Chris McDermott
@chrismcdermott.bsky.social
freelance editor | fmr. managing editor at EcoWatch | environmental justice | animal rights | biodiversity | climate | science | oceans | clean air & water | biophile | Asheville, NC
Reposted by Chris McDermott
How did 3M’s “forever chemicals” end up in all of us? The inside story of the corporate scientists who discovered—then helped to conceal—the dangers of its chemicals.
How 3M Discovered, Then Concealed, the Dangers of Forever Chemicals
The company found its own toxic compounds in human blood—and kept selling them.
www.newyorker.com
August 11, 2025 at 5:06 PM
How did 3M’s “forever chemicals” end up in all of us? The inside story of the corporate scientists who discovered—then helped to conceal—the dangers of its chemicals.
Reposted by Chris McDermott
You can’t ban defiance!
✊🏼✊🏾📢⚖️
✊🏼✊🏾📢⚖️
August 6, 2025 at 10:21 PM
You can’t ban defiance!
✊🏼✊🏾📢⚖️
✊🏼✊🏾📢⚖️
Reposted by Chris McDermott
A nearly Connecticut-sized, oxygen-depleted area of ocean is decidedly abnormal. But the last 4 decades of annual measurements and failed efforts to stop chemical pollution flowing off midwestern farms and into the Gulf made this week’s announcement entirely predictable.
August 8, 2025 at 4:27 PM
A nearly Connecticut-sized, oxygen-depleted area of ocean is decidedly abnormal. But the last 4 decades of annual measurements and failed efforts to stop chemical pollution flowing off midwestern farms and into the Gulf made this week’s announcement entirely predictable.
Reposted by Chris McDermott
“We’re being treated like animals… I’m brown. If I go out they can stop me every day just cuz of my skin color.”
What are we doing? 🇺🇸 (from @rokhanna.bsky.social )
What are we doing? 🇺🇸 (from @rokhanna.bsky.social )
August 6, 2025 at 2:00 AM
“We’re being treated like animals… I’m brown. If I go out they can stop me every day just cuz of my skin color.”
What are we doing? 🇺🇸 (from @rokhanna.bsky.social )
What are we doing? 🇺🇸 (from @rokhanna.bsky.social )
Reposted by Chris McDermott
Sadako Sasaki was two when the atomic bomb hit Hiroshima. She was 12 when she died of leukemia caused by radiation. In her hospital bed, she folded 1,000 paper cranes for peace.
Today, we fold cranes in her memory & to build a safer world free from the threat of nuclear weapons. #CranesForOurFuture
Today, we fold cranes in her memory & to build a safer world free from the threat of nuclear weapons. #CranesForOurFuture
August 6, 2025 at 2:01 PM
Sadako Sasaki was two when the atomic bomb hit Hiroshima. She was 12 when she died of leukemia caused by radiation. In her hospital bed, she folded 1,000 paper cranes for peace.
Today, we fold cranes in her memory & to build a safer world free from the threat of nuclear weapons. #CranesForOurFuture
Today, we fold cranes in her memory & to build a safer world free from the threat of nuclear weapons. #CranesForOurFuture
Reposted by Chris McDermott
There are historical cases, going back hundreds or thousands of years, of humans reacting quickly to climate change. And then there is the current case of humans both causing the climate change and refusing to react to it.
www.wired.com/story/kerr-c...
www.wired.com/story/kerr-c...
The Texas Floods Were a Preview of What’s to Come
Mounting evidence shows no US state is safe from the flooding that ravaged Texas’ Kerr Country.
www.wired.com
August 4, 2025 at 10:53 PM
There are historical cases, going back hundreds or thousands of years, of humans reacting quickly to climate change. And then there is the current case of humans both causing the climate change and refusing to react to it.
www.wired.com/story/kerr-c...
www.wired.com/story/kerr-c...
