EartherEarth Science

Dramatic Satellite Photos Show Historic Flooding Across Central U.S. in Wake of Bomb Cyclone

When last week’s bomb cyclone hit the Midwest, it was hard to imagine the inundation it could bring amid whiteout conditions and more than a foot of snow. But the warm weather that wrapped in behind it quickly melted out all that white stuff and unleashed historic flooding across parts of Nebraska, Iowa, South Dakota, … Continued

EartherEarth Science

‘Almost Everything Is Destroyed’: Cyclone Idai Leaves Mozambique’s Fourth-Largest City in Ruins

On March 15, a rare, giant cyclone made landfall in Mozambique before making its way west to Malawi and Zimbabwe. By Saturday, Cyclone Idai had dissipated, but not before causing widespread infrastructural damage throughout eastern Africa and claiming more than 200 lives, reports Al Jazeera. The Mozambican city of Beira, the fourth largest in the … Continued

EartherEarth Science

Massive Flooding Follows in Bomb Cyclone’s Wake, With Nebraska Floods Possibly Worst in 50 Years

Historic flooding has followed in the wake of the “bomb cyclone” that rammed into the central U.S. this week, with USA Today reporting that Nebraska experienced what may be the worst floods in half a century. Flooding has continued in swathes of Iowa, Missouri, and Nebraska, according to CNN. A bomb cyclone occurs when—as happened … Continued

EartherEnvironmental Justice

Here’s What New York’s Climate Strike Looked Like

NEW YORK, NEW YORK—Friday is the day the climate strike officially went global, and the day it found a new home in the U.S. There more than 400 events around the country, but the epicenter was New York where the movement found its first roots in the country. After walkouts across the city, students converged … Continued

EartherEarth Science

Indian Scientists Measure 1.3-Billion-Volt Thunderstorm, the Strongest on Record

Scientists in India observed the highest-voltage thunderstorm ever documented with the help of a subatomic particle you might not hear much about: the muon. The researchers operate the GRAPES-3 telescope, which measures muons, particles that are similar to electrons but heavier. Specifically, the Gamma Ray Astronomy at PeV EnergieS Phase-3 (GRAPES-3) muon telescope measures high-energy … Continued

EartherEnvironmental Justice

State Attorneys General Join the Fight to Protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

The first public comment period related to drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) is officially over, but the real effort to protect Alaska’s vast pristine space is only starting to heat up. A group of 16 state attorneys general submitted a 143-page document laying out all their concerns with the Bureau of Land Management’s … Continued

EartherEarth Science

Researchers Discover Antarctic Ice Shelf ‘Alive’ With Tiny Icequakes

For about six to 12 hours as the sun dips low on the horizon in the late spring and early summer, an Antarctic ice shelf comes alive. Tiny quakes rattle the ice by the hundreds of thousands—and their existence could help scientists track how glaciers are melting across the frozen continent. These quakes, documented in … Continued

EartherClimate Change

California Is Drought-Free For the First Time in Over Seven Years

For the first time since 2011, the entire state of California is free of drought. The U.S. Drought Monitor released new information on the state’s drought levels Thursday. The entire state is drought free, although “abnormally dry” conditions persist in nearly 7 percent of the state, per the Drought Monitor. That’s quite a shift from … Continued

EartherEnvironmental Justice

New Mexico Passes Landmark Clean Energy Bill, But Some Tribal Groups Feel Left Out

The clean energy revolution has arrived, and… it’s complicated. New Mexico is now the third state to adopt a 100 percent clean energy mandate, with the legislature passing a bill Tuesday mandating the state reach that goal by 2045. Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham is expected to sign the bill any day now. That doesn’t mean … Continued

EartherEnvironmental Justice

The Climate Strike Movement Has Officially Gone Global

On Friday, students around the world woke up knowing that sometime between math, English, biology or some other rote class, they would stand up and walk out. From the tiny island of Vanuatu to Europe to the U.S., the climate strike movement is officially a global phenomenon. Up to a million students in 123 countries … Continued

