From Jenna Orkin Global heating will pass 1.5C threshold this year, top ex-Nasa scientist says In 2024, what’s the way forward? Bernie Sanders In the last few years, scientists have recorded rivers and streams in pristine regions of Alaska that are as acidic as vinegar and have levels of electrical conductivity, an indicator of dissolved metals or minerals, similar to industrial wastewater. Plus, the waterways are turning orange. Scientists agree that climate change is behind the changes, but aren’t yet sure precisely how. The first possible explanation is that thawing permafrost allows bacteria to reduce iron, which is soluble in water. Once in the water, that reduced iron can be oxidized, turning bright orange. The second possibility is that the permafrost thaw lets iron leach out of the bedrock for the first time in thousands of years. The metal gets oxidized in streams and rivers, turning the water orange. Why this matters: Iron in the water suffocates the invertebrates that fish feed on. A disregard of scientific research has bolstered the rampant approval in Brazil of hundreds of pesticides for agriculture in the last few years. Some estimates attribute 11,000 deaths annually to pesticides in developing countries. "The world’s food security cannot do without the health security of consumers and concern for the environment," writes Heslley Machado Silva, a professor and researcher at the University Center of Formiga/MG (UNIFOR/MG) and the State University of Minas Gerais (UEMG) in Brazil. Nikki Haley Seeks an Iowa Surge as the Last G.O.P. Moderate in the Race Letter from Texas Did an Abortion Ban Cost a Young Texas Woman Her Life? Co-defendant in Trump's Georgia election case seeks to disqualify DA, alleging romantic relationship with prosecutor Norway's state oil company has sold its stakes in Azerbaijani oil fields and pipelines to Azerbaijan's SOCAR. The Geopolitics of Gas: Turkmenistan's Westward Push Saudi Arabia Cuts Oil Prices for February