Teresa Bergen

They have see-through skulls, transparent blood, and they built 60 million nests beneath the frigid waters of the Antarctic Sea. They’re Jonah’s icefish, and a polar research team has just discovered what might be their largest breeding colony in the world. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos Scientists from the Alfred Wegener Institute in Germany were cruising the Antarctic Sea last year on the RV Polarstern with a mission to study ocean currents. They were surveying the seabed below the ship, dragging a camera system the size of a car to transmit photos to the deck, when they discovered the nests.  Related: New study sheds light […]

Access to charging stations is one of the stumbling blocks for America’s proposed electric vehicle future. Missouri-based EOS Linx found a way to combine its work in advertising, security, data analytics and renewable energy into an interesting package that could quickly boost EV drivers’ charging options. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos They’re pairing charging stations with 75-inch screens that will advertise stuff to people charging their cars — and even passers-by. Expect these charging stations to pop up at hotels, convenience stores and other businesses, starting with Atlanta, Chattanooga and Dallas. Inhabitat interviewed Jeff Hutchins, chief information officer at EOS Linx, […]

Despite global cries for an end to fossil fuel use, China’s coal production reached record levels last year. The government encouraged miners to ramp up production, working at maximum capacity to increase China’s economic growth. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos China is the world’s biggest coal producer. Last month, the country set a new record by mining more than 384 million metric tons of coal. In 2021, China hit an all-time high for coal output, topping 4.07 billion metric tons, an increase of 4.7% from 2020.  Related: US and China make big climate pledges at UN General Assembly These figures come just a […]

Americans eat a million tons of tortilla chips per year. But as we crunch our snack foods, few of us ever realize their water cost. Million tons of chips have a water footprint of 180 billion gallons. Josh Death, founder of Kazoo Snacks, wants people to enjoy a chip while not decimating Earth’s water supply. His new, water-saving tortilla chip brand upcycles corn germ to save 20 gallons of water per bag of chips. Death talked to Inhabitat about why chips require so much water and how he hopes to change American snacking. Related: Fast food, snacks and treats that are […]

An old Kentucky coal mine will soon be turned into a pumped hydro “water battery” in an ambitious renewable clean energy scheme. Hydropower developer Rye Development is transforming a strip mine in southeastern Kentucky’s Bell County into the Lewis Ridge pumped storage project. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos While a lithium-ion battery holds power for a few hours, pumped hydro storage can hold energy long-term. It works by pumping water uphill to a reservoir during low-demand times, then releasing it downhill to run turbines when electricity needs are high. Open systems release stored water one way into the local waterway. Closed-loop systems, such as […]

England’s Environment Agency doesn’t have enough money to investigate low-impact pollution incidents. So it’s decided to ignore them. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos The agency categorizes incidents from one to four, with one being “major, serious, persistent and/or extensive impact or effect on the environment, people and/or property.” Category 3 and 4 incidents, which cause minor, minimal or no impact, will no longer be investigated, according to leaked documents. But this doesn’t mean agency officials are happy about the strategy. The documents say the agency’s leadership has “made it clear to government that you get the environment you pay for,” according to The […]

The ghost orchid grows in complete darkness in Madagascar’s dense forests. Instead of using photosynthesis, its nutrients come from symbiotic relationships with underground fungi. The orchid pokes its bloom through the forest floor for a single day to attract pollinators, possibly ants. This newly discovered orchid is one of the 205 new species named by the scientists of Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and their worldwide collaborators in 2021. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos Of the world’s 400,000 named plant species, 40% are threatened by extinction. Many probably disappear before they’re ever named. In the last decade, scientists have named about 2,000 new plant […]

IKEA’s new line of 3D-printed décor is now available in Germany. The new FLAMTRÄD product line includes decorative items with a lattice design, including a human face and hands posed in different ways, such as thumbs up, pointing or making a heart. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos Under project leader Olaf Szukałowicz, the new products use an industrial 3D printing process called selective laser sintering (SLS). The faces and hands come in black and white. Related: African urbanization is being transformed by 3D printing There’s still more to come from the FLAMTRÄD line. “Sales have not been fully launched and we expect that […]

Los Angeles County suffered a sewage spill of historic proportions last week. More than 8 million gallons of raw sewage led to seven beach closures over the New Year weekend. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos It all started on Dec. 30 in the L.A. County city of Carson. A 48-inch sewer mainline near the 110 northbound offramp to 220th Street collapsed, allowing sewage to flow into the Dominguez Channel. From there it poured into Los Angeles Harbor. Related: LA County beaches close after an 8-hour sewage spill Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn questioned whether an aging or inadequately maintained infrastructure led to the […]

Motorcycles often get a bad rap, environmentally speaking. The Italian motorcycle company GPR Italia is trying to change all that. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos “The motorcycle is the only truly sustainable mobility,” said Mauro Orlandi, owner and CEO of GPR Italia SRL. GPR’s Impact Zero Project focuses on creating high-quality products that are efficient, recyclable and manufactured to bring their carbon footprint down to zero. Their motorcycle parts are built from 51% to 71% recycled material, and up to 88% of the product weight is recyclable, according to a video GPR produced on its Impact Zero Project. Related: NAWA […]

A new rainfall app is helping farmers in Indonesia’s Sumbawa Island navigate climate change. A collaboration between Bandung Institute of Technology, USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance and an international development nonprofit called World Neighbors is giving farmers important data on maximizing their crops. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos In the past, the farmers in Dompu Regency have relied on natural signs and astronomical calculations to determine the best planting times. But climate change is throwing off generations of traditional knowledge as weather — especially rainfall — has become less predictable. Misjudging the best planting time can lead to financial ruin. The new rainfall app, funded by the U.S. Agency […]

When people think of Wisconsin, cheese comes to mind before vegan delicacies. Restaurant collective Playing in the Plants is bringing exciting new plant-based outlets to Milwaukee.  Continue reading below Our Featured Videos On The Bus in the popular Milwaukee Public Market features sandwiches, vegan burgers, smoothies and perhaps Milwaukee’s best vegan ice cream. Sugar Cube Donuts is a pop-up that serves Milwaukeeans giant square-shaped vegan donuts. And the collective plans a couple more outlets coming soon to downtown Milwaukee: Treat, a sweet shop, and Make Waves, which will feature custom acai bowls. Inhabitat talked to Emily Ware, owner and founder of […]

