Have you ever noticed how bright our planet looks from space? Earth usually reflects sunlight like a giant blue-and-white mirror. But scientists have discovered something surprising: Earth is losing it’s shine and is actually getting dimmer. What “Getting Dimmer” Means Our planet has a property called albedo, which is the fraction of sunlight that gets bounced back into space. Earth has been losing its shine for decades, reflecting less light back into space—and the amount of light reflected by the Northern Hemisphere is decreasing more quickly than that of the Southern Hemisphere, recent research suggests. For a long time, scientists believed both hemispheres reflected roughly the same amount of light.…

https://www.nature.com/articles/s43247-025-02768-2As our planet heats up, the Arctic is getting greener. I just read an interesting study about how all those new plants—especially shrubs—could be changing what’s going on underground in the frozen soils known as permafrost. For four years, scientists in northern Greenland ran an experiment to see what happens when frozen soil is exposed to air and mixed with dead plant bits, called litter. They were trying to picture what the Arctic might look like as plants keep spreading north. The results were pretty wild: that extra plant material actually changed the DNA of the tiny microbes living in the soil! Those microbes got busier—and hungrier—breaking down old carbon…

Under the ocean’s surface, there’s an underwater symphony. Blue whales and other marine mammals fill the water with songs and calls, almost like an underwater orchestra. To eavesdrop on this symphony, scientists use special tools called hydrophones — microphones designed to work underwater. In this case, researchers used a hydrophone anchored 3,000 feet below the surface. What Did the Scientists Find? Over six years, researchers from the Monterey Bay Aquarium noticed something troubling along the California Coast. Blue whales and fin whales began singing less often when the ocean got unusually warm. Scientists say the silence is a serious warning. Meanwhile, some whales that eat lots of different things (like…

Imagine this: you’re walking across the frozen tundra in Siberia and—whoa—there’s a giant hole in the ground, big enough to swallow a house. No, it’s not a scene from a sci-fi movie. These craters are real, and scientists have been finding more of them over the past decade. The big question: what’s going on? What’s Hiding Under the Ice? Siberia is covered in permafrost, soil that usually stays frozen solid all year long. But, as the planet heats up, permafrost is thawing faster than ever. That’s already causing big problems you can see—like sinkholes opening up, telephone poles leaning, roads and runways cracking, and forests where trees just topple over.…

As a scuba diver, I’ve seen the wonders of the undersea world—brilliant coral reefs, swaying seagrass meadows, and the incredible creatures that call these places home. That’s why what happens with bottom trawling feels so devastating. Picture this: a huge fishing boat drags a massive, weighted net across the seafloor. It tears through everything in its path, scooping up fish. At the same time, it crushes coral reefs, seagrass meadows, and habitats that have taken centuries to grow. Behind it, clouds of dark mud swirl like an underwater storm. Even stingrays and baby sharks get trapped, with no chance of escape. This method, called bottom trawling, is one of the…

In August, Hurricane Erin tore across the Atlantic Ocean with winds blasting over 160 miles per hour on August 16. Erin didn’t make landfall, but its effects—big waves, riptides, and rough weather—slammed coastal communities. This created dangerous conditions stretching over 1,000 miles of the East Coast. And here’s the kicker: climate change is making those effects worse. Supercharged: Hurricane Erin’s Shocking Rapid Intensification Erin exploded from a Category 1 storm to a monster Category 5 in less than a day—one of the fastest growth spurts ever recorded. Scientists say this kind of rapid jump is happening more often as our planet heats up. Jim Kossin, a former hurricane expert at…

In Arizona, the summer heat has turned deadly. Public health officials warn that extreme temperatures in Maricopa County may have already claimed more than 400 lives. Across the ocean, Southern Europe is also in crisis, with heatwaves fueling wildfires—including 152 new blazes in Greece alone. Far to the north, Alaska faced a very different kind of disaster. A lake of rainwater and melting snow burst through a glacial dam near Juneau, unleashing a torrent that pushed the Mendenhall River to its highest level ever recorded. Streets and homes in the city were swallowed by the flood. Recent heavy rains caused sudden flash floods in Pakistan, killing 337 people. Since late…

August 13, 2025 Floods aren’t just breaking records—they’re breaking lives. Picture this: streets turned into raging rivers, rooftops barely peeking above swirling brown water, and rescue boats zigzagging through what used to be quiet neighborhoods. Right now, parts of the Midwest are drowning. Not long ago, New York City’s subways became underground lakes. Last month, Beijing was hammered with a year’s worth of rain in just days, killing 38 people. In Texas, massive floods claimed 119 lives. And now, Tennessee is under siege from rising water—where one family’s life ended in an instant when flood-loosened trees came crashing down on their car. Torrential rains swamped homes and roads across Mexico…

We’re used to hearing about floods and wildfires, but there’s a great deal of climate change happening beneath the surface. You’ve likely heard about ocean acidification and coral bleaching, but there’s so much more we just can’t see. On a small research boat in Chesapeake Bay, a scientist collected water to study tiny living things called microbes. All around, people were enjoying the beach, unaware that dangerous bacteria called Vibrio were hiding in the water. Vibrio live naturally in oceans and rivers. Some types are harmless and even help the environment by recycling nutrients. But others can make people very sick—with symptoms like stomach cramps, diarrhea, or in rare cases,…

Special thanks to Jay Thompson for his contribution to this blog! Vanishing insects are the silent alarm of climate change—one we can’t afford to ignore. Some of my most cherished memories come from forests, such as the rainforests of Borneo, or in Tasmania where I was greeted by a curious pademelon at the entrance of my log cabin. In the Amazon rainforest I watched wild macaw parrots gather at clay licks — a vibrantly colorful and magical sight I wish everyone could experience. In nearly any forest on Earth, the productions of nature saturate our senses: the smell of moist ground and humid air, the sounds of birdsong, of tree…