Most recent 30 articles: Washington Post - Climate and Environment
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Antarctic temperatures soar 50 degrees above norm in long-lasting heat wave - Washington Post - Climate and Environment (Jul 31, 2024) |
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Jul 31, 2024 · This historic warm spell in East Antarctica is an ominous example of the temperature spikes this polar climate could experience more of in a warming world.
Ground temperatures in East Antarctica have soared more than 50 degrees (28 Celsius) above normal in the second major heat wave to afflict the region in the past two years. This historic warm spell could persist for another 10 days and is an ominous example of the major temperature spikes this polar climate could experience more frequently in a warming world.
“This heat wave is a near-record (or record) event for the region of Antarctica it’s having the biggest impact on,” Edward Blanchard, an atmospheric scientist at ... Read more ...
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Climate leaders say Harris has 'lit an electric spark’ with young voters - Washington Post - Climate and Environment (Jul 30, 2024) |
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Jul 30, 2024 · More than 350 environmentalists endorse her candidacy, saying it could help energize climate-minded voters, less than 100 days before the 2024 election.
More than 350 prominent climate advocates on Tuesday endorsed Vice President Harris for president, a sign that environmental leaders believe her campaign will energize like-minded voters in a way that President Biden could not.
In a letter shared first with The Washington Post, big names in the environmental movement - including former U.S. climate envoy John F. Kerry, former secretary of state Hillary Clinton and Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D) - wrote that Harris has long prioritized climate action and would continue ... Read more ...
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How to make all your food waste disappear - Washington Post - Climate and Environment (Jul 30, 2024) |
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Jul 30, 2024 · Composting is not for everyone. But have you tried a solar digester?
Composting is not for everyone.
I realize this when I go home to visit my parents in Florida, or almost anywhere outside states, such as Vermont, that mandate it. Curbside pickup is rare. Many view it as a chore. Even for people like me who enjoy transforming leftovers into rocket fuel for their garden, composting can turn into a foul, stinking, sulfurous mess.
So, I get it.
But what if you could make food waste disappear by throwing it into a hole in the ground and walking away. No more fouled trash. Less climate pollution. While researching ways to compost, I discovered an easy method to ... Read more ...
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A surprising byproduct of wildfires: Contaminated drinking water - Washington Post - Climate and Environment (Jul 29, 2024) |
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Jul 29, 2024 · Over the weekend, the Park Fire grew to more than 360,000 acres, prompting evacuation orders and warnings around Chico, Calif. in Butte, Plumas, Shasta and Tehama counties. In the days ahead, Cal Fire will seek to contain the blaze to reduce harm to people, structures and the environment. However, months from now when the rains come and the fires are extinguished, a hidden threat could put communities at risk once again.
When the mayor of Las Vegas, N.M., issued a warning in 2022 to its 13,000 residents, it wasn’t over a fire - they had recently lived through the state’s largest wildfire in its history: Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak. The dire warning was that the city had 30 days ... Read more ...
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Flash flood at Dollywood forces fans to flee in high water - Washington Post - Climate and Environment (Jul 29, 2024) |
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Jul 29, 2024 · The East Tennessee theme park reported one injury during slow-moving thunderstorms that caused road closures.
Dollywood fans enjoying a summer weekend had to flee the Tennessee theme park Sunday after strong storms sent floodwaters rushing through the park, forcing some to wade through nearly waist-deep water to get to their cars.
Photos and videos captured on social media showed brown water surging through pedestrian areas and building up in the parking lot.
“Craziest Dollywood experience in my almost 32 years of going,” one person wrote in a TikTok video that showed torrential rains and crowds in ponchos exiting the park in Pigeon Forge, Tenn.
The resort, ... Read more ...
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Why the Park Fire exploded so quickly - Washington Post - Climate and Environment (Jul 28, 2024) |
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Jul 28, 2024 · The speed at which the Park Fire consumed an enormous area has stunned even those who live and breathe wildfire, and who have watched other historic blazes rip through the region.
Wildfire experts knew the Northern California region where the Park Fire sparked was ready to burn, but no one expected how fast it would go up in flames. In just three days, the fire exploded into the state’s seventh-largest wildfire on record.