Chile’s Atacama Desert is known for its beauty, wildlife, starry night skies and amazing hot air balloon rides. Now it’s also becoming infamous for its dunes of discarded fast fashion. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos All those clothes lying around for the taking may sound like a teen fashionista’s dream, but the cheap clothes that are being dumped in the Atacama Desert is an environmental disaster. Here’s the surreal story of how unsold clothes intended for American and European markets wind up in Earth’s oldest desert. Related: Over 80 fashion brands linked to Amazon deforestation Up to 59,000 tons of […]

Over Thanksgiving weekend, FlixBus USA made transit history by transporting a busload of passengers on the first interstate fully electric bus journey. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos “The driver said there was just this kind of bit of a glow in the bus,” said Pierre Gourdain, managing director of FlixBus USA. “People were really proud. It’s a historic moment.” Related: 20 new electric vehicles driving onto the scene in 2022 But don’t try to book your electric bus ticket yet. The Seattle to Eugene, Oregon trip last month was part of a pilot program. It’s going to take a lot […]

Deep in a laboratory at Lund University, Eva Tornberg developed an emulsion technology to blend potatoes and rapeseed oil. Her innovation may fuel a new trend in 2022: potato milk. Yep, the emerita professor in Lund’s Department of Food Technology, Engineering and Nutrition will help set potato milk on grocery shelves, alongside plant-based alternamilks made from soy, almond, cashew, oat, quinoa, coconut, barley, hazelnut, macadamia and hemp. Related: Impossible Foods is testing revolutionary plant-based milk The Swedish brand DUG, owned by Veg of Lund, is already getting hyped up on social media and has the internet in a froth over the […]

Six hundred unhoused Angelenos will soon have their own small apartments in downtown Los Angeles. Adaptive reuse will transform the historic Cecil Hotel into very low-income single-room occupancy rental housing. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos The eco-conscious practice of adaptive reuse includes repurposing existing structures instead of using resources to build new developments. For the Cecil, this means turning hotel rooms into small studios ranging from 160 to 176 square feet. Most units will share bathrooms. Residents can also use communal kitchens and gathering spaces. Related: Los Angeles builds justice through building decarbonization To qualify, single renters need to earn less than […]

The Netherlands has too much manure. So the Dutch government announced a 25 billion euro plan to greatly reduce the country’s livestock. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos Earlier this week, a new coalition government unveiled the radical scheme to cut nitrogen pollution levels by buying out farmers. But the farmers aren’t happy about it. In the past, farmers have taken to the streets to protest new regulations and buyouts. Many farmers aren’t sure how they can switch to less intensive methods and fewer animals while still paying their debts. Related: 20 livestock firms emit more greenhouse gas than Britain, France or Germany “We don’t […]

You’ve known them all your life, so there’s pressure to make your siblings’ gifts good. Don’t worry. Our top picks for your eco-conscious sibs this year will have them looking, feeling and even smelling their best. Give that classic Dr. Martens look without sacrificing your sibling’s animal welfare ethics. Yep, the famous boot maker’s vegan line is even cooler than the original. Glitzy sibs will love the pink metallic boots with subtle hexagonal embossing. The shiny cherry red is gorgeous or, of course, go with basic black. The vegan line also includes Chelsea-style boots, sans laces. Alternatively, choose a chic messenger bag. Shop Dr. Martens on […]

Starting this week, the whole world can see Reno’s carbon footprint. The Nevada city launched a public portal that measures emission, energy and utility info.  Continue reading below Our Featured Videos The new portal is a partnership between Reno and the 24/7 carbon-tracking platform Ledger8760. Now both policymakers and the general public will be able to find out exactly how much carbon Reno’s buildings, vehicle fleet, meters and public utilities are emitting. Related: Renewables can power the world, according to new study “By making our emissions data public, we are setting a new standard for transparency, as we work to reach our sustainability goals,” Reno Mayor […]

A pair of Komodo dragons at the Bronx Zoo welcomed adorably scaly babies last month. This is a first in the zoo’s 122-year history and a boon to the dwindling population of the world’s largest lizard. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos The dragons bred in March, the female laid her eggs in April, and 212 days later, the hatchlings emerged. “The first dragon pipped its egg by using a special egg tooth on the tip of its snout,” Don Boyer, curator of herpetology at the Bronx Zoo, described in his blog. “The dragon did not emerge right away – at times just an eye […]

Voluptuous floral arrangements covered several walls of the Chehalem Cultural Center in Newberg, Oregon for most of 2021. But these weren’t your ordinary florists’ bouquets. Artist Amanda Bayha mobilized the citizens of her adopted town to forego their yard debris bins. Instead, they brought nature’s drying bounty to the cultural center for perhaps the city’s most interactive art project ever. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos Amanda Bayha lived in the Portland area for most of her life until 2013, when she and her husband decided they wanted to raise their children somewhere smaller. They chose Newberg, a population of 23,000 […]

Chilean wildlife conservationists are excited about discovering a new population of Andean cats living close to Santiago. Experts think fewer than 1,400 of the Americas’ most endangered cats are left in the wild. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos Previously, conservationists believed the adorable wildcats lived only in remote, rocky places far from cities. But Bernardo Segura, a volunteer with Andean Cat Alliance, had a hunch that the cats might live in Parque Mahuida, a nature reserve on Santiago’s eastern edge. After all, the park is rich in mountain vizcachas, a rodent from the chinchilla family and the cats’ favorite meal. Segura set up wildlife cameras […]

The appeal of mountains has long been obvious to people around the world. They’re impressive in their size and variety, dotted with fascinating trees, plants and wildlife, and if you climb one, you can see for a long way. So it’s not surprising that they have their own day — International Mountain Day. The United Nations General Assembly deemed Dec. 11 International Mountain Day in 2003 and “encouraged the international community to organize events at all levels on that day to highlight the importance of sustainable mountain development.” Every year, the U.N. chooses a different theme to focus on. In 2021, mountain lovers are contemplating […]

Los Angeles officials announced a new community engagement process to involve the people most affected by climate change in the city’s building decarbonization process. The city’s Climate Emergency Mobilization Office will solicit and incorporate the input of vulnerable communities into policy decisions, with a goal of decarbonizing all buildings by 2050. By 2030, all new buildings in L.A. must be zero carbon. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos Urban buildings contribute 43% of L.A.’s carbon emissions, Los Angeles mayor Eric Garcetti said at a news conference. The city contains more than 1 million buildings, which have a combined total of about 2.5 billion […]

