gear Push settings
In the most comprehensive study ever conducted of the impacts of climate change on critical pollinators, scientists have discovered that global warming is rapidly shrinking the area where these bees are found in both North America and Europe.
A team led by scientists at University of British Columbia highlights the impacts of climate change on the world's oceans and marine life. Two scenarios were analyzed. One followed the changes that would arise if the world banded together to significantly curb greenhouse gas emissions; the other summarized impacts 100 years from now if we'd go on with business as usual. The report outlines the consequences under each scenario and found immediate action is required if we're to avert at a catastrophic outcome, particularly regarding the planet's oceans.
The effects of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions are great and long reaching - a new study has found that pink salmon in the Pacific Ocean are threatened by increasing ocean acidification.
The team looked at 15-years worth of data on California's grasslands, and documented declining plant diversity from 2000 to 2014 at both the local community (5 m2) and landscape (27 km2) scales, across multiple functional groups and soil environments. They found a link between wildflower diversity decline to significant decreases in midwinter precipitation.
A research group working at the Australian Grains Free Air CO₂ Enrichment facility (AgFace) in Victoria is studying the effect elevated carbon dioxide will have on crops such as wheat, lentils, canola and field pea. They grow experimental crops in the open, surrounded by thin tubes that eject carbon dioxide into the air around the plants. Findings show that crops have higher yield (up to 25% more), but less proteins. Elevated CO2 also seems to ruin bread made from the grown wheat.
In only 15 years, renewable energy (wind, solar, hydro) could surpass fossil fuels as the main provider of energy. According to a new International Energy Agency (IEA) report, renewables could provide more than 50% of the energy market by 2050. But even so, they warn, without bolder emission cuts, we'll be blowing past our current climate targets.
Geoscientists have finally unraveled one of Greenland's long-standing mysteries: how billions of gallons of water can drain in a matter of hours. They believe that this might also help us better understand how sea levels will rise in the future.
In its “Energy Security and Sustainability Strategy” (ES2 Strategy) report, the US army outlines the steps it should take to increase resilience and adapt to an ever changing world. Energy makes the go world round, and for an army it's literally a matter of life and death. Not surprisingly, the authors note given the current climate of affairs the "army will prioritize solutions that reduce multiple resources. The Army can use energy more efficiently by purchasing energy efficient products, modernizing buildings and utility systems, purchasing energy efficient vehicles, and using more renewable/alternative energy sources." Basically, being dependent on a finite resource (oil) is a security vulnerability, which isn't something new. Military strategists have been aware of this for a long time - maybe the most during WWII when many lives were claimed in battles over oil rigs in North Africa and the Middle East, and oil refineries were being bombed on the clock. What's changed today is the feasibility of renewable energy sources. Drawing the line, in those situations were oil is a liability (and we can only expect these to become ever numerous in the future), it'll be scrapped in favor of renewable energy systems, both for generating and storing energy.
The entire world is expecting the results of the Paris Climate Conference - will a global treaty finally be reach, or will it be another round of discussions and promises with no pro-active solutions? The French Foreign minister believes that if we are to reach a climate deal, it has to be phrased in such a way that it doesn't require approval from the US Congress. Laurent Fabius said:
The plan for the United Nations Climate Change Conference, or COP21, was to achieve a legally binding and universal agreement on climate, from all the nations of the world. But tackling global warming simply doesn't seem to be a priority for the governments of most countries, and the goal of limiting global warming to 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit) seems less and less likely.
A lab from the University of Miami will be able to reproduce hurricane conditions on demand, empowering researchers to study hurricanes in a novel way.
A new study shows once again that no place on Earth is safe from the effects of climate change. Even in the heights of the Himalaya Mountains, glaciers aren't safe; there's a good chance that 99% of the glaciers around the Everest area will melt by 2100.
Just a few days ago were telling you about a huge, 10,000 year old ice shelf that is set to collapse in less than 10 years and now... the same thing is happening again, a bit more to the south.
A NASA study has found that a huge ice shelf is set to collapse in a few years. The ice shelf, which has existed for over 12,000 years, is estimated to be over 200 meters thick.
Only six months ago, a 230-foot strip of road was covered in solar panels in the Netherlands. Since then, some 3,000 kilowatt-hours of energy were produced or enough to power one Dutch home for a whole year. These news came as a surprise even to the developers of SolaRoad, as the project has been dubbed.
MIT researchers deployed intricate contraptions, including cables that run to the sea floor and an autonomous submarine, to measure internal weaves around the South China Sea. The researchers followed and measured these waves from their origin, until they dissipated, and in doing so have recorded the “largest waves documented in the global oceans.”
While fjords are admired worldwide for their unique beauty, a new study has found that these natural ecosystems also act as carbon sinks, playing an important role in regulating our planet's climate.
Some 900 Dutch citizens have banded together and filled a lawsuit against the Dutch government over human rights, citing the latter's lack of decisive action against climate change. This is the first such case in Europe where a group of citizens holds its government responsible for ineffective climate policy, and also the first to be based on human rights law.
