covering climate now

By: Nesia Mhaka Drought has hit Zimbabwe with a vengeance. Water supply to several neighbourhoods is severely limited, while people in the countryside scramble for resources. Meanwhile, in a Harare suburb, residents have resorted…
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By: T. V. Padma Natural hazards are intersecting with the coronavirus pandemic in India, and researchers will need to model both to inform the public health response. As of late June, India had the fourth-highest number…
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By: Alex Thomson They’re the largest manufacturer, buyer and retailer of wood on the planet. IKEA’s factories consume more than 20 million cubic meters of wood a year. That works out as roughly one tree every second. The company…
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By: Mark Hertsgaard and Kyle Pope TO HEAR MANY JOURNALISTS TELL IT, the spring of 2020 has brought a series of extraordinary revelations. Look at what the nation has learned: That our health-care system was not remotely up to the…
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By: Emily Holden More than a decade of overwhelming evidence links air pollution and heat exposure with negative pregnancy outcomes in the US, according to a new review of dozens of studies. The investigation, published in the…
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By: Jeff Berardelli Alarming heat scorched Siberia on Saturday as the small town of Verkhoyansk (67.5°N latitude) reached 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit, 32 degrees above the normal high temperature. If verified, this is likely the hottest…
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By: Nina Lakhani Risk is greater in rural areas, according to study of nearly 3 million births over 10 years. Living near active oil and gas wells during pregnancy increases the risk of low-birthweight babies, especially in rural…
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By: Rachel Ramirez “I can’t breathe.” These were among the final words that George Floyd and Eric Garner gasped before their deaths at the hands of white police officers. That plea has become part of the current rallying cry for…
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By: Rachel Ramirez Adán Vez Lira, a prominent defender of an ecological reserve in Mexico, was shot while riding his motorcycle in April. Four years earlier, the renowned activist Berta Cáceres was shot dead in…
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By: Shannon Osaka Already stressed by the threat of coronavirus and widespread unemployment, the United States has erupted into protests after the killing of George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, by a Minneapolis police…
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By: Ari Kelo From unleashing toxic pollutants in neighborhoods populated by people of color to building oil pipelines on indigenous lands, environmental racism has a long and disturbing history in the United States. Despite this, most…
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By: Mark Kaufman Some fires won't die. They survive underground during the winter and then reemerge the following spring, as documented in places like Alaska. They're called "overwintering," "holdover," or "zombie" fires,…
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By: Ilana Cohen, Evelyn Nieves, Judy Fahys, Marianne Lavelle, James Bruggers Friends of the Earth tweeted #BlackLivesMatter, and the head of the NRDC promised “to be fully and visibly committed to the fight against systemic racism.” …
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By: Kabir Agarwal & Shruti Jain The attack is a highly irregular one, say experts. Farmers on the field feel that the measures taken were too little and too late. Large swarms of desert locusts have entered areas in India where…
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By: Sarah Derouin New research reveals a deep-sea mining experiment that took place 26 years ago still has significant and persistent impacts on benthic life. Mining for rare metals can involve a good amount of detective work. It can…
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By: Jonathan Larsen Automaker CEO Elon Musk reopened his California factory despite county's coronavirus orders. The California Tesla factory that reopened this week has a long history of racking up environmental violations,…
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By: Fred Pearce New research indicates that parts of the Amazon and other tropical forests are now emitting more CO2 than they absorb. Some scientists are concerned this development, which is not yet incorporated into climate…
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By: Hannah Thomasy Scientists are concerned that current climate models do not fully account for the impact of atmospheric conditions on the Greenland Ice Sheet and, consequently, may dramatically underestimate melting. It’s no…
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By: Amanda Holpuch Supply chain problems and workplace infection risks mean experts are urging US producers to focus on sustainability. Americans are nearing a future where the nation’s beloved steak dinners, cheeseburgers and…
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By: Emily Holden Revealed: Oil and mining firms – some with ties to Trump officials – taking advantage of funding, review shows. US fossil fuel companies have taken at least $50m in taxpayer money they probably won’t have to…
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By: Alexander C. Kaufman The world’s seventh-largest emitter has launched a Green New Deal. But critics say there are big problems. South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s ruling party won a landslide victory in last month’s national…
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