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EartherClimate Change
UK Government Gives ‘Climate Champion’ Award to Executive at Massive Canadian Oil Company
“Climate champion” and producing more than 10 million barrels of tar sands oil a year are not exactly synonymous in most people’s minds. But that’s the exact title the British government decided to bestow on an executive at one of the most powerful oil companies in Canada. To mark six months until the major climate … Continued
By Molly Taft -
EartherEnergy
A Nasty Pipeline Showdown Is Brewing Today in Michigan, and Canada Is Pissed
Seizing the profits of a major oil company, making Canadians angry, tugboats causing havoc: It’s all happening in Michigan right now. The mandated shutdown of a major oil pipeline is brewing into a nasty fight that pits Michigan’s governor and environmental groups against a fossil fuel company—as well as the country of Canada. At issue … Continued
By Molly Taft -
EartherEnergy
Utility-Funded Propaganda Book for Kids Calls Natural Gas an ‘Invisible Friend’
The fossil fuel industry has dug its claws in deep into the American education system. So, too, have utilities. Kids in Massachusetts received propaganda from a local utility extolling the virtues of natural gas. On Twitter last week, Cambridge, Massachusetts resident Gleb Bahmutov shared photos of two different booklets he said his son brought home … Continued
By Molly Taft -
EartherEnergy
The U.S. Has Ignored Pipeline Cybersecurity and Now You’re Paying the Price
It’s been four days since the Colonial pipeline, a major gasoline artery in the U.S., shut down following a ransomware attack—and Americans are starting to feel the impacts. As the federal government scrambles to figure out how to transport gasoline across the country and shortages are beginning to hit gas stations in some states. It’s … Continued
By Molly Taft -
EartherEnergy
The U.S. Is Scrambling to Transport Gasoline After Colonial Pipeline Hack
In an attempt to stave off a potential gasoline shortage and price spike on the East Coast, the Biden administration has issued an order allowing some truck drivers transporting gasoline to work overtime. The move follows the shutdown of one of the nation’s most crucial pipelines after it was hit by one of the biggest … Continued
By Molly Taft -
EartherEnergy
Minnesota Republicans Hold State Parks, Museums, Zoos Hostage Over EV Fight
In Minnesota, a fight is playing out over electric vehicles. It got so heated this week that Republican lawmakers threatened to not pass a budget that would allow parks, zoos, and museums—you know, largely outdoor places people can congregate safely if not vaccinated or live their best post-pandemic lives—to open this summer. At issue is … Continued
By Molly Taft -
EartherClimate Change
A Giant Sequoia Is Still Burning From Last Summer’s California Wildfires
In some parts of California, the fires from last year never stopped. The National Park Service said this week it found a giant sequoia tree still burning from last year’s wildfire season, which was the worst on record in the state. The smoldering sequoia was found in a remote section of the Sequoia National Park, … Continued
By Molly Taft -
EartherEnergy
Natural Gas Is Now More Deadly Than Coal in 19 States
Unhealthy air pollution generally brings to mind coal-fired plants spewing black soot from a smokestack. But that image may quickly be becoming outdated. A study published on Wednesday in Environmental Research Letters found that using natural gas and biomass in sources like buildings and industrial boilers actually caused more deaths in 19 states as a … Continued
By Molly Taft -
EartherClimate Change
If the Paris Agreement Fails, Sea Levels Could Rise 33 Feet
If we keep on the path we’re on, Antarctica might be really, truly toast. A new study shows that the continent might hit a tipping point within this century if we don’t keep warming in check, and we might be in for dozens of feat of sea level rise as a result. The study, published … Continued
By Molly Taft -
EartherEnergy
Leaked Slides Show the Gas Industry Is Freaking Out
At the end of April, the Twitter account for Eversource, the biggest utility in New England, posted an upbeat video on the utility’s clean energy goals full of rich stock footage of windmills and solar panels and set to a rousing gospel-style song. “We’re building a #cleanenergy future by investing in offshore wind, solar, battery … Continued
