Sophie Hirsh
Sophie is a New York-based journalist who loves the Earth, animals, and analyzing Taylor Swift's music.
More From Sophie Hirsh
Global ice loss is catching up to worst-case scenario predictions
The global ice loss rate — aka melting ice sheets — is higher than ever before.Biden to rejoin Paris Agreement on Inauguration Day, among 17 executive actions
Biden will rejoin the Paris Agreement and cancel the Keystone XL pipeline.Biden to reportedly cancel the Keystone XL pipeline
President-elect Joe Biden plans to cancel the Keystone XL pipeline immediately upon assuming the role of president, multiple sources report.NASA deems 2020 the hottest year in recorded history
NASA found 2020 to be the hottest year on record, just barely edging out the previous record holder.Dalai Lama sits down with Greta Thunberg: “there is real hope from our younger generation”
The 14th Dalai Lama praised Greta Thunberg for renewing humanity’s hope surrounding climate action.Humans could completely destroy the Amazon Rainforest by 2064
The Amazon rainforest could dry up past the point of no return by 2064, and essentially collapse, according to a new study.Due to climate change, only 5 percent of U.S. rivers are still blue
Climate change has affected rivers so much that a whopping one-third of long rivers across the U.S. have changed color over the past few decades.The Democratic Senate could be groundbreaking for the climate movement
What exactly would a Democratic Senate mean for the climate? Rev. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff's victories could be huge for the environment.An Indian designer is upcycling leftover PPE fabric into hospital mattresses
Indian designer Lakshmi Menon collected leftover fabric scraps from those making masks, gowns, and other PPE, and used the fabric to make much-needed mattresses for hospitals treating COVID-19 patients.Amazonian indigenous community wins 24-year lawsuit against illegal loggers
The Ashaninka tribe won a $3 million settlement from the company that deforested a quarter of its reserve in the 1980s.Climate groups applaud Biden's nomination of Gina McCarthy to key climate position
Gina McCarthy and Ali Zaidi will reportedly advise Joe Biden on climate issues.Vogue Italia skips photoshoots this month for the environment
Vogue Italia is forgoing photographs this month to avoid the high environmental impact of photoshoots.
This solar-powered electric car charges while you drive — on three wheels
How does Aptera Motors’ solar electric vehicle work? Read on to learn all about this groundbreaking three-wheeled, solar-powered car.Singapore approves lab-grown chicken nuggets, a world's first
Lab-grown chicken nuggets are finally set to hit the market, as Singapore has just become the first country to approve of them.Biden declares climate a top four issue, reveals transition teams for environmental agencies
President-elect Joe Biden has revealed his transition team, and declared climate as one of the top four issues of his transition.Denmark sentences all 17 million mink to death due to coronavirus mutation
Denmark’s government is mandating the nationwide slaughter of all 17 million mink currently living on fur farms in response to the coronavirus.Trump reverses protections for Alaska's Tongass National Forest, harming Indigenous Peoples
The Trump administration just removed protections on the country's largest national forest.France bans wild animal circuses and other cruel animal entertainment
France is banning the use of wild animals in traveling circuses, marine parks, and mink fur farms.England’s straw ban finally goes into effect
England’s ban on plastic straws, plastic stirrers, and plastic-stemmed cotton swabs is now law.California bans sale of gas-powered cars by 2035, prioritizing electric vehicles statewide
California will no longer sell new gas-powered cars come 15 years from now, as Governor Gavin Newsom just signed an executive order.Thailand national park mails litter back to the tourists who left it behind
A creative way to stop littering.The Arctic's largest ice shelf loses massive glacier to the climate crisis
A 44-square-mile chunk of the Arctic’s largest ice shelf in Northeast Greenland has broken apart and disintegrated.NASA took satellite images of the West Coast wildfires from outer space and it shows the full extent of the devastation
NASA took satellite images from outer space of the wildfires currently ravaging the West Coast.
Obama highlights connection between West Coast fires and climate crisis
President Barack Obama shared haunting photos taken of San Francisco this week, along with a caption blaming the fires on the climate crisis and encouraging followers to vote.Trump’s EPA is letting power plants dump toxic waste into rivers and streams
Yuck.Bird deaths by wind turbines could go down by 70 percent with this trick
This could be game-changing.
Justice is served: Poacher who killed 500 elephants sentenced to 30 years in jail
Guyvanho, a well-known poacher in the Republic of Congo, is going to jail for 30 years for killing hundreds of elephants, among other crimes.
Day-old chicks are dying in the mail by the thousands due to USPS chaos
Due to postal service chaos amidst the coronavirus pandemic, which is related to Trump’s new postmaster general appointment, live chicks sent in the mail have been dying at alarmingly high rates.Single-use face masks are hurting wildlife. Here's how to dispose of masks safely
Face mask waste is a big threat to wildlife.Microplastics detected in 100 percent of human organs sampled
A new study found microplastics in every human organ sampled.After 6,000 years, Native American tribe finally wins Big Sur land back
The Esselen tribe has finally won their land back thanks to a $4.5 million grant.Australian bushfires killed almost 3 billion animals, new report finds
Scientists found that the Australian bushfires likely killed nearly 3 billion animals and destroyed 11.46 million hectares of land.New York Senate passes bill banning pet stores from selling puppy mill dogs
The bill would ban pet stores from selling dogs, cats, and rabbits!New reusable N95 masks could reduce coronavirus medical waste, correct PPE shortage
The masks can be manufactured using the common and affordable process of injection molding, so hopefully the product will be scaled up and widely put to use in the near future.Greta Thunberg donates $1.15 million award to charities 'fighting for a sustainable world'
“We’re in a climate emergency, and my foundation will as quickly as possible donate all the prize money of 1 million euros to support organisations and projects that are fighting for a sustainable world."An ocean cleanup crew just collected a record amount of ocean plastic from the GPGP
A crew recently returned from a 48-day mission, where they rescued a record-breaking amount of plastic from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.Trump guts the historic National Environmental Policy Act
This move means federal agencies can move forward with pipelines and other harmful projects without considering their environment impacts.Yellowstone grizzly bears safe from trophy hunters as court overrules Trump decision
Grizzly bears are now protected under the Endangered Species Act once again.Sephora will stop selling mink fur eyelashes
Sephora will no longer sell mink fur eyelashes, after customers demanded the makeup giant stop supporting the cruel fur industry.Every month, 200 billion face masks and gloves are going into the environment
Humans are globally using and disposing of an estimated 129 billion face masks and 65 billion plastic gloves every single month that we deal with COVID-19.Cactus leather is the newest eco-friendly fabric
Desserto is the first cactus-based leather on the market, and the material has the potential to make the vegan leather industry much more sustainable.Dakota Access Pipeline is closing down, Atlantic Coast Pipeline project canceled
They scored a major victory in court.Compostable wild grass straws are Vietnam's newest zero-waste straw option
A Vietnamese man found a clever way to combat the plastic straw problem.New strain of swine flu presents 'next potential pandemic' — here's how we can prevent it
Researchers in China have observed this new strain of the swine flu in pigs as well as slaughterhouse employees.Trump opens marine national monument to commercial fishing, rolling back Obama-era protections
President Trump is opening up the waters of a marine national monument to commercial fishing.Beachgoers left major litter on Hamptons beaches throughout MDW reopening
Beaches across Southampton reopened this weekend — and promptly shut back down due to excessive littering, among other issues.Gloves and masks are already polluting the Mediterranean Sea — watch a diver clean up COVID-19's mess
Opération Mer Propre shared a powerful video of a diver cleaning up coronavirus-era masks and gloves from the ocean.Here's why you don't need to wear gloves to the grocery store
Single-use gloves are not only wasteful, but also unnecessary for grocery trips.
Unfortunately, the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season could be record-breaking
Unusually high winds and warm water temperatures are indicate the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season could be one of the absolute worst on record.Rare turtles nest on Thailand beaches at record-breaking rate, due to coronavirus beach closures
In Phuket, Thailand, rare leatherback sea turtles have been taking advantage of the tourist-free beaches, and are nesting at unprecedented rates.