It consumed about 5,000 acres per hour after first igniting Wednesday, scorching 150,000 acres on Friday alone and racing far to the north to threaten towns that earlier seemed well out of reach. As of Sunday morning, it had spread to more than 350,000 ... Read more ...
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4 hottest days ever observed raise fears of a planet nearing 'tipping points’ - Washington Post - Climate and Environment (Jul 27, 2024) |
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Jul 27, 2024 · Since last July, Earth’s average temperature has been at least 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above preindustrial levels.
Key takeaways
Summary is AI-generated, newsroom-reviewed.
As global temperatures spiked to their highest levels in recorded history on Monday, ambulances were screaming through the streets of Tokyo, carrying scores of people who had collapsed amid an unrelenting heat wave. A monster typhoon was emerging from the scorching waters of the Pacific Ocean, which were several degrees warmer than normal. Thousands of vacationers fled the idyllic mountain town of Jasper, Canada ahead of a fast-moving wall of wildfire flames.
By the ... Read more ...
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As wildfires rage, forecasters test new way to warn people near flames - Washington Post - Climate and Environment (Jul 27, 2024) |
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Jul 27, 2024 · The warnings are being evaluated by the National Weather Service, however, and it could be some time before they are available in regions like the fire-prone West.
Days before a historic spate of wildfires in the Texas Panhandle and Oklahoma in February, local meteorologists had been training on a new way to warn people about fast-spreading fires - with a system that can quickly detect emerging threats and tell people where the flames are headed. During that outbreak, 41 wildfires tore through 1.4 million acres in less than two days, including the Smokehouse Creek Fire, which grew into the largest in Texas history. Read more ...
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Climate change challenges winemakers, but some are benefitting from it - Washington Post - Climate and Environment (Jul 25, 2024) |
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Jul 25, 2024 · While many vintners are forced to grapple with extreme weather brought on by climate change, some regions are seeing more consistent harvests and better-quality wines.
Climate change is transforming wine. We’ve seen devastating wildfires threaten or destroy recent harvests in California, Australia, Chile and Portugal; harsh winters decimate vineyards in British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley and the Eastern United States; and spring frosts, an age-old enemy of vignerons, increasingly menacing as warmer average temperatures nudge vines to send out their tender shoots earlier in the spring.
It might seem strange to suggest climate change has produced any winners, but if we ... Read more ...
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Extreme heat is threatening humanity’s best ally in fight against climate change - Washington Post - Climate and Environment (Jul 25, 2024) |
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Jul 25, 2024 · High temperatures, droughts and wildfire last year caused some forests to wilt and burn enough to degrade the ability of the land to lock away carbon dioxide.
Earth’s forests lost much of their ability to absorb the carbon dioxide humans pumped into the air last year, according to a new study that is causing concern among climate scientists that a crucial damper on climate change underwent an unprecedented deterioration.
Temperatures in 2023 were so high - and the droughts and wildfires that came with them were so severe - that forests in various parts of the world wilted and burned enough to have degraded the ability of the land to lock away carbon dioxide and act as a ... Read more ...
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New U.K. state company to develop offshore wind on seabed owned by Charles III - Washington Post - Climate and Environment (Jul 25, 2024) |
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Jul 25, 2024 · The Crown Estate, the monarchy’s real estate firm, owns much of the seabed surrounding Britain.
Key takeaways
Summary is AI-generated, newsroom-reviewed.
LONDON - A new state energy company, set up by Britain’s fledgling Labour government to promote clean, sustainable power sources, has found a partner for its first venture: the king.
The Crown Estate, the monarchy’s property firm, owns much of the seabed surrounding Britain. Great British Energy will work with the firm to develop offshore wind and other clean energy projects, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Thursday.
“This new partnership … will unleash a tidal wave of public and private investment to ... Read more ...
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The fight to make landlords turn down the thermostat - Washington Post - Climate and Environment (Jul 25, 2024) |
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Jul 25, 2024 · Cooling proposals are similar to protections many tenants have for adequate heating. But some see cost as a hurdle.
Key takeaways
Summary is AI-generated, newsroom-reviewed.
FRESNO, Calif. - On a 114-degree day, May Yang was seeking relief - from her own home.
Her ground-floor, two-room apartment sits in direct sun for much of the day, making the inside unbearably hot, despite her air conditioner’s feeble attempts to cool it down.
