Chris McDermott

Well done! A Massachusetts church displayed an “ICE was here” sign in its Nativity scene.

📽️ WATCH: Photographer @annie-flanagan.bsky.social went to Clairton, PA, where residents live in the shadow of the country’s largest coke plant. Coke is a product used to manufacture steel.

This is what Annie saw — and inhaled — while on assignment in Clairton.

Link to our story below ⤵️

Australia finally acknowledges environment underpins all else. That’s no small thing | Ken Henry In what are dangerous times for democracies around the world, parliament’s overhaul of nature laws in the EPBC Act shows ambitious reform remains possible

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Story: buff.ly/SBp0GZG...

Trump’s Anti-Green Agenda Could Lead to 1.3 Million More Climate Deaths. The Poorest Countries Will Be Impacted Most. Most of the people expected to suffer these temperature-related deaths live in poor countries in Africa and South Asia that are least prepared to cope with the increasing heat from climate change.

NEW: Trump’s climate policies could lead to 1.3 million more temperature-related deaths by 2115, our analysis found.

“The sheer numbers are horrifying,” a climate advocate said. “These are people with lives, with families, with hopes and dreams.”

How 3M Discovered, Then Concealed, the Dangers of Forever Chemicals The company found its own toxic compounds in human blood—and kept selling them.

How did 3M’s “forever chemicals” end up in all of us? The inside story of the corporate scientists who discovered—then helped to conceal—the dangers of its chemicals.

A seagull stands defiantly on top of a circular sign that shows a silhouette of a bird with a red slash through it, indicating "no birds allowed." The scene is humorous and ironic, as the seagull perches calmly above a sign that clearly forbids its presence. In the background, a soft sky fades into the horizon with buildings and trees below.

You can’t ban defiance!

✊🏼✊🏾📢⚖️

A nearly Connecticut-sized, oxygen-depleted area of ocean is decidedly abnormal. But the last 4 decades of annual measurements and failed efforts to stop chemical pollution flowing off midwestern farms and into the Gulf made this week’s announcement entirely predictable.

“We’re being treated like animals… I’m brown. If I go out they can stop me every day just cuz of my skin color.”

What are we doing? 🇺🇸 (from @rokhanna.bsky.social )

A black-and-white photograph of a young girl, Sadako Sasaki, is centered against a soft, pastel-colored background featuring gradients of blue, yellow, and green. Large, bold black text at the top reads: “For Sadako and all children harmed by war.” In the bottom right corner, there is a black origami crane icon next to the text: #CranesforOurFuture.

Sadako Sasaki was two when the atomic bomb hit Hiroshima. She was 12 when she died of leukemia caused by radiation. In her hospital bed, she folded 1,000 paper cranes for peace.

Today, we fold cranes in her memory & to build a safer world free from the threat of nuclear weapons. #CranesForOurFuture

The Texas Floods Were a Preview of What’s to Come Mounting evidence shows no US state is safe from the flooding that ravaged Texas’ Kerr Country.

There are historical cases, going back hundreds or thousands of years, of humans reacting quickly to climate change. And then there is the current case of humans both causing the climate change and refusing to react to it.
www.wired.com/story/kerr-c...

New York Finalizes Rule for New Buildings to Be Electric - EcoWatch New York is now the first state to require new buildings to be built entirely electric, without hookups to fossil fuels including gas.

“The fossil fuel industry was sent a powerful message by the court in this case — the health, well-being, affordability, and prosperity of our communities matters more than the industry’s profits and the hollowness of its fear mongering.” ~ Dawn Wells-Clyburn, executive director of PUSH Buffalo

University sidelines scientist who exposed toxic metals in Lake Maurepas The SELU scientist who discovered alarming levels of toxic chemicals in Lake Maurepas was abruptly removed from her research position without explanation.

A university scientist who discovered alarming levels of toxic chemicals in a lake in southeastern Louisiana was abruptly removed from her research position this week without explanation

Vast supplies of U.S. aid remain stranded, despite State Department promises More than 60,000 metric tons of food have languished in warehouses in the United States and around the world — with expiration dates nearing on some items.

www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2025/...

Scientists slam Trump administration climate report as a ‘farce’ full of misinformation Experts say the report being used to justify the mass rollback of climate regulations has many claims based on long-debunked research

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Mass Die-Off of Western Monarch Butterflies Linked to Pesticides, Study Finds - EcoWatch A new peer-reviewed study has linked pesticides as a likely cause to a mass die-off of Western monarch butterflies that occurred in 2024.

