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EartherClimate Change
America Could Spend $400 Billion on a Wall to Hold Back the Rising Seas—and It Might Not Be Enough
At the end of the day, everything about climate change is a choice. And among the most serious choices are the ones we’ll face are along our coasts. A new report and interactive website released on Thursday by the Center for Climate Integrity lays out some the stakes for increasingly inundated coastal communities. The group’s … Continued
By Brian Kahn -
EartherConservation
Song of the Rarest Large Whale on Earth Recorded for the First Time
For the first time ever, scientists have recorded the song of a right whale. And not just any right whale, but the rarest of them all. A team with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) first heard the song of the North Pacific right whale in 2009, but they weren’t able to visually confirm … Continued
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EartherClimate Change
Cold War Spy Satellite Reveals Just How Fast the Himalayas Are Losing Ice
During the Cold War, spy satellites were constantly circling the Earth. But while the intent of those satellites is generally to track human activities, the imagery they captured has also proved to be a trove of scientific data. The latest use of Cold War imagery has revealed a huge acceleration in Himalayan ice loss. The … Continued
By Brian Kahn -
EartherEnvironmental Justice
Trump’s Replacement to Obama’s Clean Power Plan Is Just as Bad as We Thought It’d Be
It’s official: The Clean Power Plan is out. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Andrew Wheeler announced Wednesday the agency’s final replacement for the Obama-era rule, which aimed to reduce carbon emissions from the energy sector to combat climate change. Trump may deny the existence of climate change, but he couldn’t outright repeal the rule without a … Continued
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EartherClimate Change
Canada’s Climate Emergency Declaration Is Just Empty Words
On Monday, Canada’s Liberal Party voted en masse to declare a climate emergency in the House of Commons. Then on Tuesday, the Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau approved the Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion that, when completed, will pump 590,000 barrels of highly-polluting tar sands oil from Alberta to British Columbia. Producing and processing the tar … Continued
By Brian Kahn -
EartherExtreme Weather
Why Is It Raining so Much This Year?
The atmosphere has been heaving rain at the eastern U.S. like kids lob water balloons at a water fight. The never-ending barrage of rain has left the Midwest flooded, the Gulf of Mexico primed for a huge dead zone, and New Yorkers who walk everywhere stuck with perennially soggy shoes. And the rain won’t stop … Continued
By Brian Kahn -
EartherEnergy
US Solar Power Is Booming This Year Despite Trump’s Tariffs
Clean energy is on the up and up again, and the U.S. solar industry is benefiting as a result. Despite a drop in solar installations last year, this year is expected to see installations increase, according to a new report. Published Tuesday, the report from the Solar Energy Industries Association and Wood Mackenzie Power & … Continued
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EartherEarth Science
Boaty McBoatface Just Helped Solve a Deep-Sea Mystery
The internet was a purer place in 2016, and there’s no more perfect distillation of that truth than the spontaneous, crowdsourced effort to name a £200 million state-of-the-art research vessel Boaty McBoatface. The British government eventually decided to go with the more stately RRS Sir David Attenborough, but it offered the public an olive branch … Continued
By Brian Kahn -
EartherEnvironmental Justice
Noise Pollution Could Be Setting Students of Color Up to Fail
When kids are in school, they need a fair amount of peace and quiet to succeed. Literally. Noise is a health hazard, according to the World Health Organization. And a recent study shows how students of color are more likely to face high exposure to road or aviation noise while in school. Published in the … Continued
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EartherClimate Change
This Striking Climate Change Visualization Is Now Customizable for Any Place on Earth
When University of Reading climate scientist Ed Hawkins released his warming stripes visualization for the globe last year, people freaked (in a good way). The minimalist graphic stripped out unnecessary clutter and told the story of global warming in blue and red stripes. On Monday, Hawkins released a new website that allows users to create … Continued
By Brian Kahn -
EartherConservation
Tree Believed to Have Inspired Dr. Seuss’s The Lorax Has Died
Theodor Geisel (aka Dr. Seuss) once wrote his popular children’s books atop Mount Soledad in San Diego, California. From there, he could see a single Monterey Cypress tree that sat within Ellen Browning Scripps Park in La Jolla, California. That tree is thought to have helped inspire The Lorax. Now, that tree is dead. The fallen … Continued
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Earther
That Study About the Health Benefits of Nature Comes With an Important Caveat
On Thursday, a new study in Scientific Reports found just two hours a week spent in nature can help improve a person’s health and well-being. The widely-reported findings reinforce what many instinctively know: nature can be rejuvenating. But a less-publicized aspect of the study is the finding that not everyone experiences nature the same way … Continued
By Brian Kahn -
EartherEarth Science
Seals With Sensors Help Solve the Mystery of Antarctica’s Giant Sea Ice Hole
Scientists studying the vast, remote waters encircling Antarctica frequently enlist the help of elephant seals, sticking sensors on their heads that collect data on temperature and salinity. Now, these flippered field assistants, along with robotic floats that collect similar intel, have been conscripted to help solve an icy mystery. For the past few years, researchers … Continued
By Maddie Stone -
EartherEnvironmental Justice
Why Did Michigan Just Drop All Charges in the Flint Water Crisis?
