Wildfires aren’t just tearing through larger swaths of the American West. They’re spreading more quickly, too. A team of researchers looked at NASA satellite data on 60,000 wildfires in the contiguous United States between 2001 and 2020. After classifying each blaze by the most it grew in a single day, …
Read More »An Alarming Glimpse Into a Future of Historic Droughts
Electricity cuts across an entire nation. A capital rationing water. A mayor encouraging people to shower together to save precious drops. The world’s largest river system, the Amazon, which sustains some 30 million people across eight countries, is drying up. A record-breaking drought that is well into its second year …
Read More »Fire in Oakland Hills Prompts Evacuations Under Gusty Conditions
A brush fire erupted in Oakland, Calif., on Friday, forcing the evacuation of hillside neighborhoods and the brief closure of a major highway as high winds threatened to spread the blaze. The five-alarm fire, which officials have named the Keller fire, had burned about 15 acres and damaged two homes …
Read More »Big Sur Weighs Tourism Against Its Environmental Impact
The 70 miles of California coastline that makes up the unincorporated area of Big Sur has a storied, almost mystical allure, largely thanks to its staggering beauty. With redwood forests, stunning Pacific views, winding rivers and natural hot springs, the area has for decades attracted celebrities, artists and millions of …
Read More »The World’s Carbon Sinks Are on Fire
Forests not only serve as refuges from city life, but could also be among the last fortresses between a livable planet and an increasingly hostile one. Forests can pull carbon from the air and store it in roots and leaves, locking it out of the atmosphere. Through complex markets, nations …
Read More »For Some Children, Hurricane Helene’s Ruin ‘Could Take Years to Get Over’
Tens of thousands of children across the Southeast remain out of their classrooms one week after Helene, the deadliest hurricane to strike the mainland United States since Katrina. They are cut off from academics, friends and stabilizing routines. Hurricane Helene ravaged school buildings, demolished football fields and killed young children …
Read More »