The Latest

For Earther: Ancient Shipwrecks Are a Treasure Trove of Climate Data

Posted on by Starre Vartan in Uncategorized

shipwrecks

My first article published in 2018, and one of my favorites to report on in 2017!

“Thousands of sailors perished in stormy seas throughout the Caribbean in the 15th, 16th, and 17th centuries. Surely they would never have guessed that their terrifying ends would help scientists in the future. But creative researchers have found a link between historic Spanish shipwrecks, hurricanes, and the climate.

 Their initial research, published last year, takes on added urgency after a devastating hurricane season has sparked conversations about the linkages between powerful storms and climate change.”
Read the rest of this story over at Earther, Gizmodo’s newish site for environment coverage.

For Vice: California’s Wildfires Could Be the New Normal

Posted on by Starre Vartan in Climate, Science Writing

I connected the dots between loss of Arctic sea ice and California’s recent devastating wildfire season in this piece for Vice:

“Calling this [fire season] the ‘new normal’ —that’s not out of line at all,” says Professor Jennifer Francis, an atmospheric scientist and research professor in the Department of Marine and Coastal Sciences at Rutgers University. Professor Francis has spent her career focused on the Arctic and energy exchanges between that region and the rest of the planet. She says the warming she’s seen in the polar region has impacted weather patterns throughout the Northern Hemisphere. “Those changes up north, they’re impacting the billions of people down here.”

For The Daily Beast: IVF Might Bring Baby Coral Back to the Florida Keys

Posted on by Starre Vartan in Animals, Climate, Science Writing

“When I was 7 years old, I traveled to the Florida Keys with my grandmother and learned to snorkel, spending most of the day, every day, for over a week, peering down at countless corals bursting in indescribable shapes and glorious colors.

Nearly 30 years later, I returned to the same beaches, eager to strap on my mask and dive in. I was excited to show my West Coast-raised partner the beauty I knew to be hidden beneath the gentle aquamarine surface.

But there was no color left.”

However, there’s hope. Some intrepid scientists are using some creative techniques, including IVF, to help baby coral survive a challenging new landscape. I got to talk to them for this article for The Daily Beast.

For Vice: It’s 2017 and Less Than 50 Percent of the World Has Internet Access

Posted on by Starre Vartan in Tech

Reporting this piece about Internet for all was especially relevant in a year where we saw the gutting of Net Neutrality:

“Getting everyone online seems like a no-brainer: There can’t be anyone who opposes spreading knowledge and the empowerment that comes with it, right? Not exactly. There are some looking to keep the internet out of people’s hands. But who and why? “Authoritarian governments, when they cut off access to the internet for their citizens; democratic governments, when they put forward proposals that value wealthy entertainers over poor citizens; corporations, when they use their power to deny users access to their platforms,” says Jillian York, director for international freedom of expression at the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF).”

I’m the New Media Editor at the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute!

Posted on by Starre Vartan in Uncategorized

Screen Shot 2016-03-17 at 2.04.57 PM

I’m happy to announce my new position at New Media Editor at The Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute! (That’s a pic of me, on the right, with Marisa, the organization’s Community of Practice manager, on the left.)

I’ve been working with the organization for a couple of months to determine if it’s a good fit. I’ll be managing social media, writing, and editing for the innovative non-profit organization.

A bit about C2CPII:

The Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute is a non-profit organization created to bring about a large scale transformation in the way we make things.

Our mission is to guide product manufacturers and designers in making safe and healthy products for our world.

The Institute, using the Cradle to Cradle® framework, works with leaders from academia, the NGO environmental community, government and industry to establish a rating system for assessing and constant improvement of products based upon five categories:

1. Safe and appropriately sourced materials;
2. Material reutilization;
3. Renewable energy;
4. Clean water stewardship
5. Social fairness