Latest News
Climate change could cause large dead zones in the oceans by 2030 -
Warm water absorbs less oxygen, and a new study finds that as temperatures continue to rise, deoxygenated patches of seawater will start having widespread impacts on marine life within the next 15 years. VICE News
Washington kids win climate change lawsuit -
The nonprofit Our Children’s Trust filed a complaint on behalf of eight Seattle-area junior high students earlier this year, saying that the state government has failed to protect the younger generation from climate change. On Friday a Superior Court judge ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, saying that the Washington State Department of Ecology must come up with an emissions reduction rule by the end of the year. Well done, kiddos. Grist
Unfortunately, many families … don’t see their culture, their history, reflected and presented in their public parks.
—U.S. Representative Raul Grijalva, of Arizona, comments on a push by civil rights, environmental justice, and green groups to use the National Park Service’s centennial as an opportunity to increase the diversity of visitors to our national parks.
African leaders meet to tackle poaching crisis -
Kenya is hosting the inaugural "Giants Club" summit, where delegates will discuss how to save African elephants from extinction. When the meeting adjourns Saturday, the country will set aflame more than 100 tons of confiscated ivory—equivalent to the tusks of more than 6,700 elephants—to send a message to poachers. BBC
Three common pesticides threaten nearly all U.S. endangered species -
A new EPA report finds that it is likely that both chlorpyrifos (used on crops) and malathion (used for mosquito control, agriculture, and lawn care) adversely affect 97 percent of species listed under the Endangered Species Act. The agency says a third chemical, diazinon, likely negatively impacts 79 percent of the country's endangered species. Climate Progress
Japanese priests recorded centuries-worth of climate data -
Since at least 1443, Shinto priests living on the edge of Lake Suwa have recorded the date when the lake freezes. Across the globe in 1693, Finnish observers began noting the annual timing of the Torne River's spring ice breakup. Scientists recently analyzed these records and found that ice was forming later in the year, thawing earlier, and the cycles in both places were tied to atmospheric CO2 concentrations. National Geographic