EartherConservation

Is ‘Sustainable’ Seafood Actually Good for the Planet?

BOULDER—It was the weekend of 4/20, and I was in Boulder, Colorado. There were few things my heart desired outside of some legal pot, mountain trails, and good food. So I headed to Jax Fish House & Oyster Bar, a joint that prides itself on “sustainable seafood.” Yes, in the middle of land-locked Colorado. So, … Continued

EartherEarth Science

Scientists Think They’ve Solved the Mystery of a Giant Hole in Antarctica’s Sea Ice

A year and a half ago, in the middle of the Antarctic winter, satellite images of the frozen continent revealed something wild: a gaping hole in the middle of Antartica’s sea ice that spanned thousands of square miles. Scientists were fascinated and puzzled by feature, which hadn’t appeared at this scale since the 1970s. Now, … Continued

EartherConservation

This Electronic Group Made an Album Entirely With Plastic and It’s Not Total Garbage

The plastic pollution crisis of our own making may seem like an odd inspiration for album, doubly so when the item that sparks that inspiration is a 25-year old plastic fish jockstrap. But that’s exactly what put plastic on experimental electronic group Matmos’ radar. Plastic Anniversary, the resulting album released last month, is at turns … Continued

EartherClimate Change

These Reindeer May Be Getting Hooked on Seaweed Thanks to Climate Change

The Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard in the Arctic Ocean is home to majestic creatures like polar bears, Arctic foxes, and reindeer. Today, their icy home is melting, and that’s disrupting life in some strange ways. For instance, a new study suggests it’s causing reindeer to eat more seaweed. That’s because as temperatures rise, more precipitation … Continued

EartherEarth Science

Cyclone Kenneth Poses a Humanitarian Nightmare as it Slams Into Mozambique

For the second time in a month, Mozambique is dealing with a catastrophic cyclone. On Thursday night local time, Cyclone Kenneth roared ashore on the country’s north coast with the strength of a major hurricane. Like its predecessor Cyclone Idai, the storm is expected to linger inland and dump feet of rain. The combination of … Continued

EartherEnvironmental Justice

Five Years After the Lead Crisis Began, Flint Residents Still Can’t Trust Their Tap Water

Five years. That’s how much time has passed since the City of Flint switched its water source, exposing nearly 100,000 people to lead-tainted water. That crisis continues today and has traumatized the city in a way that will take more than another five years to fix. The legacy will likely last for generations. That being … Continued

EartherClimate Change

The UK Has Seen a Record Number of Fires This Year, and It’s Only April

It’s never too early to start setting wildfire records in our warming world. Though it’s not even the end of April, the UK has already seen more major wildfires this year than in any previous year. It takes the title from [checks notes] last year. The latest rash of fires hit over Easter weekend. According … Continued

EartherEarth Science

These Governments Want to Fight Air Pollution by Controlling the Weather

Air pollution is taking over cities around the world. As the State of the Air report released Wednesday reminds us, nearly half of the people living in the U.S. deal with unhealthy air. In countries like South Korea and Thailand, however, that air pollution is on a whole other level. That’s why these governments are … Continued

EartherConservation

Scientists Create Giant Atlas of World’s Most Remote Reefs

Coral reefs line shores around the world, but they’re sometimes tough to spot because well, they’re underwater. Now, a group of researchers has found that satellite imagery is capable of mapping reefs on a global scale. They’ve used the technology, along with field studies, to create the world’s most thorough coral reef atlas to date—including … Continued

Earther

Meet the Botanists Who Climb the World’s Tallest Trees

A decent level of physical fitness, a fondness for climbing, an intimate knowledge of giant old-growth tree species, and being handy with a crossbow: If you possess this most unusual of skill sets, then tree-climbing botanist may be the job you never realized you were born to do. Wendy Baxter and her partner and colleague … Continued

