EartherEnvironmental Justice

Trump’s ‘Unprecedented’ Plan to Restart the Keystone XL Pipeline May Be Illegal

President Donald Trump ratcheted up the drama over the Keystone XL Pipeline Friday when he issued a presidential memorandum to push the oil pipeline through despite a recent court ruling against it. And opponents plan on taking him back to court over it. After all, his action could set a new precedent for presidential power … Continued

EartherClimate Change

New York’s Plan to Make Manhattan Drivers Pay Extra Is a Big Deal for People and the Planet

The next best thing to banning cars is crafting policies that factor in the toll they take on society. And that’s exactly what New York has now done. After toying with the idea for more than a decade, on Sunday the state legislature passed a budget that would implement congestion pricing, making New York the … Continued

EartherEnergy

Judge Rules Trump Plans to Open Up Swathes of Arctic, Atlantic Oceans for Drilling Illegal

In a major blow to the Donald Trump administration’s oil and gas policy, on Friday a federal judge ruled the president’s order opening massive swathes of the Arctic and Atlantic oceans to oil and gas drilling operations illegal, the Washington Post reported. According to the Post, U.S. District Judge Sharon Gleason’s decision impacts around 98 … Continued

Earther

America’s Government Scientists Are Eyeing a Future in Politics

PHILADELPHIA—As the Trump administration continues to attack science, scientists continue to push back, whether by joining rallies and strikes or running for office. In the next election cycle, the ranks of those choosing the latter route may include more federal government scientists, a group that has traditionally preferred to remain out of the spotlight. That, … Continued

EartherEnvironmental Justice

Embattled Louisiana Oil Pipeline Is Complete, But the Fight Isn’t Over

In Louisiana, the controversial Bayou Bridge Pipeline is finally complete. This Monday, it’s set to start transporting up to 480,000 barrels of oil a day between Nederland, Texas, and St. James, Louisiana. That doesn’t mean that its opponents are going to stop challenging this pipeline—and others like it—any time soon. Owned by Energy Transfer Partners … Continued

EartherEarth Science

Scientists Find Fossilized Fish That May Have Been Blasted by Debris From Asteroid That Ended the Dinosaur Age

At one of the most important ancient graveyards on Earth in North Dakota, paleontologists unearthed the fossilized remains of fish seemingly killed by the effects of the asteroid that ended the Cretaceous. We know that a large asteroid struck the Earth 66 million years ago, and around the same time, the dinosaurs went extinct. We’re … Continued

EartherClimate Change

Giant Space Mirrors, Engineered Glaciers: Presidential Candidate Andrew Yang Shares His Wildest Plans For Fighting Climate Change

Among presidential candidates, Andrew Yang is perhaps the most quixotic. His radical plan universal basic income plan, which offers $1,000 per month to Americans has garnered the most attention. But his platform also includes an equally radical climate plan: Hacking the Earth to save humanity. In addition to more traditional calls for cutting carbon emissions, … Continued

EartherConservation

Why the U.S. Government Just Dropped 10,000 Dead Christmas Trees in a New Orleans Wildlife Refuge

In an annual tradition stretching back more than two decades, on Thursday the National Guard and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service teamed up to drop nearly 10,000 spent Christmas trees into a New Orleans wildlife refuge. Apparently, it’s all for the good of the ecosystem. The “Christmas Tree Drop” may sound like some kind … Continued

EartherClimate Change

UK Labour Party Declares National Climate Emergency in Likely Political First

UK politics is more than a seemingly endless Brexit slog. On Thursday, for instance, the Labour Party declared a climate emergency. It likely marks the first major party declaring a climate emergency at the national level anywhere in the world, in yet another sign that climate politics are rapidly shifting. Sue Hayman, a member of … Continued

EartherConservation

Alarming Study Concludes Frogs Are Undergoing a ‘Catastrophic’ Global Die Off 

Scientists aren’t known for being alarmists. And that’s exactly what makes a new study released Thursday on amphibians so, well, alarming. The paper, published in Science, chronicles a “catastrophic and ongoing loss” of amphibians around the world. In the paper’s self-described “conservative” estimate, 501 frog and other amphibian species have been ravaged by chytridiomycosis, a … Continued

