Looking for Love as the Climate Heats Up
The interbreeding has several consequences, none well understood: It could increase genetic diversity, helping species weather rapid ecosystem changes. It also could dilute the genetics of at-risk animals such as polar bears – perhaps even diluting them beyond recognition. And the changes threaten to wreak havoc with conservation efforts. Not all e… Read More
Tigers in Mangrove Forest Face Climate Change Threat
A vast mangrove forest shared by India and Bangladesh that is home to possibly 500 Bengal tigers is being rapidly destroyed by erosion, rising sea levels and storm surges, according to a major study by researchers at the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) and others.… Read More
New Weather Instrument To Hitch a Ride on Space Station
Rather than building an entirely new, autonomous satellite, which could cost up to $1 billion or more, the agency is planning to attach the refurbished instrument to the International Space Station (ISS). Once it is safely attached, the instrument will not require any interaction with the Space Station crew, NASA said in a press release.… Read More
UK’s Nuke Plans Lose Traction with Shift to Renewables
The UK government's plan to build a new generation of 10 nuclear power stations suffered another severe blow this week when the British utility Centrica pulled out of the program, writing off a £200 million ($315M) investment in the process. To prop up the industry the government is faced with breaking two important electoral pledges and may face… Read More
Study Turns Cell Phone Towers Into Rain Gauges
The study, by researchers based in the Netherlands, demonstrated that it is possible to use cellular telephone networks — namely the electromagnetic radio waves that pass between microwave antennas located atop cell phone towers — to estimate the amount of rainfall that falls between those two points. In fact, national rainfall maps can be generate… Read More
India Confronts Huge Climate Change Challenge
India has to find a new model of development if the twin challenges of job creation and climate change are to be met, says an Oxford University academic, Barbara Harriss-White, of the Oxford Department of International Development.… Read More
Climate Forecast in Europe Proves Unsettling
With the European land surface warming rapidly, rainfall patterns changing and sea levels rising ever faster, southern Europe will suffer most from climate change. But there is an urgent need for countries across the continent to adapt to change, according to the European Environment Agency. Temperatures are already 1.3 degree Celsius above the p… Read More
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
