Over the last two weeks, California, Arizona and Alaska have all had to deal with severe wildfires that have surprised officials with their ferocity … and their earliness. Of the nearly one dozen blazes that ended up consuming well over 25,000 acres in heavily populated San Diego County two weeks ago, Carlsbad Fire Chief Michael Davis—a 27-year-veteran—said: “This […]
This winter was brutal. Polar vortex brutal. My salt-caked boots and dry skin can attest to the frigid temperatures that covered more than 90 percent of the Great Lakes in ice. Much of that ice is still there—though some of it has run aground in an ice tsunami(!). Over the decades, ice coverage on the lakes has […]
Environmental consciousness is mobilizing more than ever these days, and Annie Leonard is ready to step to the forefront. Greenpeace USA announced Leonard as its new executive director Tuesday afternoon. She will begin her duties in August, but it’s obvious that her excitement is already bubbling. “While the environmental challenges before us are daunting, I […]
I would never argue that we should ignore the problems being caused by climate disruption around the world—we need to acknowledge and take responsibility for them. But I believe it’s equally important to tell some other parts of the story: That we are not powerless and that we have solutions we can start using now. […]
Today and tomorrow hundreds of customers with Australia’s Big Four Banks will close their accounts in a statement against the banks’ investments in new coal and gas projects. These customers will be taking part in Australia’s first “National Days of Divestment Action” organized by Market Forces and 350.org Australia. Below, a slideshow of the first […]
April 22 is called Earth Day, but we ought to spend more time looking in the mirror today. It could help us understand what we have done and are doing to the planet. Elsevier Connect, a digital resource of science, health and technology journals and data, helps us with that process by releasing an infographic entitled, […]
Fueled by warmer temperatures and added moisture in the air, a storm system coils like a snake ready to strike. Rising seas stand poised to obliterate shoreline developments and cityscapes. The brown, dry soil of once-verdant farmland threatens food security for millions, all while the number of mouths to feed grows. Wildfires rage and burning peat lands […]
Killings of people protecting the environment and rights to land increased sharply between 2002 and 2013 as competition for natural resources intensifies, a new report from Global Witness reveals. In the most comprehensive global analysis of the problem on record, the campaign group has found that at least 908 people are known to have died in this time. […]
Yesterday the world’s leading climate scientists, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), published their final report in their recent trilogy of warnings about climate change. The latest authoritative document, produced by 1,250 international scientists and approved by nearly 200 governments, argued that climate change can be avoided if we move fast to decarbonise the […]