At Alabama Power’s Plant Barry, more than 21 million tons of coal ash fill an unlined pond. The Mobile River surrounds this toxic stash on three sides, with wetlands, Mobile Bay and the Mobile-Tensaw Delta close by. Now Alabama Power plans to do a “cap-in-place” disposal method. This means the company would remove water from the pond, pack soil around it, then seal the ash with a combination of crushed rock, artificial turf and plastic. Alabama Power says this is enough. Others say that ash is going to leach into the groundwater and beyond. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos “We’ve got an […]

The problem with shopping for grandparents is that they’ve been around a while and usually have a lot of stuff already. It’s a challenge to find something new to them that they’ll use and love. Here are our top picks this year for the grandmas and grandpas on your holiday eco-friendly shopping list. Australian Anew Atelier features vegan leather made from industrial apple peels. The stylish totes and pouches are sure to appeal to any ancestor. Styles change each season as a different destination around the world inspires new looks. When founder Gemma Trebilco went vegetarian, she noticed a gap in […]

A North Carolina town with fewer than 3,000 citizens and known for its antiques festival is about to be on the cutting edge of the electric vehicle revolution. Toyota just announced that it will construct a $1.29 billion battery-building facility in little Liberty, North Carolina. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos North Carolina worked hard to snag the Toyota plant, which will eventually employ at least 1,750 people. Liberty is home to the Greensboro-Randolph Megasite, a designated area that boasts an available workforce, an east coast location and a well-developed transportation infrastructure. The state of North Carolina enticed Toyota with a $438.7 million tax incentive package. […]

Indian Ocean coral reefs are in danger of collapsing within the next 50 years, according to a new study. From Seychelles to South Africa, reef systems could face functional extinction, threatening the lives and livelihoods of marine and terrestrial animals — including humans. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos Eighteen researchers, mostly working at African institutions, contributed to the study published in Nature Sustainability earlier this week. They analyzed 11 sub-regions of the western Indian Ocean, enlisting the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) red list framework, just as researchers have done when examining threats to plants and animals. This time, the researchers […]

Tennessee may not strike people as the most progressive state with 46% of the population conservative and 27% moderate, according to a Pew Research Center poll. You might not expect it to be a bastion of green energy, but the greater Chattanooga area is stepping out in front of many other parts of the U.S. as a solar pioneer. Among other firsts, Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport is the nation’s first and only airport with a solar farm that generates enough power to supply its total energy needs. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos The city of 185,000 is situated in southern Tennessee, […]

Ten major oil companies will now be required to disclose more methane emissions data from the Permian Basin. The House Science Committee decided that the companies must do more to track and decrease the amount of methane contaminating this part of Texas and New Mexico. Already, more than a hundred other countries have promised to slice 30% off their methane emissions by the decade’s end. It’s time for the U.S. to catch up. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos “The United States cannot achieve its targeted reduction in methane emissions under the Global Methane Pledge without a swift and large-scale decline in oil […]

This might be anthropomorphizing, but videos filmed in Hawaii and analyzed in a new study appear to show a couple of sea turtles making out. Marine biologists are surprised, because even reptiles as cute as turtles aren’t usually regarded as being so sensual. Or even sociable. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos The head touching “sometimes lasted several minutes and involved turtles rubbing the sides of their faces together, swiping their beaks in a gyrating motion, or pumping water in and out of their mouths and noses,” said Jesse Senko, an assistant research professor in the College of Global Futures at Arizona State University and […]

While many people have heard of Amazon rain forest land being cleared for grazing cows doomed to become burgers, the pursuit of cows’ skin is also driving deforestation. Turns out, it’s not just fast-food chains causing problems. According to a new study, many fashion brands source leather from opaque supply chains tied to decimating forests. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos The culprits include lots of famous fashion brands like Coach, Zara, Adidas and Dr. Martens. Some, like Louis Vuitton, H&M and Fendi, are multiple offenders, getting busted again after previously pledging transparency. Related: Bucha delivers lab-made leather alternative for clean fashion Advocacy group Stand.earth conducted this […]

A new study divides fueling the world into two options: we can continue with a fossil engine model, or we can jump on the solar engine. Considering that experts say humanity has only a 50% chance of keeping to the Paris Agreement target of keeping global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius or under by century’s end, it’s clear the study authors are pro-solar. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos “Climate heating beyond 1.5°C induces potentially existential risks to humanity with rapidly increasing chances to exceed tipping points,” wrote authors Harald Desing and Rolf Widmer in their study on reducing climate risks, published November 24 in Environmental […]

We all know by now that where a person is born can convey privilege — or the opposite. But what about animals? Their country of origin can make the difference between leading a posh life with toys, a pet bed and even a wardrobe, or winding up on somebody’s dinner plate. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos Matthew Nash, researcher and co-founder of insurance comparison website The Swiftest, delved into animal rights in a survey of the 67 best and worst countries for animal rights. “I have always been interested in animal rights,” said Nash. “I believe animals are sentient beings. As a […]

Imagine spending a glorious day skiing on one of the highest mountains and snowiest places on earth in the Cascade Range. Then you retire to a private vacation dome tucked into a forest of pine trees with a huge skylight that lets you stargaze from your bed. The people behind the new Oculis Mountain Side project at Mount Baker, Washington plan to disrupt the traditional hospitality industry by providing eco-friendly, yet fabulously appointed, alternative accommodations. Right now, this underserved area only has one small hotel and a handful of cabins. Oculis Mountain Side is remedying this lack of accommodations by tucking […]

Jeff Knispel finished planting 205 citrus trees on Tuesday, November 2. That Saturday, he noticed his trees had been stolen. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos Knispel grows citrus in the Riverland region of South Australia, a couple of hours northeast of Adelaide. He’s joint managing director of the Nippy’s Group, a family business that has been producing fruit juice since the 1930s. Related: Trees face extinction, too. What can we do about it? The theft was obviously premeditated. “It might have been the case that preparation of this piece of land was visible for several weeks, which might have given the perpetrators a […]