In California and many other states, renters like Yang are entitled under the law to heating that maintains a minimum temperature during the winter. But there are few mandates nationwide - including in California - that ... Read more ...
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The Great Salt Lake isn’t just drying out. It’s warming the planet. - Washington Post - Climate and Environment (Jul 25, 2024) |
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Jul 25, 2024 · The Great Salt Lake released 4.1 million tons of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in 2020, researchers found - more evidence that dried-out lakes are a significant source of emissions.
Key takeaways
Summary is AI-generated, newsroom-reviewed.
Like some dystopian astronaut, Melissa Cobo would hike the searing flats of the dried-out Great Salt Lake every couple of weeks, hauling a heavy backpack attached by a hose to what looked like the lid of a cake dome. What remained of the lake often seemed out of reach as she struggled through hot mud, clay and a weird crystalline layer that broke with her footsteps onto a greenish muck.
“You see the water, but ... Read more ...
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William & Mary lands $100 million gift to expand marine sciences school - Washington Post - Climate and Environment (Jul 24, 2024) |
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Jul 24, 2024 · Philanthropist Jane Batten’s donation, the largest in William & Mary history, will fund the university’s coastal and marine sciences school.
Key takeaways
Summary is AI-generated, newsroom-reviewed.
William & Mary will expand its coastal and marine sciences research with the help of a $100 million donation from local philanthropist Jane Batten. The university announced its largest donation in its 331-year history Wednesday.
The donation toward the newly-named Batten School of Coastal and Marine Sciences will support William & Mary’s existing marine science program at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science. With the donation, the university will establish a ... Read more ...
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Sunday was the hottest day ever recorded on Earth, scientists say - Washington Post - Climate and Environment (Jul 23, 2024) |
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Jul 23, 2024 · The historic day comes on the heels of 13 straight months of unprecedented temperatures and the hottest year scientists have ever seen.
Global temperatures hit the highest levels in recorded history on Sunday, according to preliminary data from Europe’s top climate monitor - another worrying sign of how human-caused climate change is pushing the planet into dangerous new territory.
The results from the Copernicus Climate Change Service show the planet’s average temperature on July 21 was 17.09 degrees Celsius (62.76 degrees Fahrenheit) - breaking a record set only last year. The historic day comes on the heels of 13 straight months of unprecedented temperatures and the ... Read more ...
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U.S. is making progress on its climate goals - but still falling short - Washington Post - Climate and Environment (Jul 23, 2024) |
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Jul 23, 2024 · New analysis by Rhodium finds that the nation is reducing planet-warming emissions, but not fast enough to cut such pollution in half by 2030.
The United States is reducing planet-warming emissions faster than ever before but is still falling short on its commitment to cut such pollution in half by 2030, according to an analysis released Tuesday.
The annual report by the independent research firm Rhodium Group projected that the United States will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 38 percent to 56 percent below 2005 levels in 2035. Under the Paris climate accord, the United States has pledged to cut its emissions between 50 percent and 52 percent by the end of this decade. Read more ...
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What a Harris campaign could mean for the fight against climate change - Washington Post - Climate and Environment (Jul 23, 2024) |
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Jul 23, 2024 · Environmentalists have praised her climate record. Possible running mates from battleground states may take a more cautious stance.
At the top of President Biden’s letter announcing his withdrawal from his reelection campaign, he staked a major legacy claim, saying his administration passed “the most significant climate legislation in the history of the world.”
Now environmental groups and voters have begun parsing how Vice President Harris - and her possible running mates - might be different from Biden on key questions of climate change, the movement away from fossil fuels, and environmental regulation.
While climate issues might not be decisive in swing states ... Read more ...
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Heat pumps, EV chargers and more: U.S. unveils $4.3 billion in local climate funds - Washington Post - Climate and Environment (Jul 22, 2024) |
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Jul 22, 2024 · The latest grant money comes as the Biden administration races to distribute investments authorized by the Inflation Reduction Act.
The Environmental Protection Agency on Monday announced an investment of $4.3 billion into community-driven projects in an effort to ramp up local climate action across the country.
The funding will go to 25 recipients across 30 states, ranging from projects involving forest management to household energy efficiency. It will also help states, cities and territories develop climate action plans to meet local sustainability goals.
Details about the latest funding were shared with the media on an embargoed basis Friday, two days before ... Read more ...
