Shameless: Public lands handed over to the coal industry

EarthJustice

This attack on wild forest land is just one example of the kind of threats  we will face in the next four years. Our public lands are under attack. Help us fight back! Help us fight back using the most powerful tool available—the law—and your tax-deductible gift will be matched $1-for-$1. Dear Larry, Christmas came early for Arch Coal this year. On Monday, the Obama  administration opened up 20,000 acres of wild Colorado forest to  bulldozing for coal mining. This was a shameful giveaway of our public lands, but we stand prepared to fight back.

A Changing Climate Hits Coffee Harvest on The Slopes of Kilimanjaro.

environment360

Rising temperatures and changing precipitation are taking a toll on coffee farms worldwide, including the plantations around Mount Kilimanjaro. If the world hopes to sustain its two billion cup-a-day habit, scientists say, new climate-resilient species of coffee must be developed. Story here.

Snow in the Sahara? Desert hit with snowfall for the first time in 37 years

comonews.com

It's not the first place that comes to mind when you think of having a white Christmas. Story here.

North Pole to warm to near melting point this week: 50 degrees above normal

Mashable

It's happening again: The temperature at the North Pole is projected to spike to around the melting point, or 32 degrees Fahrenheit, on Wednesday into Thursday, despite the complete lack of sunshine that far north in December. Story here.

Killer Whales Pose Newest Threat to Kinder Morgan Oil Pipeline

Bloomberg

Kinder Morgan Inc. will have to address the fate of one more group before completing its Trans Mountain pipeline expansion: killer whales. Story here.

A pod of killer whales off Vancouver Island. Photo by Winky.

U.S., Canada ban offshore drilling in Arctic waters

CBCnews

U.S. President Barack Obama uses 1950s-era law called the Outer Continental Shelf Act. Story here.

More than 700 factories temporarily shut as Beijing grapples with smog

CBCnews

Country's 1st pollution alert of winter lasts until Wednesday. Story here.

NOAA Issues 'Jaw-Dropping' Assessment on 'Unprecedented' Arctic Warming

Common Dreams

Latest Arctic Report Card finds that region's temperatures continue upward climb twice as fast as global temperature increase. Story here.

Antibiotic resistance will hit a terrible tipping point in 2017

NewScientist

A major menace looms over us. In 2017, many more people could begin dying from common bacterial infections. Story here.

A "confined animal feeding operation." 
Wikimedia Commons photo.

THE 3RD GLOBAL CORAL BLEACHING EVENT – 2014/2016

SEAVIEW

NOW PREDICTED TO LAST UNTIL AT LEAST THE END OF 2016 – BY FAR THE LONGEST EVENT IN RECORDED HISTORY. Story here.

Humans have now carved up the Earth’s wilderness into 600,000 little pieces

The Washington Post

Scientists Thursday provided a global quantification of one of the most pervasive, but least recognized, ways that humans are marring the coherence of the natural world — by building endless numbers of roads. Story here.

A logging road in the UK. Richard Webb