Yet another brave land defender has disappeared in Mexico. Irma Galindo Barrios, a member of the Indigenous Mixtec group in Oaxaca, very publicly defended her people’s lands from illegal logging. She hasn’t been seen since Oct. 27. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos Irma Galindo Barrios, Indigenous Mixteca defender of the Ñuu Savi Forest in Oaxaca, has been missing since October 27, 2021. Since 2018, the activist has faced “intimidation, harassment, persecution, smear campaigns & death threats” by public officials because of her work. 😔😡 pic.twitter.com/lLh1PFSBUK — Voices in Movement (@VIM_Media) November 12, 2021 Earlier that day, Galindo was turned away when […]

Indigenous rock art has survived tens of thousands of years. But global warming might be the death of it. As extreme weather events like fires, cyclones, floods and erosion intensify, rock art fades and disappears. A report at a recent symposium declared the damage is now irreversible. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos The symposium was held Tuesday at Flinders University in Adelaide, Australia, spurred by a report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. According to the report, the global temperature is likely to rise above the 1.5 degrees Celsius target of the Paris Agreement. Expect more extreme, rock art-damaging weather. Related: […]

Now that the world leaders have left the COP26 climate talks in Glasgow, citizens around the world are wondering if they will keep their promises to cut carbon emissions. As for U.S. President Biden, the verdict is mixed. He is trying to protect some of the world’s most sacred and important Indigenous sites at New Mexico’s Chaco Canyon with a moratorium on new oil and gas leasing. On the other hand, critics say he could do more to halt a whopper of an oil sale in the Gulf of Mexico. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos Chaco Canyon was a cultural hub […]

The Barnsdall Art Park in East Hollywood, California has spent its pandemic years getting a makeover. The park is known for its art center and the site of Hollyhock House, designed by famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright. But central to this urban oasis is a historic 463-tree olive grove. And now an innovative olive-wood themed art exhibit and online auction is raising money to plant an additional forty trees. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos The Barnsdall Olive Wood Workshop Exhibition and Online Auction opened November 13 for in-person viewing at the contemporary art gallery Luis De Jesus Los Angeles. Twenty-one […]

Humans are barreling toward a catastrophic tipping point for the Amazon rainforest, according to a recent study by more than 200 scientists. If we don’t change our habits immediately, the damage will be irreversible. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos According to study authors, more than a third of the Amazon rainforest has been deforested or degraded. Dry seasons continue to lengthen, and rainfall has decreased. Related: Amazon deforestation still high despite Brazil’s COP26 pledge The authors formed a new group, Science Panel for the Amazon (SPA). On the final scheduled day of the COP26 climate talks in Glasgow, the group released its first dire report.  […]

Yesterday at COP26, seven countries and one Canadian province joined forces as the Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance. BOGA members committed to stop exploring for and producing oil and gas. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos Since none of the seven is a major oil or gas producer, the pledge seems more symbolic than practical for solving the climate crisis. But Costa Rica, Denmark, France, Greenland, Ireland, Sweden, Wales and Quebec are bravely taking the lead as BOGA’s core members. Portugal, New Zealand and California were dubbed associate members for their “significant, concrete steps” in reducing oil and gas production. Related: Will promises from world […]

Ali O’Grady’s business Thoughtful Human is different from other greeting card companies. First, it’s zero waste. You can plant the cards and grow wildflowers. And these cards don’t celebrate typical holidays. Thoughtful Human’s greetings are appropriate for when you find out your loved one has cancer, or is in rehab, or just suffered a miscarriage. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos The cards have caught on, and now you can buy them in Cost Plus World Markets across the United States. O’Grady talked to Inhabitat about how she started this unusual business and why people have responded in such an overwhelmingly positive way. Related: The high […]

Many plant-based activists claim that leaders at COP26 aren’t paying enough attention to methane emissions from agriculture. They say that a global change in diet toward veganism could help slow climate change. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos Animal agriculture contributes about 20% to human-caused climate change. The need for grazing land also drives deforestation. But the two-week climate talks in Glasgow lumped talk about agriculture into a themed “Nature Day” last Saturday, along with land and ocean management. Related: COP26’s meaty menu sparks controversy over emissions “The scale and speed of the shift that is needed to halt and reverse the climate damage […]

Yesterday, Little Amal finally made it to COP26 in Glasgow, just in time to lead a plenary session with Samoan activist Brianna Fruean on Gender Day. Little Amal arrived on foot, which is fitting for a giant puppet depicting a nine-year-old Syrian refugee. Like many refugees, the puppet traveled a long way — 4,970 miles after leaving Gaziantep, Turkey, on July 27. Gaziantep is near the Syrian border. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos The Handspring Puppet Company created Little Amal, whose name means “hope” in Arabic. The Capetown-based puppeteers wanted to raise awareness about the problems of unaccompanied refugee children. Little Amal’s backstory is that her […]

Last week at COP26 in Glasgow, 100 countries, including Brazil, pledged to reverse deforestation by 2030. However, recent figures for October show that Brazil is nowhere near protecting the Amazon rainforest. In fact, the latest numbers are the second most appalling since scientists began measuring deforestation. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos The Brazilian National Space Agency (INPE) released its latest data on November 5. It showed that during October 2021, The Amazon rainforest lost 796 km2 to deforestation. For comparison, this is more than four times the area of the Glasgow metropolitan area. Last October, the Amazon set an all-time deforestation record of […]

United Kingdom floral company Flying Flowers is trying to raise bee awareness by building the world’s first bee-tirement home. The dollhouse for bees is gimmicky and too cute for words, but the company’s effort makes important points about our reliance on bees. Not only does the floral company have a vested interest in the existence of bees, but we all should too. One in every three bites of food we eat depends on a bee’s pollination efforts, according to Greenpeace. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos The Honeysuckle Bee-tirement Home welcomes bees with its brick edifice, yellow doors and tiny fake […]

Goodbye slaughterhouses, hello humane future. UPSIDE Foods just opened a major production facility to produce lab-grown meat. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos The food technology startup, formerly known as Memphis Meats, chose Emeryville, California, for its abattoir alternative. Emeryville is tucked between Berkeley and Oakland — a suitable place, since the Bay Area is known as a vegan stronghold. Related: Singapore is the first country to approve lab-grown meat UPSIDE’s Engineering, Production, and Innovation Center (EPIC) is a visitor-friendly 53,000 square foot space that resembles a brewery more than a sticky, smelly slaughterhouse. “When we founded UPSIDE in 2015, it was the only […]

