Fires Surge in the Amazon as Deforestation Slows

by Rhett Butler / Mongabay Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon was more than 20 percent lower for the second straight month relative to the prior year according to data released today by Brazil’s national space research institute INPE. But forest loss in […]

Unprecedented Fire Ravages California, Oregon, and Washington

from NY Times Wildfires in California, Oregon and Washington State have killed seven people, with fears more have died in towns destroyed throughout the West. Oregon is approaching 900,000 acres burned across the state, Gov. Kate Brown said. In the past 10 […]

Around the World, a Fire Crisis Flares Up, Fueled By Human Actions

by Liz Kimbrough / Mongabay There have been more fires alerts around the world this year than last year, spelling dire consequences for health, biodiversity, and the economy — and human actions are mostly to blame. “The world witnessed the devastating consequences […]

Solar Panels Are Starting to Die, Leaving Behind Toxic Trash

Photovoltaic panels are a boon for clean energy but are tricky to recycle. As the oldest ones expire, get ready for a solar e-waste glut. by Maddie Stone/Grist Solar panels are complex pieces of technology that become big, bulky sheets of electronic […]

Siberian Heat Drives Arctic Ice Extent to Record Low for Early July

by Gloria Dickie / Mongabay The record-setting heat wave that swept through Arctic Siberia in June has yielded a wide-range of deleterious effects in the expansive polar and sub-polar region, triggering raging wildfires, thawing permafrost, and now, spurring the rapid melt-out of […]

Wild Fires Ravage Arizona’s National Forests

by Steve Horn / the guardian For residents of Tucson in southern Arizona, the Santa Catalina Mountains in the Coronado national forest are known as a hub for hiking, mountain biking and other outdoor recreation. But on 5 June lightning ignited a […]