Strange weather in the East Coast and California's worst drought in history have been linked to a peculiar warm mass of water out in the Pacific Ocean. A new study published in the Geophysical Research Letters explain its origins and how its warm waters also warmed surface temperatures out in the coast, and displaced marine life, a major concern at the moment. Worth noting that research thus far suggests that 'warm blob', as it's been dubbed, has been primarily attributed to natural variability, and not global warming.
A "massive methane hotspot" sounds pretty bad... and bad it is - much worse than previously thought. In 2014, NASA reported that the methane hotspot is responsible for producing the largest concentration of the greenhouse gas methane seen over the United States – more than triple the standard ground-based estimate. But the methane, a potent greenhouse gas, might have even more drastic consequences on the climate of our planet.
Marine life is on the brink of experiencing its sixth mass extinction, a disruption that is expected to occur very rapidly once the gears are set in motion (cataclysmic chain events). Now, a new study suggests that it might take a full millennium for marine life to recover from a potential climate change-driven die off, not hundreds as previously suggested.
Repeat photography (or rephotography) is a technique in which photographs are taken repeatedly at a site to see how it evolves. It’s especially useful for glaciers, particularly because other remote ways of estimating glacial mass, depth, and rate of retreat are imperfect. These photos depict how this technique was used at a number of locations […]
Spring officially began in the northern hemisphere Friday on 22:45 GMT, around 30 seconds later than last year. As it so happens, every year spring gets shorter by 30 seconds to a minute, losing the time to summer which gets longer by the same amount. Whose to blame for the later bloom? Why, that wretched tilted axis of course.
The conservative Canadian government headed by Prime Minister Stephen Harper has consistently moved the country away from sustainable practices and environmental accountability. In 2011, the government came under fire after it withdrew Canada from the Kyoto protocol, an international agreement which commits its parties by setting internationally binding emission reduction targets. It also disbanded the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy in 2012, a panel tasked with reporting to the government Canada's greenhouse gas emissions. While the government has also taken some measures aimed at curbing emissions, these have been largely insufficient. Disappointed, 71 Canadian scientists have authored their own climate policy recommendations for the nation.
Leading climate change denier U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) has had enough of NASA studying our planet: he wants NASA to devote its attention only to space and inspiring children… somehow, without studying our own planet. He even went as far as saying that earth sciences are not “hard sciences”, which should be NASA’s main […]
Researchers from NASA, Imperial College in London and Texas University have discovered two seafloor troughs that allow warm ocean water to infiltrate and accentuate the melting of Totten Glacier, East Antarctica's largest glacier. This could have massive implications not only for the Antarctica ice, but for global sea levels.
The Pacific island nation of Vanuatu has lost years of development progress following the devastating effects of Cyclone Pam. Widely regarded as the worst natural disaster in the history of Vanuatu, the cyclone's damage has not yet been thoroughly estimated.
In Florida, some have already found a solution to climate change: just ignore the damn thing! According to a outrageous report released by the Florida Center for Investigative Reporting, employees of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection have been ordered to stop using key terms like “global warming” or “climate change” in public communications, be them […]
Using both modern and historic measurements, researchers now have a more extensive view of how the Arctic sea ice has changed in the past few decades, finding that the ice is melting much faster than previously expected. The ice in the central Arctic Ocean thinned 65 percent between 1975 and 2012, from 11.7 feet (3.59 meters) to 4.1 feet (1.25 m).
They like freezing conditions, but the Emperor penguins struggled during the last Ice Age, a new study concluded. In fact, if they hadn't been able to change their breeding habits and even their genetic make-up, they might have not survived.
One of the prime arguments climate change skeptics throw about is how surface temperatures have remained more or less constant for the past 15 years, hence there is no man-made global warming – it’s all a sham, a conspiracy to keep scientists busy with gratuitous grants and fill Al Gore’s pockets. I’ve written previously about […]
After scientists discovered a huge hole in the ozone layer above the Antarctic, an emergency UN panel banned the use of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) in 1987. These build up in the atmosphere, react with the triple oxygen molecule and break it down. Since then, ozone has thankfully replenished, thought it might take decades before it reverts to pre-1980 levels. Progress is slow because there are still some plants through out the world who illegally use CFCs (the stuff that used to go into refrigerants or deodorants), but also because there are other ozone-depleting chemicals out there - some recognized, others new and extremely dangerous. One class of chemicals that has been allowed in the industry since the Montreal Protocol, despite the danger it posses to ozone, is made up of so-called 'very short-lived substances' (VSLS) which breakup in under six months. A new study, however, found that these have dramatically increased over the past couple of years and despite their short reaction times, these could prove to be extremely dangerous.
Fox Glacier is one of the most spectacular sights in New Zealand, receiving on average over 1,000 visits every day. Sadly, like many other glaciers, Fox Glacier is retreating rapidly due to climate change. A pair of before-and-after images 10 year apart highlightthis perfectly, just like the time-lapse video below does.
