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Earther
Air Pollution Could be Affecting Your Brain Health
A new body of research is taking a closer look at how breathing dirty air can potentially impact mental health, with preliminary findings linking elevated air pollution with higher psychological distress. A study published in the November issue of Health and Place looks at the potential effects of particulate matter (PM), which is made up … Continued
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Earther
Urbanization Is Now One of the Most Dominant Forces of Evolution
When humans settled into larger villages and towns some 12,000 years ago along with the advance of agriculture, wildlife took advantage. Those species “preadapted” to survive in early cities, including mice and rats, grabbed onto the coattails of modern civilization and haven’t looked back since. Now they pretty much depend on the underbelly of human … Continued
By Ari Phillips -
Earther
This Timelapse of the Night Sky Over Old West Ghost Towns Will Leave You Misty Eyed
There’s an existential beauty in the fact that everything on this Earth will eventually fall into decay; that our vibrant world is littered with the abandoned husks of past life, past ecosystems, and past civilizations. Even relics that speak to humanity’s exploitation of the natural world can take on a quiet elegance with the passage … Continued
By Maddie Stone -
Earther
The Trump Administration Versus the Climate Change Report It Just Published
On Friday, the Trump administration published a new report on climate change. Clocking in at 470 pages, it’s a definitive synthesis of the latest in climate science that’s been written and peer-reviewed by hundreds of scientists and even the general public. The report will underpin the National Climate Assessment, the fourth installment in a running … Continued
By Brian Kahn -
Earther
It Looks Like We’re Actually Fixing This Ozone Hole Thing
The huge gouge in the stratosphere created by years of Aqua Net hair spray and air conditioner use—also known as the ozone hole—appears to be continuing its healing process. On Thursday, NASA scientists announced the ozone hole saw it smallest peak since the world decided to do something about it in 1989. Good job, everyone. … Continued
By Brian Kahn -
EartherEnvironmental Justice
Nuns Stand With Native Alaskans to Oppose Drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
If you don’t often associate nuns with environmental activism, you probably haven’t met the Sisters of Mercy. The Roman Catholic women’s organization strives to “act in harmony and interdependence with all of creation” by advocating action on climate change and standing in solidarity with pipeline protestors. This week, the Sisters reaffirmed their commitment to protecting … Continued
By Maddie Stone -
Earther
Tribes Prepare to Fight Trump’s Plan to Shrink a Sacred Monument in Utah
The Bears Ears National Monument tracks 1.35 million acres across Utah’s vast and rocky landscape. It’s a sacred place for nearby tribal communities like the Navajo Nation or Hopi Tribe. Many originated on this land. President Donald Trump and Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke have been committed, however, to, at minimum, reducing the monument’s size and, … Continued
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Earther
A Drought You Probably Haven’t Heard About Is Forcing Water Rationing in South Africa
A disaster is unfolding in Cape Town. Three years in a row of severe drought have left the second-most populous city in South Africa preparing for heavy water rationing and the equivalent of rolling blackouts for water. “All water must be conserved now, including non-drinking water from boreholes and other sources,” Richard Bosman, the executive … Continued
By Brian Kahn -
Earther
Sweden Continues to Troll Trump on Climate Change
A former U.S. Department of Interior official will be attending the United Nations climate conference in Germany next week on the Swedish dime. He won’t be representing the U.S. government, but he will be representing our country’s best interests—namely, speaking out about the Trump administration’s “war on science.” Joel Clement was director of the Office … Continued
By Ari Phillips -
Earther
Lawsuit Out of East Chicago Reminds Us America’s Lead Crisis Isn’t Over
In East Chicago, Indiana, lead is seemingly everywhere: in the soil, in the water, even in the dust in people’s homes. That’s because the community is sitting within the USS Lead Superfund site. Nearby, companies used to spew lead and arsenic into the air up until 1985. Now, 38 households in the Calumet neighborhood are … Continued
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Earther
