Nature, Environment, Climate Change, Ecology

A moment of silence for the Bramble Cay melomys, another victim of climate change | First Dog on the Moon

Wed, 20 Feb 2019 01:39:07 -0500

There was a recovery plan for this humble creature but it was too little too late

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Youth climate strikers can win their fight. Here’s a manifesto | George Monbiot

Wed, 20 Feb 2019 01:00:36 -0500

Courage and conviction may not be enough – that’s something I learned from other movements’ failures

This one has to succeed. It is not just that the youth climate strike, now building worldwide with tremendous speed, is our best (and possibly our last) hope of avoiding catastrophe. It is also that the impacts on the young people themselves, if their mobilisation and hopes collapse so early in their lives, could be devastating.

To help this movement win, we should ask why others lost. We should ask, for instance, why Occupy, despite the energy and sacrifices of so many, came to an end, while the institutions it confronted remain intact. We should wonder why the global justice movement of the late 1990s and early 2000s, despite the numbers involved, their courage and determination, has not changed the world. We should consider why Podemos, the Spanish party that rose so high on the optimism of the indignados movement, now seems to be spiralling into recriminatory collapse.

Let’s soak up the sun and invest in #RenewableEnergy https://www.climaterealityproject.org/renewablefacts pic.twitter.com/f8e9Mq8dCF

Wed, 20 Feb 2019 00:14:02 -0500

Let’s soak up the sun and invest in #RenewableEnergy https://www.climaterealityproject.org/renewablefacts pic.twitter.com/f8e9Mq8dCF

“Young people are the really big stakeholders in climate change… But we don’t have representation in government... The real reason for the lawsuit is to give us a seat at the table.” https://e360.yale.edu/features/can-citizen-lawsuits-force-governments-to

Tue, 19 Feb 2019 22:32:00 -0500

“Young people are the really big stakeholders in climate change… But we don’t have representation in government... The real reason for the lawsuit is to give us a seat at the table.” https://e360.yale.edu/features/can-citizen-lawsuits-force-governments-to-act-on-climate-change …

At a Climate Reality Leadership Corps training, we give you the tools to change the world. Learn more: http://bit.ly/2ODNC6p pic.twitter.com/gbcAQubgQa

Tue, 19 Feb 2019 22:22:02 -0500

At a Climate Reality Leadership Corps training, we give you the tools to change the world. Learn more: http://bit.ly/2ODNC6p pic.twitter.com/gbcAQubgQa

The health threat posed by #ClimateChange is making headlines left and right. Test your knowledge of this pressing issue http://bit.ly/2ON2eFg pic.twitter.com/ovOB3xSx69

Tue, 19 Feb 2019 21:02:03 -0500

The health threat posed by #ClimateChange is making headlines left and right. Test your knowledge of this pressing issue http://bit.ly/2ON2eFg pic.twitter.com/ovOB3xSx69

Bottoms up! http://bit.ly/2Rvn7RO

Tue, 19 Feb 2019 19:37:00 -0500

Bottoms up! http://bit.ly/2Rvn7RO

Why you shouldn’t panic

Tue, 19 Feb 2019 19:24:35 -0500

There’s a new book by David Wallace-Wells called The Uninhabitable Earth. If its title alone is enough to send shivers down your spine, that’s by design. The book’s main goal on climate change, in the words of its author, is to motivate people to “read it, talk about and debate it, be scared and moved and mobilized into action.”

And Wallace-Wells has a point. We routinely underestimate how severely global warming impacts people today, and likely near-future scenarios vary from bad to really, really bad.

That said, as I’ve written before, “if you’re trying to motivate people, scaring the shit out of them is a really bad strategy.” Your brain literally can’t perceive reality accurately in that state of heightened anxiety. Just ask anyone who has ever had a panic attack. It isn’t fun. Fear shouldn’t be what we strive for.

A relatively new term, “pre-traumatic stress disorder,” is now being used to describe the intense despair that can surround people’s contemplation of climate change, environmental loss, and existential threats.

Climate change is not the first existential threat people have faced. A recent essay by Mary Annaïse Heglar eloquently makes this clear, pointing to the constant threat of violence and dehumanization experienced by African Americans in the Jim Crow-era South. She writes: “Imagine living under a calculated, meticulous system dedicated to and dependent on your oppression, being surrounded by that system’s hysterical, brainwashed guardians. … How’s that for existential?”