In recent years, a number of independent studies have concluded that the American Southwest and central Great Plains will experience extensive droughts in the second half of this century – and global warming will make things even worse, exacerbating the already worrying conditions. Now, a new study says that things are even worse than previously imagined, […]
Mitigating climate change is on the agenda of every world government, but somehow little is done to curb global warming. Echoing a quick-fix approach to life so predominantly engraved in modern culture, some are considering sweeping climate change under the proverbial rug. These so called geo-engineering methods aim to fix climate change by altering the environment, but those ideas that are actually practical today only mask the effects and do nothing to treat the symptoms, a new report signed by 16 top scientists reads. The authors used this opportunity to make an appeal for reducing global emissions, else we might be forced to actually engineer the planet with unforeseeable consequences.
When the US Senate finally agreed that global warming is real, I thought we’re finally going to get some progress. The leaders of the US were finally starting to acknowledge the environmental damage we’re causing and maybe even start taking measures against it… it was too good to be true. While the senate agreed that […]
The states of Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Minas Gerais are running out of water. According to a Brazilian Environment Minister Izabella Teixeira, the three states are experiencing the worst drought in recorded history, and the facts are painting a bleak picture for the future. Authorities have already implemented water saving measures, and rations may be implemented in the near future.
The big news in climate is that 2014 is the hottest year on record - but the bigger picture is even more disheartening: global warming trends have remained constant since 1998, and ocean warming is going off the charts.
Using satellite imagery, scientists have discovered two new subglacial lakes under Greenland's ice sheet bringing the total number to four. The discovery is not well met, however. These lakes are already drained, signaling that climate change is making its way beneath the Greenland ice sheet. The discovery suggests subglacial lakes could increase the sensitivity of ice to climatic change, further accelerating ice melt which can lead to catastrophic floods.
Pope Francis, well on his way on becoming the most popular and moderate pope in recent history, is preparing to publish an encyclical on ecology and climate change, urging the world to stop turning their backs on nature. The document is expected to be released in time to be read before the next round of U.N. climate treaty talks in Paris at the end of the year. Of course, Pope Francis' rather frequent commentaries concerning climate change, toppled by his much anticipated encyclical, has angered climate change skeptics. Critics have been quick to voice that the pope is using religion to front a radical environmental agenda.
Rising sea levels, droughts, extreme weather, wildfires - these are just a few of the consequences of global warming. The climate is changing and those that can't adapt will not survive; this is true for animal species, plants, humans and possibly entire nations.
At the beginning of the year, ZME Science reported 2014 was the 18th straight year to have surpassed average 20th-century US temperatures and the warmest year yet, according to the Japanese meteorological agency. Now, both NOAA and NASA have confirmed 2014 to be the warmest on record, despite there was no El Niño event.
Republican voters, not to mention those in power, are notorious for their refutal of man-made climate change, yet according to a report issued by the Yale Project on Climate Change Communication many of them have shifted and believe it to be real. As more and more republican voters become convinced of the reality of man-made global warming and its effects on the climate, it's only common sense that those elected will come to terms as well.
According to a report issued by the Solar Foundation, jobs in the solar industry were added at a rate 20 times that of the national average. In absolute numbers, 31,000 solar jobs were added in the U.S. between November 2013 and November 2014, bringing the total number of employees to 173,807, 87 percent more than five years ago. […]
The people in charge of funding for NASA and environmental research, Republican senators Ted Cruz and James Inhofe, have a record of not understanding science and making pseudoscientific affirmations. While I won't discuss the politics here (we never do), the fact that such important matters fall onto the shoulders of people known to be pretty much adversaries of science cannot be left unchecked.
Finnish researchers analyzed meteorological data gathered over the past 166 years and found the country’s average monthly temperatures have increased by more than 2 degrees Celsius. Over the same period, the rest of the planet has warmed by only 0.8 degrees C on average. Overall, Finland and other sub-Arctic countries are warming at double the […]
According to a new study published by researchers working with the American Geophysical Union, the drought that California is experiencing now is the worst one in over 1,200 years. They show that the current California drought is driven by reduced though not unprecedented precipitation and also record high temperatures. With the effects of global warming being […]
Lake Powell is at historic lows, and while for kayakers it may be a great opportunity to explore channels, it raises a big alarm regarding the future of water in the area. Lake Powell is a reservoir on the Colorado River between the border of Utah and Arizona. It is the second largest man-made reservoir by maximum […]
NASA released a video that helps us visualize where the major CO2 emission hotspots are and how the greenhouse gas travels and swirls around the globe, guided by weather patterns. The CO2 emissions were mapped using data gathered during May 2005 to June 2007 with 64 times the resolution of a standard climate model, on a NASA supercomputer at […]
A famous science communicator and TV personality, Bill Nye has served the world a huge favor with his programs, books and talks in which he argues in favor of science. Over the years, however, he’s had to handle all sorts of critical situations like last year’s now famous debate against Ken Han on creationism. Most recently, […]