“We found an average of seven different pesticides per butterfly, including multiple insecticides that are highly toxic to insects.” ~ Staci Cibotti, lead author of the study and pesticide risk prevention specialist @xercessociety.bsky.social

This made us laugh… and cry. If you felt it too, here’s one way to help two agencies in the bunker 👇

Deepest-Known Animal Communities Found Almost Six Miles Below Sea Level - EcoWatch Thousands of mollusks and worms have been discovered by a Chinese submersible in the Mariana Trench, almost six miles below sea level.

“What makes our discovery groundbreaking is not just its greater depth – it’s the astonishing abundance and diversity of chemosynthetic life we observed... this community thrives like a vibrant oasis in the vast desert of the deep sea.” ~ Mengran Du, IDSSE, Chinese Academy of Sciences

Pristine Forest and Endangered Gorilla Habitat at Risk as Half of DRC Opened to Bids for Oil and Gas Drilling: Report - EcoWatch The Democratic Republic of the Congo plans to open 306 million acres of tropical forest and gorilla habitat to oil and gas drilling.

“Oil and gas development in these fragile ecosystems would have devastating impacts on biodiversity, communities, land rights and the global fight against climate change.” ~ Anna Bebbington, research manager @earth-insight.org

Cooper's Hawk
(Astur cooperii)
Seward Park, Seattle, US

#Aves #Birds #Nature #Hawks #Photography

Global Hunger Fell Overall in 2024, but Rose in Africa and Western Asia as Climate and Conflict Threaten Progress: UN Report - EcoWatch World hunger fell overall last year, but continued to rise in most of Africa and western Asia, according to a new report.

“Every child deserves the chance to grow and thrive. Yet over 190 million children under the age of 5 are affected by undernutrition... This robs them of the chance to live to their fullest potential.” Catherine Russell, executive director ‪ @unicef.org , @fao.org

Earth Overshoot Day Reaches Record for Earliest Date - EcoWatch For 2025, Earth Overshoot Day fell on July 24, the earliest it has been since the event was first calculated in 2006.

“We are stretching the limits of how much ecological damage we can get away with." ~ ‪@lewisakenji.bsky.social , @footprintnetwork.bsky.social

The Great American Engine Stall: Science Budget Cuts Threaten US Innovation The biggest casualty? Climate science.

Federal investments in science have been an engine driving the development of life-saving technologies such as early warning systems for tsunamis & storms, diagnostic tests and vaccines, the early internet & cell phones. But the Trump admin’s budget proposal could take this engine out of commission.

Earth’s Underground Fungi Networks Need Urgent Protection: Study - EcoWatch The underground fungi networks that help sustain Earth’s ecosystems are in need of urgent conservation action, according to SPUN.

“For centuries, we’ve mapped mountains, forests, and oceans. But these fungi have remained in the dark, despite the extraordinary ways they sustain life on land.” @tobykiers.bsky.social , @spun.earth

I wrote about the EPA dismantling greenhouse gas regulations, the International Court of Justice’s climate ruling and the limits of belief newrepublic.com/article/1982...

UN’s Top Court Rules That ‘Clean, Healthy’ Environment Is a Human Right - EcoWatch In a landmark finding, the UN’s top court stated that a “clean, healthy and sustainable environment” is a human right.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling supports the obligation of UN member states to tackle the climate crisis and outlines the consequences they could face if they fail to do so.

Firefighter Shortage Across U.S. Poses ‘Dangerous’ Risks as Peak Wildfire Season Ramps Up - EcoWatch More than 25% of USFS firefighting positions are vacant, creating shortages as extreme conditions lead to wildfires across the country.

“Teams are not fully functional right now because we have lost so many people... There was no efficiency in this – they just slashed it with an ax.” ~ Bobbie Scopa, retired firefighter with the USFS for 45 years

PFAS Levels in Tap Water for 73 Million People in U.S. Exceed EPA Thresholds: NRDC Report - EcoWatch New map data from NRDC finds widespread toxic levels of PFAS "forever chemicals" in the tap water for over 73 million people in the U.S.

“No one voted to turn on their kitchen faucet and serve their family tap water laced with toxic chemicals.” ~ Erik Olson, senior strategic director of health @nrdc.org

Renewables Helped Prevent Blackouts on New England's Hottest Day This Summer - EcoWatch Renewable energy sources such as solar helped keep power on in New England during peak demand on the hottest day this summer.

“Unless further thwarted by counterproductive federal proposals, the northeast will see an increasingly diversified clean energy portfolio... minimizing the reliance on aging, inefficient fossil fuel power plants to serve peak demand.” @acadiacenter.bsky.social