EartherClimate Change

Florida Is Even More Screwed Than We Thought

Florida, America’s lowest-lying state, faces dire predictions thanks to the accelerated melting of the world’s ice sheets. But a new study says this future is coming sooner and faster than previously predicted, prompting a major survey by the US Army Corps of Engineers to shore up the state’s most vulnerable regions. The Army Corps of … Continued

EartherClimate Change

Just Some Enormous Chunks of Ice Falling Into the Ocean

Today, NASA released the image above, which shows a bunch of ice breaking up in the Beaufort sea, several weeks earlier than it should be. Also today, the European Space Agency dropped a sick GIF of a 370-square mile chunk of Antarctica cracking and heaving into the ocean. Here, check it out: The Arctic is … Continued

EartherClimate Change

This Is Why the Great Barrier Reef Is Dying

The Great Barrier Reef is one of the most celebrated ecosystems on Earth—and it’s dying. Months of extreme heat have turned thousands of miles of pristine habitat into an endless watery graveyard. This year’s coral bleaching event comes as a warning. If we don’t bring carbon emissions down fast, the Great Barrier Reef will not … Continued

EartherClimate Change

A Huge Portion of Greenland Started Melting This Week

A vast region of Greenland is experiencing a freakishly early spring thaw. Summer-like temperatures—a balmy 10 degrees Celsius (50 degrees Fahrenheit)—have created a melt area encompassing 12 percent of the planet’s northernmost ice sheet, according to analysis by the Danish Meteorological Institute (DMI). That’s not normal. Widespread melting on the Greenland ice sheet typically doesn’t … Continued

EartherClimate Change

This Is the Most Sustainable Office in the World 

It might not look particularly groundbreaking, with its full-length windows and timber cladding. But this is, according to industry standards, the most sustainable office in the world. That’s according to the rating it scored on the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Methodology (BREAAM) certification scheme, which is—more or less—considered to be the gold standard in … Continued

EartherClimate Change

The National Weather Service Will Only Use its FAMOUS ALL CAPS FORECASTS for Emergencies

FOR DECADES. . .THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE. . . HAS ISSUED ITS FORECAST DISCUSSIONS IN SHOUTY CAPITAL LETTERS. . .USING FRAGMENTED SENTENCES. . .SEPARATED BY ELLIPSES. Today it was announced that the National Weather Service will switch to mixed-case type and conversational language to provide a more user-friendly experience—and potentially save lives. The change in … Continued

EartherClimate Change

Preserving Land Isn’t Enough to Save the Tropics

The signs of human impact in the tropics are often stark. Vast tracts of forest leveled for pasture. Fires in the Amazon that are visible from space. A colossal oil spill that’s been festering for decades. But even the rainforests we set aside for preservation are slowly transforming. This is something conservation biologists have instinctively … Continued

EartherClimate Change

A New Florida Pier Is Designed to Face the Reality of Rising Seas

There’s no polite way to put this: Florida is screwed. And we’re starting to see the state’s infrastructure adapt to the reality of climate change. A new pier for St. Petersburg just been approved by the city that takes changing ocean conditions into consideration. This includes a lightweight structure that can float on rising seas … Continued

EartherClimate Change

We Finally Know Why the North Pole Is Moving East

Something strange is happening to our planet. Around the year 2000, the North rotational pole started migrating eastward at a vigorous clip. Now, scientists at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory have figured out what’s going on—and you’ll be shocked to learn that humans are behind it. The rotational axis of any planet, including our own, is … Continued

EartherClimate Change

The Future Happened 56 Million Years Ago

History has a way of repeating itself. Humans are currently conducting a grand experiment with Earth’s climate, but the outcome of that experiment may be foretold. According to Penn State climate scientist Richard Alley, the future—or a somewhat diluted version of it—happened 55.9 million years ago. Geologists have long considered the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) … Continued

EartherClimate Change

How More Winter Rain Can Make Drought Worse

It makes sense that a warming planet would have warmer winters with less snow and more rain. But a new report points to how a disturbing trend of increased winter rain is actually endangering the year-round water supply in some parts of the country. A new Climate Central report out today examined 65 years of … Continued

EartherClimate Change

Florida Is Screwed

As humanity continues to pump carbon into the sky, the models that predict Earth’s future are becoming increasingly complex and detailed. And yet, they’re zeroing in on a simple conclusion: if we don’t get our act together fast, Florida is totally screwed. Along with a bunch of other coastal cities around the world. A major … Continued

EartherClimate Change

China’s ‘Historic’ Drop in Coal Use Is Baloney 

Like a smoker who keeps trying to quit but sneaks a drag when he thinks nobody’s looking, China is slowly weaning itself off coal. Last winter, the Chinese government released preliminary statistics showing that its coal consumption had dropped 2.9 percent in 2014. But that number may be obfuscating the truth about China’s coal use—and … Continued

EartherClimate Change

A Nightmare Is Unfolding in the Great Barrier Reef

If scuba diving in the Great Barrier Reef is on your bucket list, you might want to book tickets soon. This week, marine biologists dropped some horribly depressing news: the Great Barrier Reef is dying. The world’s largest reef is in the midst of a widespread coral bleaching event, and scientists aren’t sure whether it … Continued

EartherClimate Change

Arctic Sea Ice Hits Another Terrifying Milestone

Another day, another scientific analysis revealing our unstoppable impact on planet Earth. Arctic sea ice coverage peaked at 5.607 million square miles this year, a wintertime low since our satellites began monitoring sea ice extent in 1979. This shouldn’t come as a surprise. The wintertime Arctic sea ice extent has been shrinking for years—in fact, … Continued

EartherClimate Change

El Niño Is Causing a Worldwide Sugar Shortage

El Niño is almost over, but the wreckage of things it knocked over in its wake continues—and one of those things is your sugar supply. Eat your desserts while you still can, friends. The Independent got a look at a new report from analytics firm Green Pool warning that a sugar shortage is headed our … Continued

EartherClimate Change

Arctic Microbes Are Expanding Their Homes By Making Stuff that Melts Glaciers

Humans aren’t the only ones trying their best to warm up the world like it’s a Hot Pocket. Bacteria are also creating particles that melt glaciers and make the world comfortable for more bacteria. Today, at the Microbiology Society’s Annual Conference, scientists from Aberystwyth University announced that microbes are heating the planet. That’s not unusual, … Continued

EartherClimate Change

Prominent Climate Scientists Say Boulder-Hurling Megawaves Are Decades Away

Over the summer, pioneering climate scientist James Hansen and his colleagues penned an apocalyptic study predicting that the deadliest consequences of climate change will be felt within decades. That paper precipitated a raucous debate, but now, it’s been accepted for publication, heralding a sea shift in attitudes toward climate studies that make dire and outlandish … Continued

EartherClimate Change

Carbon Emissions Haven’t Been This High Since Dinosaurs Went Extinct

Carbon hasn’t entered our atmosphere this quickly in at least 66 million years—since an asteroid slammed into our planet and wiped out the dinosaurs, or perhaps even earlier. Our addiction to fossil fuels has pushed the planet into a “no-analog” state that’s “likely to result in widespread future extinctions,” an exceedingly humorless study published today … Continued

EartherClimate Change

Something Strange and Terrible Is Happening to France’s Wine Grapes

We’d suggest you sit down and pour yourself a drink before you hear this news—but, honestly, that would probably only make it worse. Harvest dates for wine around the world have been progressively shifting earlier and earlier, as the warming climate gives us warmer and warmer cold seasons. In a new paper out today in … Continued