We shouldn’t fight climate change because we think we will win, or even because we are afraid of it, Heglar writes. “You fight it because you have to. Because surrendering dooms so much more than yourself, but everything that comes after you.”

And when it comes to climate change, people are fighting. An ascendent global youth movement is now the embodiment of courage when it comes to climate action. Ideas that seemed radical until just recently have quickly fallen away for a truly revolutionary scale of action.

Is Heglar scared of climate change, as Wallace-Wells says she should be? Of course, she says. But her closing words are ones we should all live by: “Nothing scares me more than climate change, but I made up my mind to face it head-on — because of my debt to future generations and to previous generations.” It’s courage, not fear, that will bring about the long overdue world we all need.

This story was originally published by Grist with the headline Why you shouldn’t panic on Feb 19, 2019.

RIP Wallace Broecker, the scientist who changed the way we think about the climate

Tue, 19 Feb 2019 19:24:05 -0500

Wallace Broecker, the geochemist who popularized the phrase “global warming,” passed away on Monday at 87. His research changed our understanding of oceans and how we think and talk about climate change.

“The climate system is an angry beast, and we are poking it with sticks,” he said some 20 years ago.

His landmark 1975 paper “Climatic Change: Are We on the Brink of a Pronounced Global Warming?” was one of the first to use the term “global warming.” In it, he predicted the rise in average global temperature over the next 35 years with stunning accuracy.

Broecker, who wrote roughly 17 books and 500 research papers over the course of his career at Columbia University, conducted groundbreaking research on the “ocean conveyor belt,” a pattern of currents that circulates water around the globe and regulates heat. He suggested that it’s the “Achilles heel of the climate system,” as even a small rise in temperatures could snap it.

Ever seen the movie The Day After Tomorrow, where global warming plays havoc with that conveyor belt, a tidal wave engulfs Manhattan, and much of the Northern Hemisphere turns to ice? It’s based on Broecker’s ideas — though, granted, it’s a wild exaggeration.

After some credited Broecker for coining “global warming” in 1975, he offered $200 to any student who could find an earlier citation. One postgrad took him up and tracked it down in a 1957 editorial in Indiana’s Hammond Times. Alas, the term is slightly older than that: The Oxford English Dictionary traces its usage back to a 1952 article from the San Antonio Express.

In any case, “global warming” was certainly catchier than “inadvertent climate modification,” a clunky phrase used by Broecker’s contemporaries in the 1970s. So global warming it was. The usage became widespread in the late ’80s, when NASA climate scientist James Hansen famously warned Congress of the risks of rising greenhouse gases.

Broecker “warned that he would turn over in his grave if someone put ‘global warming’ on his tombstone,” according to an article from Columbia’s Earth Institute. Instead, he wanted to be cremated and have his ashes scattered in the ocean he spent his life studying.

This story was originally published by Grist with the headline RIP Wallace Broecker, the scientist who changed the way we think about the climate on Feb 19, 2019.

Bees prefer to turn right and it helps them decide where to live

Tue, 19 Feb 2019 19:01:57 -0500

When honeybees enter an open space, they are much more likely to turn right, which might help them reach collective decisions about nest sites

This boy almost makes shoveling snow look like fun. http://huffp.st/ARE7pCl

Tue, 19 Feb 2019 18:33:58 -0500

This boy *almost* makes shoveling snow look like fun. http://huffp.st/ARE7pCl

Bernie Sanders, the godfather of the Green New Deal, announces presidential run

Tue, 19 Feb 2019 18:15:36 -0500

Bernie Sanders announced he’s running for president on Tuesday, confirming rumors that have been swirling since pretty much the moment it became clear Donald Trump had won the White House in 2016. By now, you know the Vermont senator is an outspoken proponent of swift action against climate change. He’s quick to call the issue, in his trademark Brooklyn accent, “the single greatest threat facing our planet.”

So where does he stand on the Green New Deal?

A mere three years ago, the flashiest part of Sanders’ climate agenda was a carbon tax — a market-based emissions-reducing mechanism that was once the holy grail of climate legislation. Now, Sanders’ aides say a Green New Deal will be the centerpiece of his 2020 platform. But the 77-year-old isn’t just another Green New Deal bandwagoner.

