Latest science news in Earth & Climate
Obama chooses global warming activists for science posts
Physicist John Holdren will be the president-elect's top science advisor; marine biologist Jane Lubchenco will lead NOAA. Both advocate more action to fight climate change. ...
Canada recalls Old Style-brand products
OTTAWA, Dec. 18 (UPI) -- The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is warning people not to eat Old Style-brand pork loin chops or chicken breasts due to possible contamination.
Opinion: Australia's climate change plan needed to aim higher
In order to avoid devastating climate change we need to reduce global emissions by at least 20 per cent by 2020, and Australia should be leading the way, according to...
Goose eggs may help polar bears weather climate change
As polar bears adapt to a warming Arctic—a frozen seascape that cleaves earlier each spring—they may find relief in an unlikely source: snow goose eggs. New calculations show that changes...
Tiny MIT ecosystem may shed light on climate change
MIT researchers have created a microbial ecosystem smaller than a stick of gum that sheds new light on the plankton-eat-plankton world at the bottom of the aquatic food chain.
3D map could save Australia's water
Australian scientists have created a 3D model of Australia's surface topography that will help improve the management of the country's water resources.
Opinion: Climate change and water from the sea
Seawater is an unlimited resource that could help to quench many vulnerable systems, if carbon neutral desalination could be achieved, writes Brian Sadler.
Greenland's Glaciers Losing Ice Faster This Year Than Last Year, Which Was Record-setting Itself
Researchers watching the loss of ice flowing out from the giant island of Greenland say that the amount of ice lost this summer is nearly three times what was lost...
Stanford researchers predict heat waves and crop losses in California
Global warming will likely put enormous strain on California's water supply and energy systems and have a devastating impact on certain crops. Stanford researchers predict this outcome based on projections...
As ice melts, Antarctic bedrock is on the move
As ice melts away from Antarctica, parts of the continental bedrock are rising in response - and other parts are sinking, scientists have discovered...
FDA warns about Canadian alewives fish
WASHINGTON, Dec. 15 (UPI) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is warning about the sale or consumption of certain imported ungutted, salt-cured alewives fish from Canada.
Opinion: Only a whole system approach can save our rivers
We need to take a whole system approach to caring for our rivers if we want to avoid serious impacts on not just ecosystems, but industries and towns, believes Peter...
Opinion: Water: forgotten in the food crisis
Australia is not the only country in the world whose economy and environment are threatened by water shortages, writes Colin Chartres.
More food at lower cost
In the face of climate change, being able to increase crop yields by enabling plants to take up nutrients and water more efficiently becomes increasingly important, as fertiliser and water...
Dune And Dirty: Hurricane Teaches Lessons Through Ecosystem Research
Dr. Rusty Feagin was managing several ecosystem research projects on Galveston Island when the 2008 hurricane season began. Then he got an unexpected visit from a research assistant named Ike....
Seeds of hope: Freezing vaults guard Earth's flora
ARDINGLY, England (AP) -- The underground bunker can block nuclear fallout, withstand a direct hit by a jetliner, and is cooled to a deathly chill....
TOP TEN PHOTO GALLERIES: Most Viewed of 2008
See National Geographic News's most popular photo galleries of 2008, starring an "alien" squid with "elbows," an electric eruption, a welcoming whale, and other natural wonders.
Nearly frozen sea turtle heading to rehab
BOSTON (AP) -- His name is Herb, and he was very, very cold when he was found on a Cape Cod beach....
Massive Jellyfish Swarms In Hawaii, Gulf Of Mexico And Other Locations
Massive swarms of stinging jellyfish and jellyfish-like animals are transforming many world-class fisheries and tourist destinations into veritable jellytoriums that are intermittently jammed with pulsating, gelatinous creatures. Areas that are...
Why Atmospheric Pressure Peaks At 10am And 10pm In The Tropics
For over two centuries, meteorologists were puzzled by the observation that atmospheric pressure in the tropics peaks at 10 a.m. and 10 p.m. nearly every day.
Climate change: A dark future for migratory fish
In Europe, most migratory fish species completing their cycle between the sea and the river are currently in danger. Although restoration programmes have been set up, the future distribution of...
Climate change set-back for acidified rivers
Climate change is hampering the long-term recovery of rivers from the effects of acid rain, as wet weather counteracts improvements, according to a new study by Cardiff University...
Upstate NY explorers ID rare boat in Lake Ontario
(AP) -- Two explorers conducting underwater surveys of Lake Ontario have uncovered an aquatic mystery - a rare 19th-century schooner sitting upright 500 feet under the waves.
Surveys of flora and fauna may be flawed
Bat study raises doubts over our understanding of Earth's ecosystems.
Did magnetic blip trigger mass extinction?
New theory suggests the Permian-Triassic mass extinction was set in motion 15 million years earlier, deep in the Earth.
'Webcam' from Space: Envisat observing Wilkins Ice Shelf
In light of recent developments that threaten to lead to the break-up of the Wilkins Ice Shelf, ESA is making daily satellite images of the ice shelf available to the...
Gore's tough message to leaders
Former US Vice-President Al Gore has called on world leaders to embrace tougher targets on reducing emissions.
Government's CO2 cuts 'too slow'
The UK government is not doing enough to cut its emissions by the amount required to meet its own targets, an advisory body warns.