By Alison Snyder, Axios Expanding Antarctic ambitions, coupled with the impact of the pandemic and geopolitics, are reshaping science at the planet’s southern pole. Why it matters: Scientific research has for decades guided the governance of Antarctica, offering access to scientific frontiers and a say in the course of the continent. But as …
Florida’s Response to Measles Outbreak Troubles Public Health Experts
By Pien Huang, NPR In mid-February, a measles outbreak started at the Manatee Bay Elementary School in Broward County in South Florida. There are now at least nine cases in the county and one additional one in Polk County in Central Florida. Several public health researchers say Florida’s current response …
Your Favorite Brands Likely Contribute to Massive Deforestation. This Map Shows Where.
By Kristin Toussaint, Fast Company Palm oil is used in everything from ice cream to laundry detergent — and it’s production is linked to widespread deforestation. [Photo: Nazarizal Mohammad/Unsplash] The likelihood that you use products with palm oil is pretty high: the ingredient is in half of all products on supermarket shelves, in …
Falkland Islands Dispute is Causing Fishing ‘Free-For-All’ in Nearby Blue Hole
By Sam Meadows, The Guardian Warning that soaring number of vessels threaten fish stocks and environment as geopolitics prevents agreement to regulate area. The scale of unregulated fishing in a disputed region close to the Falkland Islands has reached an “overwhelming” level that is threatening fish populations and the rich biodiversity of …
How Do You Stop a Glacier From Melting? Put Up an Underwater Curtain.
By Robin McKie, Grist A 62-mile-long curtain moored to the Amundsen Sea bed in Antarctica could prevent catastrophic flooding elsewhere, scientists say. Scientists are working on an unusual plan to prevent Antarctic glaciers from melting. They want to build a set of giant underwater curtains in front of ice sheets …
Climate Migration is Our New Reality and New Responsibility
By Tefere Gebre and Nicole Melaku, The Hill The U.S. is now experiencing, on average, a billion-dollar extreme weather event every three weeks (adjusted for inflation) — up considerably from one every four months in the 1980s. In 2023, the city of Phoenix experienced temperatures above 110 degrees for 54 consecutive days. …
What If Our Society Valued Civics as It Does Entertainment?
By Ralph Nader, Nader.Org A teacher once said to me: “A society pays for what it values.” If so, our society values commercial entertainment, including spectator sports, orders of magnitude more than it values civics defined as the rights and duties exercised by citizens in a democracy. What if we …
A Decades-Long Battle Against North Carolina’s Largest Landfill is Ramping Up
By Cameron Oglesby, Grist “There is not a house in this community that has not had a person who has suffered from some type of cancer or kidney failure.” Paul Fisher first heard about the Sampson County landfill on a radio talk show in the early 1990s. Folks were adamantly …
San Diego County Officials Applaud Mexico Groundbreaking of Wastewater Treatment Plant
By Tammy Murga, Los Angeles Times Debris gathers in a catch basin on the U.S. side of the border in San Ysidro. When it rains, trash and raw sewage flow through the Tijuana River Valley to the Pacific Ocean. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) Mexico has broken ground on …
China Proposes New Target for Better Air Quality
Reuters People cross a street in the Sanlitun shopping district on a polluted day, in Beijing, China, November 6, 2021. REUTERS/Thomas Peter/File Photo BEIJING, Jan 11 (Reuters) – China has proposed new targets for improved air quality as part of its green and low-carbon development, state news agency Xinhua reported …