Models using detailed topographic maps show that the collapse of the West Antarctic ice sheet has begun. Fast-moving Thwaites Glacier, which acts as a linchpin on the rest of the ice sheet, will likely disappear in a matter of centuries. ...
The funding of Boko Haram's atrocities by the illegal ivory trade show that poaching is not just a problem for conservationists, but for all of us ...
A map released this month shows that 50 per cent of the US is in drought, sending convicts on the run from early wildfires in California ...
New research has found that adult sea-turtle migrations and their selection of feeding sites are directly influenced by their past experiences as little hatchlings adrift in ocean currents. When they breed, adult sea turtles return to the beach where they were born. After breeding, adult sea turtles typically migrate several hundreds to thousands of kilometres to their feeding habitats. However, there...
Powerful, destructive tropical cyclones are now reaching their peak intensity farther from the equator and closer to the poles, according to a new study. The results of the study show that over the last 30 years, tropical cyclones -- also known as hurricanes or typhoons -- are moving poleward at a rate of about 33 miles per decade in the Northern Hemisphere and 38 miles per decade in the Southern Hemisphere....
A policy analysis finds that if natural gas is abundant and less expensive, it will encourage greater consumption of gas and less of coal, renewables and nuclear power. The net effect on the climate will depend on whether the greenhouse gas emissions from producing and consuming natural gas -- including carbon dioxide and methane – are lower or higher than emissions avoided by reducing the use of other...
Money from illegal ivory has helped to bankroll virtually every African conflict in recent decades, from groups like Boko Haram to civil wars ...
Sixteen municipalities involved in the Towards Carbon-Neutral Municipalities (Canemu, HINKU in Finnish) project reduced their greenhouse gas emissions by an average of 19% between 2007 and 2012. The greatest emissions reduction was made by Hanko (-34%) and Ii (-31%), which has invested heavily in emission-free wind power production. Lohja (-28%), Raasepori (-23%) and Padasjoki (-22%) did well too,...
As the shale gas boom continues, the atmosphere receives more methane, adding to Earth’s greenhouse gas problem. A greenhouse gas expert and ecology and environmental biology professor fears that we may not be many years away from an environmental tipping point – and disaster. “Society needs to wean itself from the addiction to fossil fuels as quickly as possible,” he said. “But to replace some fossil...
The cost of converting the world to green electricity in time to avoid dangerous global warming has gone from $36 trillion to $44 trillion in two years ...
New research concluded that future climate warming could lead to a 15 day delay in the monsoon onset in Southeast Asia by the start of the next century. A published student investigated how global and regional temperature and rainfall anomalies affect rainfall patterns and the South East Asian Monsoon. ...
The most important fertilizer for producing food is, at the same time, one of the most important risks for human health: nitrogen. Chemical compounds containing reactive nitrogen are major drivers of air and water pollution worldwide, and hence of diseases like asthma or cancer. If no action is taken, nitrogen pollution could rise by 20 percent by 2050 in a middle-of-the-road scenario, according to...
New research has demonstrated again that a comet didn't spark climate change at the end of the Ice Age, killing the Clovis peoples and causing mass animal extinction. Supposed impact indicators are too old or too young to indicate an ancient comet that proponents claim sparked a late Ice Age calamity, according to new research. The researchers found previous dating of Ice Age boundary layers by proponents...
Fifty-million-year-old fossil beetles that fed only on palm seeds are giving biologists new information about ancient climates. These fossil beetles indicate that during a period of global warming in the geological past, there were mild, frost-free winters extended even in the uplands of ancient western North America. ...
Stronger storms, rising seas, and flooding are placing hundreds of millions people at risk around the world, and big part of the solution to decrease those risks is just off shore. A new study finds that coral reefs reduce the wave energy that would otherwise impact coastlines by 97 percent. ...
Scientists re-examined 100 world-wide monitoring studies and were surprised to discover that, over decades, the number of species in many places has not changed much -- or has increased. But the researchers did discover that almost 80% of the communities showed changes in species composition. This shows that a rapid global turnover of species is happening, resulting in novel biological communities....
Nanoparticles are everywhere, but how are they permeating our bodies? Meet Ziggy Starmouse and his glowing friends, who reveal where the tiny molecules end up ...
A new study finds a rapidly melting section of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet appears to be in an irreversible state of decline, with nothing to stop the glaciers in this area from melting into the sea. The study presents multiple lines of evidence, incorporating 40 years of observations that indicate the glaciers in the Amundsen Sea sector of West Antarctica "have passed the point of no return," according...
We raise a glass to the pioneering underwater explorer Nereus, which imploded this week while doing what it did best – exploring the unknown ...
Parts of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet are already collapsing and probably cannot be saved, although it will take centuries for them to disappear entirely ...