A few years ago, flyskam, or flight shame, made headlines. Then the pandemic tamped down air travel. Now the greenhouse gas-emitting horrors of airplanes are back in the news, as a new study shows that aviation contributes more to global warming than was previously known. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos According to a study published in Environmental Research Letters, aviation has contributed about 4% to known human-induced climate warming to date, even though it was responsible for only 2.4% of global CO2 emissions. Why the gap? Because of the mix of climate pollutants that aviation generates. And as far as keeping to […]

Activists got creative outside the World Leaders Summit at COP26 yesterday. Donning red boiler suits and black masks, protestors held a demonstration inspired by the now world-famous South Korean TV show “Squid Game.” Continue reading below Our Featured Videos Their message was for leaders to stop playing climate games. “The climate crisis is the defining issue of our lifetime, and the solutions that come out of COP26 have the imperative to change history,” said Fatima Ibrahim, co-founder of Green New Deal Rising. “This is no joke and our leaders need to take it seriously. We want to see them make a strong commitment to climate […]

More than 100 leaders from around the world pledged to reverse deforestation by 2030, in what’s being lauded as the first big achievement of COP26. Countries are backing up their promise with more than $19 billion in public and private funds. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos “We have to stop the devastating loss of our forests,” said U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson, as reported by the BBC. He called on fellow leaders to “end humanity’s long history as nature’s conqueror, and instead become its custodian.” Related: Illegal beef farmers promote deforestation in Chiribiquete National Park A total of 110 leaders signed the deforestation pledge […]

Leaders from around the world are meeting in Glasgow this week for a major summit on climate change. The 26th Conference of the Parties, or COP26 for short, includes almost every country in the world. In addition to world leaders, tens of thousands of government representatives, negotiators, businesspeople and concerned citizens have descended upon Scotland for twelve days of intense discussion. Here’s a little of what’s happened since COP26 started on Halloween. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos First of all, some important folks are missing. Many leaders of Pacific Island nations — those more directly affected by climate change because […]

The Break Free From Plastic movement has been gearing up for COP26 in Glasgow. The movement released its list of top plastic polluters, collected over 13,000 signatures on a petition calling for the Biden administration to stop approvals for new and expanded petrochemical and plastic facilities, and hosted an event about environmental racism. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos Last week, Break Free From Plastic released its 2021 global brand audit. Coca-Cola and PepsiCo took the top two spots for plastic pollution for the fourth straight year. This year, Unilever displaced Nestle for the non-coveted third spot. Nestle came in fourth and Procter & Gamble […]

A flotilla of around 20 kayaks slowly paddles along, a comical number considering we’re all trying to listen to a history talk about the buildings lining the Milwaukee River. “Steve, we can’t hear you!” we yell at Steve Schaffer, assistant archivist of Milwaukee County Historical Society as his kayak drifts backwards behind a moored boat. For the voyage, the Milwaukee Kayak Company has issued us each a can of beer, a bag of cheese curds and a laminated piece of paper showing historic photos of Milwaukee buildings. Schaffer is explaining Milwaukee through a megaphone I suspect came from a dollar store. […]

In a brilliant marketing move consistent with listening to its customers, LEGO has issued a handbook to save the world. It will publish just in time for the COP26 climate summit starting in Glasgow on Sunday. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos Tim Brooks, LEGO’s vice-president of environmental responsibility, said the project intends to “give children a voice” at COP26. “Children are demanding that they and future generations are front of mind when it comes to creating policy,” Brooks said, as reported by The Guardian. Related: LEGO responds to kids’ worries about single-use plastics To devise the plan to save Earth, LEGO involved more than […]

The Guardian published an interesting opinion piece yesterday about who is really responsible for climate change. According to the progressive U.K. newspaper, the average person doesn’t need to feel so guilty about ruining the world. Mostly, it’s the fault of a dozen rich, white American men. Instead of blaming ourselves, working and middle-class people need to band together and hold the supervillains accountable. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos Not surprisingly, oil execs made the list. The Guardian deems Chevron CEO Mike Wirth a “notorious corporate polluter” and a greenwasher. Under CEO Darren Woods, Exxon is a climate denier and the […]

While most of us have been focusing on goals related to decreasing CO2 levels in the atmosphere, a subset of scientists have been eying another villain. Now word from the Plastic Health Summit 2021 is that we have nine years to save the world from irreparable plastic-wrought damage. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos Plastic Soup Foundation organized the one-day summit, held last Thursday, Oct. 21 in Amsterdam. Maria Westerbos, director of Plastic Soup Foundation, demanded that the World Health Organization declare that plastic waste is a public health emergency. If we don’t act now, she said, the harm caused by […]

Greenpeace investigative team announced this week that oil, coal, beef and animal feed producing countries have been lobbying to tone down a major United Nations climate report. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos According to Greenpeace, fossil fuel producers, including Saudi Arabia, Australia, Japan and Iran, want the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to not recommend phasing out fossil fuels. Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) members second that. And then there are the meat and dairy kingpins like Brazil and Argentina, who don’t appreciate the UN connecting plant-based diets with climate benefits. In fact, the draft report of […]

As you probably know, space exploration has brought us such fabulous advances as Tang and Velcro. And now, a weather technology called radio occultation (RO) that’s long been used to study Mars and Venus may help us better understand and predict Earth’s weather. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos Radio occultation detects how radio waves bend around a planet’s atmosphere. The first experiments date back to 1965, as Mariner IV transmitted data during an approach to Mars. Since then, RO experiments have involved Venus, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Jupiter and the moons of several planets. But RO needed many signal sources in space to […]

A new device successfully hauled 20,000 pounds of trash out of the Pacific Ocean last week. This technology could potentially help clean up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos The successful experiment has been a long time coming. Boyan Slat declared that he had a plan for ridding the oceans of plastic when he was 18. Now, the Dutch inventor is 27 and the founder of Ocean Cleanup. The nonprofit has set a formidable goal: eliminate 90% of the plastic floating in the ocean by 2040. Related: The Ocean Cleanup launches sunglasses made from ocean plastic In 2018, Slat and […]

The United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child declined to rule on a complaint filed by youth activists from twelve countries. The young adults claimed that Argentina, Brazil, France, Germany and Turkey have violated children’s rights by failing to control carbon emissions, despite knowing about the perils of climate change. The panel told the activists that they should have brought their cases to national courts. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos The self-dubbed “Children vs. the Climate Crisis” insist there’s not time for lengthy court cases; they need to take their case to the top. The youth come from […]

