A new PBS documentary explores the ocean’s threats and resilience in the Gulf of Maine & more environmental news.

[View this email in your browser]( Thursday, August 8, 2024 “The greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it.” — Robert Swan [Facebook]( [Instagram]( [X]( Wildfires Are Creating Their Own Thunderstorms As wildfires become more frequent and intense, they’re creating raging thunderstorms that fuel them even further, making them much more difficult to fight. [Read More]( Related: [California’s Devastating Wildfire Season: First Fatality Reported, Already 5x More Acres Burned Than Average]( Antarctica’s Record Heat Wave Brings Temps 50°F Above Normal Far above Earth’s poles, swirling in the frigid stratosphere, are the polar vortexes: massive, freezing whirlwinds that strengthen in the winter and weaken in the summer. Right now, despite being in the dead of winter, Antarctica’s vortex is undergoing an unprecedented weakening, causing a massive heat wave across the continent. [Read More]( Related: [Risk of Tipping Points From Exceeding 1.5°C Can Be Minimized if Global Heating Quickly Reversed, Researchers Say]( Biden-Harris Admin Announces $2.2 Billion in Discrimination Relief Payments to Farmers The [Biden-Harris administration]( has announced the issuance of $2.2 billion in financial assistance payments to more than 43,000 [farmers]( [forest]( landowners and [ranchers]( who were subject to [discrimination]( before January 2021. [Read More]( Related: [Biden-Harris Administration, NOAA Announce $575M to Make Coasts More Climate-Resilient]( Biden-Harris Administration to Pay Western Farmers $400 Million to Conserve Water While Maintaining Crop Production Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack has announced that the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) will pay [farmers]( in 11 [Western states]( [$400 million]( to [conserve water]( while still growing crops in the [drought]( region, a press release from USDA said. [Read More]( Related: [Biden’s DOE Awards $1.7 Billion for EV Manufacturing in 8 States]( Great Salt Lake Is Releasing Millions of Tons of Carbon Emissions, Study Finds New research has revealed that as the lake bed of the Great Salt Lake dries out, it’s becoming a greater source of greenhouse gas emissions. [Read More]( Related: [Wildfires Sweep Across Arctic Circle, Releasing High Levels of Carbon Into the Atmosphere]( Gulf of Maine in Peril: PBS Documentary Explores the Ocean’s Threats and Resilience [Brian Skerry]( has been a National Geographic photographer for more than 25 years, focusing on life under the surface of waters around the world. He’s photographed whales, sharks, scallop farms and kelp forests, and through it all, he’s been inspired by what visual storytelling can accomplish. [Read More]( Related: [COAL + ICE: An Expansive Climate Breakdown Exhibit]( Do you get this newsletter daily? If not, [sign up here]( or forward to a friend. [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Website]( [Instagram]( Copyright © 2024 EcoWatch, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you signed up for EcoWatch Top News of The Day Our mailing address is: EcoWatch 1122 Oberlin RoadRaleigh, NC 27605 [Add us to your address book]( Want to change how you receive these emails? You can [update your preferences]( or [unsubscribe from this list](. [Mailchimp Email Marketing](