Global Warming Good for Biodiversity? Only at a Big Cost
A study just out in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences is both important and confusing — important for people who know how to read through a scientific paper, and confusing for the rest of us. It’s confusing because the bottom line is that biodiversity — that is, the richness of species — is likely to improve in a warmer world. Since … Read More
Summer of 2012 Is Hottest on Record For Many in U.S.
In Minneapolis-St. Paul, it was the 3rd warmest summer on record, behind the summers of 1988 and 1933. July was the second warmest month on record in the Twin Cities, thanks to a long duration heat wave that gripped much of the Central and Eastern states, breaking thousands of longstanding temperature records… Read More
Image of the Day: Perilous Plight of Adélies Penguins
As one of most southerly-distributed seabirds, the Adélie is a species of penguin common along the entire Antarctic coast that except during spring when they come on land to breed, are highly reliant on the sea and its ice to hunt and live. It is this dependence that is causing severe problems for the penguins along the Antarctic Peninsula, the … Read More
Image of the Day: Super Smart Car, a Breath of Fresh Air
Taking the Smart car a step further, India’s Tata Motors is fine tuning the Airpods, a vehicle producing zero pollution and zip around at 40 mph through the magic of compressed air. The engines come from MDI (Motor Development International) a Luxemburg firm that has been tooling around with the concept for 20 years. Tata Motors bought the rights t… Read More
Image of the Day: Most Bizarre Fish You’ve Ever Seen?
A diver swims with a huge ocean sunfish, or Mola mola, off the coast of San Diego, CA. They are the largest of the bony fish and often get mistaken for sharks due to their dorsal fins. They feed on jellyfish and plankton and are curious of humans, as seen in the photo. One threat to molas is drift nets, which they often get caught in, and garbage s… Read More
Image of the Day: Artistic Ice Waves off Greenland
A beautiful view of fjords on the southeastern coast of Greenland funneling glacial ice into the Atlantic Ocean. According to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), during the summer melting season, the southward-flowing East Greenland Current occasionally swirls the newly calved icebergs, as they join with sea ice and preexisting icebergs, into stunni… Read More
Image of the Day: For This Forest, It’s Easy Being Green
The Iwokrama forest in Guyana is protected by the Conservation Trust Fund, which provides funds for managing the country’s intact protected tropical rainforests that are mostly untouched by humans. This is the first of its kind in Guyana. Having an ecosystem untouched by humans and industrial progress is a good thing for the climate. Deforestation … Read More
Image of the Day: A ‘Drunken Forest’ in Alaska
"Drunken forests", such as this one in Alaska, can be found where large-scale thawing of ground ice has occurred, loosening up the soil and causing the trees to randomly lean over and tip. As the fast-melting Arctic sea ice raises inland temperatures in areas such as Alaska, Canada and Russia, permafrost will continue to melt and ecosystems such as… Read More
