Early spring rain boosts methane from thawing permafrost by 30 percent – “Permafrost regions are sensitive to the thermal effects of rain”

By Sarah McQuate4 February 2019 (UW News) – Arctic permafrost is thawing as the Earth warms due to climate change. In some cases, scientists predict that this thawing soil will release increasing amounts of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, that is known to trap more heat in our planet’s atmosphere. Now a University of Washington-led […]

Atlantic City is really going down this time

By Rebecca McCarthy 11 February 2019 (Longreads) – Atlantic City covers the northern third of Absecon Island, a barrier island made up of an alarming amount of sand. It is a bad town to die in — there are plenty of vacant lots but no cemeteries. In many places, if you dig down more than […]

50M gallons of polluted water pours daily from U.S. mine sites

By Matthew Brown20 February 2019 RIMINI, Montana (AP) – Every day many millions of gallons of water loaded with arsenic, lead and other toxic metals flow from some of the most contaminated mining sites in the U.S. and into surrounding streams and ponds without being treated, The Associated Press has found. That torrent is poisoning […]

Major northeastern snowstorms expected to continue with climate change – “The big nor’easters are not just going to go away”

By David Hosansky 23 January 2019 (NCAR and UCAR News) – Even though climate change is expected to reduce the total amount of U.S. snowfall this century, it’s unlikely to significantly rein in the most powerful nor’easters that pummel the East Coast, new research indicates. The study finds that smaller snowstorms that drop a few […]

GoFundMe: Protect the National Butterfly Center from Trump border wall – $82K of $100K goal raised – UPDATE: Goal reached!

10 December 2018 (National Butterfly Center) – Congress funded 33 new miles of Border Wall in the 2018 omnibus Appropriations Act  and contracts for the first 6 miles have been awarded to SLSCO . The real kicker is, the border wall is not being built on the border, but over 2 miles inland, moving the […]

Lawmakers tell Pentagon: Revise and resubmit your climate-change report

By Paulina Glass 5 February 2019 (Defense One) – The Pentagon’s latest climate-change report was so bad that it didn’t even meet legal requirements, say House lawmakers who on Wednesday ordered the military to redo the document by 1 April 2019.The report “lacks key deliverables,” according to the 25 January 2019 letter from House Armed […]

1.4 million Puerto Ricans face deep cuts in food aid without federal action – Trump administration calls funding “excessive and unnecessary”

By Nicole Acevedo 5 February 2019 (NBC News) – Nearly a million and half people in Puerto Rico face deep cuts in food assistance, or losing it completely, if the federal government doesn’t provide funding for the Nutrition Assistance Program, which is expected to run out of money on the island next month.According to an […]

The anti-vaxx movement is a worldwide pandemic – “Parents need to understand that vaccines save lives”

By The Times Editorial Board 6 February 2019 (Los Angeles Times) – It’s not quite six weeks into 2019, and it’s already looking like it will be another banner year for measles in the United States. An outbreak in the Pacific Northwest that began in late January continues to spread, with more than 50 cases […]

Trump chooses David Bernhardt, a former oil lobbyist, to head the Interior Department – “David Bernhardt is the most dangerous man in America for endangered species and public lands”

By Coral Davenport 4 February 2019 WASHINGTON (The New York Times) – President Trump on Monday announced he would nominate David Bernhardt, a former oil lobbyist and current deputy chief of the Interior Department, to succeed Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, who resigned amid allegations of ethical missteps.In a message on Twitter, Mr. Trump wrote, “David […]

National Butterfly Center to file restraining order to stop Trump border wall construction

By Beatriz Alvarado 6 February 2019 MISSION, Texas (Corpus Christi Caller Times) – Amid a legal battle to stop the federal government from erecting a 36-foot “wall system” topped with steel bollards through its property, the National Butterfly Center is conducting business as usual. On a Wednesday morning, the parking lot at the 100-acre wildlife […]

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