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EartherClimate ChangeJay Inslee Wants to Transform How America Farms and Eats
Democratic presidential candidate Jay Inslee is a man of many climate plans, and he dropped his last one on Wednesday. The plan gets down and dirty (no, not that way, get your mind out of the gutter) by radically rethinking the agriculture system from production to consumption. It’s a plan that could resonate in Iowa, … Continued
By Brian Kahn -
EartherInside the ‘Wild and Almost Unimaginable’ World of Cave Diving
If one thing’s clear from Jill Heinerth’s breathtaking new memoir on her life as a professional cave diver, it’s that this unusual career path requires serious mettle. In Into the Planet: My Life as a Cave Diver, Heinerth recalls nearly running out of air while rescuing a panicked diving partner, almost losing her hand to … Continued
Amy Brady -
EartherDamn, No Greenland
President Deals is up to it again! Over the past week, word got out that the White House has been exploring some kind of arrangement to buy the autonomous Danish territory of Greenland—which in addition to giving the U.S. more military access to a strategic point of the globe, would enable American exploitation of its … Continued
By Tom McKay -
EartherClimate ChangeSmoke Has Blotted Out the Sun in São Paulo as the Amazon Burns
What began as a “day of fire” a week and a half ago has now turned daytime skies in São Paulo an inky black. The Amazon has been in deep, deep trouble ever since far-right president Jair Bolsnaro took over running Brazil. Advocates feared his regime would commit ecological “genocide” in the Amazon and with … Continued
By Brian Kahn -
EartherEnvironmental JusticeReversing Trump’s Pipeline Approvals Is the Latest Litmus Test For Democratic Presidential Candidates
When Donald Trump took over the White House in 2017, one of his first acts was helping fast track major oil projects. Slowly, Democratic presidential candidates are coming out of the fold to declare that if they secure the White House, they’ll move to reverse that ASAP. The Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines are … Continued
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EartherEarth ScienceIt Could Crack 120 Degrees in Death Valley as Extreme Heat Roasts Much of the U.S.
Death Valley is no stranger to scorching temperatures, but the heat gripping the park and surrounding area still stands out for its intensity and scope. The park is expected to see temperatures climb as high as 120 degrees Fahrenheit this week thanks to a heat wave that’s toppling records from coast-to-coast. The U.S. has had … Continued
By Brian Kahn -
EartherClimate ChangeClimate Change Debate Censored in Canada Because of One Jackass Candidate
My in-laws are Canadian and thus prone to frequent bouts of trashing the broken American political system and then immediately apologizing (with the exception of my brother-in-law Dan who is a true asshole). Well, the joke’s on you, suckers. Now your system is hopelessly compromised, too! On Sunday, reports emerged that the agency overseeing Canada’s … Continued
By Brian Kahn -
EartherEarth ScienceThe Internet’s Longest-Streaming Webcam Is Shutting Down
After a quarter-century of continuous operation, the San Francisco FogCam is set to go offline on August 30. Jeff Schwartz and Dan Wong, who go by Webdog and Danno, set up the cam on the San Francisco State University campus in 1994. Schwartz told SF Gate he decided to try the FogCam as an experiment … Continued
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EartherConservationThe Lawless High Seas May Soon Gain Protections Under a Groundbreaking Ocean Treaty
THE SARGASSO SEA—Ana Paula, the Esperanza’s officer in charge of the crew and equipment, readies the great white crane to drop the manta trawl into the Sargasso Sea. The trawl’s yellow wings and nearly 10-foot long mesh net that give it the appearance of a manta ray, its namesake, stretch out alongside the Esperanza, a … Continued
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EartherEnvironmental JusticeBig Oil Is Scared
Here is a simple truth: The world cannot build more fossil fuel infrastructure and have a habitable climate. Science bears this out, and a growing number of people around the world are putting their bodies on the line in the service of said science and habitable climate as well as protecting other natural resources. This … Continued
By Brian Kahn -
EartherClimate ChangeWisconsin Becomes First Midwest State With a Plan to Go Carbon-Free By Midcentury
The impacts of climate change have been real so far this year for the Midwest. Historic flooding has ravaged multiple states, and don’t even get me started on last month’s heatwave. All this has been a rude awakening for many across the region, and their leaders are listening. Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers signed an executive order … Continued
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EartherClimate ChangeIcelanders Mourn Loss of Okjökull Glacier With Ceremony, Plaque
Politicians, scientists, and others gathered in Borgarfjörður, Iceland, northeast of Reykjavik on Sunday to mourn the loss of the Okjökull glacier, laying a plaque warning of the impact of climate change, the BBC reported. Okjökull, along with many other Icelandic glaciers, took serious hits from warming summers over the past two decades. It was officially … Continued
By Tom McKay -
EartherPortugal Is Using Goats to Prepare for Wildfires, But There’s Not Enough Shepherds
Portugal, which has been ravaged by wildfires of increasing severity and duration in the era of climate change, is turning back to the goat to clear underbrush in the hopes of limiting potential fuel sources for the blazes, the New York Times reported on Saturday. One issue? A critical shortage of goatherds and shepherds in … Continued
By Tom McKay -
EartherEnvironmental JusticeElizabeth Warren’s Latest Plan Tackles U.S. Injustices Against Tribes and Their Lands
Elizabeth Warren is a woman of many plans, but on Friday the United States senator and Democratic presidential candidate released one of her most detailed ones yet. The plan focuses on what she would do as president to uplift indigenous people and tribes across the U.S. It includes sweeping new protections for tribal lands, restoring … Continued
By Brian Kahn -
EartherConservationBig Donors Are Pulling Out of Brazil’s Amazon Fund; That Could Spell Trouble for the Rainforest
Norway and Germany have been helping support the Brazilian government for its efforts to reduce deforestation in the Amazon Rainforest for some 10 years now. These financial rewards—the annual donations to the Amazon Fund, which the Brazilian Development Bank manages—have amounted to nearly $1.3 billion. Now, that funding is coming to an end because Brazil … Continued
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EartherHere’s a Bunch of Stuff the U.S. Would Get If Donald Trump Bought Greenland
Donald Trump wants to buy Greenland. Okay then. The Wall Street Journal broke the news Thursday afternoon that our big real estate boy in the White House has floated the idea to multiple aides that the U.S. should purchase the world’s largest island. This is, to put it plainly, batshit. It’s the presidential equivalent of … Continued
By Brian Kahn -
EartherConservationInvasive Pests Are Devastating American Forests at an Alarming Rate
New findings show that invasive species are wiping out trees across the U.S., devastating forests and their ability to store carbon. That’s particularly bad news in light of the worsening climate crisis. Turning the tide against climate change will need to involve tending to forests and maximizing their ability to suck up and store carbon … Continued
By Brian Kahn -
EartherEarth ScienceHundreds Dead, a Million Displaced as Monsoon Rains Inundate India
As necessary as the monsoon rains may be for farmers in India, the season can be fraught with death and destruction. This year’s monsoon rains have been falling seemingly nonstop in parts of India since June, and now more than 1 million people are displaced in southern and western states with more than 200 dead. … Continued
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EartherClimate ChangeA Weather Station Above the Arctic Circle Hit 94.6 Degrees Fahrenheit
Amid the hottest month in recorded history, some records still stand out as absolutely jaw dropping. That’s definitely true of a measurement made in the Arctic this July. According to data released in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) monthly climate analysis, a weather station in Sweden north of the Arctic Circle hit a … Continued
By Brian Kahn
