Colombia’s Cloud Forests Besieged by Climate Change
Five hours by truck and mule from the nearest town, a rumbling generator cuts through the silent night to power large spotlights as botanists crouch and kneel on large blue tarps spread across a cow pasture. It's nearly midnight, and the team works urgently to describe every detail of the dozens of colorful orchids, ferns and other exotic plants th… Read More
Changing Colombian Andes Pose Risk for Millions
Páramos resemble a sort of alpine archipelago, each a link in the chain of distinct island ecosystems that have evolved in isolation to produce plants found nowhere else on the planet. They play a crucial role in maintaining a reliable water supply for millions of people in major cities like Bogotá and Medellín. And along with the forests below, th… Read More
Working Wonders Without Water Out West
In the long rain shadow of the Cascade Mountains, where dryland wheat farmers have eked out livings for more than a century, climate change is very much an issue of the present. The rain gauge is always in the back of the mind for Mike Nichols, a wheat farmer cultivating 20,0000 acres across two counties in south-central Washington state. It has to… Read More
Tenacious U.S. Drought Worsens, To Last Through Winter
The Northern Plains continue to be the hardest hit states, where Wyoming and Nebraska recorded their driest January to October period on record. Four other states ranked among their top ten driest January to October periods on record as well. Some locations in these states may set all-time records for dryness during November, as well, with some pla… Read More
Drought Puts Trees the World Over ‘At the Edge’
As the climate warms, scientists expect an increase in droughts around the world, causing all sorts of problems for water supplies, agriculture, and energy production. Forests will be affected too, naturally, but a new study released Wednesday in Nature shows just how widespread the effects could be. After looking at 226 tree species at 81 … Read More
Climate Change Leads to Tougher Times on the Ranch
For western Colorado ranchers, the decision to sell cattle during tough times can hinge on a flower. Local cattle have developed immunity against the poisonous larkspur that live among more edible grasses. So a rancher culling a herd he can't afford to feed faces a problem restocking once economics improve: The replacements may die if they binge on… Read More
Biotech Claims GM Trees are Fuel Industry ‘Game-Changer’
It's a timber company's dream but a horrific industrial vision for others: massive plantations of densely planted GM eucalyptus trees stretching across Brazil, South Africa, Indonesia and China, engineered to grow 40% faster for use as paper, as pellets for power stations and as fuel for cars. The prospect is close, says Stanley Hirsch, chief … Read More
Rising Ocean Temps Threaten the Ocean Food Chain
It’s hardly news by now that climate change is likely to be bad, on balance, for plants and animals worldwide — humans included. But a new study released Thursday in Science paints a potentially grim picture for one of the most important and underappreciated groups of living things on Earth. The study reports that phytoplankton — water-dwelling … Read More