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Would Trump privatize weather forecasting? What to know. - Washington Post - Climate and Environment (Jul 22, 2024) |
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Jul 22, 2024 · Project 2025 proposes breaking up the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the parent agency for the National Weather Service, describing it as “one of the main drivers of the climate change alarm industry.”
Among the stakes in the upcoming U.S. elections: Weather forecasts, who delivers them and what they say about links between extreme conditions and climate change.
A conservative proposal drafted by the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 has ignited an intense debate this month by proposing that a Republican administration privatize weather forecasting now done by government agencies. The plan would break up the National Oceanic and Atmospheric ... Read more ...
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A post-fire 'nightmare’ in New Mexico: Eight floods in four weeks - Washington Post - Climate and Environment (Jul 21, 2024) |
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Jul 21, 2024 · Ruidoso, a scenic town of nearly 8,000 in southern New Mexico, is at the mercy of an enduring, double-barreled disaster.
RUIDOSO, N.M. - The dream home that Brook Smith bought last year, located at the bend of a peaceful road, is now protected on one side by a military-grade flood barrier filled with dirt. The babbling creek alongside that home is an artery that’s repeatedly raged with floodwaters in the past few weeks. The driveway is a place where her kids have screamed while fleeing rising waters, and the front door is a spot to which they’re scared to return.
Because all they know for certain is more rain is coming, and their town - and especially, their street - ... Read more ...
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Does 'compostable’ plastic actually break down? Here’s what to know. - Washington Post - Climate and Environment (Jul 20, 2024) |
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Jul 20, 2024 · Making sure a product has been properly certified is one way to know if it will really break down in commercial composting operations.
“Biodegradable.” “Compostable.” “Plant-based.” “Earth-friendly.”
These buzzwords are increasingly appearing on utensils, to-go cups and food containers and other kinds of disposable packaging. While you might think the dizzying array of products could be a simple solution to the growing plastic pollution crisis, experts say you can’t always believe what you read, in part because of fierce disputes over which bioplastics are truly sustainable.
“It’s almost the Wild West when it comes to marketing phrases that consumers are exposed ... Read more ...
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Biden wants government to stop buying soda bottles, other single-use plastics - Washington Post - Climate and Environment (Jul 19, 2024) |
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Jul 19, 2024 · The administration also seeks tougher regulations on plastics manufacturers, which use fossil fuels to make many products in everyday use.
The Biden administration Friday announced a commitment to phase out single-use plastics across the federal government, marking a significant step in tackling the growing plastic pollution crisis.
As part of an expanded strategy to combat plastic pollution in the United States, the administration set a goal to phase out federal purchases “of single-use plastics from food service operations, events, and packaging by 2027, and from all federal operations by 2035.”
The federal government is the largest buyer of consumer goods in the ... Read more ...
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How the nation’s driest state is using cash to free up water - Washington Post - Climate and Environment (Jul 19, 2024) |
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Jul 19, 2024 · Nevada is testing out a pilot program that encourages farmers to retire their water rights in effort to reduce over-drafting of precious groundwater.
EUREKA, Nev. - Denise Moyle was a no. Her sister Dusty was a no. Their father was against the idea, too.
None of them wanted a part of Nevada’s first-ever proposal to buy farmers’ water rights in parts of the state where people are draining the aquifers. Nevada officials expected it would draw skepticism. In a state known for being the driest in the nation, selling your water has historically meant quitting agriculture. It meant letting your land go dry, inviting erosion, dust storms and invasive weeds. It meant being a bad ... Read more ...
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How fracking could unlock a clean energy future - Washington Post - Climate and Environment (Jul 18, 2024) |
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Jul 18, 2024 · Technology pioneered by the oil and gas industry is fueling a new type of carbon-free power plant.
Southern California Edison, one of the country’s largest power companies, has just announced a deal to buy electricity from a seven-year-old start-up called Fervo Energy. Like other energy companies, Fervo will use hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” to tap an energy source trapped deep underground.
But instead of oil and gas, Fervo is hunting heat, a more abundant resource that neither pollutes the air nor contributes to global warming. The heat will fuel a new type of power plant: an enhanced geothermal plant.
Most power plants work by converting a turbine’s ... Read more ...
