Storm Daniel, which has killed at least 5,000 people in Libya, with 10,000 more missing, was no normal weather. This rare, destructive, subtropical monster was supersized by unusually warm Mediterranean waters. When it slammed into the Libyan coast, it did so with such force that it caused two dams inland …
Read More »Your New Apple Watch Won’t Be Carbon Neutral
“Mother Nature” took this week’s fall Apple event by storm. She appeared in the form of actress and producer Octavia Spencer, playing the role of a sardonic inquisitor who cross-examines CEO Tim Cook on his company’s climate promises. Luckily, Cook knew how to win her over: with a new product. …
Read More »Rivers Are Drowning in Toxic Sludge
Standing on the marina, Rob Skelly peers into the darkness of the river where bright speckles of algae drift in the water. A neon green invader. “It’s starting to build,” he says. “Tomorrow, you’ll find that there’s clumps like that all over the river—and then the day after that there’ll …
Read More »A Summer of Record Heat Deals Costly Damage to Texas Water Systems
This story originally appeared on Inside Climate News and is part of the Climate Desk collaboration. The hottest summer on record for many Texas cities has brought millions of dollars in damage to municipal plumbing and the loss of huge volumes of water during a severe drought. Authorities across the …
Read More »Big Batteries Are Booming. So Are Fears They'll Catch Fire
People don’t take electricity for granted in Raquette Lake, New York, in the remote high peaks of the Adirondacks. In winter, when ice and wind often down the power line into the hamlet, the 100 or so year-round residents stay warm by cranking up diesel generators. Prep for the busy …
Read More »The Rapid Intensification of Hurricane Lee Is a Warning
Just a week after Hurricane Idalia “rapidly intensified” and slammed the Florida coast with monster storm surges, Tropical Storm Lee has grown into a massive hurricane in the Atlantic. By feeding on exceptionally warm waters, it has undergone rapid intensification, a transformation that scientists define as an increase in sustained …
Read More »The End of Burning Man Is Also Its Future
A hurricane hitting the desert was not on anyone’s Burner bingo card for 2023. Burning Man, the annual 80,000-person bacchanal, happens about three hours outside of Reno, Nevada, in the Black Rock Desert every Labor Day. It’s a place of extremes: extreme temperatures, extreme dust storms, and an extreme lack …
Read More »A Billion-Dollar Plan to Fix Farm Emissions Might Make Things Worse
Agriculture is a big source of emissions. In the US, about 10 percent of greenhouse gases come from livestock or crops—and for a long time, agriculture has lagged behind other sectors when it comes to cutting its carbon footprint. Since 1990, total emissions from agriculture have risen by 7 percent, …
Read More »Climate Change Has Finally Come for Burning Man
When the history of Burning Man 2023 is written, it’s likely Diplo and Chris Rock deciding to trudge for five miles out of the festival site will be recorded as the point the fun stopped. The musician and actor were forced to abandon their campsite by foot as torrential rains …
Read More »Hurricane Idalia Is About to Slam Florida With a Wall of Water
Early Tuesday morning, Tropical Storm Idalia strengthened into Hurricane Idalia, charting a course for Florida’s west coast and panhandle. Its maximum sustained winds have already reached nearly 100 miles per hour, and it’s expected to keep feeding on exceptionally warm ocean waters and intensifying before making landfall early Wednesday. It …
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