“The fossil fuel industry was sent a powerful message by the court in this case — the health, well-being, affordability, and prosperity of our communities matters more than the industry’s profits and the hollowness of its fear mongering.” ~ Dawn Wells-Clyburn, executive director of PUSH Buffalo
New York Finalizes Rule for New Buildings to Be Electric - EcoWatch
New York is now the first state to require new buildings to be built entirely electric, without hookups to fossil fuels including gas.
www.ecowatch.com
August 4, 2025 at 8:02 PM
“The fossil fuel industry was sent a powerful message by the court in this case — the health, well-being, affordability, and prosperity of our communities matters more than the industry’s profits and the hollowness of its fear mongering.” ~ Dawn Wells-Clyburn, executive director of PUSH Buffalo
Reposted by Chris McDermott
A university scientist who discovered alarming levels of toxic chemicals in a lake in southeastern Louisiana was abruptly removed from her research position this week without explanation
University sidelines scientist who exposed toxic metals in Lake Maurepas
The SELU scientist who discovered alarming levels of toxic chemicals in Lake Maurepas was abruptly removed from her research position without explanation.
lailluminator.com
August 2, 2025 at 4:55 PM
A university scientist who discovered alarming levels of toxic chemicals in a lake in southeastern Louisiana was abruptly removed from her research position this week without explanation
Reposted by Chris McDermott
“We found an average of seven different pesticides per butterfly, including multiple insecticides that are highly toxic to insects.” ~ Staci Cibotti, lead author of the study and pesticide risk prevention specialist @xercessociety.bsky.social
Mass Die-Off of Western Monarch Butterflies Linked to Pesticides, Study Finds - EcoWatch
A new peer-reviewed study has linked pesticides as a likely cause to a mass die-off of Western monarch butterflies that occurred in 2024.
www.ecowatch.com
August 1, 2025 at 6:54 PM
“We found an average of seven different pesticides per butterfly, including multiple insecticides that are highly toxic to insects.” ~ Staci Cibotti, lead author of the study and pesticide risk prevention specialist @xercessociety.bsky.social
Reposted by Chris McDermott
This made us laugh… and cry. If you felt it too, here’s one way to help two agencies in the bunker 👇
August 1, 2025 at 3:12 PM
This made us laugh… and cry. If you felt it too, here’s one way to help two agencies in the bunker 👇
“What makes our discovery groundbreaking is not just its greater depth – it’s the astonishing abundance and diversity of chemosynthetic life we observed... this community thrives like a vibrant oasis in the vast desert of the deep sea.” ~ Mengran Du, IDSSE, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Deepest-Known Animal Communities Found Almost Six Miles Below Sea Level - EcoWatch
Thousands of mollusks and worms have been discovered by a Chinese submersible in the Mariana Trench, almost six miles below sea level.
www.ecowatch.com
August 1, 2025 at 9:59 AM
“What makes our discovery groundbreaking is not just its greater depth – it’s the astonishing abundance and diversity of chemosynthetic life we observed... this community thrives like a vibrant oasis in the vast desert of the deep sea.” ~ Mengran Du, IDSSE, Chinese Academy of Sciences
“Oil and gas development in these fragile ecosystems would have devastating impacts on biodiversity, communities, land rights and the global fight against climate change.” ~ Anna Bebbington, research manager @earth-insight.org
Pristine Forest and Endangered Gorilla Habitat at Risk as Half of DRC Opened to Bids for Oil and Gas Drilling: Report - EcoWatch
The Democratic Republic of the Congo plans to open 306 million acres of tropical forest and gorilla habitat to oil and gas drilling.
www.ecowatch.com
July 31, 2025 at 9:07 PM
“Oil and gas development in these fragile ecosystems would have devastating impacts on biodiversity, communities, land rights and the global fight against climate change.” ~ Anna Bebbington, research manager @earth-insight.org
Reposted by Chris McDermott
July 31, 2025 at 4:48 AM
“Every child deserves the chance to grow and thrive. Yet over 190 million children under the age of 5 are affected by undernutrition... This robs them of the chance to live to their fullest potential.” Catherine Russell, executive director @unicef.org , @fao.org
Global Hunger Fell Overall in 2024, but Rose in Africa and Western Asia as Climate and Conflict Threaten Progress: UN Report - EcoWatch
World hunger fell overall last year, but continued to rise in most of Africa and western Asia, according to a new report.
www.ecowatch.com
July 30, 2025 at 12:36 PM
“Every child deserves the chance to grow and thrive. Yet over 190 million children under the age of 5 are affected by undernutrition... This robs them of the chance to live to their fullest potential.” Catherine Russell, executive director @unicef.org , @fao.org
“We are stretching the limits of how much ecological damage we can get away with." ~ @lewisakenji.bsky.social , @footprintnetwork.bsky.social
Earth Overshoot Day Reaches Record for Earliest Date - EcoWatch
For 2025, Earth Overshoot Day fell on July 24, the earliest it has been since the event was first calculated in 2006.
www.ecowatch.com
July 28, 2025 at 6:50 PM
“We are stretching the limits of how much ecological damage we can get away with." ~ @lewisakenji.bsky.social , @footprintnetwork.bsky.social
Reposted by Chris McDermott
Federal investments in science have been an engine driving the development of life-saving technologies such as early warning systems for tsunamis & storms, diagnostic tests and vaccines, the early internet & cell phones. But the Trump admin’s budget proposal could take this engine out of commission.