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How a Republican election sweep could transform U.S. climate policy - Washington Post - Climate and Environment (Jul 18, 2024) |
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Jul 18, 2024 · President Biden’s signature environmental actions could be reversed if the GOP takes control of the House, Senate and White House. The EPA and other agencies could see their budgets slashed.
Defunding or dismantling federal agencies focused on the environment. Slashing regulations aimed at combating climate change and cutting deadly air pollution. Boosting the use of fossil fuels that have helped drive the U.S. economy but also contribute to the heat waves afflicting millions of Americans this summer.
These are just some of the ways Republicans could shift U.S. climate policy if they win the White House, flip the Senate and maintain their House majority in the November ... Read more ...
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A rarely seen Amazon tribe emerges from rainforest as loggers move in - Washington Post - Climate and Environment (Jul 17, 2024) |
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Jul 17, 2024 · Footage shows the isolated Mashco Piro tribe just miles from where logging companies have been granted concessions in the Peruvian Amazon.
Striking new images show members of one of the world’s most isolated Indigenous tribes emerging from the rainforest in a remote part of the Peruvian Amazon, close to where several logging companies have been granted concessions.
The Mashco Piro tribe is believed to be the world’s largest Indigenous community living without outside contact. But in recent weeks, the tribe has been spotted on the banks of the Las Piedras River, just miles from logging activity.
More than 50 Mashco Piro members appeared near the remote jungle ... Read more ...
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Here’s what extreme weather means for life in three refugee camps - Washington Post - Climate and Environment (Jul 17, 2024) |
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Jul 17, 2024 · Intense heat, floods, cyclones and other disasters add to the challenges for millions of displaced people. These three women detail how they struggle to cope.
Every day, it’s the heat that wakes up Hamda al-Marzouq. The temperatures at her refugee camp in Jordan regularly climb to 100 degrees Fahrenheit, forcing her to wake up hours earlier than planned.
Three-thousand miles to the east, in a camp in Bangladesh, a Rohingya refugee’s makeshift home is threatened by frequent landslides from cyclones. Umme Solima’s floor has turned muddy from the rain, and she can’t afford to repair her damaged roof, made of bamboo and tarpaulin.
In South Sudan, floodwaters have ... Read more ...
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Should I buy this? A guide to sustainable online shopping - Washington Post - Climate and Environment (Jul 16, 2024) |
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Jul 16, 2024 · It’s summer shopping season, and the sales are coming in hot. Amazon, Walmart, Target and Shein are enticing us with markdowns. But when you’re constantly confronted with deals, targeted ads and fast-moving clothing trends, it’s easy to forget that your decisions have an impact on our planet.
The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that 11.3 million tons of closet castoffs and other textile waste ended up in landfills in 2018, the latest data available. And fashion trails only the food and construction industries in greenhouse gas emissions, according to watchdog organization Remake.
When deciding whether to make a purchase, ask yourself these questions to make ... Read more ...
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How dangerous is extreme heat for pregnant women? What to know. - Washington Post - Climate and Environment (Jul 16, 2024) |
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Jul 16, 2024 · Here’s what you need to know about risks for pregnant individuals experiencing extreme heat and tips on how to protect them.
As the United States enters what is expected to be a punishing summer, doctors and experts are increasingly worried about pregnant women, among the most vulnerable populations to extreme heat.
In the U.S. over 2 million preterm births (before 37 weeks) and nearly 6 million early-term births (between 37 to 39 weeks) between 1993 and 2017 were associated with heat waves, according to a recent study. The likelihood of women delivering ahead of time rose after prolonged heat waves and higher average temperatures.
“Pregnant people are basically ... Read more ...
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Why melting ice sheets are making our days longer - Washington Post - Climate and Environment (Jul 15, 2024) |
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Jul 15, 2024 · As polar ice melts, water moves from the poles toward the equator - making our Earth bulkier and rotate slower.
Think humans play a relatively small role in how Earth moves in space? It turns out we’re changing how our very planet rotates - and it’s affecting the length of our days.
For billions of years, Earth’s movements - how it spins and at what speed - have been primarily determined by forces beyond human influence, such as the pull of the moon and processes at our core and mantle. Now, the melting of Earth’s ice sheets, accelerated by human-driven warming, is influencing those motions.
The melting of Earth’s large ice masses has made days ever so slightly ... Read more ...
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