By Molly Taft -
EartherEnergy
The Weird, Unholy Alliance of Tucker Carlson and Environmentalists
Tucker Carlson has used his platform to, among other things, undermine climate science and lie about renewable energy. Yet last week, he put out an impassioned plea to save the Maine woods, claiming that “real environmentalists” should oppose a power line connecting Quebec hydropower to the U.S. Bizarrely, he and the Sierra Club are on … Continued
By Molly Taft -
EartherClimate Change
Siberia Is on Fire—and It’s Only May
It looks like wildfires in Siberia are starting up again—and some fires that never went out after last summer are starting to poke their heads out of the snow. Very normal and cool! Last week, authorities put Novobirsk’s 1.7 million residents under what’s known as a “black sky” air quality warning as smoke from nearby … Continued
By Molly Taft -
EartherClimate Change
Climate Youth Win Landmark Victory in Germany’s Top Court
In a crucial ruling, a high court in Germany has agreed with young activists that the country’s climate law is unconstitutional because it puts too much of the burden of solving climate change on future generations. Judges in the Karlsruhe court, the highest court in the country, ordered the government to update its climate law … Continued
By Molly Taft -
EartherClimate Change
Antarctica’s Springy Bedrock Could Make Sea Level Rise Even Worse
Look out world—the ice sheet is coming. New research says that the total collapse of a crucial ice sheet in Antarctica could mean that sea levels would rise an additional 30% more than scientists currently predict. The study, published Friday in Science Advances, deals with how the melting ice on the West Antarctic ice sheet … Continued
By Molly Taft -
EartherClimate Change
California’s Carbon Offset Program Is a Complete Disaster
As businesses in California race to tamp down their emissions by buying carbon offsets, some serious math errors in the program may mean more carbon dioxide—not less—is being added to the atmosphere. On Thursday, ProPublica and MIT Technology Review published an investigation into forest offset programs in California, based on an analysis created by CarbonPlan, … Continued
By Molly Taft -
Earther
Murder Cover-Up: Man Allegedly Set Deadly Wildfire to Hide His Crime
A fire that raged outside of San Francisco last summer was allegedly set to cover up a murder—and became part of the largest wildfire season on record in California as well as one of the deadliest. Officials in California said Wednesday that 29-year-old Victor Serriteno allegedlyset a fire in August in Solano County to cover … Continued
By Molly Taft -
EartherClimate Change
‘We Need a Tesla for the Cow’: The Wild, Dubious Plan to Feed Cows Seaweed
Imagine a perfect burger: juicy, grilled to perfection … and, somehow devoid of the guilt of methane emissions wrecking our planet. Scientists and food companies in recent years have said it’s possible to engineer more climate-friendly beef, and a growing number of headlines that claim that feeding cows seaweed could be a silver bullet to … Continued
By Molly Taft -
EartherEnergy
New Technique Could Turn Plastic Back Into Oil, Which Is … Something
There is way too much plastic in the world—and we’re making more every day, even as we struggle to find a way to get rid of the old stuff. A new study poses an interesting solution: Melting plastic bags and bottles back into the oil it was originally made from. The new research, published Wednesday … Continued
By Molly Taft -
EartherClimate Change
Trump’s Unfinished Border Wall Could Worsen Texas Flooding
Former President Donald Trump’s border wall loomed large in American consciousness throughout his campaign and presidency—and wreaked a path of ecological destruction as he raced to fulfill his promise to build it. And while President Joe Biden has halted construction on the wall, what has been built (or more accurately, what hasn’t) is putting communities … Continued
By Molly Taft -
EartherClimate Change
420 Blaze It (The Planet)
We finally did it—we’ve hit 420! Parts per million, that is. Not to harsh your mellow on today of all days, but there’s more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere now than in any other point in recorded history. Earlier this month, scientists at Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii took a measurement of more than 421.21 … Continued
By Molly Taft