At a public talk at the Ted Countdown Summit in Edinburgh last Thursday, participants played to type. Royal Dutch Shell CEO Ben van Beurden tried to look sincere about the oil behemoth’s commitment to fighting climate change. Young climate activist Lauren MacDonald delivered a scathing commentary about van Beurden and his company’s character, then stormed off the stage, refusing to further engage. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos There were four people on the stage. Chris James, co-founder of activist fund Engine No. 1, which has managed to install three new directors on ExxonMobil’s board, was also speaking. Costa Rican diplomat Christiana Figueres, […]

Florida scientists are working on a new way to identify greenhouse gas-emitting hot spots in the Everglades. The U.S. Department of Energy has just funded scientists from Florida Atlantic University. They are developing a new prototype of ground-penetrating radar that they’ll mount on an unoccupied aircraft. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos “Peat soils are large natural producers of biogenic greenhouse gases like methane and carbon dioxide that accumulate in the soil matrix to subsequently be released into the atmosphere,” said principal investigator Dr. Xavier Comas. “Although there have been remarkable advances made in predicting these carbon fluxes at a variety of […]

It’s been a bad year for Lake Tahoe. A usually busy summer season saw empty shorelines as people evacuated from the Caldor Fire. And now California’s drought has dropped the lake’s water level to a four-year low. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos Usually, Lake Tahoe sits above the basin’s natural rim, letting water flow into the Truckee River. Now, with the level low and the lake cut off, algae will bloom and wash up on popular tourist beaches. Everything depends on this winter. Lake Tahoe needs an above-average snowfall to boost the lake up past its rim again and remain there […]

Hosting the Olympics is a huge honor for cities. At the same time, it’s an expensive burden. As Los Angeles plans for its summer 2028 games, many people say the event will be neither as sustainable or equitable as city leaders have promised. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos Mayor Eric Garcetti has said the games — with an estimated $7 billion price tag — will have “no impact” on L.A., neither damaging the environment nor adding debt. Part of the way he plans to accomplish this is a no-build policy that would repurpose existing structures rather than creating new stadiums. This would […]

Joanne Lee Molinaro is a trial lawyer, marathon runner and TikTok sensation as @thekoreanvegan. The Chicagoan took time out of her busy schedule to talk about her debut cookbook/memoir The Korean Vegan released on Tuesday, October 12. Here’s what she had to say about being one of the best-known Korean vegans. Inhabitat: How did you decide to adopt a plant-based diet? Molinaro: I decided to adopt a plant-based diet at the suggestion of my then boyfriend (now husband). At his urging, I watched a lot of movies and read a lot of books about the impact animal agriculture had on health and […]

The U.N., the government of Yemen and Houthi rebels have been in talks about how to handle the FSO Safer. Meanwhile, the enormous floating oil storage vessel remains abandoned in the Red Sea, threatening a massive oil leak. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos The FSO Safer is carrying about 1.1 million barrels of crude oil — four times the amount released by the Exxon Valdez in the 1989 catastrophe in Alaska. The vessel has been sitting and deteriorating off the Yemeni coast since it was moored there in 2017. A new modeling study published Monday in the journal Nature Sustainability indicates that the longer […]

If melting polar ice caps and a deforested Amazon seem too far away to be real, many consumers may soon get an up-close and personal taste of climate change in their coffee cups. Coffee bean prices are about to spike. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos It’s kind of like that story of a butterfly flapping its wings having far-reaching consequences. But in this case, it’s a cold snap in Brazil, piling on top of droughts, mixed with COVID-19 supply chain issues — and before you know it, the price of coffee could hit $4.44 per kilogram. A very unlucky number, indeed. In July, […]

Twenty-three species are expected to drop off the Endangered Species list and into extinction. After no sightings for a long time, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed delisting several birds, fish, mussels, a Hawaiian plant and the Little Mariana fruit bat. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos Wildlife lovers don’t want to say goodbye to any more species. As usual, the time to act was 20 years ago, last year, yesterday. But we can still act today. “With climate change and natural area loss pushing more and more species to the brink, now is the time to lift up proactive, collaborative, […]

When Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro addressed the U.N. General Assembly last week, he confused onlookers by boasting about his environmental record. Haven’t we been hearing about how the Amazon rainforest is collapsing on his watch? Science news service Newswise did some fact-checking to get to the bottom of Bolsonaro’s claims. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos After bragging about Brazil’s environmental protections, Bolsonaro claimed that Amazon deforestation was reduced by 32% this August compared to the previous August and that 84% of the forest is intact. Newswire consulted its trusted sources and concluded Bolsonaro’s statement was half true. Related: Annual Amazon deforestation rate hits highest […]

Otters are notoriously cute animals… until they attack your Labradoodle and pull her under the water. Such is the behavior of some decidedly not cute Alaskan otters, who may possibly be afflicted with rabies. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos The Alaska Department of Fish and Game has alerted Anchorage residents to watch out for aggressive river otters who have recently attacked people and pets around local lakes and rivers. The attacks have happened at different locations, but because river otters can travel distances through interconnected waterways or over land, the same group of otters might be responsible for the attacks. Related: […]

Coffee lovers have a zillion options to grab a cup of coffee in San Francisco, but Equator Coffee’s newest location will trump all the others. Its new Round House Café has a nearly 360 degree view of the Golden Gate Bridge, Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay. Round House is part of Equator’s ongoing partnership with the national park system. Its first national park location opened in Fort Mason Center in 2017, followed by outlets in the Presidio and the Warming Hut at Crissy Field. Visitors will soon be able to get cozy with a cup of Equator coffee on the […]

While the focus is usually on fossil fuel emissions as the main climate change culprit, a new analysis by the nonprofit Energy Vision concludes that reducing emissions from organic waste would more steeply reduce methane. And it would cost less to accomplish. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos Last week the EU and U.S. announced their commitment to cutting methane emissions by 30% by 2030, as compared with 2020 levels. Congress has allocated billions of dollars to target methane emitted by the oil and gas industry. The EPA is planning stricter regulations to ensure that oil and gas companies locate and repair methane leaks ASAP. […]

As I pick my way between the crazily-shaped logs, to the water of South Beach on San Juan Island, it’s a driftwood lover’s dream come true. Some pieces are propped up to make primitive shelters. I’m here to run a half marathon and see some fellow runners huddled inside these shelters, appreciating the windbreak as we watch gentle gray waves and await our start time. Only an hour off the Washington coast by ferry, the crowds and tall buildings of Seattle seem very far away. Related: Green-roofed vacation home embraces old-growth trees in the San Juan Islands The San Juan Islands […]