There’s a Damn Good Chance Your Neighbor Thinks Chemtrails Are Real
Chemtrails are not real, but that hasn’t stopped an increasing number of Americans from thinking they are. Research by Harvard scientists published in Palgrave Communications on Tuesday shows that a shocking number of people believe the batshit theory that the government is secretly spraying chemicals in the sky to control the weather or our minds … Continued
By Brian Kahn -
EartherEarth Science
Greenland’s Bedrock Is Unexpectedly Deep, Which Is Really Bad for Ice Melt
It’s well known that Greenland contains a ton of frozen water—enough to raise sea levels by nearly 25 feet were it all to melt. Unfortunately, new research suggests melting may occur faster than we thought as the Earth warms, because of how Greenland’s glaciers are anchored to bedrock. A study published this week in Geophysical … Continued
By Maddie Stone -
Earther
Extreme Athletes Are Braving the Harshest Environments on Earth For Science
When Ricky Jones and Zach Altman tried to collect water from their assigned section of the Gallatin River last December, they were the only team to return empty-handed. They’d cross-country skied through three or four feet of snow in Yellowstone National Park, but when they arrived at the river, they couldn’t break through its layers … Continued
Melody Schreiber -
Earther
Tribes Accuse Salmon Farms of ‘Playing Biological Roulette’ With Their Way of Life
Open-water fish pens in the traditional territories of British Columbia’s First Nations are threatening wild salmon. And if the salmon disappear, so will a 10,000-year-old way of life. “We are facing extinction,” Ernest Alfred, traditional leader of the ‘Namgis, Tlowitsis and Mamalilikulla First Nations in British Columbia, Canada, told Earther. Fish farms, which have been … Continued
Renee Lewis -
Earther
Scientists Just Found Another Vulnerability in Antarctica’s Icy Armor
It’s becoming increasingly clear that no place on Earth is safe from the influence of carbon pollution, and East Antarctica is no exception. Research published on Wednesday in Science Advances is the latest troubling sign to emerge for the region, showing that natural processes that cause melt could accelerate due to climate change. It’s just … Continued
By Brian Kahn -
Earther
Trump’s NASA Pick Says Human-Caused Climate Change Depends ‘On a Whole Lot of Factors’
The White House’s effort to head every science-adjacent agency with science skeptics continued apace today, when the Senate held a confirmation hearing for Jim Bridenstine (R-OK), Trump’s pick to lead NASA. You’ll be shocked to learn that his views on climate change do not exactly comport with the overwhelming scientific consensus on the issue. NASA … Continued
By Maddie Stone -
EartherConservation
Tropical Protected Areas Are Keeping a Huge Amount of Carbon Out of the Air
Tropical protected areas aren’t just havens for wildlife. They’re playing a major, and majorly under-appreciated role in mitigating climate change. A new study estimates that on a global scale, tropical protected areas reduced carbon emissions associated with deforestation by nearly 5 billion tons, or 30%, between 2000 and 2012. That’s about half as much carbon … Continued
By Maddie Stone -
EartherEnvironmental Justice
Maria Dredges Up Painful Memories for NYC Puerto Ricans Who Lived Through Sandy
Rain pitter-pattered outside her window on October 28, 2012, but Maria Quiñones wasn’t fazed. She was busy cooking for her mother’s 75th birthday. Typical Puerto Rican dishes were on the menu: jamon, arroz con garbanzos, potato salad, and ribs. Quiñones and her family will never forget that day. Just 24 hours later, Hurricane Sandy swept into … Continued
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Earther
Pipeline Protest Pumpkins Send a Halloween Message to Louisiana’s Governor
It’s Halloween, but some environmentalists can’t take a break. In Louisiana, opponents to the proposed 163-mile long Bayou Bridge Pipeline headed to the Capitol today. And they brought pumpkins. Roughly 20 people went to demand Gov. John Bel Edwards require an environmental impact statement for the proposed crude oil pipeline, Cherri Foytlin, state director of … Continued
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EartherEnvironmental Policy
The EPA’s Science Advisory Board Will Now Be Stocked By Industry Shills
The head of the Environmental Protection Agency announced today that the best scientists in the country won’t be able to advise the agency on environmental science. Rumors of the announcement had been swirling for months after the EPA canned most of its science advisory board members. Scott Pruitt made it official on Tuesday by signing … Continued
By Brian Kahn