The Top 10 Hardest-Hit States for Crop Damage
The searing U.S. drought of 2012 devastated the nation’s corn crop, pushing yields down in some states to their lowest levels in nearly 30 years. According to recently-released numbers from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Missouri, Illinois and Indiana were among the hardest hit Corn Belt states, with yields at 28-, 26-, and 22-year … Read More
Ex-IPCC Head: Prepare for 5°C Warmer World
The world has missed the chance to keep greenhouse gas emissions below the level needed to prevent the temperature climbing above 2° Celsius, according to the British scientist who used to chair the IPCC, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.… Read More
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
Climate Change a Bigger Extinction Threat than Asteroids
As teaching moments go, it doesn’t get much better than this. NASA scientists have known for nearly a year that a small asteroid called 2012 DA14, about 150 ft. across, would whiz past Earth at the nail-biting distance of 17,000 miles or so — significantly closer than the 22,500-mile altitude occupied by geosynchronous satellites. It happened right… Read More
NOAA Head: Weather Forecasts at Risk Over Budget Cuts
Automatic budget cuts set to take effect March 1 could add to the woes of the federal government’s troubled weather satellite programs, jeopardizing future forecasts, a top official said yesterday. “It’s not going to be pretty,” outgoing National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration chief Jane Lubchenco said of the package of across-the-board … Read More
Good News, Bad News Continues for Drought Across U.S.
Thursday’s release of the latest U.S. Drought Monitor brought slivers of good news for some parts of the continental U.S., while more bad news for other regions. Storms that swept across the Southeast over the past week made a significant dent in drought conditions, eradicating the areas of “exceptional” drought — the worst category. Those rains … 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
