Climate change is killing butterflies and thus, all of us
By AJ Dellinger
The “butterfly effect” usually means that some small, seemingly insignificant happening leads to a nonlinear series of events, resulting in something major or catastrophic. In this case, it's a lot more direct. Climate change, a result of humans…
The Gulf Stream is weaker than it has been in 1,000 years. That's bad news
By AJ Dellinger
The Gulf Stream is one of the most important forces on Earth that you will never see. This powerful ocean current brings warm waters from the Gulf of Mexico into the Atlantic Ocean, carrying them past the east coast of the United States, all the way…
Scientists just discovered that space hurricanes are a thing
By AJ Dellinger
We know hurricanes are becoming more frequent occurrences and happening outside of the typical hurricane season, but this is ridiculous. According to a study published last month in the journal, Nature Communications, scientists have officially…
An iceberg the size of L.A. just broke off from Antarctica
By AJ Dellinger
Imagine the entire city of Los Angeles breaking off from the state of California and drifting off to sea. That is basically what happened last week in Antarctica when, according to the British Antarctic Survey (BAS), a massive iceberg measuring in…
Why are 'Phthalate-free' plastic products suddenly everywhere?
By Stephanie Eick
You may not realize it, but you likely encounter phthalates every day. These chemicals are found in many plastics, including food packaging, and they can migrate into food products during processing. They’re in personal care products like shampoos,…
A new book warns falling sperm counts could lead to human extinction
By Joseph Lamour
“When infertility threatens mankind with extinction, the survival for Earth's population falls on one disillusioned bureaucrat,” Siri tells me, when I ask her for a synopsis of the 2006 film, Children of Men. This week, I found that our reality…
The U.N.'s five-year check-in on Paris Agreement progress found a bunch of countries are slacking
By AJ Dellinger
It's 11:02 p.m. on a Sunday night and you have an assignment due at midnight. You knew that this paper was due tonight weeks ago — thank you syllabus — but you are just now sitting down with a mostly blank Word document and need to fill it with…
How can Texas avoid catastrophe the next time extreme weather hits?
By AJ Dellinger
The unprecedented cold weather that plagued Texas earlier this month resulted in tragedy. Millions of people lost power, thousands were forced to endure freezing temperatures with no relief, and at least 80 people died due to the cold. But much of…
Our coronavirus precautions made the flu disappear this year
By Joseph Lamour
We’re a full year into the coronavirus pandemic in the United States, although the “feels like” temperature on that is 20,427 years. As we around the bend on February, there's some good news: The flu has virtually disappeared this season; reports…
Ted Cruz and Sean Hannity joined forces to give the Texas governor terrible weather advice
By AJ Dellinger
In the days leading up to the devastating winter storm that left millions of Texans without power and killed at least 80 people, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott got a call from a weather expert. Unfortunately, that expert was Joe Bastardi. The professional…
Scientists don't know why one-third of U.S. rivers have turned yellow or green
By Tebany Yune
Satellite images of rivers across the U.S. have revealed a troubling color-changing trend: Over the past three decades, one-third of formerly blue rivers have turned a shade of yellow or green. The discovery comes after an analysis of nearly 235,000…
To add insult to injury, there's a spike in fossil fuel pollution in Texas
By AJ Dellinger
An unprecedented winter storm has hung heavy over Texas for the past week, leaving millions without power when the state's power grid, reliant largely on fossil fuels, froze up and failed. Many of the gas and oil facilities around the state are once…
America's back, baby! (In the Paris climate agreement)
By Rafi Schwartz
More than three years after former President Donald Trump announced plans to pull the United States out of the multinational Paris Agreement, America has once again joined the sweeping environmental framework, Secretary of State Antony Blinken…
Republicans are somehow using the Texas snowstorm to slam the Green New Deal
By AJ Dellinger
Five days into an ongoing statewide emergency, there are still nearly 4 million people in Texas who are without power as an unprecedented winter storm strikes the southern state. At least 23 people have already died, while thousands of others are…
Why is so much of Texas without power? (Spoiler: It's not because of green energy)
By Michael E. Webber
Amid record cold temperatures and skyrocketing energy demand, utilities across the central U.S. have ordered rolling blackouts to ration electricity, leaving millions of people without power. Energy expert Michael E. Webber explains why weather…
There was a "snownado" in Texas, in case you're wondering how climate change is going
By AJ Dellinger
Conditions became dire over the weekend in Texas, where an unprecedented wave of winter weather has crashed upon the typically warm state. Power outages have left millions stranded in record-low temperatures with little to do but wait for the cold…
Shell swears that its oil production will only decrease from now on
By AJ Dellinger
Last year, oil giant Shell announced that it would achieve net-zero carbon emissions by the year 2050. The easiest way for a fossil fuel company to make that shift is to simply stop drilling for, producing, and selling fossil fuel. Of course, Shell…
Trump policies have been directly responsible for 200,000 deaths, a new study says
By AJ Dellinger
The Trump administration spent its four years in office rolling back environmental protection regulations, one after the other, all the while complaining that they were too onerous and cost too much for companies to implement. But while cutting more…
Will I ever stop acting like a girl?
By Tracey Anne Duncan
Early last year, in the Before Times, I was at a small party with a guy I was considering dating. We were having a healthy debate about I-don’t-remember-what that started to get heated. His voice got louder and louder. At first, I pushed back and…
Do we really need our plant-based meat to bleed?
By Tracey Anne Duncan
In my decades as a vegetarian, I have seen many plant-based meat trends come and go. I am generally stoked about whatever sizzling, meat-impersonating product hits the market because not only does it give me, personally, more dining options, it also…
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