5 Environmental Stories You Don't Want To Miss

By Noah Schlager

February 26, 2016

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Photo by iStockphoto/Rastan

EVs VS. OIL: According to a new report, electric vehicles are on their way to becoming as affordably priced as conventional gasoline cars. By as early as 2023, EVs could displace demand for 2 million barrels of oil per day, which could lead to an oil crisis similar to the one in 2014.

BUSTING LOGGERS: A new satellite-based warning system can alert officials to illegal logging within hours of the crime.

DESERT BLOOM: Thanks to heavy rainstorms last fall, Southern California’s Death Valley is enjoying its largest wildflower bloom in a decade. The valley’s typical monochrome is popping with color that, depending on the weather, should last through the spring.

CLIMATE POLITICS: A person's political ideology is one of the most likely indicators of whether or not they believe in climate change, according to a new study. The takeaways: The usual denier stereotypes (i.e., undereducated folks and older white males) don’t hold water, and people who acknowledge climate change don’t necessarily support climate action.

LIE OF OMISSION: The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear meltdown that rocked Japan in 2011 should have been announced within days of the incident, said the plant’s parent company in a statement. Instead, the company waited two months to announce what would become the world’s largest nuclear disaster since the 1986 Chernobyl accident.