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California has officially listed the desert tortoise as endangered. Will it be enough to save them?

Apr 25, 2024 |

Native to northern Mexico and the southwestern United States, the desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) once roamed all over the vast Mojave and Sonoran deserts, marking the landscape with their distinctive dark brown and greenish-tan shells. Unfortunately for the species’ long-term survival, human beings have been destroying their habitat in a number of ways, from paving new roads and operating military bases to constructing utility plants and grazing livestock....

Originally posted on salon.com

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70% of world’s workers at elevated health risks due to climate change, UN report finds

Apr 23, 2024 |

More than two out of three workers on Earth are going to experience climate change-related health risks in the near future, according to a recent report from the United Nations. The UN’s International Labour Organization (ILO) found that many of the environmental conditions caused by global warming are already negatively impacting workers and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future....

Originally posted on salon.com

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Is Earth Day greenwashed and obsolete? Some climate experts argue its core message has been diluted

Apr 22, 2024 |

“Thinking about the planet for a day is a bit bizarre,” says Prof. Martin Siegert, a glaciology professor at the University of Exeter and former co-director of Imperial College London’s Grantham Institute for Climate Change. His sentiments are shared by many other climate experts when it comes to Earth Day, a holiday that is observed every April 22nd....

Originally posted on salon.com

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From California to Greece to China, excessive water use and urbanization is collapsing the ground

Apr 20, 2024 |

A recent study in the journal Science analyzed dozens of Chinese cities, revealing that they’re slowly sinking. This phenomenon of the Earth’s surface literally being pushed down — technically known as land subsidence — is not limited to the tens of millions who will be impacted in China. From California to Greece, human activity is making the land under our feet more prone to subsiding than ever....

Originally posted on salon.com

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Is cannabis actually green? Experts unpack the climate impacts of weed’s rising popularity

Apr 20, 2024 |

Cannabis is one of the fastest growing industries in the world, this year estimated to rake in more than $64 billion globally as more and more regions unravel marijuana prohibition. Germany became the third European country to legalize weed on April 1 this year, though only in limited amounts, while voters in states like Florida and Nebraska may decide to legalize the plant, potentially joining the roughly 74% of Americans who live somewhere cannabis is legally sold....

Originally posted on salon.com

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Urbanization is isolating fruit-loving birds and forests are paying the price

Apr 18, 2024 |

Fruit-eating birds — also known as frugivores — come in many colors and sizes, from the tiny yellow Palm tanager and the bright Blue red-legged honeycreeper (Thraupis palmarum) to the Toucan-like black, gray, white and orange Great hornbill (Buceros bicornis). They are also essential to the preservation of tropical forests, with 70 to 90 percent of their tree species depending on frugivores to eat, spread and excrete their seeds....

Originally posted on salon.com

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“Borrowed time”: As we shatter temperature records, experts worry we’re in “uncharted territory”

Apr 16, 2024 |

Our rapidly heating planet is regularly shattering records these days. December through February was so warm — in fact, the hottest winter on record in the U.S. — it’s been described by some climate experts as a “lost winter.” Last year also set new records for global surface temperature, hottest summer and ocean heat content....

Originally posted on salon.com

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Thanks to a genetic breakthrough, a rare rhino species may be rescued from extinction

Apr 16, 2024 |

As humans continue to encroach on our planet, we are driving a mass extinction that some experts call a “biological holocaust.” As more and more species die, it creates more and more genetic bottlenecks, which make animal and plant survival even more difficult.

Take for example the white rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum), which can be divided into two sub-species that are genetically very similar — but one is relatively thriving while the other is on the brink of extinction....

Originally posted on salon.com

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Australia’s Great Barrier Reef suffers most severe coral bleaching ever recorded

Apr 15, 2024 |

The Great Barrier Reef — a colorful and iconic natural wonder off the coast of Australia that spans an area of 133,000 square miles (344,400 square kilometres) — is suffering potentially unprecedented bleaching due to climate change. Bleaching occurs when coral become stressed due to high temperatures or lack of nutrients and expel the algae that live symbiotically within it....

Originally posted on salon.com

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