Trump's EPA nominee isn't sure about climate change. He should see this Antarctica photo.
Oh, great!
Photo via NASA Earth Observatory
Just another Manhattan-sized chunk of Antarctica breaking off and scooting fancy free into the ocean.
Photo via NASA Earth Observatory.
The Pine Island glacier, where the break took place, also experienced large ice losses in 2014 and 2015. This cleavage is smaller, but still alarming to scientists, who fear the trend is accelerating.
"Such ‘rapid fire’ calving does appear to be unusual for this glacier," Ohio State University glaciologist Ian Howat said in a NASA press release.
This is really not a great time for solid ice on Earth.
The Antarctic iceberg's decision to peace out from the Pine Island glacier comes amid reports of frequent "heat waves" at the poles and record low amounts of sea ice.
Just three years ago, this — the largest-ever glacial cleaving caught on film — happened in Greenland:
GIF from "Chasing Ice"/Submarine Deluxe.
It's a good thing the new U.S. administration's incoming EPA chief is a responsible steward of the Earth, at one with nature, devoted to...
Photo by Aaron P. Bernstein/Getty Images.
... oh. Right. He's 100% not.
As Oklahoma attorney general, Scott Pruitt devoted much of his energy to suing the EPA — the very department he's been put forward to lead. Prior to his nomination, he bragged about being "a leading advocate against the EPA’s activist agenda."
He's also not so sure about this whole climate change thing being legit, which, you know...
GIF from "Chasing Ice"/Submarine Deluxe.
...is troubling. To say the least.
The Senate is scheduled to vote on Pruitt's nomination soon.
And there are some signs he might be in trouble.
Maine's Susan Collins is a "no" and John McCain is out of the house. That means just one more senator needs to flip if Pruitt is going to be rejected. A few have shown willingness to buck Trump on other priorities: Alaska's Lisa Murkowski, who voted against Betsy DeVos, Kentucky's Rand Paul, who has opposed several of the administration's proposed state department hires, and South Carolina's Lindsay Graham, who's been critical of Trump on national security issues.
If you live in one of those states, do give your senators a call. Now.
Save our ice!
The glacier, in happier, non-cleaved times. Photo via NASA Earth Observatory.
(And, you know, our coastal cities and civilization, while we're at it).
Update — 2/17/17, 1:21p.m. ET: Welp. Pruitt went through. Good try, everyone. You should still call your senators, though, and tell them to stand up to any attempt to roll back climate rules and legislation. Earth's glaciers are counting on you!



A Generation Jones teenager poses in her room.Image via Wikmedia Commons
An office kitchen.via
An angry man eating spaghetti.via 
Gif of baby being baptized
Woman gives toddler a bath Canva


An Irish woman went to the doctor for a routine eye exam. She left with bright neon green eyes.
It's not easy seeing green.
Did she get superpowers?
Going to the eye doctor can be a hassle and a pain. It's not just the routine issues and inconveniences that come along when making a doctor appointment, but sometimes the various devices being used to check your eyes' health feel invasive and uncomfortable. But at least at the end of the appointment, most of us don't look like we're turning into The Incredible Hulk. That wasn't the case for one Irish woman.
Photographer Margerita B. Wargola was just going in for a routine eye exam at the hospital but ended up leaving with her eyes a shocking, bright neon green.
At the doctor's office, the nurse practitioner was prepping Wargola for a test with a machine that Wargola had experienced before. Before the test started, Wargola presumed the nurse had dropped some saline into her eyes, as they were feeling dry. After she blinked, everything went yellow.
Wargola and the nurse initially panicked. Neither knew what was going on as Wargola suddenly had yellow vision and radioactive-looking green eyes. After the initial shock, both realized the issue: the nurse forgot to ask Wargola to remove her contact lenses before putting contrast drops in her eyes for the exam. Wargola and the nurse quickly removed the lenses from her eyes and washed them thoroughly with saline. Fortunately, Wargola's eyes were unharmed. Unfortunately, her contacts were permanently stained and she didn't bring a spare pair.
- YouTube youtube.com
Since she has poor vision, Wargola was forced to drive herself home after the eye exam wearing the neon-green contact lenses that make her look like a member of the Green Lantern Corps. She couldn't help but laugh at her predicament and recorded a video explaining it all on social media. Since then, her video has sparked a couple Reddit threads and collected a bunch of comments on Instagram:
“But the REAL question is: do you now have X-Ray vision?”
“You can just say you're a superhero.”
“I would make a few stops on the way home just to freak some people out!”
“I would have lived it up! Grab a coffee, do grocery shopping, walk around a shopping center.”
“This one would pair well with that girl who ate something with turmeric with her invisalign on and walked around Paris smiling at people with seemingly BRIGHT YELLOW TEETH.”
“I would save those for fancy special occasions! WOW!”
“Every time I'd stop I'd turn slowly and stare at the person in the car next to me.”
“Keep them. Tell people what to do. They’ll do your bidding.”
In a follow-up Instagram video, Wargola showed her followers that she was safe at home with normal eyes, showing that the damaged contact lenses were so stained that they turned the saline solution in her contacts case into a bright Gatorade yellow. She wasn't mad at the nurse and, in fact, plans on keeping the lenses to wear on St. Patrick's Day or some other special occasion.
While no harm was done and a good laugh was had, it's still best for doctors, nurses, and patients alike to double-check and ask or tell if contact lenses are being worn before each eye test. If not, there might be more than ultra-green eyes to worry about.