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Category Archives: Climate Change

Study ‘Category 5’ was considered the worst hurricane. There’s something scarier

USA Today: “As fearsome as Category 5 hurricanes can be for people living in harm’s way, a new study reports global warming is supercharging some of the most intense cyclones with winds high enough to merit a hypothetical Category 6.  The world’s most intense hurricanes are growing even more intense, fueled by rising temperatures in… Continue Reading

Every Awful Thing Trump Has Promised to Do in a Second Term

Rolling Stone: “Donald Trump reportedly did not expect to win the presidency in 2016, which isn’t surprising considering how ill-prepared he and his team were to take control of the country. He appointed established conservatives to key positions before learning some had personal principles that extended beyond indulging the president’s ego. Trump wreaked havoc on… Continue Reading

Old books that are newly relevant

The Economist: “In an episode of our podcast “The Intelligence” recorded at the end of 2023, some of our journalists talked about books of the past that are strikingly relevant to the present. The themes that inspired our choices include artificial intelligence, climate change, war and threats to democracy. The prescient books include a science-fiction… Continue Reading

EM-DAT – The international disaster database

“Inventorying hazards & disasters worldwide since 1988. EM-DAT contains data on the occurrence and impacts of over 26,000 mass disasters worldwide from 1900 to the present day. The database is compiled from various sources, including UN agencies, non-governmental organizations, reinsurance companies, research institutes, and press agencies. The Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters… Continue Reading

tree fm

Listen to a random forest – Tune Into Forests From Around The World. Escape, Relax & Preserve. “People around the world recorded the sounds of their forests, so you can escape into nature, and unwind wherever you are. Take a breath and soak in the forest sounds as they breathe with life and beauty! And… Continue Reading

PFAS Maryland Fish Consumption Advisory Map

“Brent Walls, Upper Potomac Riverkeeper, has become an expert  on the growing issue of PFAS – toxic “legacy” chemicals – which we are finding in more and more places. He has created a map which identifies monitoring locations where Maryland’s Department of the Environment (MDE) collected fish tissue samples from various species, oyster sampling and… Continue Reading

Buried But Not Forgotten: Coal Ash in the Chesapeake

Waterkeepers Chesapeake – “The Chesapeake Bay region has a problem it thought it could bury and forget. But the solution for coal ash is not so simple. Coal ash, also referred to as coal combustion residuals or CCRs, is produced primarily from the burning of coal in coal-fired power plants. Coal ash contains hazardous pollutants… Continue Reading

Climate Risk & Resilience Portal (ClimRR)

“Climate change is increasing the complexity, intensity, and frequency of disasters. Understanding future climate conditions in cities and towns across the United States is necessary to prepare for future climate realities. To address this requirement, ClimRR — the Climate Risk and Resilience Portal — empowers individuals, governments, and organizations to examine simulated future climate conditions… Continue Reading

Cracking the Gasoline Code

COLTURA – Using new gasoline consumption data to lift the most gasoline-burdened Americans and cut gasoline use faster and more efficiently. “The top 10% of drivers in the U.S. account for more than one-third of the nation’s gasoline use for private light-duty vehicles, according to the report. Extreme levels of gasoline use are deeply woven… Continue Reading

The Transformative Power of Nature on Children and Society

The MIT Press Reader: “…During the past 15 years, a growing body of research has linked our connection to nature to reductions in vitamin D deficiency, myopia, obesity, diastolic blood pressure, stress-related salivary cortisol, heart rate, diabetes, and mood disorders. Studies have found that for young adults, the more nature they experience, the more life… Continue Reading

World scientists’ warning: The behavioural crisis driving ecological overshoot

Merz JJ, Barnard P, Rees WE, et al. World scientists’ warning: The behavioural crisis driving ecological overshoot. Science Progress. 2023;106(3). doi:10.1177/00368504231201372 “Previously, anthropogenic ecological overshoot has been identified as a fundamental cause of the myriad symptoms we see around the globe today from biodiversity loss and ocean acidification to the disturbing rise in novel entities… Continue Reading

Bird populations are declining

The Washington Post – Some are in your neighborhood…”We know this because of eBird, the crowdsourced database of bird observations managed by the Cornell Lab. eBird is to older bird databases roughly what Wikipedia is to Encyclopaedia Britannica — instead of depending on the observations of a relatively small group of trusted experts, eBird uses… Continue Reading