His 2016 climate platform included many of the elements of the Green New Deal now being championed by politicians like Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and climate organizations like the Sunrise Movement, which was actually founded by a bunch of young Bernie activists.

For example, in 2016, Sanders called for:

Reducing subsidies for fossil fuels and banning fossil fuel lobbyists from working in the White House
A pricey carbon tax, banning new fossil fuel leases on public lands and ending exports of natural gas and crude oil.
No more offshore drilling, fracking, coal mining, drilling in the Arctic, and nuclear power.
Establishing a nation-wide environment and justice plan (ring any bells??)
Investing in renewables, energy efficiency, upgrading buildings and infrastructure, and more.

Almost all of those components are mentioned in Ocasio-Cortez and Senator Ed Markey’s Green New Deal resolution introduced in the House a couple of weeks ago. In some cases, Sanders’ 2016 platform is even more ambitious than the Green New Deal outline. For example, the resolution does not call for a moratorium on nuclear power in an effort to keep more emissions-decreasing options on the table.

The Green New Deal tackles the twin problems of inequality and climate change at the same time, pairing renewable energy targets with ideas like universal healthcare and a federal jobs guarantee. Considering that both of those issues are squarely within Bernie’s wheelhouse, it’s a safe bet that his 2020 climate platform will put actual policy proposals to the Green New Deal targets we’ve just learned about. The question: Will a carbon tax — which has fallen out of favor with progressives — be a part of Bernie’s climate action plan this time around?

This story was originally published by Grist with the headline Bernie Sanders, the godfather of the Green New Deal, announces presidential run on Feb 19, 2019.

Do we have to paint you a picture? The climate crisis is threatening the world as we know it – and we need to act now http://bit.ly/2DbjBXE #ArtHistory

Tue, 19 Feb 2019 18:04:00 -0500

Do we have to paint you a picture? The climate crisis is threatening the world as we know it – and we need to act now http://bit.ly/2DbjBXE #ArtHistory

The Green New Deal, by the numbers https://www.hcn.org/articles/politics-get-to-know-the-green-new-deal-by-the-numbers …

Tue, 19 Feb 2019 18:00:01 -0500

The Green New Deal, by the numbers https://www.hcn.org/articles/politics-get-to-know-the-green-new-deal-by-the-numbers …

We’re an optimistic bunch here at Climate Reality™ – we’ve overcome enormous obstacles in the past, and we believe that we can do it again http://bit.ly/2WDe19A pic.twitter.com/TgyvUviYyz

Tue, 19 Feb 2019 17:06:02 -0500

We’re an optimistic bunch here at Climate Reality™ – we’ve overcome enormous obstacles in the past, and we believe that we can do it again http://bit.ly/2WDe19A pic.twitter.com/TgyvUviYyz

US cities could learn a thing or two from Cuba and Argentina when it comes to urban farming https://www.citylab.com/environment/2019/02/how-urban-agriculture-can-improve-food-security/582778/ …

Tue, 19 Feb 2019 17:00:02 -0500

US cities could learn a thing or two from Cuba and Argentina when it comes to urban farming https://www.citylab.com/environment/2019/02/how-urban-agriculture-can-improve-food-security/582778/ …

The results are in, and January was one of the warmest in all of recorded history

Tue, 19 Feb 2019 16:56:44 -0500

January 2019 was the third-warmest January in the history of global weather recordkeeping, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The only warmer global Januarys in the instrumental record, which dates back to the 1880s, were 2016 and 2017, and there’s evidence that the planet hasn’t been this warm in a very long time. The last time January global temperatures were below average was in 1976 — before millennials were even a thing.

So here’s the strange truth: Last month may have felt cold where you live, but your senses were deceiving you. We’ve forgotten what “normal” weather feels like, so global warming is gaslighting us.

Just in: #January 2019 was the 3rd warmest January on record for the globe, says @NOAANCEIclimate https://t.co/QrjEVJaDIU #StateOfClimate pic.twitter.com/z75wainpH4

— NOAA (@NOAA) February 19, 2019

Only a few specks of land were even slightly cooler than average: far northern Canada, parts of northern Finland, a bit of central India, and a small corner of western China. Even the eastern United States, which was hit with blizzards and cooler temperatures when the polar vortex roared at full force for days, officially ended the month “near average.” It was one of the coolest spots on the planet and its January was only 1.8 degrees F cooler than normal.

