Yessenia Funes

Earther

These 5 Charts Show How the Coronavirus Is Affecting Global Energy Demand and Emissions

As the global economy comes to a standstill amid the coronavirus, energy demand is set to drop a record amount. The International Energy Agency released a report on Thursday that shows how this pandemic—which has killed at least 228,625 around the world—is affecting the energy sector. Due to lockdowns and the economic slump, IEA projects … Continued

Earther

The World Just Set a Record For the Cheapest Solar Farm

All might feel awful in the world—and for the most part, it is—but there are still glimmers of hope. Today, that hope comes in the form of cheap-ass solar energy. Abu Dhabi Power Corporation, the public utility for the capital of the United Arab Emirates, announced Tuesday it had accepted a bid to build what … Continued

Earther

The Coronavirus Is Showing Banks That Oil Is a Bad Investment

Banks are finally starting to get it: Fossil fuels ain’t worth it. Just last week, Citigroup joined the wave of banks no longer investing in oil and gas projects in the Arctic. The only major bank in the U.S. that hasn’t committed to this is Bank of America. The economic crisis brought on by the … Continued

Earther

Ranchers and Environmentalists Agree: Trump’s New Water Rule Sucks

Environmentalists and ranchers are challenging President Donald Trump’s repeal of federal water protections. In two separate lawsuits, the groups take vastly different approaches to argue against the Trump administration’s replacement for the Waters of the U.S. rule, better known as WOTUS, that’s defines and protects navigable waterways. The president began the process of killing this … Continued

Earther

Great, Climate Change Is Coming for These Cute Seal Boys

Crabeater seals have historically been quite successful. Their population ranges around 15 million, and conservationists haven’t had to worry too much about them—until now. Climate change is quickly changing the habitat of these cute Antarctic critters, and a new study shows that these seals will have to work harder for their food in a warmer … Continued

EartherClimate Change

Animal Crossing’s Nature Day Exposes How Worthless Earth Day Is

In the world of Animal Crossing: New Horizons, there’s no such thing as Earth Day. This video game full of cute anthropomorphic villagers celebrates Nature Day instead. Like everything else in the game, Animal Crossing has managed to turn a pretty awful real-world situation (i.e. ecological collapse) into a playful event. That’s part of what … Continued

Earther

The Coronavirus Could Ruin New York’s Big Plan to Reduce Traffic and Fix the Subway

New York City was set to make history in 2021. The city would’ve become the first in the U.S. to implement congestion pricing in Lower Manhattan to help curb traffic. Now, the coronavirus pandemic has put all that on pause—at a time when other cities are closing off entire blocks to traffic. How ironic. MTA … Continued

Earther

The ‘Insect Apocalypse’ Might Not be as Hopeless as We Thought

As much as I hate bugs with their little creepy wings and huge eyes, we need them. Yet there have been dire warnings of an insect apocalypse on the horizon due to human activities. A new paper may offer the most comprehensive analysis of just how serious the apocalypse is. The meta-analysis was published in … Continued

Earther

Criminalizing Protests Is a Dangerous Idea

Despite the Constitution granting us the right to peaceful assembly, many states have been pushing forth laws to make that a crime. That’s not only a bad idea but an incredibly dangerous one. Legal experts note that these bills and laws—which 38 states have considered and 21 have passed—threaten democracy at large by scaring the … Continued

Earther

We’re About to Lose One of Our Best Tools to Study the BP Oil Spill’s Fallout

BP’s Deepwater Horizon platform exploded 10 years ago today, but the Gulf of Mexico may never be the same. That’s especially true for the deep seas around the site, where researchers have yet to see any major improvement in the decade following the environmental disaster that saw nearly 5 million barrels of oil gush into … Continued

Earther

Sci-Fi Fanatics Suspected of Arson as Wildfires Near Chernobyl Create World’s Worst Air Pollution

Wildfires are burning yet again in the area outside the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine. The latest round of blazes has sent smoke traveling to the capital of Kyiv, creating some of the worst air pollution in the world. The Chernobyl area has been on fire off and on since last week, and in … Continued

Earther

Trump Administration Courageously Ignores the Benefits of Reducing Toxic Mercury Emissions

Humans have long known the health dangers of mercury, but that won’t stop the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from doing away with regulations designed to reduce emissions and protect public health. The agency released an update on Thursday that undermines a key rule to lower mercury emissions from coal plants. The EPA first announced its … Continued

EartherClimate Change

Today’s Extreme Floods Could Happen Daily by 2100

The U.S. is already facing a flooding crisis as sea-level rise pushes tides ever higher. But it’s only going to get worse with flood risk doubling every five years in the coming decades, according to a new study. That means floods that used to happen once in a person’s lifetime occur every year or even … Continued

Earther

Cities Are Closing Streets to Cars During Coronavirus—They Should Make It Permanent

Oakland city officials kicked off a program Saturday to limit 74 miles of streets to only pedestrians and cyclists. That’s right: No cars, baby. This type of move is critical during the coronavirus pandemic. People are stuck inside but in need of fresh air and exercise. Finding space outside to do so safely with the … Continued

Earther

Obama Finally Seems to Get the Climate Crisis—Now Biden Needs to Do the Same

When Barack Obama became president in 2008, he knew much work lay ahead. In his acceptance speech, he talked about a “planet in peril.” Before entering the White House, Obama offered a message to the Global Climate Summit where he promised “a new chapter in America’s leadership in climate change.” Fast forward a decade later, … Continued

Earther

Two of Chernobyl’s Largest Wildfires on Record Are Out

More than a week has passed since two major fires broke out inside Chernobyl’s exclusion zone. They were inching closer to the shuttered power plant and the radioactive waste now disposed of on-site as hundreds of firefighter battled the blazes. As of Tuesday, however, the fires appear to be out. With the help of some … Continued

Earther

Deforestation Spikes in the Amazon Amid Coronavirus Crisis

Activity in most of the world has come to a halt due to the spread of the coronavirus, but illegal logging and land grabbing in the Amazon rainforest shows no sign of slowing down. New data reveals that deforestation is the worst it’s been in the region in over a decade. Conservation news site Mongabay … Continued

Earther

Coronavirus Lockdowns Have Reduced Air Pollution by 30 Percent in the Northeast

You can add the Northeast to the growing list of regions seeing improved air quality amid the ongoing pandemic. We’ve seen these big drops in air pollution in China and Italy. And preliminary data from other parts of the world show similar trends, though it will take time to analyze it. But NASA has now … Continued

EartherConservation

Coronavirus Has Me Thinking Way Too Hard About My Bar Soap

When it comes to reducing plastic, I’ve still got a lot of work to do. But I’m working on it. The coronavirus pandemic, however, given me pause for thought about one of my improvements: my bar soap. I used to be all about bottled soaps. The pumps with foam? Ugh, I loved those. But I … Continued

EartherConservation

This Is What the Chernobyl Wildfires Look Like From Space

Chernobyl is still on fire. Satellite images captured Thursday by Planet Labs show wildfires inching closer to the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine. The fires first started Saturday inside the 1,000-square mile exclusion zone centered around the plant, which suffered a massive explosion in 1986. Radiation levels spiked to 16 times higher than normal … Continued