Sixty-three endangered African penguins were the victims of a tragic attack last week. The culprits: a swarm of Cape honeybees. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos African penguins who live on the islands and along the coast of Namibia and South Africa have already been the casualties of hunting, fishing, mining, oil and gas drilling and climate change. But this was the first time they faced massacre by bee. And it happened inside what’s supposed to be their safe space, the Boulders Penguin Colony in Simon’s Town, South Africa. Related: About 90% of world’s largest king penguin colony has mysteriously disappeared At first, investigators blamed […]

For many of us, what we thought were adorable little toys as youngsters we now view as today’s non-recyclable waste problem. But kids nowadays are savvier. Two young sisters started a campaign asking McDonald’s to include sustainable toys in Happy Meals. On Monday, the giant burger corporation announced that by 2025, Happy Meals will contain more sustainable toys. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos Young Londoners Ella and Caitlin Wood gathered 325,000 signatures since starting a petition in 2018. Their mother, Rachel Wood, supported her daughters’ activism. “You open a plastic bag to get another plastic item, which is played with for five minutes and […]

Activists in New York are trying to shame rich countries into keeping an expensive promise to the Global South. A new version of a digital “climate clock” displayed in Union Square shows a climate-action timeline along with an amount rich countries still owe. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos These richer countries promised to invest $100 billion annually in a global green energy fund to help developing nations. According to one photo taken of the digital clock, those countries are wondering about the whereabouts of the other roughly $90.5 billion promised this year. Related: NYC Metronome clock now displays deadline for irreversible global warming The […]

Parasitic bacteria can teach us a lot, according to scientists who have just discovered a manipulation mechanism used by the bacteria to slow down plant aging. Their insights might lead to new ways to protect food crops from disease. Source link

Are you mechanically inclined? Do you enjoy climbing tall ladders and yearn to join the green economy? If so, consider retraining and switching to the fastest-growing job in the U.S. — wind turbine technician. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos Windtechs install wind turbines and keep them running. The job involves maintaining and repairing the wind turbines. As the U.S. pushes green power, wind turbine technician jobs could increase by 61% from 2019 to 2029. Related: Siemens Gamesa makes “world’s first” recyclable wind turbine It’s a complicated job that takes about two years to learn in a technical or vocational school. In addition to […]

When people think of Los Angeles, celebrities and fast cars probably come to mind before oil and gas drilling. But the county has a surprising number of active and abandoned wells. On Wednesday, Los Angeles County supervisors said no more drilling. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos As County Supervisor Janice Hahn put it, the plan is “a framework for how we transition from dirty fossil fuels to clean energy and make sure we bring our labor partners with us.” L.A. County currently has 1,046 active oil wells, 637 idle wells and 2,731 abandoned wells. The supervisors voted to start a program that will […]

Most studies coming out on climate change emphasize the need for immediate action. But now, almost 1,600 nonprofits want to postpone the COP26 climate summit until next year. The reason? Unequal access to the COVID-19 vaccine, which could prevent delegates from less developed countries from participating. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos More than 200 countries are part of the annual U.N. climate talk, officially known as Conference of the Parties. The group’s first meeting was in 1994. COP26 is scheduled to meet in Glasgow this November. If it’s not postponed, this will be its 26th meeting, since COVID-19 prevented the event last year. Related: […]

As if it’s not bad enough that the world is suffering from weather extremes and other climate-related disasters, last year a record 227 environmental defenders died for protecting the planet, according to an annual report by Global Witness. The report, which was released Monday, says that the number of murdered land defenders has more than doubled since 2013. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos “It’s the communities that are most impacted by the climate crisis who are speaking up to protect their land, their communities and our planet,” said Julie Anne Miranda-Brobeck, head of U.S. communications and global partnerships for Global Witness, as reported by EcoWatch. […]

What produces 14.5% of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide? The animal agriculture sector. According to a new report by animal campaigners, 20 livestock companies contribute more emissions than Britain, France or Germany. And governments subsidize them to do so. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos About 2,500 banks, pension funds and investment firms financed global meat and dairy companies to the tune of $478 billion between 2015 and 2020, according to the Meat Atlas. And the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development predicts meat production will rise by another 40 million tons a year by 2029. China, Brazil, the United States and some European Union […]

What’s more amazing, a tiny nectar-drinking bird that weighs less than a nickel and can fly backward, or a giant carnivorous lizard that can smell a dying animal up to six miles away? They’re both impressive, and now visitors to the San Diego Zoo can experience both hummingbirds and Komodo dragons in brand new habitats just steps away from each other. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos The two new habitats have been carefully designed, both from an eco-materials standpoint and considering what will make these creatures feel most at home. The hummingbirds can bathe in their choice of three water ponds, each using recycled […]

More than 220 of the world’s top public health and medical journals have published a joint plea for the global population to reduce carbon emissions immediately. Humanity already faces irreversible public health threats, the editors wrote. We can’t wait for the pandemic to end before we face the task of reducing emissions. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos “Health is already being harmed by global temperature increases and the destruction of the natural world, a state of affairs health professionals have been bringing attention to for decades,” said the call for action, which was published in multiple health journals worldwide, including the New England Journal […]

What provides habitat for half the world’s known plants and animals, is a vital component of biodiversity and an important economic crop? If you guessed trees, you have an inkling of their importance in the world — and will be horrified that a new study says many tree species are at risk of extinction. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI) released its State of the World’s Trees report on Wednesday. And like much news these days, it’s grim reading. The U.K.-based conservation group deduced that 17,500 types of trees face possible extinction. That’s about 30% of Earth’s tree species. Already, 440 […]

Different generations suffer from different anxieties, and those anxieties influence economic models. While Baby Boomers worry about rising inflation draining their retirement funds while they’re still aboveground, Gen Z is terrified that climate change means there will soon be no safe air to breathe nor water to drink. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos Older Americans suffer from price growth, which is the fastest it’s been for more than a decade. In a Bankrate.com survey published Wednesday, three-quarters of Baby Boomers said inflation has negatively impacted their finances. Contrast that with 54% of Millennials and Gen Zers. Related: Biden unveils $2 trillion infrastructure and green economy […]

