Friday, June 26, 2020

Loose Feathers #755

Ruby-throated Hummingbird / Photo by Courtney Celley/USFWS
Birds and birding news
Science and nature blogging
Biodiversity and conservation
Climate change and environmental politics
  • California is requiring that trucks sold in the state become zero-emission vehicles over the next 25 years — 50% by 2035 and 100% by 2045. In addition to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, the rule should improve air quality, as diesel trucks cause 70% of California's smog and 80% of particulate air pollution.
  • This week temperatures reached 100.4°F in Siberia north of the Arctic Circle. It was the highest temperature ever recorded in the Arctic and follows a warm winter and hot spring. Like other extreme heat events in the Arctic, it appears to be linked to climate change. The heat has been accompanied by major wildfires in Siberia.
  • Reusable bags and similar items are a low risk for spreading COVID-19 since the virus spreads primarily by airborne droplets.
  • A new poll finds that a majority of Americans think the government should do more about climate change, including stricter emissions standards for power plants and automobiles.
  • A loophole in Facebook's fact-checking system allows climate change denialism to run rampant on the platform.
  • USDA Wildlife Services is back to planting cyanide bombs in the wilderness now that the Trump administration loosened the rules.
  • Australia’s wildfires last winter sent smoke 19 miles into the sky; the last smoke plume to reach such a height was the eruption of Mount Pinatubo in 1991.
  • Climate change is likely to intensify wildfires in the American West. 
  • A recent paper found like between environmental racism and police brutality.
  • The Trump administration plans to hold a fireworks show at Mount Rushmore for Independence Day; fireworks shows at that site had been stopped ten years ago because of the fire hazard, and this year there is additional danger from the pandemic.

Friday, June 19, 2020

Loose Feathers #754

Marsh Wren / Photo by Tom Koerner/USFWS
Birds and birding news
Science and nature blogging
Biodiversity and conservation
Climate change and environmental politics

Friday, June 12, 2020

Loose Feathers #753

Bald Eagle chick in nest / Photo by Tom Koerner/USFWS
Birds and birding news
Science and nature blogging
Biodiversity and conservation
Climate change and environmental politics

Friday, June 05, 2020

Loose Feathers #752

Tree Swallow / my photo
Birds and birding news
Science and nature blogging
Biodiversity and conservation
Climate change and environmental politics