How Plastics Are Clogging the Ocean, Even Before You Toss that Bottle Away
“Pellets have been around and have been lost since plastic started to be produced,” says Madeleine Berg, a project manager for Fidra, which is working to reduce plastic waste and chemical pollution. And as plastic production continues to rise, researchers worry that the threat to beaches and coastal regions is growing worse. The Gulf Coast of…
How a Change of Color for the Puerto Rican Flag Became a Symbol of Resistance
Participants hold signs with the Puerto Rico’s flag painted in black and white as symbol of resistance and civil disobedience during the NYC’s 60th annual Puerto Rico Day parade on June 11, 2017 in New York City. Maite H. Mateo/VIEWpress/Corbis via Getty Images) Just past 2:00 a.m. on July 4, 2016, four women arrived in…
This Company Thinks It Can Lure Gen Z Kids Away From Beef Burgers for Good
Phillip Faraone/Getty This story was originally published by Grist and is shared here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. In one of those interchangeable American office parks, where oceans of blacktop pool around lowrise grey-on-grey buildings, a gaggle of kids in white lab coats gathered to apply temporary burger tattoos, conduct mini science experiments, and await the…
Census Citizenship Question Back in Limbo
Sigh: A day after pledging that the 2020 census would not ask respondents about their citizenship, the Justice Department reversed course on Wednesday and said it was hunting for a way to restore the question on orders from President Trump. Officials told a federal judge in Maryland that they thought there would be a way…
This Judge Said Coming from a “Good Family” Means a 16-Year-Old Couldn’t Be a Rapist
When a 16-year-old boy appeared in a New Jersey court, the question was whether he would be tried as an adult for having allegedly raped a 16-year-old girl. A New Jersey judge denied the waiver, but his rationale has launched an outpouring of online outrage. The boy, who was drunk, filmed himself penetrating an intoxicated…
Pentagon Guidance to Troops in Trump’s July 4th Event: Say I Love My Tank
AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin Tanks are rolling into Washington, DC, tomorrow for Donald Trump’s “Salute to America,” a revised version of the city’s annual Fourth of July celebration that the president promises will be the “show of a lifetime.” It will be a full-on military display, which—in addition to the tanks—includes “multiple flyovers,” military music, a…