Update, 10/20/17: Since this piece was posted, we became aware of the Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority’s (PRASA) boil water notice for all people who have access to running water. So, while roughly 70 percent of the island has access to tap water, it appears it is not safe to drink untreated. However, FEMA […]
An ornamental plant farm in Barranquitas, Puerto Rico that was wrecked by Hurricane Maria is slowly rebuilding thanks to solar panels that power the 40-acre nursery. Cali Nurseries grower Hector Santiago told Reuters that his $300,000 investment on 244 solar panels six years ago has allowed him to continue working. Meanwhile, only 5.4 percent of […]
By Alexandra Rosati “00O made it!” There was some news to celebrate on Sept. 28 in the email chain of scientists who work at the Cayo Santiago Field Station. Cayo Santiago is a 38-acre tropical island off the coast of Puerto Rico and home to approximately 1,500 rhesus monkeys, earning it the local nickname “Monkey […]
President Trump spent the weekend playing golf and attacking Puerto Rican leadership on Twitter while the island remains in a state of severe crisis and recovery moves at a “glacial pace.” While FEMA aid has begun reaching remote parts of the island, severe shortages of food, water and diesel are grinding on residents from rich […]
Tesla is sending its Powerwall system to Puerto Rico as the island deals with widespread power loss in the wake of Hurricane Maria. According to Electrek, the company has been quietly shipping hundreds of battery packs to be paired with solar panels to Puerto Rico ever since the storm cleared. Fortune reported that Tesla employees […]
By Julia Conley While much media attention has rightly been focused on the devastation in Puerto Rico this week as calls have grown louder for President Donald Trump to deploy more resources to help the recovery from Hurricane Maria, the White House’s inaction has caused attention to be pulled away from the U.S. Virgin Islands […]
Extreme weather and public health issues related to burning fossil fuels could cost the U.S. up to $360 billion annually–nearly half of annual U.S. economic growth–within the next ten years, according to a new report. The report from the non-profit Universal Ecological Fund found that the impacts of wildfires, hurricanes, heat waves and other extreme […]
Puerto Rico’s power grid is “virtually gone,” Acting Department of Homeland Secretary Elaine Duke told a Senate committee Wednesday, confirming that the massive humanitarian crisis on the island could endure for months. “Our focus is not necessarily restoring energy,” Gov. Ricardo Rosselló told CNN on Wednesday. “The energy grid has been destroyed …. And we […]
Puerto Rico’s humanitarian crisis continued to grow over the weekend, as officials described “apocalyptic” conditions across the island in the wake of Hurricane Maria. Many of the 3.4 million American citizens living on the island are without power and disconnected from communications, and officials estimate some areas won’t see power restored for months. Isolated towns […]