Storm Surge Could Flood NYC 1 in Every 4 Years
When a storm, such as Hurricane Sandy, sets waters in New York Harbor rising, those sloshing seas are now 20 times more likely to overtop the Manhattan seawall than 170 years ago, a new study finds. The increased risk comes from a combination of sea level rise — which has raised water levels near New York City by nearly 1.5 feet since the mid-… Read More
At-Risk Cities May Help Drive Climate Change Solutions
It is already taking shape as the 21st century urban nightmare: a big storm hits a city like Shanghai, Mumbai, Miami or New York, knocking out power supply and waste treatment plants, washing out entire neighborhoods and marooning the survivors in a toxic and foul-smelling swamp. Now the world's leading scientists are suggesting that those same cit… Read More
Rising CO2 Levels Threaten Entire Marine Food Chain
Escalating carbon dioxide emissions will cause fish to lose their fear of predators, potentially damaging the entire marine food chain, joint Australian and U.S. research has found. A study by the Australian Institute of Marine Science, James Cook University and the Georgia Institute of Technology found the behavior of fish would be “seriously aff… Read More
Why California’s Drought Isn’t Going Anywhere
Week after week, the drabs of good news have been as rare as the rain. And that won’t change anytime soon. California is in the midst of a crushing severe multi-year drought brought on by cumulative winters with a dearth of replenishing rains and snows and an ever-growing population. Climate patterns may be in the early stages of aligning to quench… Read More
World Bank: Climate Change Will ‘Lead to Battles for Food’
Battles over water and food will erupt within the next five to 10 years as a result of climate change, the president of the World Bank said as he urged those campaigning against global warming to learn the lessons of how protesters and scientists joined forces in the battle against HIV. Jim Yong Kim said it was possible to cap the rise in global t… Read More
Coral Reefs in Australia Face Highest Risk in 215 Years
High ocean temperatures off the West Australian coast are “unprecedented since at least 1795” and pose a significant threat to the state’s coral reefs, scientists say. Core samples taken from coral colonies around the Houtman-Abrolhos Islands, west of Geraldton, have provided scientists with records of ocean temperature and sea levels going back 2… Read More
New NASA Satellite Shows Future of Precip Imagery
NASA’s latest satellite has opened its eyes for the first time and the images it has beamed back to scientists on Earth provide a new view of the globe’s rainfall. They also offer a sneak peek into how the satellite could help provide more detailed imagery and analysis of hurricanes, nor’easters and other strong storms as they form around the plane… Read More
Warming May Increase Freshwater Methane Emissions
British scientists have identified yet another twist to the threat of global warming. Any further rises in temperature are likely to accelerate the release of methane from rivers, lakes, deltas, bogs, swamps, marshlands and rice paddy fields. Methane or natural gas is a greenhouse gas. Weight for weight, it is more than 20 times more potent than c… Read More