Earther

These Scientists Ground an iPhone to Dust to Figure Out What’s Inside

You probably don’t spend a lot of time pondering what your smartphone is made of. But maybe you should, because the average phone is a dizzyingly complex compendium of metals and minerals sourced from all over the Earth. Now, a team of scientists at the University of Plymouth is attempting to demystify the ingredient list, … Continued

EartherClimate Change

The Arctic Could Still Warm Over 15 Degrees This Century Even If We Meet the Paris Agreement Pledges [Updated]

A new report from the United Nations shows that it’s basically game over for the Arctic as we know it. According to the UN, meeting the existing Paris Agreement pledges—which do not get us to the two degree warming goal—would lead up to 5 degrees Celsius (9 degrees Fahrenheit) of winter warming over the Arctic … Continued

EartherEnvironmental Justice

16-Year-Old Climate Activist Greta Thunberg Has Been Nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize

In a remarkably short span, Greta Thunberg’s solitary climate strike in Sweden has become a global movement. For her efforts to shake the world out of its lazy reverie and quickly act on climate change, Thunberg has been nominated for this year’s Nobel Peace Prize. Thunberg’s school strike for climate change began in August last … Continued

EartherEarth Science

Historic Bomb Cyclone Hits Hard, With Extreme Snow, Rain, and Wind Reported Across Central U.S.

The massive, dangerous bomb cyclone that barreled into the central United States this week hit as hard as its name would imply on Wednesday, CNN reported, with law enforcement officials in some areas forced to take shelter instead of assisting motorists involved in collisions. This particular storm began far west, where moisture from the Pacific … Continued

EartherClimate Change

In Rare Move, Oil Giants Ask Trump to Regulate a Greenhouse Gas

Fossil fuel giants Shell and Exxon are far from perfect, but they are taking a stand against the Trump administration’s attempt to kill regulations on a potent greenhouse gas. This week, both companies criticized President Donald Trump’s deregulatory actions against methane, a potent greenhouse gas that can leak during oil and gas operations. Shell told … Continued

EartherEarth Science

A Rare Giant Cyclone Is Set to Make Landfall in Mozambique, Threatening Dangerous Floods

While the U.S. is under assault from a historic bomb cyclone, another freaky storm is spinning the southern hemisphere. Cyclone Idai strafed through Madagascar earlier this week and is now on track to make landfall in Mozambique on Thursday night with major impacts. Idai has had a bit of a wild ride. The storm began … Continued

EartherEarth Science

‘Self-Forming’ Waterfalls Could Change Our Understanding of Earth’s History

Scientists observed waterfalls forming simply through the movement of water downhill in a new laboratory study—a result that could complicate our understanding of Earth’s history. Waterfalls may be beautiful and awe inspiring, but they’re also windows into the past, signaling changes in sea level, tectonic activity, or climate change. But if waterfalls can form without … Continued

EartherEnvironmental Justice

‘Why Go to School When the World Is Burning?’ We Asked Students Why They’re Striking For Climate Change

The school climate strike movement that has roiled Europe and Australia for months on end is about to land on U.S. shores. A handful of climate strikers across the country have been building momentum for months, but students will be walking out of class on Friday across the U.S. to protest inaction on climate change. … Continued

EartherEnvironmental Justice

Interior Department Accused of Hiding Key Info on Impacts of Drilling in Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

There’s still a lot scientists don’t know about how the Trump Administration’s plan to drill for oil and gas in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) in Alaska would impact its delicate ecosystems. That much is clear from newly-released documents the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) wrote regarding the refuge, which one group alleges were … Continued

EartherEarth Science

The Central U.S. Is About to Get Hit With a Bomb Cyclone

The country’s midsection is about to be hit by a rare, potentially record setting bomb cyclone that will bring everything from rain to snow to hurricane-force winds and could leave severe flooding in its wake from Texas to Minnesota. So if you live in that area, listen up! The mayhem is already beginning as moisture … Continued