In contrast, some parts of the planet were simply blazing with heat. During the peak of the southern hemisphere’s summer, it was the warmest January for land areas in history — more than 7.2 degrees F outside the bounds of historical norms. Parts of southern Africa, much of Brazil, and nearly all of Australia endured a record-breaking month.

With an official El Niño now underway, January’s oddness only boosts the odds that this year is going to keep on being blazing hot. In fact, NOAA estimates that 2019 is squarely on pace for one of the warmest years in history, with a 99.9 percent chance for another top 10 year.

This story was originally published by Grist with the headline The results are in, and January was one of the warmest in all of recorded history on Feb 19, 2019.

“This parenting thing is so easy” – said no parent ever. Luckily, we can help with at least one major challenge https://www.climaterealityproject.org/family?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=general … #Parentingpic.twitter.com/AVrznhdo8h

Tue, 19 Feb 2019 16:52:02 -0500

“This parenting thing is so easy” – said no parent ever. Luckily, we can help with at least one major challenge https://www.climaterealityproject.org/family?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=general … #Parenting pic.twitter.com/AVrznhdo8h

“Our study confirms that… food shocks [sudden disruptions of food production] have become more frequent, posing a growing danger to global food production.” https://e360.yale.edu/digest/food-shocks-becoming-more-frequent-due-to-extreme-weather-conflict …

Tue, 19 Feb 2019 16:40:00 -0500

“Our study confirms that… food shocks [sudden disruptions of food production] have become more frequent, posing a growing danger to global food production.” https://e360.yale.edu/digest/food-shocks-becoming-more-frequent-due-to-extreme-weather-conflict … pic.twitter.com/46dXJkAkg0

Get ready for the biggest, brightest full moon of the year. http://huffp.st/OKPkptv

Tue, 19 Feb 2019 16:16:21 -0500

Get ready for the biggest, brightest full moon of the year. http://huffp.st/OKPkptv

In case you missed it: 3 big stories from our world

Tue, 19 Feb 2019 16:01:44 -0500

Human Nature shares three stories from the past week that you should know about.

From @nytopinion: Panic might seem counterproductive, but we’re at a point where alarmism and catastrophic thinking are valuable, for several reasons. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/16/opinion/sunday/fear-panic-climate-change-warming.html …

Tue, 19 Feb 2019 16:00:00 -0500

From @nytopinion: Panic might seem counterproductive, but we’re at a point where alarmism and catastrophic thinking are valuable, for several reasons. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/16/opinion/sunday/fear-panic-climate-change-warming.html …

Carbon taxes could create new winners and losers among countries, research says

Tue, 19 Feb 2019 15:52:01 -0500

A global carbon tax would create new sets of economic winners and losers, with some countries holding a distinct competitive advantage over others, according to new research.

7 Delicious Ways to Make Oatmeal

Tue, 19 Feb 2019 15:40:27 -0500

Medically reviewed by Hrefna Palsdottir, MS

Oats are considered to be one of the healthiest grains on earth. Find out why and how to incorporate this breakfast staple into your morning routine.

If your breakfast options need a healthy shake-up, look no further than oats — and more specifically, oatmeal.

Oats pack a nutritious punch as they're a great source of vitamins, minerals, fiber, and antioxidants.

Half a cup (78 grams) of dry oats contains a whopping 13 grams of protein and 8 grams of fiber.

They also contain:

Manganese: 191% RDI
Phosphorus: 41% RDI
Magnesium: 34% RDI
Copper: 24% RDI
Iron: 20% RDI
Zinc: 20% RDI
Folate: 11% RDI
Vitamin B-1 (thiamin): 39% RDI
Vitamin B-5 (pantothenic acid): 10% RDI

Known scientifically as Avena sativa, this whole grain is suggested to offer a number of health benefits including:

aiding in weight loss
lowering blood sugar levels
reducing risk of heart disease

Oats, and more specifically colloidal oatmeal, are also known to help topically treat symptoms of various skin conditions, such as eczema.

