'Dark oxygen': a deep-sea discovery that has split scientists
Could lumpy metallic rocks in the deepest, darkest reaches of the ocean be making oxygen in the absence of sunlight?

Some scientists think so, but others have challenged the claim that so-called "dark oxygen" is being produced in the lightless abyss of the seabed.

The discovery—detailed last July in the journal Nature Geoscience—called into question long-held assumptions about the origins of life on Earth, and sparked intense scientific debate.

#darkoxygen #environment #mining #ecologicalimpact

https://phys.org/news/2025-03-dark-oxygen-deep-sea-discovery.html

It turns out billionaires like Bill Gates care more about themselves and their money than about maintaining a livable planet for the rest of us.

Are you surprised? I’m not.
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In decades past, as the effects of climate change slowly became undeniable, some people looked to the super-rich for solutions. By the early 2020s, a few billionaires had positioned themselves as masters of climate change policy, taking advantage of their great fortunes to become indispensable to environmentalism.

Now, however, many of those same billionaires are pulling their support at an alarming rate. Microsoft founder Bill Gates, the sixth richest man in the world, is the latest among them. Breakthrough Energy — Gates' climate change nonprofit — has locked the doors on its policy and advocacy office, laying off dozens of employees throughout Europe and the US.

Ever since billionaire real estate mogul Donald Trump won his second presidential election, tech barons like Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, Sundar Pichai, and of course Elon Musk have made no bones about shedding their progressive skin and embracing the new administration.

Gates, too, is cozying up to the returning president. In early January, the Microsoft founder spent three hours dining with his fellow billionaire, telling the Wall Street Journal he was "frankly impressed" by Trump's grasp on the issues dear to him.

Though many no doubt feel betrayed by what seems like a sudden rightward turn, billionaires like Gates have always behaved like wolves in sheep's clothing, prioritizing their fortunes above all.
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FULL ARTICLE -- https://futurism.com/bill-gates-gives-up-climate-change

SEE ALSO -- “Bill Gates Is Giving Up on Climate Change”
https://gizmodo.com/bill-gates-is-giving-up-on-climate-change-as-trump-drains-the-woke-out-of-washington-2000576270

Climate change not only means warming temperatures. It means a total breakdown in how we've always expected the climate to behave...
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Climate whiplash is hitting major cities around the world, bringing deadly swings between extreme wet and dry weather as the climate crisis intensifies, a report has revealed.

Cities across the world are affected but the data shows some regional trends, with drying hitting Europe, the already-parched Arabian peninsula, and much of the US, while cities in south and south-east Asia are experiencing bigger downpours.

The analysis illustrates the climate chaos being brought to urban areas by human-caused global heating. Too little or too much water is the cause of 90% of climate disasters.

The savage wildfires in Los Angeles in January were an example of a single whiplash event, with a wet period spurring vegetation growth, which then fueled the fires when hot and dry weather followed. Such events are increasing due to human-caused global heating.
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FULL STORY -- https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/mar/12/global-weirding-climate-whiplash-hitting-worlds-biggest-cities-study-reveals

Trump Halted an Agent Orange Cleanup. That Puts Hundreds of Thousands at Risk for Poisoning.
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Diplomats in Vietnam warned Washington that halting USAID’s efforts to clean up the massive deposit of postwar pesticides would be a catastrophe for public health and relations with a key strategic partner in Asia.
https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-halted-agent-orange-cleanup-dioxin-vietnam-poison-risk?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post

A rare population of leucistic, or partially white, purple-faced langurs near Sri Lanka’s Sinharaja Forest Reserve has attracted ecotourism interest, even as monkeys in general are perceived by farmers as crop-raiding pests.

Unlike albinism, leucism causes a partial loss of pigmentation, and researchers have documented around 30 white langurs in the area.

