Major Oil Pipeline Burst in Southern California Harms Wildlife and Closes Beaches (Associated Press, Washington Post, CBS, The Guardian)
A major oil spill released a minimum of 126,000 gallons of crude oil after a pipe burst late last week.
The Amplify Energy pipeline burst shut down beaches and has already killed wildlife while threatening many bird species in the Talbert Marsh Wetland.
Amplify Energy took over 7 hours to report the spill to authorities after first receiving a safety notice of a possible spill, slowing down any rapid response to the incident.
US Declares the Ivory-billed Woodpecker and 22 Other Species Extinct (Associated Press, New York Post, CBS News)
The US government has listed over twenty species as officially extinct, with the list consisting mostly of small bird species.
It is uncommon for ecologists to give up hope on so many species; only eleven other species have been declared extinct since the Endangered Species Act was enacted in the 1960’s.
It is commonly accepted among the scientific community that the Earth is currently in an extinction crisis, with extinctions occurring at 1,000 times the natural rate.
Major Corporations are Lying about their Commitment to Fighting Climate Change (The Guardian)
Large corporations and household names who have set ambitious climate goals are in reality funding groups that are fighting climate action.
Companies including Apple, Amazon, Disney and Microsoft all support groups aimed at blocking the Biden administration’s reconciliation plan, which is widely considered our last chance to take meaningful action before it is too late.
The most prominent of these groups is the US Chamber of Commerce and Business Roundtable that has pledged to do everything they can to fight the reconciliation package.
Children Today already Suffering from Older Generation’s Lack of Action (Science, The Guardian, Washington Post)
A recently published study in Science has concluded that children born today are going to experience many more extreme weather events than older generations.
The average six year old today will live through 2.5x’s more crop failures, 3.4x’s more river floods and 3.4x’s more river floods than someone born in 1960.
The report is among the first of its kind and sets a scary, and dangerous, future ahead for many of today’s youths.
You’re not Wrong; Mosquitos are in Fact Getting Worse (Grist)
Despite the end to Summer, you may have noticed that the mosquito season is showing no signs of slowing.
Climate Change, specifically the extreme heat and prolonged rainfall this summer, provided the perfect breeding habitat for mosquitos to thrive in.
Some mosquito populations be more than just a nuisance, bringing with them diseases such as the West Nile Virus.
Report Finds 14% of Earth's Coral Reefs “Vanished” since 2009 (New York Times, Yahoo!News)
A report by the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network has found that between 2009-2020 14% of the world's coral has died. This is largely attributed to large scale bleaching events, which are caused by sea surface temperature increase.
Though coral reefs only cover .2% of the ocean floor, they are home to 25% of marine life and are critical to providing food, jobs and protection for the people that live near them.
While tackling the effects of climate change is key to saving coral, reducing pollution is also a large factor. Pollution (like human sewage and heavy metals) increase algal blooms, which contribute to coral bleaching and decay.