For some inspiration to get you started, check out some of these delicious ideas that we found on Instagram.

Banana, passion fruit, mango, and coconut mylk oatmeal via @thefitfabfoodie

m e e r a on Instagram: “I’m feeling a little tropical here, the passion fruit and mango at the moment is

this scientist Ed Calabrese, who's behind the "little bit of pollution is good for you" argument taking hold at the EPA, was the center of a big story I did in the fall, which was getting almost no attention at the time https://www.motherjones.com/environ

Tue, 19 Feb 2019 15:28:09 -0500

this scientist Ed Calabrese, who's behind the "little bit of pollution is good for you" argument taking hold at the EPA, was the center of a big story I did in the fall, which was getting almost no attention at the time https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2018/10/the-epas-bold-new-idea-massive-implications-public-health/ …

Why We Need Millennials In Manufacturing Jobs Now

Tue, 19 Feb 2019 15:19:43 -0500

Earn a college degree, move to a major city, and land a white‐collar job in the knowledge economy – that's the path many millennials have been taught to follow.

Geese with ice-covered beaks get a helping hand from humans

Tue, 19 Feb 2019 15:15:27 -0500

Six geese and a duck recently suffered frozen beaks at a Toronto park, but concerned humans stepped in to help.

Enviros get ready to throw down over Trump's border wall national emergency https://grist.org/article/enviros-get-ready-to-throw-down-over-trumps-border-wall-national-emergency/ …

Tue, 19 Feb 2019 15:00:00 -0500

Enviros get ready to throw down over Trump's border wall national emergency https://grist.org/article/enviros-get-ready-to-throw-down-over-trumps-border-wall-national-emergency/ …

Areas on the west coast of the US are getting drier each year, increasing local air pollution. Rain is the main way particles are removed from the atmosphere — and according to a study published this month, that’s happening less frequently. @grist reports

Tue, 19 Feb 2019 14:39:00 -0500

Areas on the west coast of the US are getting drier each year, increasing local air pollution. Rain is the main way particles are removed from the atmosphere — and according to a study published this month, that’s happening less frequently. @grist reports: https://grist.org/article/air-quality-is-another-reason-not-to-cough-at-climate-change/ …

How We’re Collaborating to Eliminate Plastic in Washington DC

Tue, 19 Feb 2019 14:24:53 -0500

By 2018 Ocean Heroes: Claire MacQueen (13 years old), Sabine Thomas (13) and Ava Inskeep (14)

We despise single-use plastics. We want to keep our oceans and our beaches clean. Early last year I (Claire) lived in India for several months and became curious about plastic waste, as it was much more visible in India than back home in the U.S. Seeing all the plastic waste while I was visiting helped me to understand that much of the trash produced by the U.S. actually ends up in developing countries, like India, which does not have a proper waste management system like we do at home, which causes a ton of trash to end up in waterways and the ocean.

While I was in India, an activist that I got to know nominated me for the 2018 Ocean Heroes Bootcamp, a global youth summit co-founded by Lonely Whale, Captain Planet Foundation and Point Break Foundation. The Bootcamp equips participants with tools to develop campaigns to fight plastic pollution.

I recruited my friend Sabine to join me at Ocean Heroes Bootcamp, and we both learned how we could help our community rely less on single-use plastic.

Once Sabine and I returned from the Bootcamp, our friend Ava also got involved, and we started the Instagram account, Straw Free D.C.

Sabine, Claire and Ava spoke with the Washington Post last month at the Washington International School.Theresa Vargas / The Washington Post

As eighth-grade students, we didn't know how much influence we would have across our nation's capital to eliminate single-use plastics in Washington DC but understanding that big results sometimes come from small steps, we decided to first focus on eliminating single-use plastics in our school.

We noticed a lot of unnecessary single-use plastics at school, like the cafeteria's plastic cutlery dispensers that dispense multiple single-use plastics at a time, causing many unused utensils to fall on the floor and land in the waste. When we raised this concern to the Washington International school, leadership invited us to help select our school's next food service provider, which will be decided by the end of the 2019 school year. Within this new role, we will get to weigh-in on each company's sustainability practices, including their use of single-use plastic.

