Latest science news in Earth & Climate
Coal demand set to continue rising
LONDON, Aug. 24 (UPI) -- Global coal demand and consumption is set to continue rising over the next two decades despite parallel moves to switch to green and renewable...
Stranded whales buried in New Zealand
Forty-nine pilot whales have been buried on a northern New Zealand beach following a two-day struggle by more than 200 rescuers to save them.
California overdue for major quake, study says
Earthquakes strike along California's San Andreas Fault more often than scientists previously thought, and think it's more than likely a major quake could happen soon. a new study suggests. ...
Copper mining waste could help solve economic woes
An entrepreneur from Traverse Bay, Mich., and Michigan Technological University researchers are collaborating on a project to use Upper Michigan's stamp sand, an unsightly leftover from the mining era, for...
Tribe hopes to bring condors back
SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 21 (UPI) -- The Yurok tribe has received a $200,000 federal grant to study how to reintroduce the California condor to the northern part of the...
The Planes (and Pilots) from the Battle of Britain
A Look at the Key Aircraft from This Decisive Air Engagement between the RAF and the Luftwaffe
Pollutant levels threaten Chesapeake
WASHINGTON, Aug. 20 (UPI) -- A U.S. study of a Maryland river that flows into Chesapeake Bay has found worryingly high levels of nitrogen and copper, researchers say. ...
U.K. begins geothermal effort
REDRUTH, England, Aug. 20 (UPI) -- Britain could soon have its first operating commercial geothermal plant after exploratory drilling was authorized in Cornwall, officials said. ...
Gear: Comparing four hiking boots
The Santa Monicas. The San Gabriels. The Santa Anas. Los Angeles and Orange counties are loaded with mountains and mountain trails that are begging to be hiked, run and biked....
In Practice: Dr. Google has mixed results
Using the search engine can be a boon for physicians — if they do it right.During an otherwise unremarkable afternoon at the office, I was sitting at my desk plowing...
Scientists now 'browse' earthquake data
EDINBURGH, Scotland, Aug. 20 (UPI) -- European scientists say a new computer tool will help them understand how earthquakes travel in the Earth's structure and cause damage. ...
Into the wild
If the kids have spent too much of the summer indoors, it's not too late to get out and discover the wildlife buzzing near you. Here are our top 10 things to...
Beaufort Sea drilling studies get $22M
The federal government will spend nearly $22 million on research in the Beaufort Sea that could inform the debate over offshore oil and gas drilling there.
Congo River Journey Ends in Boat Troubles
Dr. Stiassny's expedition boat breaks down, but not before her team has had a chance to collect many fishes from the Malebo region.
Ocean Garbage Patch Not Growing—Where's "Missing" Plastic?
The "soup" of plastic trash in the North Atlantic hasn't gotten thicker in two decades, says a new study that's puzzling ocean scientists. ...
IPCC inquiry to be unveiled this month
LONDON, Aug. 20 (UPI) -- The result of an independent probe into the work of a top U.N. panel of climate scientists will be unveiled by the end...
Renewed Partnership Keeps $60 Million Satellite Center in Madison
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration recently announced that the Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies -- formed in Madison in 1980 as a joint venture between the federal agency...
European and American Physicists Unite for Healthcare
In the 1990s, a wave of emigration swept through Russia and Eastern Europe. Hundreds of highly-trained nuclear physicists and engineers left because of the political and economic situation and moved...
Shell declares force majeure in Nigeria
PORT HARCOURT, Nigeria, Aug. 20 (UPI) -- Increasing violence from the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta has led the region's leading oil producer Shell to declare...
Is the ice in the Arctic Ocean getting thinner and thinner?
The extent of the sea ice in the Arctic will reach its annual minimum in September. Forecasts indicate that it will not be as low as in 2007, the year...
The Fire Down Below
In the wake of Russia's heat-driven fires, an expert discusses smoldering underground combustion.
Limiting ocean acidification under global change
Emissions of carbon dioxide are causing ocean acidification as well as global warming. Scientists have previously used computer simulations to quantify how curbing of carbon dioxide emissions would mitigate climate...
Former Astronaut Lisa Nowak's Navy Career Is Over
A government panel late Thursday unanimously decided to end former astronaut and U.S. Navy Capt. Lisa Nowak's military career.
Yemen maintains vibrant oil sector
SANAA, Yemen, Aug. 20 (UPI) -- Yemen has denied reports that its oil stocks are running low. Yemen -...
Explore underwater volcanoes, seafloor hot springs and methane ice
(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists are in the early stages of building a fiber optic network on the seafloor for observing, in real time, deep-sea hydrothermal vents---places where super-heated water and minerals...
Dust-Bowl Bust Haunts Wheat Farmers
Many wheat farmers are nervous about planting more wheat this year, fearing that prices that have recently soared could fall back to earth -- or that commodity speculators and investment...
The Caregiver's Bookshelf: A 'Keeper'
Andrea Gillies's caregiving memoir arrives in the United States trailing awards and awed reviews.
Well's blowout preventer to be replaced before 'bottom kill'
BP and U.S. officials decide to move ahead with caution to prepare for complications.BP and government officials said Thursday that they planned to remove the damaged existing blowout preventer on...