By Sarah Caspari8 June 2015 (Christian Science Monitor) – The Environmental Protection Agency’s recent report on hydraulic fracturing, more commonly known as fracking, may have given oil and gas companies cause for celebration, but the report’s conditions and exceptions drew enough attention to keep the debate alive. Proponents of fracking rejoiced at the EPA’s announcement […]
8 June 2015 (VICE News) – VICE News is closely tracking global environmental change. Check out the Tipping Point blog here. The state of São Paulo is experiencing its worst drought in decades. Reservoirs that millions of people rely upon for drinking water are running dry and outbreaks of dengue fever have brought about an […]
By Meagan Wohlberg4 June 2015 (Vice) – It usually takes at least a few months before forestry officials in the Northwest Territories start talking about firefighter fatigue, but all 28 fire crews had the last weekend of May off in order to avoid impending burnout. The proactive measure is just one indicator that this year’s […]
By Nadia Drake5 June 2015 (National Geographic) – More than 3,000 starving sea lion pups have washed up on California’s beaches since January—easily 15 times more than in a normal year. “It’s unprecedented,” says Sarah Wilkin, national marine mammal stranding and emergency response coordinator for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. And those are the […]
By PATRICK BOEHLER and SERGIO PEÇANHA 8 June 2015 (The New York Times) – Eleven million people were uprooted by violence last year, most were propelled by conflict in Syria, Iraq, Ukraine, and Afghanistan. Conflict and extreme poverty have also pushed tens of thousands out of parts of sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia. Here’s a […]
By Mike Carlowicz 27 May 2015 (NASA) – In the third week of May, it was warmer in Fairbanks, Alaska, than in Washington, D.C. The small town of Eagle, Alaska, was hotter on May 23 than it has been on any day in Houston or Dallas this year. In what has become a frequent occurrence […]
By Elizabeth Harball, Scott Detrow27 May 2015 (Scientific American) – Large swaths of Houston were underwater yesterday after more than 10 inches of rain fell on the city during a 24-hour window. The bulk of the rain came during intense Monday night thunderstorms, bringing America’s fourth-largest city to a standstill by yesterday morning. Major highways […]
17 May 2015 (Grist) – An estimated 500 climate activists took to kayaks, canoes, paddleboards, and even a solar-powered party barge on Saturday to tell Shell to get the hell out of Seattle. Rallying cry: #sHellNo! The oil giant brought a huge drilling rig, the Polar Pioneer, to the city’s port on Thursday, over objections […]
By Todd C. Frankel 29 May 2015 ALONG THE SALTON SEA, CALIFORNIA (Washington Post) – The bone-dry lake bed burned crystalline and white in the midday sun. Ecologist Bruce Wilcox hopped out of his truck and bent down to scoop up a handful of the gleaming, crusty soil. Wilcox squeezed, then opened his fist. The […]
By Chris Clarke29 May 2015 (KCET) – Stick a fork in the Hidden Hills Solar Electric Generating System. The 500-megawatt solar power tower project proposed for the Charleston View area in Inyo County, then put on the back burner in 2013, will be canceled by its owner, Oakland-based BrightSource Energy. The news came in an […]