Maybe you live in an area far from polluting industries, buy only organic food and have had your home screened for radon. But you’re probably still bringing dangerous per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) into your home. These are nicknamed “forever chemicals” because they stay in your body until death do you part. And death may come sooner, according to scientists who are worried about high concentrations of PFAS. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos PFAS are approximately 9,000 different compounds that make products resistant to heat, water and stains. Not only are they forever, they’re practically ubiquitous — in food packaging, cosmetics, […]

The U.S. Office of Climate Change and Health Equity will be charged with protecting vulnerable communities from climate-driven disasters. Responding to President Joe Biden’s executive order on climate change, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced the new office Monday. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos “History will judge us for the actions we take today to protect our world and our health from climate change,” said HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra in a statement released Monday. “The consequences for our inaction are real and worsening. We’ve always known that health is at the center of climate change, and now we’re going […]

England has announced a planned ban on polystyrene cups and single-use plastic cutlery and plates. But frustrated activists say the government is moving way too slowly. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos This autumn, the English government will start coming up with a plan to curtail single-use plastic and polystyrene perhaps within a couple of years. Meanwhile, the EU banned these same items in July. Related: 4ocean and Poralu Marine present BeBot, the beach cleaning robot The English government has a firmer plan for a plastic packaging tax, which will go into effect in April 2022. Companies that use plastic with less than […]

About 2,000 demonstrators rallied at the Minnesota State Capitol on Wednesday as part of a week of action called “Treaties Not Tar Sands.” The movement is reacting to Enbridge’s Line 3 pipeline, which could carry 750,000 barrels of tar sands oil from Alberta, Canada to Wisconsin every day. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos Indigenous people and environmentalists led the protest. The pipeline violates treaty rights and endangers clean water, say the protestors. Some Indigenous leaders walked more than 250 miles of the pipeline’s route to attend the Saint Paul rally. Related: Enbridge Line 3 pipeline protestors brutally arrested “We’re here in ceremony. […]

Many individuals have personally experienced that when folks are uncomfortable warm, they are correspondingly cranky. And many studies have found a correlation between rising temperatures and violence. But as we experience more extreme heat episodes around the world, scientists are finding that heat may not only increase our aggression but also reduce our coping mechanisms and lower our cognitive abilities. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos And who is likeliest to be affected by extreme heat? Lower-income individuals and countries with no way to cool off. “The physiological effects of heat may be universal, but the way it manifests … is highly unequal,” said […]

As every day brings us new stories of climate-related horror, there’s never been a better time to be old. Because the children are the ones who will grow up to face increasingly extreme and bizarre climate disasters in the decades ahead. Sure enough, UNICEF‘s first-ever Children’s Climate Risk Index shows that almost half of the world’s children fall into the extremely high-risk category for facing what UNICEF described in a tweet as “climate shocks.” Continue reading below Our Featured Videos Developing countries tend to have both more children and harsher climate impacts. The new report cited disease, drought, food shortages and extreme heat as some of the impacts […]

The grading period has ended, and it’s time to find out who got the high scores and who’s failing the class. According to a new environmental racism scorecard released by shareholder advocacy group As You Sow, ExxonMobil came in last. In other words, an F minus. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos The group’s recent evaluation of the 500 largest publicly traded companies is an updated version of its March scorecard. The earlier version looked at 26 indicators of racial justice, such as workplace diversity and how often employees of color got choice promotions. But people criticized that version for not considering how these companies […]

On Greenland’s highest summit, snow is the norm. But on the weekend of August 14-15, it rained. A lot. Seven billion tons of water hit the ice sheet for the heaviest rainfall since researchers started keeping records in 1950. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos This means that Greenland is heating way, way too fast, according to senior research scientist Ted Scambos of the University of Colorado’s National Snow and Ice Data Center “What is going on is not simply a warm decade or two in a wandering climate pattern,” Scambos told CNN. “This is unprecedented.” Related: Greenland’s ice melt enough to cover Florida in […]

During his administration, President Trump approved a massive oil drilling project in Alaska. Now a federal judge has reversed his move. Judge Sharon Gleason of the U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska ruled that the Interior Department did not fully consider the project’s environmental impact. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos President Biden had gone along with the ConocoPhillips’ Willow project, located in Alaska’s National Petroleum Reserve. The federal government specifically set aside this area to produce oil and gas. The plan was to produce more than 100,000 barrels of oil a day and provide thousands of jobs for Alaskans. About 600 […]

What started as a little blaze last weekend in El Dorado County, California, has turned into a town-gobbling inferno. The Caldor Fire tore through the 1,200-person town of Grizzly Flats, leaving not much more than the elementary school play structure, then headed for Highway 50. As of Wednesday evening, the fire had grown to more than 30,000 acres, shot smoke plumes through the sky and was 0% contained. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos At least two people were seriously injured in Grizzly Flats, which is about 60 miles east of Sacramento. More than 20,000 people have evacuated from the wider area. […]

While eating meat is the norm in the U.S., many people wish farm animals a happier life pre-burger. Which is why Californians overwhelmingly passed animal welfare initiative Proposition 12 in 2018. But now the free-range chickens are coming home to roost. And while they may still be relatively affordable, pig products will not be. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos Some media outlets have predicted possible pork shortages in California and sky-high prices for bacon. The problem? The new law dictates that starting January 1, 2022, pigs sold in the Golden State must be raised in roomier, 24-square-foot spaces, up from the previous size of […]

A new floating eco-hotel design by Hayri Atak Architectural Design Studio (HAADS) boasts a zero-waste system and will generate its own electricity by slowly rotating. The studio envisions sitting the hotel off the coast of Qatar. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos It will take 24 hours for the round hotel to complete a full rotation. The revolving concept is based on dynamic positioning, the same computer-controlled system used to automatically maintain the position of ships. Related: Qatar to create 16 sustainable floating hotels for World Cup A floating pier will allow guests to access the hotel by car. They may also arrive by […]

The coronavirus pandemic and raging wildfires were two heinous events of 2020. And in one of life’s unfair twists of evil synergy, a new study from Harvard says that smoke from West Coast wildfires increased the cases of COVID illnesses and deaths. Continue reading below Our Featured Videos The study, published in the journal Science Advances, attributed 19,742 additional COVID cases — and 748 deaths — to last year’s heavy blanket of wildfire smoke in Oregon, California and Washington. Tiny particulate matter, aka PM 2.5, was the culprit. Wildfire smoke carries small pieces of ash full of zinc, nickel, iron and other stuff you don’t […]