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EartherNatural Disasters
That Big California Earthquake Left a Scar That’s Visible From Space
Friday’s magnitude 7.1 earthquake near Ridgecrest, California, was nothing to sneeze at. The shake, which triggered gas leaks, power outages, and fires, was felt from San Diego to Sacramento. And it ripped open a new fissure in the Earth that didn’t escape the notice of humanity’s ever-growing satellite fleet. Before-and-after imagery captured by Planet Labs … Continued
By Maddie Stone -
EartherEnergy
China’s Solar Industry Could Get a Nearly $7 Billion Boost From Cleaning Up Air Pollution
Reducing air pollution is objectively good. In addition to providing huge public health benefits, new findings show it would also give China solar generating industry a big boost in productivity. The research published Monday in Nature Energy reveal that decades of increasing air pollution have decreased the potential amount of solar power generated in China … Continued
By Brian Kahn -
EartherEarth Science
Swimming Banned at All Mississippi Beaches After Huge Toxic Algae Bloom
An unusually large bloom of toxic blue-green algae has prompted the closure of all beaches along the Mississippi coastline. Officials are attributing the bloom to excessive rainfall and overuse of fertilizers. On Sunday, the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, through its Beach Monitoring Program, announced the closure of two more Mississippi beaches, namely Pascagoula Beach … Continued
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EartherExtreme Weather
It’s Raining Inside the Metro as Flash Floods Rage Across Washington, DC
Washington, D.C. commuters came back to work after the long weekend with a bang. Powerful storms swept across the nation’s capital, inundating roadways, unleashing flash floods, and creating at least two waterfalls in the Metro system. Even the White House experienced some flooding. Swamp status: full. The entire Washington, D.C. metro area is under some … Continued
By Brian Kahn -
EartherEnvironmental Justice
For the Second Time in Six Months, a Mining Ship Has Polluted This World-Famous Reef
Months after a cargo ship ran aground and began spilling heavy fuel near Rennell Island’s world-famous coral reef, another ship has reportedly spilled more than 5,500 tons of bauxite, the ore mined for aluminum, in the same location in the Solomon Islands. The spill occurred July 1, according to the Guardian, turning Kangava Bay’s typically … Continued
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EartherNatural Disasters
Magnitude 7.1 Earthquake in Southern California Is Second Major Quake in Two Days
A magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck southern California on Friday night at around 8:19 p.m. local time, with a reported epicenter around 10 miles to the northeast of the town of Ridgecrest—the second major quake to hit the region in two days. Per the Washington Post, Kern County Fire Chief David Witt said that no deaths … Continued
By Tom McKay -
EartherEarth Science
Baked Alaska: Anchorage Smashes Temperature Record as Thermometer Hits 90 Degrees
This year’s Independence Day in Anchorage, Alaska, is not one its residents will soon forget as the temperature got as high as 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32 degrees Celsius), establishing a new record for the northern city. In a tweet put out early this morning, the National Weather Service (NWS) for Anchorage said the record breaking … Continued
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EartherEarth Science
Enormous 5,500-Mile-Long Patch of Atlantic Seaweed Might Be the ‘New Normal’
Scientists in Florida have detected the largest seaweed bloom in the world. Extending from the Gulf of Mexico to the African coast, the unusually large bloom is threatening marine life and coastal regions, with the researchers warning it’s likely a sign of things to come. New research published today in Science describes the Great Atlantic … Continued
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EartherEarth Science
The Weather Machine Reveals How the Forecast Is Made—and Why It’s Now Threatened
The weather forecast is one of the most ubiquitous things in our daily lives. People talk about it when there’s nothing else to say, farmers from the Midwest to Mali use it to decide when to plant crops, and everyone loves to (wrongly) complain when it screws up. But as smartphones have put the forecast … Continued
By Brian Kahn -
EartherClimate Change
How to Keep Your Home Cool Without Wrecking the Planet
Summertime is officially here, baby. You know what that means: long days, beach tans, and wild ass energy bills. Keeping cool don’t come cheap—not for your pocket and definitely not for the planet. That doesn’t have to be the case, though. This summer can be your moment to flex your green muscle. You don’t have … Continued