EartherEarth Science

Still Reeling From Idai, Mozambique Faces Another Powerful Cyclone This Week

Mozambique is still reeling from Cyclone Idai, which struck the country hard last month, claiming over 1,000 lives across the region. Now a new cyclone is on the horizon, threatening to stretch already thin resources even thinner. Cyclone Kenneth is chugging from the Pacific toward Mozambique. Currently the equivalent of a tropical storm with sustained … Continued

EartherConservation

Atlantic Shipwreck Graveyard May Be Key Habitat for Imperiled Sharks

Photographs taken by citizen scientist scuba divers show that female sand tiger sharks develop an affinity to certain shipwrecks off the coast of North Carolina—a finding that could prove useful to conservation efforts. Female sand tiger sharks are returning to same shipwrecks off the North Carolina Coast, according to a new study published in Ecology. … Continued

EartherEarth Science

Blobs in Earth’s Core Could Be Causing ‘Geomagnetic Jerks’ in the Magnetic Field

Every several years, magnetic field observatories record quick changes to the position or strength of the planet’s magnetic field, so-called geomagnetic jerks. The cause of these shifts has remained a mystery. Improvements to ground-based observatories and more magnetic field measurements from satellites have given scientists new insights into the planet’s magnetic behavior. Though we can’t … Continued

EartherClimate Change

Americans’ Top Environmental Concern May Surprise You

When it comes to worrying about the environment, it’s hard to pick just one issue. On the one hand, you have the sixth mass extinction underway. On the other, there’s climate change fueling a whole raft of problems. Oh, and don’t forget toxic air pollution. So much horrific chaos to choose from! But for the … Continued

EartherEarth Science

Vietnam Just Had Its Hottest Day Ever Recorded—and the Season’s Still Heating Up

Another month, another wild heat record. Vietnam set its all-time national high temperature over the weekend with the mercury cracking 110 degrees Fahrenheit. So yeah, global warming. It’s still happening. Etienne Kapikian, a forecaster with France’s meteorological service who tracks global heat records, shined a light on the new record. The Vietnam national weather service … Continued

EartherClimate Change

Greenland Is Now Losing Ice Six Times Faster Than It Was in 1980

We live in an era of accelerating climate change, and the Greenland ice sheet is Exhibit A. A rapid meltdown is occurring due to rising temperatures, and the rate of loss is quickening. A new paper published on Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences shows after decades of near equilibrium, Greenland … Continued

EartherClimate Change

These Teen Climate Activists Are the Only Good Thing About Earth Day

Confession: I hate Earth Day. The first handful of Earth Days in the 1970s helped galvanize support environmental policies, which is in part why we ended up with the Environmental Protection Agency and laws like the Clean Air Act. For that, I salute you, 1970s Earth Days. The modern version, like everything else good in … Continued

EartherConservation

Your Corpse Is Likely Getting All Kinds of Fun New Options in Washington State

Washington state may soon become the first in the country to allow its citizens to legally turn their bodies into compost after they die. State lawmakers passed a bill on Friday, titled “Concerning human remains,” which would create new legal alternatives to cremation and burial. The new options would be natural organic reduction and alkaline … Continued

EartherClimate Change

Turns Out, Meal Kits Might Not Suck for the Planet

For the past few years, I’ve watched the rising popularity of meal kits from companies like Blue Apron and HelloFresh with deepening skepticism. Stuffed with refrigerator packs and individually wrapped ingredients, festooned with farm-to-table marketing and recycling symbols, these conveniently packaged dinners seemed to epitomize corporate greenwashing. That can’t possibly be good for the planet, … Continued

EartherClimate Change

Striking Photos Capture the Unnatural Transformation of the Amazon Rainforest

There was this moment last year when I was sitting in the quietest place in the U.S. and a plane flew overhead, breaking the cocoon of natural sound. It was the sonic emulation of the world we’re creating, writ large. Humanity has crept into every nook and cranny of the planet, and now we’re being … Continued