climate change

Throughout May, more than 140 wildfires have burned across Alberta and British Columbia. On Sunday, the thick, ashy haze billowing from these infernos drifted across the U.S. border, casting a blanket of smoke over Minnesota and Wisconsin, which eventually made its way to Iowa and other parts of the Midwest earlier Tuesday morning.  Counties throughout […]

An unusual boost in plant productivity can foreshadow severe soil water loss. NASA satellites are following the clues. Flaring up rapidly and with little warning, the drought that gripped much of the United States in the summer of 2012 was one of the most extensive the country had seen since the yearslong Dust Bowl of […]

ORLANDO, Fla.—Addressing the human-caused emissions warming the global climate and contributing to impacts here like hotter temperatures, rising seas and more damaging hurricanes could no longer be part of Florida’s energy policy, under legislation before Gov. Ron DeSantis. The measure, approved earlier this spring by the Republican-controlled legislature, would erase several instances of the words […]

CARACAS, Venezuela — In early March, a series of wildfires ravaged the savannas of Canaima National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the southeastern state of Bolivar, bordering the Venezuelan Amazon, and reached the Auyantepui, one of the park’s iconic, billion-year-old tabletop mountains, or tepuis, known for their unique mountain ecosystems. For days, the […]

Extreme climate shocks, intensified by global warming, killed hundreds of people and devastated livelihoods and ecosystems across Latin America and the Caribbean in 2023, scientists with the World Meteorological Organization said earlier this week when they released the annual state of the climate report for the region.  Drought, heat, wildfires and extreme rainfall, as well […]

In the U.S. and around the world, the impact of climate change on primary education is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore, both inside and outside the classroom. As heat and flooding threaten the physical environment, pedagogical—and political—debates rage over how and what to teach students about their rapidly warming planet. Often a reflection of the […]

“An Ocean of Potential” was the tagline at this year’s Our Ocean conference in Greece on April 15-17. The phrase encompasses the breadth of possibilities that the ocean holds for us. It also encapsulates EDF’s approach to supporting climate-resilient fisheries and oceans. What do we mean when we say that there is “an ocean of […]

Yesterday, all eyes pointed toward the sky as millions of people across parts of the U.S., Canada and Mexico witnessed the moon temporarily shroud the sun.  People traveled from around the country and world into the “path of totality” for this rare celestial event. Analysts projected that spending surrounding the total solar eclipse—such as booking […]

JAKARTA — 2023 saw the worst fire season in Indonesia since 2019, with an area the size of Qatar going up in flames, according to official government data. A total of 1.16 million hectares (2.87 million acres) of land and forest were burned last year, with an intense El Niño weather pattern a major factor. […]

ROLAND, Ark.—First came the gasps.  As the final sliver of sunlight disappeared behind the persistent moon, eclipse viewers at the Pinnacle Mountain State Park visitors’ center outside Little Rock were left in awe.  Nancy Carr had driven six hours from McCalla, Alabama, just outside Birmingham, to view the spectacle. As the sun’s corona began its […]