#type: environment

[seraphim-eternal]

The earth is the Lords, and the fullness thereof.

1 Corinthians 10:26

[gudgurkan]

Warrior shaman of the toxic plains

Time-lapse:

[beauty-funny-trippy]

Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders is begging president Trump to reconsider the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) denial of an emergency disaster declaration to aid in the recovery from a series of destructive tornadoes and storms that ravaged the red state in March. Sanders, a former White House press secretary to Trump, wrote a lengthy letter last week to her ex-boss detailing the devastation caused by the storms and begging him to reconsider FEMA’s denial. It’s not surprising that states are struggling to get disaster-recovery aid from Trump. In January, he floated eliminating the agency entirely. And last month, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem promised to “eliminate FEMA.” So far, Trump is still refusing to send any help. Remember when people were warning that Trump just wants your vote — that he doesn't care about you? This is what they were talking about.

[kiki-eng]

devonthenatureguy / devonthenatureguy has some good advice on how to write comments for this here (transcribed below): "Start With Who You Are (1-2 Sentences)

Are you a student? A scientist? A nature lover?

Where are you from?

Why does protecting wildlife matter to you personally? Example: "I am a wildlife biology student from Minnesota who has spent my life studying and caring about endangered species."

State Your Stance Clearly

Use clear language! Example: "I strongly oppose the proposed redefinition of 'harm' under the Endangered Species Act."

Explain (2-5 Sentences)

Pick 1-2 reasons you care about.

Some examples:

Habitat destruction is the leading cause of species extinction.

If habitat loss no longer counts as "harm" species will be pushed closer to extinction.

The ESA has been successful because it recognizes how critical habitat is.

Weakening protections violates our responsibility to future generations.

Close with a Call to Action (1-2 Sentences)

Urge the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to withdraw the proposed rule.

Example: "I urge you yo maintain a strong, science-based interpretation of 'harm' that includes habitat destruction, and to withdraw the damaging proposed rule."

Remember

Be respectful. Anger is valid, but agencies are less likely to count rude or aggressive comments.

Be specific. Even a few personal or factual details make your comment stronger.

One original comment per person. More thoughtful comments = stronger legal weight. Don't use template responses or sopy and paste text.

And remember, every voice counts. Spread the word!"

On April 16th 2025 the US federal government has proposed to change the interpretation of the endangered species act so that it no longer protects habitat.

This is open for public comment until the end of May 19th. Please comment and make your voice heard.

Wildlife need their habitat. If the ESA redefines harm so that habitat is no longer protected, the implications for wildlife would be catastrophic.

[namocchi]

Happy earth day!! here’s to more blooming, more growing, more loving our little planet :')🌿 🌼

[hope-for-the-planet]

From the article:

When rain pounds earth that contains the right mix of minerals, carbon dioxide in the air dissolves into the water and reacts to form new compounds that imprison carbon dioxide. With enough time, this natural process of literally petrifying the air will cleanse the atmosphere of the carbon dioxide pollution humanity has emitted from burning fossil fuels and other activities. The problem, though, is this natural cycle takes millennia. Kanan’s idea is to take a process that normally operates on geologic time — and speed it up. To do so, his team mixed together limestone with a crushed silicate mineral that contains magnesium — such as olivine, an olive-tinted mineral that can be found around the world. When heated to furiously high temperatures in a kiln, calcium in the limestone and magnesium in the silicate jiggle and switch sides, like participants in a square dance. The result of the chemical reaction is two compounds — magnesium oxide and calcium silicate — that both readily react with air and water to trap carbon dioxide in a matter of weeks. After accounting for emissions from heating the kilns and capturing carbon dioxide from burning limestone, each ton of material can remove one ton of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, the researchers estimate. “We didn’t expect that it would work as well as it does,” said Yuxuan Chen, lead author of the study who worked in Kanan’s lab while getting his PhD, said in a statement.

[canarynoir]

We also have an ozone layer because we fixed that through international cooperation. I know that seems made up now, but we did used to be able to do shit like that. 

[cindca]

"The Forest"

An illustration I painted and turned into an animated gif. This was very tedious but I like how it turned out.

[afloweroutofstone]

Part IV: How Trump 2.0 has Harmed the Environment and Energy Policies

Part four of my summary report of the second Trump administration's first 100 days is out now. You can follow along on Medium (where you can sign up for email updates) or on my website.

