By Tom Cassauwers Before the hurricane came, I was a software engineer. I’d graduated with a bachelor’s degree in graphic design and animation, but here in Puerto Rico there weren’t many jobs in that field, so I taught myself how to code. When I began, I didn’t even know how to make “hello world” appear. […]
By Jeremy Deaton President Trump‘s proposed 2019 budget would slash funding for NASA’s Earth Science Division, and while his budget hasn’t gained traction in Congress, it is an important statement of the administration’s priorities. In a nod to his allies in the fossil fuel industry, Trump is calling for the elimination of vital programs that […]
Six months since Hurricane Maria battered the island of Puerto Rico, the island is the site of a pitched battle between wealthy investors—particularly from the technology industry—and everyday Puerto Ricans fighting for a place in their island’s future. The Puerto Rican government has pushed for a series of privatization schemes, including privatizing PREPA, one of […]
By May Boeve With Trump and fossil fuel executives in the White House, any shot of powerful and lasting protections for our climate and communities will come from our cities and states. That’s why it’s so troubling that in California, one of the most progressive places in the U.S., current state Attorney General Xavier Becerra […]
By Adam Lynch Marámellys Castro-Pérez is a Puerto Rican refugee living in Orlando with her husband and twins after the one-two punch of Hurricanes Irma and Maria. Maria, in particular, scrubbed the island clean of electricity, working toilets and phone service. It dragged Castro-Pérez’s world into the dark ages and pitted the island’s modern, cosmopolitan […]
From Jan. 28 to Feb. 7 my wife and I were in Vieques, Puerto Rico, helping as best we could with recovery from Hurricane Maria, which hit on Sept. 20, 2017 almost five months ago. Help is very much still needed. I don’t think I realized how much that is true until I got home […]
By Jeremy Deaton All press is good press—except when it isn’t. For those who are happy about President Trump‘s attacks on climate science and policy, this will come as bad news. By shining a spotlight on the issue, Trump drove media coverage of climate change last year. New analysis from Media Matters for America finds […]
By Cameron Wake The year 2017 painted a grim picture of coastal storms in the eastern U.S. Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria were deadly and destructive harbingers of how climate change contributes to bigger storms with stronger winds, greater extreme precipitation, and higher storm surge due to rising seas. Unfortunately, there’s a long-standing cultural divide […]
UPDATE: Since the release of NPR report and a flood of angry reactions from politicians, FEMA said it never intended to stop giving aid to Puerto Rico and will continue to hand out supplies for as long as necessary. William Booher, an agency spokesman, told the New York Times that Wednesday was not the actual […]