While we were working to reduce plastics in our school, we were also developing our citywide campaign focused on single-use plastic straws. The timing of our campaign launch was very fortunate. To support the ban on plastic straws, our first step was to email the council-people who represent Wards 1, 2 and 4, because two are the representatives of the wards in which we live and the third is an at-large member who represents all DC residents. When we got in touch with Brianne Nadeau, representative of Ward 1, she told us about a proposed city wide ban on straws which they were already working on. After learning about the ban, and that it only included plastic straws and stirrers, we wanted to take things a step further and support legislation that would eliminate single-use plastic straws and utensils. So, we went back to our school and met with our principal to discuss plastic use in the cafeteria. Our school will soon be choosing a new food provider, and we will be able to advocate for the company that we think will be the most environmentally friendly.

We hope that our efforts can be a model for other DC schools to follow in the future. We also hope to continue growing our social media campaign to raise awareness across our community and the region.

We credit Ocean Heroes Bootcamp with the inspiration that helped us learn to work with each other and how to reach out to other activists fighting to eliminate single-use plastics in our community.

It's important that everyone is doing their part to make a difference for our environment—including the youth!

Kids have longer to live on this planet, so it's in our best interest to take care of it. If nothing changes, there will be more plastic than fish in the oceans by 2050 (we'll only be in our early 40's by then!)

Collaborating with friends and other activists is not only more fun, but also allows us to combine our different skill sets, and ultimately accomplish a lot more than we could on our own.

We're so excited for the 2019 Ocean Heroes Bootcamp and we're looking forward to learning new effective ways to beat plastic pollution and make a difference in our community.

The saying rings true – “Healthy diet, healthy life.” But climate change could get in the way by making our #Food less nutritious http://bit.ly/2MZA3wX pic.twitter.com/glIAMI8ZXr

Tue, 19 Feb 2019 14:22:03 -0500

The saying rings true – “Healthy diet, healthy life.” But climate change could get in the way by making our #Food less nutritious http://bit.ly/2MZA3wX pic.twitter.com/glIAMI8ZXr

Oh hey there, little buddy. http://huffp.st/SYYQ9ZD

Tue, 19 Feb 2019 14:00:19 -0500

Oh hey there, little buddy. http://huffp.st/SYYQ9ZD

How natural disasters can spur gentrification https://www.citylab.com/environment/2019/02/gentrification-causes-new-orleans-natural-disasters-hurricane-katrina/582499/ …

Tue, 19 Feb 2019 14:00:00 -0500

How natural disasters can spur gentrification https://www.citylab.com/environment/2019/02/gentrification-causes-new-orleans-natural-disasters-hurricane-katrina/582499/ …

This ingenious technique could turn plastic waste into clean fuel

Tue, 19 Feb 2019 13:44:10 -0500

A new technique promises to turn plastic waste into clean, high-grade fuel.

Business leaders are rolling up their sleeves and tackling the climate crisis, with or without the @WhiteHouse http://bit.ly/2Ffwy6u pic.twitter.com/H4TNy7fR6Z

Tue, 19 Feb 2019 13:42:03 -0500

Business leaders are rolling up their sleeves and tackling the climate crisis, with or without the @WhiteHouse http://bit.ly/2Ffwy6u pic.twitter.com/H4TNy7fR6Z

“I thought she was gonna die or something, because that’s a big bird compared to her." http://huffp.st/vNdFUma

Tue, 19 Feb 2019 13:03:53 -0500

“I thought she was gonna die or something, because that’s a big bird compared to her." http://huffp.st/vNdFUma

How the Next President Could Declare a National Emergency Over Climate Change

Tue, 19 Feb 2019 13:03:00 -0500

On Friday, President Trump tossed precedent out the window and declared a national emergency to pay for an unneeded border wall he previously promised Mexico would pay for.

