Archive | IER Indiana Environmental Reporter

Indiana Environmental Reporter

All Posts

Natural disasters releasing toxic contaminants

Recent extreme weather and fires are dislodging chemicals and toxins from soil, homes, industrial waste sites and other sources, putting people at a greater health risk.

Melding fast fashion with sustainability

Inditex, the parent company of fashion brand Zara, announced plans to transition to a more sustainable model after making its name as a frontrunner in the fast fashion industry.

Meet Candida auris, the drug-resistant fungus made dangerous by climate change

Researchers warn that the fungus Candida auris may begin to pose a serious global public health threat as climate change makes it adjust to warmer temperatures.

Federal Report Indicates End of Decades-Long Air Quality Improvement

EPA’s data shows national air pollutant averages increasing during Trump administration.

Ocean snail added to endangered species list amid deep-sea mining

The scaly-foot snail has been added to the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of endangered species because of threats from deep-sea mining.

Climate change shrinking body sizes of animals

Evidence collected by researchers at the University of Cape Town over a 23-year period show that animals’ body sizes are shrinking in response to climate change.

Arctic wildfires threaten sea ice

Amid an unusually warm and dry stretch in the Arctic this summer, wildfires have raged across Alaska, Greenland and Siberia, posing a threat to sea ice.

Indianapolis-based Company Creates Bee-monitoring App

Joshua trees face extinction

New research from the University of California Riverside shows that Joshua trees are threatened with extinction without dramatic action to reduce climate change.

Food insecurity worsened by climate extremes

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization reported that climate change, conflict and economic instability are increasing food insecurity around the world.

California wildfires largely result from climate change

Researchers from the Earth Institute at Columbia University have concluded that many California wildfires are a result of a warming climate.

Climate change makes New Orleans vulnerable to flooding from tropical storms

New Orleans is exceptionally prone to flooding, partly as a result of climate change.

Rising sea levels threatening historic US sites

As climate change causes rising sea levels, preservation experts are faced with new challenges for saving historic buildings and other sites.

Genetic breakthrough in corn may improve crop yields worldwide

Clemson University scientists have found a way to keep corn producing food for longer, which could dramatically improve crop yields worldwide.

State Volkswagen Trust Fund Committee Selects Projects for First Round of Funding

Committee will dole out more than $40 million for nitrogen oxide pollution offset projects

Online video streaming produces 300 million tons of CO2 per year

Scientists say the growth of online streaming will ultimately be unsustainable.

Elephant extinction could decrease carbon-absorbing trees, accelerating climate change

Elephant extinction could allow 7% more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

China’s greenhouse gas emissions up 50% since 2005

China’s environment ministry said its emissions reached 12.3 billion tons in 2014, up 53.5% since 2005.

Caring for America’s Favorite Pollinator Takes Patience, Dedication and Community

EPA Says It Won’t Ban Indiana-made Pesticide Linked to Brain Abnormalities

Community groups appeal against coal plant permit

Deforestation in the Congo Basin releasing carbon held for thousands of years

Carbon escaping from deforested sites is about 1,500 years old.

Climate emergency declared in New York City

New York City became the most recent, and largest, city to declare a climate emergency in late June.

Alaskan heatwave brought record high temperatures

This 4th of July, Alaskans experienced record high temperatures, with Anchorage reaching 90 degrees Fahrenheit for the first time in the city’s history.

EPA Approves Expanded Use of Indiana-made Insecticide Toxic to Bees

Sulfoxaflor protects crops from aphids and tarnished plant bugs, but is linked to bee death and population decline.

World’s largest seaweed belt stretches from Africa to Mexico, endangers Caribbean species

A belt of seaweed originating along the west coast of Africa that has been recurring for the past several summers recently extended 5,500 miles into the Gulf of Mexico.

USDA announces plan to control wild hogs across the U.S.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced last month that it’s offering $75 million in funding for the eradication and control of feral swine.

The U.S. produces 12% of world’s waste, recycles 35%

Americans contribute a disproportionately high amount of the world’s waste and recycle far less than the rest of the world.

Summer Science Institute Helps Indiana Educators Teach About Climate Change

Indiana students and allies joined global climate change action marches

Unusual summer hail storm covers Guadalajara, Mexico, in ice

Guadalajara residents woke up at the end of June to more than 3 feet of ice after a hailstorm broke the stretch of hot summer days.

/