Climate Change and Fall Foliage: Not a Good Match
This year, at least in some places, the money may not be flowing in. “I hope I’m wrong, said Karl Niklas, a professor of plant biology at Cornell, in an interview, “but I just think it’s not going to be a great year in central New York.… Read More
2012 U.S. Drought Hits New Highs; Southwest Gets Relief
The drought is the worst to strike the U.S. since the Dust Bowl era of the 1930s and lengthy droughts of the 1950s. It came on suddenly and largely without warning, and although the main trigger was most likely a La Niña event in the tropical Pacific Ocean, the drought was exacerbated by extremely hot temperatures.… Read More
Dry-Soil Phenomenon Triggers More Storms, Not Less
A team of European scientists, parched soil is more likely than damp soil to trigger some kinds of rainstorms — and the fact that climate models assume the opposite may lead them to make unrealistic projections. “In terms of future climate, it could mean that you simulate longer droughts than would happen in reality, said co-author Phil Harris, of… Read More
U.S. Has Third-Warmest Summer, Warmest Year to Date
The extreme heat helped spread and intensify a massive drought that has shown no signs of abating in many areas, particularly across the West and High Plains. Nebraska and Wyoming saw their driest summers on record, and several other states in those regions saw one of their top ten driest summers.… Read More
Mixture of Grim News, Relief in Drought Forecast for Fall
The record drought in the U.S. is forecast to ease in some regions during the fall, but a large area from the West to the High Plains may be left high and dry by prevailing weather patterns through the end of November, according to the federal government’s latest seasonal drought outlook.… Read More
Climate Change Stress Killing Forests, and Why it Matters
Forests cover some 30 percent of Earth’s surface, and it’s hard to overestimate how crucial they are to the functioning of the planet. Forests provide shelter for uncountable numbers of species, hold soil in place that would otherwise wash away, pull excess carbon out of the atmosphere, absorb and re-emit water at such a rate that they literally … Read More
Rains From Isaac Don’t Put Much Dent in U.S. Drought
Despite locally drenching rains from the remnants of Hurricane Isaac, the worst drought in more than 50 years is still firmly entrenched across much of the U.S. According to the new U.S. Drought Monitor, released Thursday, the numbers didn’t change dramatically across the country, but the locations of the worst drought conditions did shift. … Read More
Scientists Warn of a World Forced into Vegetarianism
Leading water scientists have issued one of the sternest warnings yet about global food supplies, saying that the world's population may have to switch almost completely to a vegetarian diet over the next 40 years to avoid catastrophic shortages. Humans derive about 20 percent of their protein from animal-based products now, but this may need to d… Read More
