Jun 13, 2024 | Salon.com
Botanist Jerry Tiehm, the curator of herbarium at the University of Nevada Reno, discovered the plant that now bears his name more than 40 years ago. It was early in his career, and Tiehm was driving through a remote central Nevada canyon while collecting samples to study. He was unaware at the time that it was an unknown species until a different expert informed him that the yellow, white and green plant was something altogether new....
Originally posted on salon.com
Jun 12, 2024 | Salon.com
The last twelve months have been the hottest in recorded human history. This relentess pattern is being driven by human-caused climate change, but also El Niño, a natural part of our global weather cycle that results in hotter temperatures. Though we are now entering the colder La Niña phase of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO), which should bring some cooler temperatures over several years, some experts say that our heating planet is so out of balance, the cooling could make little difference....
Originally posted on salon.com
Jun 10, 2024 | Salon.com
Renata Pumarol still remembers the energy and beauty of the moment when climate activists took a stand against New York City’s most important bank.
Pumarol is a seasoned activist, her experience spanning from housing reform to improving the lives of working class women. Today she is deputy director of Climate Organizing Hub, an organization that assists protesters throughout the world under the name Climate Defenders. ...
Originally posted on salon.com
Jun 6, 2024 | Salon.com
“Queer Planet,” a new documentary now streaming on Peacock, opens with a pair of bighorn sheep, both males, who are literally butting heads. As they repeatedly slam against each other, viewers may assume we are witnessing a violent battle to the death. Perhaps the two bighorn sheep were fighting over territory or food, or maybe there was some ovine slight imperceptible to human eyes....
Originally posted on salon.com
Jun 5, 2024 | Salon.com
More than 17 million people risk exposure to dangerous temperatures thanks to a “heat dome” that has emerged in the western United States. Such a dome occurs when hot ocean air becomes trapped, forming something almost like a lid or cap that keeps temperatures broiling. Already this heat wave has been directly responsible for at least 61 deaths in Mexico, causing major power outages and killing at least 150 monkeys....
Originally posted on salon.com
Jun 3, 2024 | Salon.com
In the palm of your hand, it looks like a glop of hair gel. But this goo could one day revolutionize the reproductive health landscape by being the first male birth control to hit the market.
On Sunday, we got one step closer to that reality. Scientists with the National Institutes of Health’s Contraceptive Development Program announced encouraging results from a phase 2 trial demonstrating the safety and efficacy of the drug....
Originally posted on salon.com
Jun 3, 2024 | Salon.com
Stevie O’Hanlon may not be a celebrity, but his organization makes a lot of headlines. Sunrise Movement is well-known for its creative protests aimed at raising awareness about climate change, such as interrupting a campaign stop for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in January during his brief presidential bid.
Overwhelming scientific evidence suggests we are heading toward a future of more intensified extreme weather events like tropical storms, droughts, floods, wildfires and heat waves because of burning fossil fuels....
Originally posted on salon.com
Jun 1, 2024 | Salon.com
Not every trend on TikTok is as horrific or annoying as drinking borax or pranking strangers — some memes are downright heartwarming. Take the so-called “hands in” challenge in which humans sit in a circle next to their dogs (and sometimes cats) and place their hands on top of each other, similar to how players on a sports team might initiate a “Go team!”...
Originally posted on salon.com
May 31, 2024 | Salon.com
Last year, Vermont suffered a catastrophic series of torrential rains that washed out major cities like Montpelier, the state’s capital, and the nearby municipality of Barre. Many businesses took months to rebuild and many homeowners were left stranded. Some Vermonters said it was the worst natural disaster to hit the state since a 1927 flood killed dozens of people....
Originally posted on salon.com
May 31, 2024 | Salon.com
On Wednesday, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced a new regulation, effective immediately, that significantly reduces the designated territory for jaguars in the American southwest. The new and final rule removes 64,797 acres of the jaguar’s critical habitat designation, in compliance with an earlier court ruling. That leaves approximately 640,000 acres for the jaguars across Cochise, Pima and Santa Cruz counties....
Originally posted on salon.com