Antarctica's big break, DAPL keeps going, Greta Thunberg's new doc, blood moon, biodiversity breakdown...

[View in your browser]( [ecowatch]( Top Posts [ ​In Today's Eco Update - Antarctica's ice break. - DAPL stays open. - Greta Thunberg documentary. Watch the red moon lunar eclipse and things to know about biodiversity. – summaries below written by [Angely Mercado]( [post_image]( [Largest Iceberg Breaks off Antarctica]( A huge section of ice broke off of [Antarctica]( this month and is now the largest iceberg in the world. Known as A-76, the colossal iceberg was first spotted by a researcher in mid-May. The U.S. National Ice Center confirmed the iceberg the next day using images from the Sentinel-1A satellite. It first broke off from the Ronne Ice Shelf, which is located in Antarctica's Weddell Sea, according to the [European Space Agency](. The iceberg has an area of 1,668 square miles, [according to Reuters]( almost six times larger than New York City. [Read More Button]( [9630b8e6-45a3-4648-9335-a47935d7d092.png](  [twitter](  [linkedin](  [email](mailto:?subject=Largest Iceberg Breaks off Antarctica&body= [post_image]( [DAPL Keeps Pumping Oil With No Permit]( A federal judge recently ruled that the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) may continue pumping oil without a [key federal permit]( while the Army Corps of Engineers conducts an environmental review. Indigenous tribes in the area have challenged the pipeline. They say the pipeline is operating illegally beneath a reservoir near their reservation. They have said that the pipeline failed to "demonstrate a likelihood of irreparable injury," according to James Boasberg of the D.C. District Court, who [criticized the Biden administration repeatedly]( in his ruling. [Read More Button]( [9630b8e6-45a3-4648-9335-a47935d7d092.png](  [twitter](  [linkedin](  [email](mailto:?subject=DAPL Keeps Pumping Oil With No Permit&body= [post_image]( [Greta Thunberg Connects Dots Between Animal Exploitation, Climate Crisis, Pandemics]( A new film For Nature featuring climate leader Greta Thunberg highlights the connections between the climate crisis, ecological emergency, and the COVID-19 pandemic — and explains how communities and policymakers can repair people's relationship to wildlife and change our food systems. The film was produced by the animal rights nonprofit organization Mercy for Animals and was recently released on International Day for Biological Diversity. [Read More Button]( [9630b8e6-45a3-4648-9335-a47935d7d092.png](  [twitter](  [linkedin](  [email](mailto:?subject=Greta Thunberg Connects Dots Between Animal Exploitation, Climate Crisis, Pandemics&body= [post_image]( [Supermoon!]( The first lunar eclipse of 2021 is going to happen during the [early hours of May 26](. But this is going to be an especially super lunar event, as it will be a supermoon, a lunar eclipse and a red blood moon all at once. So what does this all mean? A [supermoon occurs]( when a full or new moon coincides with the moon's closest approach to Earth. The moon's orbit around Earth is not perfectly circular. This means the moon's distance from Earth varies as it goes around the planet. The closest point in the orbit, called the perigee, is roughly [28,000 miles]( closer to Earth than the farthest point of the orbit. A full moon that [happens near the perigee is called a supermoon](. [Read More Button]( [9630b8e6-45a3-4648-9335-a47935d7d092.png](  [twitter](  [linkedin](  [email](mailto:?subject=Supermoon!&body= [post_image]( [Things To Know About Biodiversity]( Polar bears, honeybees, mango trees and coral reefs are all examples of the countless animal and insect species, plant life and ecosystems that comprise the planet's vast biodiversity. Every living organism has a role to play in an intricate web of connectedness, no matter the size, and without them, there would be no life on Earth. Removing just one from the chain can send significant ripple effects throughout the system, even if those effects aren't immediately felt. More crucially, every species lost increases the extinction risk to another connected species. While biodiversity exists wherever there is life, there are some places on Earth that are considered [biodiversity hotspots]( — specific areas that are teeming with native species that can't be found anywhere else in the world, from koalas in Australia to giant pandas in China. There are currently 36 areas that qualify as hotspots, but consider this: While that number comprises only 2.4 percent of the planet, those regions contain almost 43 percent of endemic species. But these hotspots are increasingly threatened by human activity and climate change. Not only that, but a United Nations Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services Report warned that about a million species currently face extinction, and for some it's just a matter of decades. As it stands, a [2018 World Wildlife Fund]( shared that the world's vertebrate populations declined an average 60 percent in each category (mammals, birds, fish, reptiles and amphibians) since 1970. [Read More Button]( [9630b8e6-45a3-4648-9335-a47935d7d092.png](  [twitter](  [linkedin](  [email](mailto:?subject=Things To Know About Biodiversity&body= All rights reserved. [facebook](  [twitter](  [instagram]( [Unsubscribe]( {EMAIL} [Update Profile]( [about our service provider]( Sent by contact@ecowatch.com