Maddie Stone

EartherClimate Change

The Great Barrier Reef Is Becoming More Heat-Resistant—at a Price

In 2016 and 2017, disaster struck the world’s largest living structure: back-to-back heat waves caused half of all corals on the 1,400-mile-long Great Barrier Reef to die. But there’s a glass-half-full perspective on this grim news, which is that half of the reef’s corals—approximately 10 billion of them—are still alive. And they just went through … Continued

io9Books & Comics

Take a Perilous Journey Into Europa’s Ocean in This Science Fiction Book for Kids

Humans have long been warned about Europa, from HAL 9000’s infamous “ATTEMPT NO LANDING THERE” in 2010: Odyssey Two to the more recent indie film Europa Report, where a group of scientists do land on the icy moon, only meet a grisly fate at the hands of a decidedly unwelcoming resident. None of that, however, … Continued

EartherClimate Change

Major Scientific Society’s Decision to Honor Anti-Environment Senator Sparks Outcry

American’s largest annual Earth science conference doesn’t kick off until next week, but things are already getting heated. Members of the American Geophysical Union (AGU) are up in arms over the organization’s decision to give a prestigious award to Senator Cory Gardner, who in 2015 voted against a measure declaring human activity “significantly contributes to … Continued

Earther

New Study Shows Just How Frighteningly Fast Greenland Is Melting

In July 2012, a spate of warm weather caused nearly the entire surface of the Greenland ice sheet to begin melting, an event with no precedent in the satellite record. A new study shows this massive melt-out wasn’t just an anomaly compared with the last 40 years, but the last 350. Unfortunately, the study also … Continued

EartherEarth Science

This New NASA Mission Will Create an Unprecedented, 3D Map of Earth’s Forests

The secret to stabilizing Earth’s climate could rest in the world’s forests. That’s why, this week, a team of researchers is sending a high-tech reconnaissance operative to the International Space Station to figure out how much carbon is stored in our planet’s trees. Tucked inside the next SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, and armed only with a … Continued

Earther

A Wildlife Haven Just Outside Los Angeles Is Reeling From Unprecedented Fire Damage

Just outside the borders of one of America’s largest metropolises lies an ecological wonder: the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, located in northwest Los Angeles and Ventura counties, includes 154,000 acres of rugged chaparral and delicate coastal sage scrub communities. It’s home to rare plants found nowhere else on Earth, a federally-protected frog, bobcats, … Continued

EartherClimate Change

The Democrat Who Flipped a Republican Stronghold by Running on Climate Change

The 2018 midterms were a mixed bag for the environment, with some key ballot initiatives failing but several environment-friendly candidates winning their elections. One of those candidates hails from Orange County, California, long considered to be a center of Republican power. In CA-49, previously held by controversial Republican Darrel Issa, Democrat Mike Levin flipped the … Continued

EartherConservation

The Watercolor Artist Whose Paintings Help Save Rainforests

Earlier this year, Peru established Yaguas National Park, a 2 million acre Amazonian preserve that’s both a biodiversity hotspot and a spiritual nexus for local indigenous people. Its protection was the culmination of a battle hard-fought by indigenous groups and their many supporters—including a watercolor painter at Chicago’s Field Museum. As the resident artist at … Continued

Earther

The Trump Administration’s Attempt to Bury a New Climate Report on Black Friday Totally Backfired

On Friday afternoon, as Americans were nursing their turkey hangovers braving the malls for deals, the White House released a dire new report on the impacts of climate change—a move that was quickly eviscerated by politicians and the media as a cynical attempt to bury its findings. No doubt, dropping the second volume of the … Continued

Earther

Inside the Quest to Discover Super-Corals at the Bottom of the Sea

In the inky depths of the Gulf of Mexico, pearly white corals crisscross the seafloor, their translucent tentacles swaying to the current like flower petals on a midnight breeze. Lophelia pertusa brings life to what is often considered a cold, dead wasteland—and now, scientists are now bringing it back to the surface in the hopes … Continued

