … Continued

EartherEarth Science

This Video Is All Your Kid Needs to Understand Climate Science

Lessons on climate change don’t require wonky charts or boring lectures. They can sometimes be as simple—and cute—as an animated video featuring penguins, an elephant seal, and some researchers ready for the freezing temperatures of Antarctica. That’s the takeaway from this video released during the Hay Festival, which strives to present art and science ideas … Continued

EartherEnvironmental Justice

Michigan Is Trying to Blame a Local Hospital for Flint Water Crisis Deaths

At the height of the water crisis in Flint, Michigan, 12 people died. A couple studies earlier this year concluded that the water switch that resulted in lead contamination of the water supply also caused an outbreak of Legionnaires disease. Now, some officials at the state level disagree. Rather than taking responsibility, the Michigan Department … Continued

EartherEnvironmental Justice

Canada Is Buying a Tar Sands Pipeline a Major Energy Company Doesn’t Want

Looks like the fraught Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion isn’t happening after all. Or, actually, wait. It is—but only after the Canadian government decided to purchase the damn thing for 4.5 billion Canadian dollars (roughly $3.5 billion). Finance Minister Bill Morneau announced Tuesday in a press conference that the government is buying the 715-mile pipeline expansion … Continued