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EartherClimate ChangeThe Teens Are Pissed and Freaked the Hell Out
Climate change scares most American teens—and they’re reacting by taking action, according to a new survey. The Washington Post and Kaiser Family Foundation published the survey results Monday. The findings couldn’t be more timely: Young people around the world are organizing a massive climate strike Friday whose participants already include Patagonia, Lush, and Ben & … Continued
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EartherEarth ScienceHurricane Humberto Heads Toward Bermuda
Another hurricane has formed in the Atlantic Ocean, and Bermuda is sitting in its projected path. Hurricane Humberto is only a Category 1 hurricane as of Monday morning, according to the National Hurricane Center, but it is expected to strengthen over the next few days. The storm is already causing some rainfall in the northwestern … Continued
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EartherWhen Will We Run Out of Water?
Even people who believe in climate change are climate change deniers: you might know, intellectually, that our world is coming to an end, but it is hard to truly register this fact, the same way one both does and does not believe that they will one day die. There are counterexamples—you might be one of … Continued
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EartherClimate Change19 Climate Change Activists Arrested for Drone Protest Against Heathrow Airport Expansion
UK police have now arrested at least 19 environmental activists who threatened to fly drones and disrupt air travel at Heathrow Airport in protest of the planned construction of a third runway at the UK’s main air hub, the Guardian reported on Saturday. The protesters are an offshoot of the Extinction Rebellion movement, which has … Continued
By Tom McKay -
EartherEnvironmental JusticeA Year After Hurricane Florence, Coal Ash Is Still a Huge Concern For North Carolina
Hurricane Florence made landfall in North Carolina a year ago today. And while its winds were only Category 1-force, its record rainfall and floodwaters caused major devastation—especially to coal ash ponds, which can contain toxins like mercury and lead. This toxic sludge can pose a major public health threat if it reaches waterways or nearby … Continued
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EartherConservationTampa Bay’s Water Is Home to More Than 4 Billion Bits of Microplastic, Study Finds
There are at least 4 billion bits of microplastic floating in Tampa Bay, according to a new study published in Marine Pollution Bulletin. It can be hard to quantify just how much pollution there is in any given place, since it’s so omnipresent. But the study by Florida researchers appears to provide a horrifying, if round, … Continued
By Ed Cara -
EartherEnergyThis Device Generates Electricity From Darkness
Scientists have created something of a reverse solar cell: a tool that generates electricity from the darkness of night. As energy and how humans produce it continues to be an important modern conversation, a team of researchers have branched way out, trying to harness energy from whatever sources they could. They were able to generate … Continued
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EartherConservationHow Soon Can Oil and Gas Operations Begin In the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge?
The oil and gas industry is one step closer to accessing the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The Bureau of Land Management released the final environmental impact statement for oil and gas drilling on the refuge’s 1.5 million-acre coastal plain on Thursday. Advocates and environmentalists are disappointed. The Alaskan refuge is one of the last pristine … Continued
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EartherClimate ChangeStop Asking Cory Booker If Everyone Should Be Vegan to Save Earth
Houston, Texas, served as the backdrop of the third Democratic presidential debates held on Thursday night. It’s the perfect place to talk about sea level rise, the United States’ role as the second-largest oil exporter, frontline communities, a just transition for fossil fuel workers, recovery and managed retreat, or any other number of pressing climate … Continued
By Brian Kahn -
EartherEnvironmental JusticeUN Scientists Just Endorsed a Piece of the Green New Deal to Fight Global Inequality
The United Nations released a new science-based report Wednesday that shows the ways climate change can reverse the progress the world has made to end inequality through the U.N.’s sustainable development goals. The international institution offers plenty of solutions to combat this disappointing reality, but among them is a key piece of a proper Green … Continued