The New York City of 2080 will be as hot as Arkansas https://www.citylab.com/environment/2019/02/climate-twin-cities-east-coast-arkansas/582637/ …

Tue, 19 Feb 2019 13:00:01 -0500

The New York City of 2080 will be as hot as Arkansas https://www.citylab.com/environment/2019/02/climate-twin-cities-east-coast-arkansas/582637/ …

UK is failing to meet almost all of its climate action targets

Tue, 19 Feb 2019 12:32:02 -0500

The Committee on Climate Change has warned that the UK failed to meet 15 out of 18 of its targets for tackling emissions between 2013 and 2017

Nazi sub is being destroyed by bacteria due to Deepwater Horizon spill

Tue, 19 Feb 2019 12:27:21 -0500

A historic second world war German submarine off the US coast is being destroyed — thanks to oil released from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon spill

Bernie Sanders Enters 2020 Race, Promises Own Version of Green New Deal

Tue, 19 Feb 2019 12:21:14 -0500

Independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders announced Tuesday that he will run for president in 2020, becoming the latest candidate in a crowded Democratic primary field to promise a Green New Deal if elected, The Washington Post reported.

"I'm running for president because we need to make policy decisions based on science, not politics," Sanders wrote in an email to supporters announcing his decision. "We need a president who understands that climate change is real, is an existential threat to our country and the entire planet, and that we can generate massive job creation by transforming our energy system away from fossil fuels to energy efficiency and sustainable energy."

I'm Running For President www.youtube.com

In addition to a Green New Deal, Sanders is also running on a platform of Medicare for All, a $15-an-hour minimum wage, tuition-free college and university, criminal justice reform, paid family leave and gender pay equity and breaking up the largest Wall Street banks, among other proposals, aides to the senator told The Washington Post.

Sanders brought many of these ideas, including more aggressive climate action, to national attention when he ran against Hillary Clinton in the 2016 primary. However, since his first run, the ideas he championed have gained steam and many other 2020 Democratic candidates have embraced them, The Guardian noted.

His success may therefore hinge on whether or not he is still the best mouthpiece for the ideas he helped popularize, as The New York Times explained:

Victories in the 2018 midterm election by women, minorities and first-time candidates also suggest that many Democrats may prefer fresh energy, something that skeptics believe Mr. Sanders could struggle to deliver. A 77-year-old whose left-wing message has remained largely unchanged in his decades-long career, Mr. Sanders will also need to improve his support from black voters and quell the unease about his campaign's treatment of women that has been disclosed in recent news accounts, and that has prompted two public apologies.

When it comes to the environment specifically, 2020 contenders California Sen. Kamala Harris, New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro have voiced support for a Green New Deal.

However, Sanders' proposal will be slightly different from the Green New Deal resolution developed by Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who worked as an organizer for Sanders' 2016 primary campaign. Sanders' full plan should be released in the next few months, The Washington Post reported, explaining the difference between the two:

The upcoming Sanders plan is expected to contain significantly more details on how a Green New Deal would move America's economy to one that zeroes out carbon emissions, according to aides to the Senator, while the Ocasio-Cortez resolution supported by the other 2020 candidates mostly laid out ambitious targets for carbon reduction.

In 2016, Sanders promoted a carbon tax and a plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent by 2030, The Guardian reported at the time.

The re-election campaign for President Donald Trump is already planning to use the popularity of Sanders' democratic socialist platform as a rallying point, The Guardian reported.

"Bernie Sanders has already won the debate in the Democrat primary, because every candidate is embracing his brand of socialism," Trump 2020 campaign spokeswoman Kayleigh McEnany said in a statement reported by The Guardian. "But the American people will reject an agenda of sky-high tax rates, government-run health care and coddling dictators like those in Venezuela. Only President Trump will keep America free, prosperous and safe."

Sanders, for his part, roundly criticized Trump in his announcement, calling him the "most dangerous president in modern history." However, Sanders also noted that his campaign was larger than defeating one person.

"Our campaign is about transforming our country and creating a government based on the principles of economic, social, racial and environmental justice," he wrote.

This Norwegian teen is dancing a traditionally male dance to show love for her grandfather

Tue, 19 Feb 2019 12:12:32 -0500

Defying stereotypes, teenager Vilde Westeng aims to be the best halling dancer.

