Category: Science
Postcard from Thermal: surviving the climate gap in Eastern Coachella Valley
In the climate crisis, it’s possible to live in the same place but inhabit different worlds. by Elizabeth Weil and Mauricio Rodríguez Pons, ProPublica August 19, 2021 The first thing to know about Thermal, California,…
EPA bans all food uses of neurotoxic pesticide Chlorpyrifos
‘Long overdue’ “Finally, our fields are made safer for farmworkers and our fruits and vegetables are safer for our children.” by Jessica Corbet, Common Dreams August 18, 2021 Public health experts and labor rights advocates…
Court stops police from blockading Line 3 protester camp
‘Huge Legal Win’ One attorney described the blockade as “an outrageous abuse of law enforcement authority serving the interests of the Enbridge corporation against its environmental opponents.” by Kenny Stancil, Staff Writer July 23, 2021 In…
Water Protectors against Line 3 sue over police blockade of Indigenous camp
“The Hubbard County Sheriff has attempted to illegally construct a de facto open-air prison to trap Indigenous environmental protectors and allies on their own property.” by Jessica Corbett, Staff writer July 16, 2021 Water protectors…
Greenland ditches all oil drilling
‘Future Belongs to Renewable Energy’ “Great news!” exclaimed one international legal group. by Andrea Germanos, Staff writer July 16, 2021 Greenland announced Thursday a halt on new oil and gas exploration, citing climate and other environmental…
‘Biggest story in the world right now’: Humanity has flipped Amazon from carbon sink to source
The findings, said one expert, “show that the uncertain future is happening now.” by Jessica Corbett, Staff writer July 14, 2021 Following years of warnings and mounting fears among scientists, new research revealed Wednesday that climate…
‘This is what bipartisanship looks like’: Fire tornado caught on film in California
“Climate policy isn’t about imagining a spectrum from left to right and finding the sweet spot in the middle. It’s a zero-sum battle with physics.” by Jon Queally, Staff Writer July 8, 2021 Responding to…
‘Keystone XL Is Dead!’: After 10-year battle, Climate Movement victory is complete
“Keystone XL is now the most famous fossil fuel project killed by the climate movement,’ said one veteran campaigner, “but it won’t be the last.” by Jon Queally, staff writer June 9, 2021 fter more than…
2021-2030: The Renewal Decade
Protecting and regenerating the viability of our blue-green home is the essential work of the next few years. Everyone is needed and we each have a role to play. by Diana Donlon June 5, 2021 On…
Arizona’s current historic drought may be ‘baseline for the future’
by Alyssa Marksz, Cronkite News May 27, 2021 WASHINGTON – Arizona and other Western states just lived through the driest year in more than a century, with no drought relief in sight in the near…
Engine No. 1’s big win over Exxon shows activist hedge funds joining fight against climate change
by Mark DesJardine, Penn State and Tima Bansal, Western University One of the most expensive Wall Street shareholder battles on record could signal a big shift in how hedge funds and other investors view sustainability. Exxon…
Court Rules Shell must cut CO2 emissions 45% by 2030
‘Landslide Victory for Climate Justice’ “This is a turning point in history,” said an attorney who noted that the ruling “may also have major consequences for other big polluters.” by Jessica Corbett, staff writer Wednesday, May…
Activist Investors Score Surprise Win With ExxonMobil Board Seats
‘A Seismic Shift’ for Big Oil “The outcome is a sign that Exxon’s morally inept and fiscally questionable long-term climate strategy is finally catching up with it,” wrote one journalist. by Kenny Stancil, staff writer Wednesday,…
Another dangerous fire season is looming in the Western U.S., and the drought-stricken region is headed for a water crisis
May 13, 2021 2.17pm EDT Updated May 13, 2021 3.54pm EDT by Mojtaba Sadegh, Boise State University; Amir AghaKouchak, University of California, Irvine, and John Abatzoglou, University of California, Merced Just about every indicator of…
Indigenous Rights groups join Michigan Gov. Whitmer in demanding shutdown of Enbridge’s Line 5
The governor called the pipeline a “ticking time bomb” as her deadline of Wednesday, set last year for the Canadian company, fast approached. by Julia Conley, staff writer Tuesday, May 11, 2021 Indigenous rights and climate…
‘Generation on fire’: Sunrise Movement activists to march 400 miles from New Orleans to Houston
“We’re living in constant crisis: hurricanes, superstorms, jobs that break our bodies and could be taken away at any minute. This is an emergency, but it isn’t an accident.” by Brett Wilkins, staff writer May 10,…
New UN report highlights ‘absolutely critical’ need to dramatically slash global methane emissions
“Reducing human-caused methane emissions is one of the most cost-effective strategies to rapidly reduce the rate of warming and contribute significantly to global efforts to limit temperature rise to 1.5°C.” by Brett Wilkins, staff writer Thursday,…
The climate solution actually adding millions of tons of CO2 into the atmosphere
New research shows that California’s climate policy created up to 39 million carbon credits that aren’t achieving real carbon savings. But companies can buy these forest offsets to justify polluting more anyway. by Lisa Song, ProPublica,…
Get ready for a busy year fighting wildfires, experts in Arizona warn
“We didn’t see as much rain or snow,” said Andrew Deemer, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Phoenix. “So that proposes the question, how did those plants respond? Going out in the desert, listening…
‘Watershed moment’ as Haaland revokes Trump-era orders, creates climate task force
“Today’s orders make certain that the Interior Department is no longer going to serve as a rubber-stamp for the coal and oil and gas industries.” by Jessica Corbett, staff writer Friday, April 16, 2021…
‘Mystery chemicals’ found in pregnant Bay Area women
“It’s the role of the government to ensure that chemicals used in the marketplace are known. That’s obviously not the system we’re in right now.” by Quinn McVeigh April 16, 2021 Forty-two “mystery chemicals” were found…
Arizona study examines health risks faced by female firefighters
By Emma Ascott/Cronkite News April 15, 2021 PHOENIX – Nicole Minnick had been a firefighter for seven years when she gave birth in 2008 to her first child, a girl named Kyndal. A few months later,…
With enough political will, all new US car and truck sales can be electric by 2035: study says
“Every year America stalls… we miss the ever-narrowing window to address the climate crisis and ensure a livable planet.” by Jake Johnson, staff writer Thursday, April 15, 2021 A study released Thursday morning by researchers at…
Greenpeace says Japan’s plan to contaminate Pacific Ocean with Fukushima water would violate international law
“The government has taken the wholly unjustified decision to deliberately contaminate the Pacific Ocean with radioactive wastes.” by Kenny Stancil, staff writer Tuesday, April 13, 2021 In a decision that sparked condemnation from environmental advocates,…