The people of Flint, Michigan, deserve justice. More than five years ago, the city switched its water source and exposed nearly 100,000 residents to lead-tainted drinking water. Yet the state has failed to hold anyone accountable for this event, and now the Department of Attorney General is dropping all charges related to the investigation—including an … Continued
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EartherClimate Change
Half of Greenland’s Surface Started Melting This Week, Which Is Not Normal
A major warm spell has caused nearly half the surface of the Greenland ice sheet to start melting, something that’s highly unusual for this time of year. And while this spike may pass, the gears could already be in motion for record-setting melt on the ice sheet’s western flank. Greenland has been scorching (by Greenland … Continued
By Brian Kahn -
EartherExtreme Weather
Scientists Just Installed the World’s Highest Weather Station in Mount Everest’s ‘Death Zone’
Scientists announced on Thursday that they successfully installed five automated stations, including the highest weather station in world, on Mount Everest’s flank. At 27,658 feet (8,430 meters) above sea level, the station is set to record some of the harshest weather anywhere on Earth. And with a satellite connection, anyone can monitor the weather in … Continued
By Brian Kahn -
EartherConservation
Dozens of Endangered Seals Are Washing Up Dead Around Alaska and Scientists Aren’t Sure Why
Seals are dying in Alaska, and no one knows why. At least 60 seals—including bearded, ringed, and spotted seals—have recently washed up dead along Alaska’s Bering and Chukchi sea coastlines, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Carcasses of the seals, all protected under the Endangered Species Act, first began appearing in the … Continued
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EartherClimate Change
Groundbreaking Report Gives Us a Glimpse of the US Military’s Gigantic Carbon Footprint
There are a lot of superlatives that can be used to describe the U.S. military. It represents the biggest chunk of the federal budget. It’s extremely good at killing people. And it’s also a prolific carbon emitter and serial oil user. A new report from Brown’s Watson Institute examines the Pentagon’s day-to-day carbon footprint, oil … Continued
By Brian Kahn -
Earther
Finally, a Climate Change Documentary That Will Get You Excited to Fix It
Whether the audience is policy wonks, nature lovers, or environmental activists, documentaries on climate change still feel like a niche thing in 2019. Which is what makes Ice on Fire, the climate documentary co-produced and narrated by Leonardo DiCaprio that debuted Tuesday night on HBO, so refreshing. This isn’t a film for die-hard vegans or … Continued
By Maddie Stone -
EartherEarth Science
Study Finds Lakes Are Still Filled With DDT 50 Years After It Was Banned
The lakes of New Brunswick, Canada, carry a toxic legacy. Researchers have found traces of the pesticide DDT in sediments of five of its remote lakes, more than 50 years after the government stopped administered the chemical to fight outbreaks of the nasty spruce budworm. This is the same infamous chemical that inspired acclaimed environmentalist … Continued