Scientist Wallace Broecker, who raised early alarms about climate change and popularized the term “global warming,” has died http://huffp.st/yoDvNqZ

Tue, 19 Feb 2019 12:11:46 -0500

Scientist Wallace Broecker, who raised early alarms about climate change and popularized the term “global warming,” has died http://huffp.st/yoDvNqZ

Torn between installing solar panels or growing crops on your land? We have some exciting news – you can do both! http://bit.ly/2WzvCz4

Tue, 19 Feb 2019 12:04:00 -0500

Torn between installing solar panels or growing crops on your land? We have some exciting news – you can do both! http://bit.ly/2WzvCz4

UK government backs campaign for recycling bases in Pakistan https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/feb/18/uk-government-recycling-bases-pakistan …

Tue, 19 Feb 2019 12:00:01 -0500

UK government backs campaign for recycling bases in Pakistan https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/feb/18/uk-government-recycling-bases-pakistan …

Congrats @undarkmag! https://twitter.com/undarkmag/status/1097895988415614976 …

Tue, 19 Feb 2019 11:50:39 -0500

Congrats @undarkmag! https://twitter.com/undarkmag/status/1097895988415614976 …

U.S. Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Hawaii Clean Water Act Case

Tue, 19 Feb 2019 11:35:04 -0500

In a case watched closely both by polluting industries and clean water advocates across the nation, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to take up an appeal of a Clean Water Act case out of Hawaii concerning treated sewage flowing into the Pacific Ocean from injection wells.

Last March, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Maui County has been violating the federal Clean Water Act since its Lahaina Wastewater Reclamation Facility was first put into operation in the early 1980s. The Lahaina facility, which serves West Maui, injects 3 to 5 million gallons of treated sewage each day into groundwater that then transports the sewage to the ocean.

"We are confident the Supreme Court will agree with the appeals court that, when Congress passed the Clean Water Act to protect our nation's waters, it did not give polluters a loophole to use groundwater as a sewer to convey harmful pollutants into our oceans, lakes and rivers," said David Henkin, Earthjustice staff attorney based in Honolulu.

In 2011, a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency-funded study used tracer dye to show conclusively that the Lahaina sewage flows with the groundwater into near-shore waters off Kahekili Beach, which is popular with local residents and tourists alike. Though treated, the sewage still contains a variety of contaminants, including excess nutrients that have been linked to algae blooms and are shown to damage coral reefs.

Four Maui community groups represented by Earthjustice—Hawaii Wildlife Fund, Sierra Club-Maui Group, Surfrider Foundation and West Maui Preservation Association—sued the county in 2012, seeking to protect the sensitive coral reefs at Kahekili from harmful pollution. In 2017, the U.S. Geological Survey, the State of Hawaii's Division of Aquatic Resources, and other experts published a peer-reviewed study documenting the ongoing, serious harm to the reef at Kahekili associated with the Lahaina facility's discharges to the ocean.

Over the past four decades, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and states across the country have used their Clean Water Act authority to prevent a variety of industries—including wastewater treatment facilities, chemical plants, concentrated animal feeding operations, mines, and oil and gas waste-treatment facilities—from contaminating our nation's waters via groundwater. The final outcome of this case could determine whether the public will continue to be protected from these harmful polluting activities.

Majority of European firms have no CO2 reduction targets https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/feb/19/majority-of-european-firms-have-no-co2-reduction-targets …

Tue, 19 Feb 2019 11:30:00 -0500

Majority of European firms have no CO2 reduction targets https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/feb/19/majority-of-european-firms-have-no-co2-reduction-targets …

How's Amazon Really Doing on Renewables?

Tue, 19 Feb 2019 11:20:01 -0500

Amazon will strive to cut carbon emissions from its shipments in half by 2030, the e-commerce giant said Monday. The retailer's plan calls for an increase in the use of electric delivery vehicles and renewable energy as well as pressuring suppliers to use less packaging.

Some advocates may question the timing of the announcement: a report released last week from Greenpeace finds that data centers in Loudon County, Virginia, which moves a large amount of the world's internet, is gobbling up electricity with a big emissions cost—particularly in the case of Amazon. "Since 2017, [Amazon] appears to have turned its back on its 100 percent renewable commitment, increasing its already massive operations in Virginia by 59 percent, without any additional renewable energy supply," the report reads.

For a deeper dive:

Plan: AP, The Hill

Greenpeace: Washington Post

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Fishing and pollution regulations don't help corals cope with climate change

Tue, 19 Feb 2019 11:18:25 -0500

A new study reports that protecting coral reefs from fishing and pollution does not help coral populations cope with climate change. The study also concludes that ocean warming is the primary cause of the global decline of reef-building corals and that the only effective solution is to immediately and drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions.