Oklahoma has been experiencing larger earthquakes recently, including a 4.7 and 4.8 in magnitude on January 6th. Though no injuries or destruction have been reported, the activity is concerning. It is surprising that nothing stronger came along with these recent earthquakes, so one is expected to come. The major problems is that the earthquakes have been on top of major oil and gad rigs in the ground. If a larger earthquake shakes too much, the oil and gas may leak and spill over a great area of Oklahoma and destroy some land. This could have a very large negative impact on the state's economy and environmental health.

California, a state usually strangled by drought, is experiencing rains and snow more often than usual this season! The El-Niño is even sending precipitation to the chronically dry south western region of California! Snow in the northern regions will increase this year. Snow's runoff is a critical part of water retention in California, so this will help the agriculture to thrive this year. Though mudslides and floods may occur, this change in weather will help California's environment in the longer term.

Climate change is mixing up the habitats of ticks and mosquitoes, especially when it comes to migration. Ticks and mosquitos are heading north and expand their ranges, while carrying the tropical diseases they gain in the south. Illnesses from bugs are spreading to the U.S., some never seen here before now! Zika, a mosquito borne disease taking over Brazil, had not left Brazil for the majority of its existence. Now, with the migration of these new mosquitoes, the disease has reached Florida, Hawaii and many areas in Central America. The U.S. CDC has limited information and preventative thoughts for this problem, but it shows another example of the effects of climate change.

About 66 million years ago, Mantua Township of New Jersey was an ocean floor. A layer of rock was found with a plethora of fossils in it. Considering the sheer numbers and density, a hypothesis about this layer is that is is the only known layer of the most recent mass extinction. That means this layer of rock is about the same age as the dinosaurs. Many paleontologists find it difficult to find remains of the animals from this time, so people are flocking to Mantua Township to dig up hidden treasures from the mass extinction. For now scientists are just trying to poke around the area, get more fossils and further their investigation on this hypothesized time period.

Seventeen big name hotels of New York City like the Waldorf and the Grand Hyatt are signing onto the Carbon Challenge of NYC. These hotels give off a great deal of carbon emissions, and the plan will cut these emissions by 30 percent in 10 years. This will not only save the environment from harmful pollutants but also save the economy from wasting over $20 million on energy costs that end up going to emissions. The hotels that have joined the challenge, the mayor and many other public figures of New York City are hoping to get more and more hotels on board with the challenge, since hotels are a major part in the problem of carbon emissions. The green pledge is growing slowly but will make a big difference for the bustling polluting city that never sleeps!

Birds from the Alaskan coast to the Californian coast are dying quickly, earning an inspection by the Fish and Wildlife Service from the U.S. Department of the Interior. These birds appear to be starving to death, because no toxins or external problems are apparent to the biologists investigating this problem. Fish are migrating because of the change in ocean temperatures lately, but the die-off is happening so suddenly and over such a big area that the possibility of starvation is hard to believe. The bird population affected will likely bounce back from this die-off, but biologists are continuing to look into the causes and effects of this die-off on other species and the ecosystems involved.