Report Underscores Vulnerabilities of U.S. Coastlines
No part of the U.S. will escape the harsh consequences of climate change, which has already begun to cause trouble from Alaska to Florida, and from Maine to Hawaii, and which will worsen as the century goes on. But according to a report released January 28, the nation’s coastlines — Atlantic, Gulf, Pacific and Great Lakes — are likely to get the wo… Read More
Scientists Find Bacteria Survive at High Altitudes
The presence of microorganisms such as bacteria in the upper atmosphere is important because the concentration of microbial cells is known to affect the formation of clouds, whether they be comprised of water droplets, ice crystals, or both.… Read More
Species on the Move Present a Conservation Challenge
The American redstart has an enviable calendar. The tiny songbird spends its winters in Central and South America, then beats the sweltering heat of tropical summers by flying north to breed. For scientists, the globe-trotting habits of migratory species like the redstart pose an immense challenge: As the climate warms, how do you protect a… Read More
Waste Heat From Cities May Be Altering Weather Patterns
The heat that leaks directly into the environment from hot exhaust pipes, boilers and chimneys has also contributed to temperature increases in some places, according to a study published Sunday in Nature Climate Change, especially in winter— not directly, but rather because the waste heat may be altering the flow of the jet stream, and thus the wa… Read More
Politicians Urged to Unite on Climate Change Laws
A Harvard professor is challenging America's environmental leaders to learn from their failures on climate change. Theda Skocpol accused Washington environmentalists in a research paper of grossly under-estimating the resistance to any environmental measures from Republicans in Congress and the conservative Tea Party movement. That miscalculation … Read More
Thousands of Crocodiles on the Loose After Floods
Thousands of crocodiles are on the loose in South Africa after heavy rains and flooding forced a tourist attraction to open its gates, according to a newspaper report. Around 15,000 crocodiles made the great escape from the Rakwena crocodile farm near the border with Botswana on Sunday, according to the newspaper Beeld. Although "a few thousand" h… Read More
CO2 Emissions Expected to Rise Significantly by 2030
Warnings that the world is headed for "peak oil" – when oil supplies decline after reaching the highest rates of extraction – appear "increasingly groundless," BP's chief executive said.… Read More
Low Snowfall Raises Concerns About Drought Recovery
The total extent of the persistent national drought receded slightly during the past week, but in many places, conditions look no better now than they did when winter began. In particular, thin snow cover in some Western states is raising concerns that the drought’s impacts in some of the hardest-hit regions will only get worse when temperatures… Read More