EartherEnvironmental Justice

How Hurricane Michael Revealed the Forgotten Victims of Climate Change

Jose Herrada, an inmate at Florida’s Gulf Correctional Institution, first heard news about Hurricane Michael on the radio. Initially, Herrada thought little of it. Although the state of Florida had issued a mandatory evacuation order for nearby Panama City and surrounding areas, officials at Gulf CI hadn’t brought up the possibility of evacuating the prison’s … Continued

Earther

America’s Northernmost City Is Having Another Dramatic Climate Change Year 

The northernmost city in the U.S. continues to be ground zero for the impacts of climate change. As sunlight fades from the Arctic, sea ice began to form this week around Utqiaġvik, an Iñupiat whaling community located on the shores of the Arctic Ocean. And that’s…not right. By this time of year, the charcoal seas … Continued

Earther

The Biologists Using Toy Guns to Thwart a Pacific Snake Invasion

Adam Knox was a week into learning how to capture brown tree snakes on the Pacific island of Guam when the first one slithered out of his grasp. He was training for a seek-and-destroy task force capable of deploying to isolated islands and removing any invasive brown tree snakes before they had a chance to … Continued

Earther

Meet the Heroes Who Saved Malibu’s Horses From a Fiery Inferno

As residents of Malibu fled their seaside city in droves to escape a raging wildfire on Thursday, volcanologist Jess Phoenix hitched her two-horse trailer to her Ford F-250, hopped on the 101-freeway, and headed straight for the inferno. There were animals that needed rescuing. As a trainer and proud owner of two horses, Phoenix knows … Continued

Earther

The Amazon Rainforest Is Adapting to Climate Change, But Not Fast Enough

A 30-year analysis of Amazonian trees finds the world’s largest rainforest is already adapting to climate change, but probably not fast enough. The study, published this week in Global Change Biology, paints what is perhaps our most comprehensive picture of how the Amazon rainforest’s trees are responding to climate change. While the authors found signs … Continued

EartherClimate Change

Victory: A Climate Change Denier Will No Longer Run the House Science Committee

However you feel about the outcome of last night’s election, if you care about evidence-based policymaking, there’s one thing to cheer: The House Committee on Space, Science, and Technology will, for the first time in nearly a decade, be led by someone who accepts the conclusions of mainstream climate science. With Democrats now in control … Continued

Earther

Scientists Have Just Named 17 New Sea Slug Species, and They’re All Fabulous

Nudibranchs, colloquially known as sea slugs, are some of the more eye-popping critters to grace the world’s oceans. Now scientists are welcoming 17 newly-named species to the carnival-colored lineage. Research published recently in the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society chronicles the identity of sea slug specimens—all of the genus Hypselodoris—which were collected across the … Continued

Earther

Apple’s New Macs Use ‘100 Percent Recycled Aluminum,’ But What Does That Mean?

Apple’s second press blitz of the fall delivered details on a bunch of new devices. But the company also made some announcements on the environmental front that are generating buzz and raising questions, particularly regarding the recycled materials some of its 2018 product line will use. Specifically, Apple announced that the 2018 models of its … Continued

Earther

Why the Fall Foliage in Your Area Might Be Disappointing This Year

If you live along the U.S. Eastern Seaboard, there’s a good chance you’ve noticed a distinct lack of vibrant autumn foliage this year. From North Carolina to Pennsylvania, lots of trees are still green, while others have gone from green to brown. Western Maryland’s normally-fiery fall foliage is being described as “disappointing” and “pretty drab,” … Continued

EartherEarth Science

The Deepest Volcanic Eruption Ever Documented Left a Gnarly Sight on the Ocean Floor

Sometimes science is all about being in the right place at the right time. Such was the case with the “fortuitous” discovery of a wild lava garden nearly three miles underwater, which scientists are pointing to as evidence of the deepest recent undersea eruption ever documented. Researchers got their lucky break exploring the central Mariana … Continued