By Malaka Rodrigo
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/03/in-a-land-where-monkeys-are-seen-as-pests-sri-lankas-white-langurs-are-winning-hearts/

Forecast for weaker weather service: Americans will die, businesses will lose billions
#environment
#FDT #FEM
https://thebulletin.org/2025/03/forecast-for-weaker-weather-service-americans-will-die-businesses-will-lose-billions/

#Microplastics are broken down from the vast quantities of waste dumped into the #environment. They #hinder plants from harnessing sunlight to grow in multiple ways, from damaging soils to carrying toxic chemicals. The particles have infiltrated the entire planet, from the summit of Mount Everest to the deepest oceans.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/mar/10/microplastics-hinder-plant-photosynthesis-study-finds-threatening-millions-with-starvation

ClimateJustice.social is a Mastodon server for climate justice activists and those concerned about global warming and the current environmental crisis:

https://climatejustice.social

You can find out more at https://climatejustice.social/about or contact the admin @PaulaToThePeople

Special shoutout to the repair site iFixit who are now on the Fediverse, you can follow them at:

@iFixit

They provide repair forums and free repair guides for phones, computers, consoles, kitchen equipment, tools, medical devices, cars etc. They also review and tear down new gadgets to see how repairable they are.

Repairing your existing stuff is much, much better for the environment than buying replacements.

‘Today, we celebrate’: Judge says National Park Service must reinstate employees https://www.bocvip.com/794148/today-we-celebrate-judge-says-national-park-service-must-reinstate-employees/ #environment

‘All the birds returned’: How a Chinese project led the way in water and soil conservation https://www.bocvip.com/794027/all-the-birds-returned-how-a-chinese-project-led-the-way-in-water-and-soil-conservation/ #environment

bne IntelliNews – Environmental groups caution against overdevelopment of river resources in Central Asia

A coalition of environmental organisations is calling on international financial institutions, including the World Bank and the Asian…
#Environment
https://www.europesays.com/1916150/

Nearly 500 acres of private land conserved in perpetuity near the Appalachian Trail in Wallingford https://www.bocvip.com/793901/nearly-500-acres-of-private-land-conserved-in-perpetuity-near-the-appalachian-trail-in-wallingford/ #environment

Then and now…

This is so sad. And I can see no end to the ongoing tragedy...
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Whether they hop around the prairie, dabble in wetlands, flit through forests, or forage along the shore, birds are suffering rapid population declines across the United States.

That’s the finding from the latest State of the Birds report, a status check on the country’s avian life published every few years by a coalition of science and conservation groups. The 2025 report shows that birds across most habitats have suffered major losses since 1970. Grassland and aridland species have been dealt the heaviest blow: both groups lost more than 40% of their total populations over that period.

What’s more, the trends for many habitat groups have gotten worse. Even waterfowl, which had previously been a conservation bright spot amid the alarming declines, have seen their numbers drop since the last edition of the report. Overall, around one-third of U.S. birds, or 229 species, are of high or moderate conservation concern, according to the report — dealing with low population levels, declining trends, or other threats that call for conservation action to step up.
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FULL ARTICLE -- https://www.audubon.org/magazine/sweeping-new-report-shows-us-birds-declining-sharply-across-range-habitats

A river ‘died’ overnight in Zambia after an acidic waste spill at a Chinese-owned mine https://www.bocvip.com/793232/a-river-died-overnight-in-zambia-after-an-acidic-waste-spill-at-a-chinese-owned-mine-2/ #environment

When was the last time you saw a dove or pigeon?

Endangered Caribbean reef sharks and other shark species are making a striking recovery in Belize after plummeting due to overfishing between 2009 and 2019, according to recent observations.

Experts say the establishment of no-shark-fishing zones around Belize’s three atolls in 2021 is what enabled the population boom.

By Marco Lopez
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/03/caribbean-reef-sharks-rebound-in-belize-with-shark-fishers-help/

The wealthy who own property on the Florida coast are the same people who voted for these cuts. Their fanatical desire for lower taxes at all costs won't help when the next hurricane rips away the shoreline and drowns their homes. #environment
https://www.tampabay.com/news/environment/2025/03/06/florida-beaches-scientist-fired-doge-hurricanes/

In the rainforests of West Kalimantan, in Indonesian Borneo, the Indigenous Dayak Iban listen to what they call “omen birds,” or birds they say sing messages from spirits, Mongabay’s Sonam Lama Hyolmo reported in November 2024.

https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/03/indigenous-schools-ensure-next-generations-protect-borneos-omen-birds/