EartherEnvironmental Justice

Yet Another EPA Chief Is Probably a Climate Denier

One of the Environmental Protection Agency’s latest regional administrators is in line with the rest of its leadership: She’s a climate skeptic. Anne Idsal, the former chief clerk for the Texas General Land Office, is now in charge of overseeing five states and 66 tribes through the EPA’s Region 6. This includes Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, … Continued

EartherConservation

RIP Lil Snail

Beaverpond marstonia, we hardly knew ye. After years of a back and forth on whether to list the tiny freshwater snail as an endangered species, the Fish and Wildlife Service announced on Thursday that the species was functionally extinct. It’s the first species to go extinct in the U.S. under the Trump administration, a footnote … Continued

EartherEnvironmental Justice

Apparently the EPA Needs a Court Order to Protect Kids Against Lead Paint

The Environmental Protection Agency wanted another six years to update its lead-based paint rules. On Wednesday, a federal appeals court was like: Nah. The court gave the agency just 90 days to propose a rule and just a year to finalize it. This court order, from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, comes nearly 10 … Continued

EartherEnvironmental Justice

The Most Heroic Earthlings of 2017

This year has been one of the most heartbreaking for lovers of the planet. Climate change has never felt more real or invincible. Massive wildfires tore through California, record-breaking hurricanes ravaged the Southeast and Caribbean, and our president didn’t seem to care about any of it. Who needs President Donald Trump, though? Around the country, … Continued

EartherEarth Science

Why the Eastern US Will Be Bone Chillingly Cold Through New Year’s

It brings me no pleasure to report this, but it’s cold, folks. Really cold. If you’d like to prove it to yourself, make ice bubbles (trust me, it has to be really cold to do this): Or you can throw boiling water into the air to make snow (it’s also gotta be super cold for … Continued

Earther

These Newly Named Species Are the Only Good Things From 2017

You lose some, and you find some. That’s pretty much the name of the game when it comes to biodiversity, although these days the odds are stacked heavily towards the losses—even as millions of species are yet to be officially discovered and added to the scientific archives. But it can be heartening to remember that … Continued

Earther

Nearly 200 Activists Were Killed Defending the Environment This Year

In certain countries, attempting to protect the environment can be a death sentence. Take Brazil, where at least 132 “environmental defenders” have been killed since 2015. This year has seen the deaths of 185 environmental defenders worldwide, according to The Guardian. The Guardian’s been trying to track all these deaths for the first time this … Continued

Earther

The Cities of the Future Could Be Built From Mushrooms

Nearly everything about the small block says “wood”: its texture, appearance, sturdiness, and color are like an especially high-quality piece of particle board. But it’s just a bit too dense for wood, which gives it away. The block is made of straw bound together by mycelium, the root-like tendrils of mushrooms. While many types of … Continued

EartherEnvironmental Justice

The Biggest Environmental Setbacks of 2017

America’s environmental movement is having an Empire Strikes Back moment. From reneging on climate change leadership to rolling back regulations and opening up America’s public lands for business, the Trump administration has been almost shockingly effective at one thing this past year, and it’s hacking decades of environmental progress to bits. Let’s have a look. … Continued

Earther

It’s Ridiculously Dry In California Right Now

Last winter may have been one of the wettest in California’s history, but you wouldn’t know it today. Especially not if you’re in Southern California, where it hasn’t really rained since October. Los Angeles and San Diego have both seen less than 1 percent of their normal rainfall since the start of the water year, … Continued

Earther

New York Just Sued Trump’s EPA Again

It seems New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman won’t stop filing lawsuits against the Environmental Protection Agency until it starts, well, protecting the environment. He filed another lawsuit Tuesday—which is one of more than 100 actions his office has taken against the administration (with at least 10 against the EPA) under President Donald Trump. This … Continued

EartherConservation

Trump Attacks Law Protecting Millions of Birds From Accidental Slaughter

On Friday, the Trump administration put its stamp of disapproval on yet another environmental regulation, by reversing an Obama-era rule and deciding that energy companies and other businesses will no longer be criminally prosecuted for accidentally killing migratory birds. A century ago, Congress created the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) to stem the mass killing … Continued

Earther

Why a Small City in Pennsylvania Just Shattered a Snowfall Record

The Great Lakes region is sending the year out with a bang. Wave after wave of lake effect snow has pummeled the region, making for a record-setting white Christmas and a shoveling project that could take until New Year’s Eve to complete. Erie, PA, is under a snow emergency after 53 inches of snow fell … Continued

Earther

Jellyfish Are the Badass Deep Sea Predators You Never Saw Coming

The deep ocean may be Earth’s largest ecosystem, but for obvious reasons it’s difficult to figure out what’s happening down there. A team of researchers is now shedding some light on the question of who eats whom in the deep, by examining decades of footage collected by robots off the central California coast. The surprising … Continued

Earther

The Clean Air Act Is a Bigger Lifesaver Than We Thought

The Environmental Protection Agency wasn’t always home to climate deniers and industry goons focused more on cutting regulations than protecting humans. In fact, the agency might have saved more lives than even it previously estimated. In a paper published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers at MIT found that the … Continued

Earther

Our Favorite Earth Images NASA Dropped in 2017

I’m not saying we’d be blind to the beauty of our planet without NASA, but damn would we be missing out. Every year, the space agency’s satellites, planes, climate models, and astronauts produce some of the most jaw-dropping images of Earth. This year was no exception. From Antarctica to Libya to Tonga, NASA brought the … Continued

Earther

A New Species of Giant Octopus Has Been Hiding in Plain Sight

You wouldn’t think a giant octopus could hide in plain sight for decades. But researchers have now learned that the giant Pacific octopus (GPO)—the largest known octopus on Earth, ranging from California to Alaska to Japan—is actually two species. Now that we’ve been properly introduced to the new “frilled giant octopus,” we’ll need to learn … Continued

Earther

A New Climate Change Museum Brings Glaciers to New York

When Miranda Massie ditched being an attorney to launch a museum, climate change had everything to do with it. Five years ago, the thought was aspirational. Now, the Climate Museum is official—its first exhibition opened December 20 in New York City. The two-part installation, called “In Human Time,” takes a look at the state of … Continued

Earther

The Inside Story of Miami’s New Climate Tax

If Miami is still around in 100 years, its residents should probably be thanking outgoing mayor Tomas Regalado’s barista, who also happens to be his son. Last month, voters approved the Miami Forever bond, a $400 million debt issue proposed in the last year of Tomas’ Regalado’s second term as Miami mayor. The bond will … Continued

EartherClimate Change

California’s Thomas Fire Is Now the Largest Wildfire in Official State History

Southern California’s Thomas fire is now officially the largest in modern state history, Cal Fire announced late Friday night, after surpassing the 273,000-plus acre Cedar fire from 2003. Per CNN, Cal Fire says the blaze has now burned through some 1,063 buildings and is just 65 percent contained weeks after starting on December 4th. It … Continued