Today, we're looking at 17 ways that the second Trump administration has worsened US policies on climate change, clean energy, fossil fuels, transportation, food safety, clean air and water, public lands, disaster preparation, and more:

68. Accelerating Climate Change 69. Rejecting Cooperation on Climate Change 70. Censoring Discussion of Climate Change 71. Damaging the Environment 72. Increasing Air Pollution 73. Increasing Water Pollution 74. Ending Food Safety Inspections 75. Undoing Disaster Preparations 76. Degrading National Parks and Forests 77. Giving Natural Resources Away to Corporations 78. Boosting the Fossil Fuel Industry 79. Halting Clean Energy Progress 80. Dismantling Environmental Justice Programs 81. Weakening the Endangered Species Act 82. Gutting NEPA Protections 83. Limiting Transportation Options 84. Making Travel Less Safe

[mindblowingscience]

The link between proximity to greenspace—including trees and parks—and healthy birth outcomes is well established. Now new data from researchers at Drexel University's Dornsife School of Public Health adds to our understanding of these health benefits, accounting for other factors that may influence this link, such as education, income and body mass index, but also taking the body of knowledge a step further by exploring the effect of residing near newly planted trees. The findings appear in the journal Science of The Total Environment.

Continue Reading.

[zipper-neck]

[image id: screenshot of tweet from Paul J. Taillie that says “Someone: “Hey, why are wetlands important?” Wetlands: A series of illustrations that start with a winding river running through wildlands. It rains and the river swells, then the rain ends and the river recedes and the wildlands are undamaged. Then an excavator is shown making the river straight, then clearing away the trees and building houses on either side of the river. Then when it rains, all the houses are underwater. Next image is a screenshot of a tumblr post by utah-mountain-drifter-deactivated of aerial photos of a real small town beside a river, then the river flooded and the surrounding town is totally submerged. User poorghost replied, “No one follows the trees warning.” User rapidashrider replied, “You know the parable about how the foolish man built his house upon sand and the wise man built his house upon rock and it’s always about having a sturdy foundation well there is also the fact of location which is that the sand probably used to be rock except it’s been eroded to sediment because it’s a fucking floodplain.” /end id]

[longreads]

This toxic hole is 7,000 feet long, 5,600 feet wide, and 1,600 feet deep, and it will be with us now for the next 10,000 years, at least.

In an adapted excerpt from his forthcoming book, The Way Around: A Field Guide to Going Nowhere, Nicholas Triolo details a 20-mile hike around America's largest Superfund site.

Read this excerpt exclusively on Longreads.

[saywhat-politics]

Trump administration dismisses nearly 400 scientists working on congressionally mandated national climate report

Politics

Trump administration dismisses nearly 400 scientists working on congressionally mandated national climate report

By Tracy J. Wholf

Updated on: April 29, 2025 / 9:43 PM EDT / CBS News

Nearly 400 scientists across the United States were informed Monday afternoon that their services were no longer needed to help write a major report on climate change for the federal government.

The report, known as the National Climate Assessment, is a major publication produced every four years that summarizes the impacts of climate change in the United States, and it is congressionally mandated under the Global Change Research Act of 1990. The sixth edition is scheduled for publication in 2027 and preparations have been underway for months to meet that deadline.

The National Climate Assessment is the basis for which federal, state, and local governments, as well as private companies, can prepare for climate change impacts, understand future projections of climate risk, as well as learn to adapt and mitigate those challenges.

An email sent to participants from the deputy director of services of the U.S. Global Change Research Program, a federal office that organizes the publication of the report read, "Thank you for your participation in the 6th National Climate Assessment ... we are now releasing all current assessment participants from their roles."

According to the email, the "scope" of the assessment is being "reevaluated" as the Trump administration looks to comply with the law, something the White House also reaffirmed to CBS News.

[incognitopolls]

We ask your questions anonymously so you don’t have to! Submissions are open on the 1st and 15th of the month.

[im-a-broken-jar]

[Image Description:

A Reddit comment by @/ilene_cecelia that reads, "sometimes I get real fucking mad about waste management in general and I'm tempted to blame my fellow man, but like, none of us asked for this. We're doing our best with what we've been given. So I end up picking up litter on my street sometimes, and bring my neighbors' bins in as I'm passing through. I figured if I'm pointing fingers, my hands are probably empty, so I better get to it. And my anger has transformed into something else. It's wonderful." The sentence, "I figured if I'm pointing fingers, my hands are probably empty, so I better get to it." Is highlighted for emphasis.

/End I.D.]

kind of obsessed with this comment from the aoteaora nz subreddit….