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EartherConservation
Calculation Shows We Could Add a U.S.-Sized Forest to the Planet to Fight Climate Change
Trees are good for all sorts of things, like providing shade for picnics and habitat for animals. But they’re also a huge part of the efforts to combat climate change by sucking carbon dioxide out of the air. New findings were published on Thursday in Science show just how important a role they could play … Continued
By Brian Kahn -
EartherExtreme Weather
More Than a Million Ordered to Evacuate as Southern Japan Braces for a Month of Rain in a Single Day
More than 1 million people are being ordered to evacuate from southern Japan as an onslaught of rain threatens their safety. Nearly 6 inches of rain that fell Wednesday is set to cause mudslides and deadly floods, reports the Japan Times. And that amount is set to increase big time in the coming days. As … Continued
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Earther
Austria on the Verge of Becoming First EU Country to Ban Controversial Roundup Herbicide
A popular herbicide currently in use worldwide, but controversially linked to cancer, is on the verge of being outlawed in Austria—the first European Union country to attempt an outright ban. Citing what the leader of the country’s Social Democratic party, Pamela Rendi-Wagner, called increasing “scientific evidence,” Austria’s lower house of parliament on Tuesday passed a … Continued
By Dell Cameron -
EartherEarth Science
Extremely Rare Lava Lake Discovered on Remote British Island
Satellite images have confirmed the presence of a persistent lava lake within the crater of Mount Michael—an active volcano located on a remote island in the Southern Ocean. Despite frequently appearing in films and video games, lava lakes are actually quite rare as far as geological features go. Of the approximately 1,500 potentially active terrestrial … Continued
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EartherClimate Change
The World’s Second-Largest Rainforest Is Losing the Carbon It’s Held for a Thousand Years
The Congo Basin is the second-largest rainforest on Earth, and like most tropical forests, it’s getting chewed up by humans. That’s a problem for the climate, and not just because trees are a natural sponge helping to mop up humanity’s ever-rising carbon emissions. New research suggests that as trees are replaced with fields for agriculture, … Continued
By Maddie Stone -
EartherEnvironmental Policy
Americans Love Their Trash and Hate to Recycle, Report Finds
The world has a trash problem, and a new report out Tuesday reminds us just how much Americans contribute. Turns out that while we create the most waste in the world, we’re one of the worst countries at recycling it. The report—published by Verisk Maplecroft, a global risk analysis group—looks at the waste generation and … Continued
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EartherEarth Science
Eclipsecane! Solar Eclipse Photobombs Hurricane in Stunning Satellite Shots
Earth had itself a day yesterday. Chile and Argentina got a prime look at a total solar eclipse while the Pacific Ocean played host to Hurricane Barbara, the strongest storm on Earth at the moment. It’s a double feature eclipsecane nobody on the ground would have any hope of capturing in a day, but satellites … Continued
By Brian Kahn -
EartherClimate Change
Last Month Was the Hottest June Ever Recorded, European Satellite Data Shows
The planetary heat bender we’re on just hit a new milestone. Fueled by relentless heat in Europe to end the month, this June was the hottest June ever recorded, according to data analyzed by Europe’s space agency. The planet was more than 1 degrees Celsius (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than the pre-industrial average and Europe … Continued
By Brian Kahn -
EartherClimate Change
The Alaska Governor’s Proposed Budget Cuts Would Be a Disaster for U.S. Climate Research
It’s not just the Alaskan landscape that’s on fire right now. The university system could also go up in smoke if the Governor Mike Dunleavy’s proposed budget cuts go through. That includes crucial research into how the U.S. Arctic is shifting as temperatures rapidly rise. Last week, Dunleavy took a red pen to a budget … Continued
By Brian Kahn -
Earther
Meet the People Risking Their Lives to Study Our Dying Mountain Glaciers
When geoscientist and mountaineer John All started studying the impacts of climate change on world’s highest mountain glaciers over a decade ago, he said it was like monitoring a sick patient. Now, it’s more like doing an autopsy. “We’re just watching the glaciers decay, effectively,” All told Earther. And yet All, who directs Western Washington … Continued
By Maddie Stone