Climate Change

Bill McKibben and Elizabeth Kolbert explain how and why President Trump is rapidly rolling back environmental protections—weakening auto-emissions standards and the controls on mercury released by power plants, among other actions—in the midst of the worst viral pandemic in more than a century. Carolyn Kormann interviews a disease ecologist who…

A “megadrought” gripping the western United States is the worst one in 500 years, scientists say. And it’s the first to be influenced by human-caused climate change. A study published this week in the journal Science investigates the occurrence of megadroughts in western North America over the last 1,200 years. While a megadrought has…

Melting in Greenland in 2019While high temperatures were critical to the melting seen in Greenland last year, scientists say that clear blue skies also played a key role.In a study, they found that a record number of cloud free days saw more sunlight hit the surface while snowfall was also…

Two of the nation’s essential commercial waterways face extraordinary risk from climate change and associated flooding, a new report from the nonprofit American Rivers says. In its updated list of “America’s Most Endangered Rivers,” the group says marked increases in precipitation across the Upper Mississippi and Lower Missouri rivers, combined with poor…

Photo: City of Monroe, Louisiana (Twitter)Easter Sunday turned deadly in the U.S. South after a wave of violent tornadoes tore through the region. At least 18 have died as a result of the outbreak and the risk of twisters isn’t over yet, as severe weather continues up and down the Eastern…

Image copyright Getty Images President Trump wants the United States to start mining on the Moon for minerals.The US president recently signed an executive order stating America has the right to explore and use resources from outer space.The order also said the US did not see space as a common…

Climate change is testing Earth’s limits. It’s altering weather patterns, intensifying natural disasters and breaking temperature records left and right. Eventually, many parts of the world may settle into a “new normal” as climate conditions shift beyond anything the planet has experienced in human history. That could be devastating for…

The American economy has seriously sputtered during the coronavirus pandemic, but the planet's relentless warming trend hasn't.  After Earth experienced its second-hottest year in 140 years of record-keeping in 2019, the first few months of this year have either broken historic monthly records, or come close. January 2020 was the…

By Nicole Gallucci2020-04-03 20:58:46 UTC This is not a drill: Jane Fonda has officially joined TikTok. On Thursday night, the 82-year-old actress and activist posted her first video to the app TikTok and announced that she would be reviving her legendary home workouts to help people stay active during this…

Climate change has doubled the number of extreme-risk days for California wildfires, according to research released yesterday. An analysis led by Stanford University found that temperatures rose about 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit statewide while precipitation dropped 30% since 1980. That doubled the number of autumn days—when fire risk is highest—with extreme…