Latest News
A village in Alaska just voted to relocate -
For the second time, the 600 people who live in Shishmaref want to move to the mainland to escape the threat of rising sea levels caused by climate change. The first vote to relocate was back in 2002, but a lack of federal funding made it impossible. Grist
There will be very few cities at the end of the century that will be able to hold the summer Olympics as we know them today.
—John Balmes, a professor of public safety at the University of California, Berkeley, comments on a new study that predicts that within 70 years only eight cities in the Northern Hemisphere outside of Western Europe will be cool enough to host the summer Games.
Growing concern over safety of cosmetics -
Congress is considering whether to pass legislationthat would give the FDA the authority to more rigorously regulate beauty care products. Among the bill's opponents is Wen Hair Care, a company that has received more than 21,000 complaints from people who got rashes and lost hair after using its product. New York Times
Climate change is opening the Arctic to cruises -
The luxury cruise ship Crystal Serenity leaves Alaska this week and will attempt to journey through the notorious Northwest Passage along with other unpredictable—and increasingly un-icy—Arctic waters. Tickets start at a cool $22,000, but many worry that the tourism trend could bring high environmental costs, too. National Geographic
India is home to the world’s largest beach clean-up effort -
Since October, a group of concerned citizens in western Mumbai has been meeting every weekend to beautify the severely polluted Versova Beach. In less than a year, the so-called Versova Resident Volunteers have cleared over 4 million pounds of trash from the shoreline. Washington Post
Olympian David Katoatau dances to draw attention to climate change -
A weightlifter from Kiribati who is currently competing in Rio has attracted a following for his spirited dance moves at the Games. A cyclone destroyed Katoatau’s family home, and the athlete hopes to use his Olympic platform to raise awareness for how climate change threatens Pacific island nations. Reuters