EartherEnvironmental Justice

Seven Midwestern Superfund Sites Have Dealt With Flooding Since the Bomb Cyclone, But EPA Says Everything’s Fine

The tragic situation in the Midwest continues to unfold more than two weeks after a bomb cyclone brought in snow that eventually melted, triggering floods that destroyed farms and threatened tribal communities. The latest areas under scrutiny are Superfund sites, whose toxic pollutants can be spread far and wide by floodwaters. Currently on the radar … Continued

Earther

Monsanto Loses Roundup Cancer Trial to the Tune of $80 Million

A federal jury in California has awarded $80 million to a man who said Monsanto herbicide Roundup was a “substantial factor” in him developing non-Hodgkin lymphoma, CNN reported on Wednesday. It’s a major blow to the chemical manufacturer and its parent company, German chemical giant Bayer AG, which are facing hundreds of lawsuits related to … Continued

EartherEarth Science

How Historic Flooding in the Midwest Could Fuel the Gulf of Mexico ‘Dead Zone’

The byzantine networks of rivers and streams that drain the Midwest is facing a flooding crisis of historic proportions. The multibillion disaster centered in Nebraska will spread this spring, with above average rainfall expected to cause floods to impact some 200 million Americans living near rivers. And it won’t necessarily end once it reaches the … Continued

Earther

Ridding Landscapes of Deadly Mines Could Have a Toxic Side Effect

Land mines are notorious for leaving a legacy of ongoing destruction from Southeast Asia to Africa, taking the lives and limbs of civilians decades after the wars and hostilities that brought them in the first place. As detonation is one of the main strategies for removal, clearing mines can be expensive and dangerous for people. … Continued

Earther

How Technology and Climate Change Are Transforming America’s Wildest Dog Sled Race

The Iditarod is at a crossroads. The thousand-mile sled dog race through Alaska is bound as much by tradition as by the rigging between dog-sledders, or mushers, and their dog teams, who must lead each other through some of North America’s wildest land. It’s the sort of tradition one would expect to fade into legend, … Continued

EartherClimate Change

Green New Deal Voted Down in Senate After Some Real Bullshit

If you needed more confirmation that we live in hell, look no further than Tuesday’s Green New Deal vote in the Senate. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell introduced the first comprehensive climate legislation for a floor vote in the Senate in more than a decade. The move was as a cynical ploy to ensure climate policy … Continued

EartherEarth Science

Flash Floods Kill Over a Dozen, Cause Horrific Destruction During Iranian New Year Celebrations

The grim news of fatal floods doesn’t end. In Iran, where people have been celebrating the start of their new year called Nowruz, flash floods have killed at least 24 people and injured over a hundred, according to the New York Times. According to local news, at least 19 died in the city of Shiraz … Continued

EartherConservation

Supreme Court Tells Alaskan Moose Hunter He Can ‘Rev up His Hovercraft’

Supreme Court decisions can yield fascinating insights into the lives of Americans and the things we value. On Tuesday, one of those decisions did just that with a lesson on hunting in Alaska and federal land use. The nation’s highest court ruled that John Sturgeon, an Alaskan hunter, could cruise through the backcountry of Yukon-Charley … Continued

Earther

Greenland’s Most Imperiled Glacier Has Stopped Retreating—for Now

When scientists talk about Greenland losing ice, they are talking, in no small part, about Jakobshavn glacier. A frozen river that drains roughly 7 percent of the Greenland Ice Sheet along the west coast, Jakobshavn has been thinning and retreating in a dramatic fashion for about 20 years, and is the single largest contribution to … Continued

EartherConservation

Rare Bird Chicks From Ancient Lineage Hatched in Australian Zoo

In the northern plains of southeastern Australia, bird enthusiasts can spot a chubby little guy with brown feathers and a black-and-white speckled neck and breast wandering around—if they’re very lucky. The critically endangered plains-wanderer is endemic to the continent, but loss of habitat has reduced its numbers to less than a thousand. “To lose such … Continued