Latest science news in Earth & Climate
Predictions of oil on Atlantic beaches off
WASHINGTON, Sept. 28 (UPI) -- Predictions this summer of oil-fouled beaches across Florida and all the way up the East Coast from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill got...
GOES-13's wide view of Atlantic's Tropical Storm Lisa and low, Pacific's Georgette
The GOES-13 satellite may be stationed in orbit over the eastern U.S., but it has a wide field of view from the eastern Atlantic to the eastern Pacific, and today...
Tracking Sea Ice in the Arctic
This year's minimum level of sea ice is the third lowest ever recorded.
Melting Sea Ice Forces Walruses Ashore in Alaska
Incident Has Happened Twice Before, in 2007 and 2009, Because Sea Ice They Normally Rest on Has Melted
Oil 2-Inches Thick Found On Gulf Sea Floor
Scientist Shocked by Samples of "Dense" Sludge a Mile Below Surface, and as Far as 80 Miles from BP Well
Bacteria in the gulf mostly digested gas, not oil, study finds
The discovery tempers hopes that microorganisms have eaten up most of the spilled oil in the gulf, as other scientists had recently suggested, the lead author says.Bacteria that attacked the...
Farm management choice can benefit fungi key to healthy ecosystems
Farming practices have a significant impact on the diversity of beneficial microbial fungi known to play important roles in crop productivity, soil recovery and maintenance of healthy ecosystems, according to...
Ending the oceans' 'tragedy of the commons'
Leading international marine scientists are proposing radical changes in the governance of the world's oceans to rescue them from overfishing, pollution and other human impacts...
Home energy monitors may not cut electricity use
(PhysOrg.com) -- Home energy monitors (smart meters or Home Energy Management Systems (HEMS)), monitor the energy used by households and/or individual appliances within the home, and they are often recommended...
Scientists help solve Argentina-Uruguay conflict
The governments of Argentina and Uruguay have set up a scientific commission to solve a diplomatic and environmental dispute about a frontier river.
Don't move mountains
Mountaintop removal comes at too high a cost — for the land, the water and the taxpayers, who end up footing the bill for environmental damage.If the Spruce No. 1...
2010 was fourth warmest U.S. summer on record
The contiguous United States had its fourth-warmest summer (June-August) on record, according to the latest NOAA State of the Climate report. The report also showed the August average temperature was...
Expanding threat of hypoxia in U.S. coastal waters
A new report assesses the increasing prevalence of low-oxygen "dead zones" in U.S. coastal waters and outlines a series of research and policy steps that could help reverse the decades-long...
Wildflower ‘armors’ itself against disease
An unusual wildflower that accumulates metals in its leaves has been found to use them as a kind of 'armor' against bacterial infection. Alpine pennycress is a small plant in...
New biochemical process halves water purification cost
CHICAGO, Sept. 13 (UPI) -- A new biochemical carbon dioxide water purification process from Krebs & Sisler energy firm halves the cost of turning effluent and salt water into...
Scientists find 'rubble pile' asteroids
TEL AVIV, Israel, Sept. 13 (UPI) -- Asteroids made of gravel-sized rocks held together by gravity could hit the Earth like a shotgun blast rather than a single cannonball,...
'Slime highway' of BP oil likely on Gulf floor
Samples from the seafloor near BP's blown-out wellhead indicate miles of oily residue sitting atop hard sediment and containing dead shrimp, zooplankton, worms and other invertebrates. ...
Walrus 'haul-out' puzzles U.S. scientists
POINT LAY, Alaska, Sept. 13 (UPI) -- Scientists say tens of thousands of walruses have hauled themselves from the ocean to gather on an Alaskan beach in a behavior...
No dead zones observed or expected as part of BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill
A new report showed dissolved oxygen levels have dropped by about 20 percent from their long-term average in the Gulf of Mexico in areas where federal and independent scientists previously...
Paper Towels vs. Air Dryers
Everybody knows you're supposed to wash your hands often to prevent the spread of germs. But what's the best way to dry them?
Which Comes First – Peak Everything or Peak Us?
Does the human capacity for foresight matter or are we destined to hit environmental walls?
Union vs. Union in a Battle in California
Workers at 331 Kaiser Permanente facilities began choosing today whether to bolt the S.E.I.U. or join a breakaway union.
Australia minister reassures coal industry
CANBERRA, Australia, Sept. 13 (UPI) -- Australia's new Climate Change Minister aimed to reassure the country's coal mining sector of its vital role in the country's economy.
Freshwater levels drop 8.5% in Southern Canada
Southern Canada lost more than 1.4 million Olympic-sized swimming pools' worth of fresh water annually between 1971 and 2004, an overall loss of nearly nine per cent, a newly released...
Citing the Gipper in an Energy Debate
Ronald Reagan's secretary of state weighs in to defend California's policy on energy and global warming.
On the Ground With Eric Calais, U.N.'s Geophysicist in Haiti
In August the United Nations brought in geophysicist Eric Calais of Purdue University in...
Russia finds last-days log of famed 1912 Arctic expedition
Russian explorers Monday said they had found a sailor's log from aboard a legendary Arctic expedition that vanished as it sought to forge through the ice-choked Northeast Passage in 1912.
Chilean data could help predict size of earthquakes
Monitoring the build up of stress along fault lines could enable better earthquake preparedness.