The Great American Engine Stall: Science Budget Cuts Threaten US Innovation
The biggest casualty? Climate science.
blog.ucs.org
July 28, 2025 at 3:00 PM
Federal investments in science have been an engine driving the development of life-saving technologies such as early warning systems for tsunamis & storms, diagnostic tests and vaccines, the early internet & cell phones. But the Trump admin’s budget proposal could take this engine out of commission.
“For centuries, we’ve mapped mountains, forests, and oceans. But these fungi have remained in the dark, despite the extraordinary ways they sustain life on land.” @tobykiers.bsky.social , @spun.earth
Earth’s Underground Fungi Networks Need Urgent Protection: Study - EcoWatch
The underground fungi networks that help sustain Earth’s ecosystems are in need of urgent conservation action, according to SPUN.
www.ecowatch.com
July 25, 2025 at 8:48 PM
“For centuries, we’ve mapped mountains, forests, and oceans. But these fungi have remained in the dark, despite the extraordinary ways they sustain life on land.” @tobykiers.bsky.social , @spun.earth
Reposted by Chris McDermott
I wrote about the EPA dismantling greenhouse gas regulations, the International Court of Justice’s climate ruling and the limits of belief newrepublic.com/article/1982...
July 24, 2025 at 9:25 PM
I wrote about the EPA dismantling greenhouse gas regulations, the International Court of Justice’s climate ruling and the limits of belief newrepublic.com/article/1982...
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling supports the obligation of UN member states to tackle the climate crisis and outlines the consequences they could face if they fail to do so.
UN’s Top Court Rules That ‘Clean, Healthy’ Environment Is a Human Right - EcoWatch
In a landmark finding, the UN’s top court stated that a “clean, healthy and sustainable environment” is a human right.
www.ecowatch.com
July 24, 2025 at 7:12 PM
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling supports the obligation of UN member states to tackle the climate crisis and outlines the consequences they could face if they fail to do so.
“Teams are not fully functional right now because we have lost so many people... There was no efficiency in this – they just slashed it with an ax.” ~ Bobbie Scopa, retired firefighter with the USFS for 45 years
Firefighter Shortage Across U.S. Poses ‘Dangerous’ Risks as Peak Wildfire Season Ramps Up - EcoWatch
More than 25% of USFS firefighting positions are vacant, creating shortages as extreme conditions lead to wildfires across the country.
www.ecowatch.com
July 23, 2025 at 12:00 AM
“Teams are not fully functional right now because we have lost so many people... There was no efficiency in this – they just slashed it with an ax.” ~ Bobbie Scopa, retired firefighter with the USFS for 45 years
“No one voted to turn on their kitchen faucet and serve their family tap water laced with toxic chemicals.” ~ Erik Olson, senior strategic director of health @nrdc.org
PFAS Levels in Tap Water for 73 Million People in U.S. Exceed EPA Thresholds: NRDC Report - EcoWatch
New map data from NRDC finds widespread toxic levels of PFAS "forever chemicals" in the tap water for over 73 million people in the U.S.
www.ecowatch.com
July 22, 2025 at 7:56 PM
“No one voted to turn on their kitchen faucet and serve their family tap water laced with toxic chemicals.” ~ Erik Olson, senior strategic director of health @nrdc.org
“Unless further thwarted by counterproductive federal proposals, the northeast will see an increasingly diversified clean energy portfolio... minimizing the reliance on aging, inefficient fossil fuel power plants to serve peak demand.” @acadiacenter.bsky.social
Renewables Helped Prevent Blackouts on New England's Hottest Day This Summer - EcoWatch
Renewable energy sources such as solar helped keep power on in New England during peak demand on the hottest day this summer.
www.ecowatch.com
July 18, 2025 at 6:56 PM
“Unless further thwarted by counterproductive federal proposals, the northeast will see an increasingly diversified clean energy portfolio... minimizing the reliance on aging, inefficient fossil fuel power plants to serve peak demand.” @acadiacenter.bsky.social