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EartherEnvironmental JusticeDefender of Brazil’s Indigenous Tribes Murdered ‘Execution-Style’ in Amazon Town
Maxciel Pereira dos Santos, a veteran defender of Brazil’s indigenous people, has reportedly been shot dead in a remote Amazon town while riding his motorcycle. The BBC reports Santos was shot twice in the head while riding his motorcycle down the main street of Tabatinga, a Brazilian city near the border of Colombia and Peru, … Continued
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EartherClimate ChangeReport: Trump Is Killing a Major Rule to Protect Drinking Water and Wetlands
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Army Corps of Engineers are moving forward to finalize the death of a rule meant to protect more bodies of water under the Clean Water Act. The Waters of the United States—or WOTUS—Rule defines what waters the Clean Water Act covers. Former President Barack Obama expanded the definition in … Continued
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EartherEnvironmental JusticeHurricane Dorian Oil Spill in Bahamas Has Spread to the Sea
Clean up and assessment of an oil spill on Grand Bahama Island following Hurricane Dorian has begun—and the oil may have traveled beyond land and into the sea. When the Category 5 storm struck the Bahamas, its powerful winds and fury were enough to tear the South Riding Point oil terminal up. Five of the … Continued
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EartherClimate ChangeTrump Adviser Who Lamented ‘Demonization of Carbon Dioxide’ Follows Bolton Out the White House Door
President Donald Trump’s national security adviser, John Bolton, was fired (or resigned) on Monday. Now it appears the flotsam he brought with him to the National Security Council could be following him out the door. And it could have a surprising climate upside. Bloomberg’s Ari Natter reported on Tuesday that William Happer has turned in … Continued
By Brian Kahn -
EartherEnvironmental JusticeThe Battle for Bad River
“Water is life” takes on new meaning at the Kakagon-Bad River Sloughs. Here, the water itself feels alive. The 10,000-acre wetland on the southwestern shore of Lake Superior is an ever-changing landscape of marshes, bogs, and lagoons. Cedar and pine forests give way to fields of aquatic grasses like wild rice, which filter nutrient-rich sediment … Continued
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EartherEnvironmental JusticeFBI Arrests Former FEMA Officials for Allegedly Misusing Hurricane Maria Recovery Funds to ‘Enrich Themselves’
The Department of Justice has arrested the person the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) put in charge of Hurricane Maria recovery in Puerto Rico along with two others on charges of committing disaster fraud. The case centers around fraud tied to more than $1.8 billion that FEMA awarded to private contractor Cobra Acquisitions Energy to … Continued
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EartherEnvironmental JusticeThe Amazon Has Seen More Than 100,000 Fires This Year, Causing Spike in Air Pollution
The fires burning throughout the Amazon rainforest and the rest of Brazil are billowing all types of air pollutants into the atmosphere, new satellite images from the European Space Agency (ESA)show. The agency released the images Monday, reminding the world that the Amazon fires aren’t just an environmental issue—but a public health issue, as well. … Continued
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EartherClimate ChangeSweden’s Tallest Peak Has Lost Its Title, Thanks to Climate Change
Sweden may have to follow Iceland’s lead in holding a funeral for the dying ice atop Kebnekaise, the nation’s former tallest peak. Scientists have confirmed that the title of Sweden’s highest point has changed hands, after two blistering summers eroded the glacier capping the mightiest mountain in the country. Kebnekaise is a two-peaked mountain that … Continued
By Brian Kahn -
EartherDonald Trump’s Bad Tweet Is Tearing NOAA Apart
We are now into the second week of Donald Trump’s dumb tweet. I want to stop writing about this. You want to stop reading about this. And yet, because the president cannot be wrong, here we are, watching a federal agency rip apart at the seams. The whole stupid event started September 1, when Trump … Continued
By Brian Kahn -
EartherAmazon Office Workers Plan to Strike Over Company’s Inaction on Climate Change
Hundreds of Amazon employees have signed a pledge to strike later this month, standing against the company’s failure to take action to fight climate change. In the last two years, workers of tech companies have increasingly stepped up to show their anger over their employers’ actions and inactions. Google employees have protested the company’s work … Continued