"The brutal wind and torrential rainfall of Hurricane Milton that killed 16 people in Florida this week were worsened by human-caused climate change, a team of international scientists said on Friday."
"Meteorologists tracking the advance of Hurricane Milton have been targeted by a deluge of conspiracy theories that they were controlling the weather, abuse and even death threats, amid what they say is an unprecedented surge in misinformation as two major hurricanes have hit the US."
What if the news, instead of inducing fear or anxiety, was rewarding for the brain? That question sparked the creation of a novel, game show–inspired approach to helping journalists unlock new ways of reporting, using healthier, more holistic communication techniques. Drawing on research from neuroscience, community psychology and journalism, “Jourpardy” offers fresh perspectives on how to avoid doom-and-gloom reporting.
When Hurricane Helene ravaged a swath of the Southeast in September, leaving at least 230 people dead, it also temporarily took out a critical repository of climate data in Asheville, North Carolina. That got Reporter’s Toolbox thinking about the risks to some of the nation’s other important storehouses of environmental information, whether from extreme weather, hackers or politics. Here’s a shortlist.
"Every year, navel orangeworms eat through roughly 2% of California’s almonds before they can make it to grocery store shelves. With climate change threatening to make the situation worse, researchers are hoping to sterilize millions of moths a day with radiation and drop them from airplanes."
"The state estimates one or more pesticides are found in around 43 percent of 800,000 private wells in Wisconsin, and more than half of the pesticides detected aren’t regulated in groundwater by the state or federal governments."
"Green hydrogen will likely remain “prohibitively expensive” for most industries, despite global efforts to boost the fuel as a climate solution, according to a new study."
"Incumbent Rick Scott, a Republican, reportedly banned the words “climate change” from state agencies as governor. Democrat Debbie Mucarsel-Powell favors climate-resilient infrastructure."
"Monarchs are considered the king of the butterflies. In Michoacan, Mexico conservationist Homero Gomez Gonzalez was considered the king of the Monarchs. Until one day in 2020, when he disappeared without a trace."
"As Hurricane Milton pummeled Florida’s west coast with powerful winds and flooding rain, environmentalists worry it could scatter the polluted leftovers of the state’s phosphate fertilizer mining industry and other hazardous waste across the peninsula and into vulnerable waterways."
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