Latest science news in Earth & Climate
Health Care Accounts For Eight Percent Of US Carbon Footprint, Calculation Finds
The American health-care sector accounts for 8 percent of the country's carbon dioxide emissions, according to a first-of-its-kind calculation of health care's carbon footprint. Researchers used expenditures from different parts...
Rich countries 'should pay' to transfer low carbon technology, researchers says
(PhysOrg.com) -- Rich countries need to pay the full incremental cost of low carbon technology for developing countries to avoid dangerous climate change, say Oxford University researchers.
California's ancient kelp forest
The kelp forests off southern California are considered to be some of the most diverse and productive ecosystems on the planet, yet a new study indicates that today's kelp beds...
Earth's Early Ocean Cooled More Than A Billion Years Earlier Than Thought
The global ocean covering the Earth 3.4 billion years ago was far cooler than has been thought, according to researchers who analyzed isotope ratios in rocks formed on that ancient...
Community Education And Evacuation Planning Saved Lives In Sept. 29 Samoan Tsunami
Community-based education and awareness programs minimized the death toll from the recent Samoan tsunami, according to a team of researchers that traveled to Samoa last month. Funded by a National...
Energy-saving powder: Converting methane to methanol
It is currently estimated that natural gas resources will be exhausted in 130 years; however, those reserves where extraction is cost-effective will only flow for another 60 years or so.
Africa facing climate data shortage
African countries lack data on the effect climate change will have on water supplies, scientists said at Africa Water Week.
National Briefing | Environment: Harmful Levels of Mercury Are Found
About half of American lakes and reservoirs contain fish with potentially harmful levels of the toxic metal mercury, a federal study said.
APS rejects plea to alter stance on climate change
American Physical Society maintains view that human activities are causing global warming
Global warming won't affect all deltas
Rising sea levels could submerge Mississippi Delta but leave other systems intact.
New 'Smart Buoy' Deployed Off Annapolis, Maryland, U.S.
NOAA has deployed the seventh in a series of "smart buoys" to monitor weather conditions and water quality in the Chesapeake Bay. The buoy, located at the mouth of Severn...
Underground Power Lines That Bypass Monuments In Cities
Mathematicians have created a method to design underground lines whereby a city's historical buildings are unaffected.
Drastic action may save reefs
A recent paper suggests that the world’s reefs will be in terminal decline by 2030, if emissions keep climbing at the current rate.
Crops and Weeds: Climate Change's First Responders
(PhysOrg.com) -- A team of Agricultural Research Service (ARS) plant physiologists is studying how global climate change could affect food crop production--and prompt the evolution of even more resilient weeds.
Central Africa's tropical Congo Basin was arid, treeless in Late Jurassic
The Congo Basin -- with its massive, lush tropical rain forest -- was far different 150 million to 200 million years ago.
Launching your own satellite — the pros and cons
Developing nations are building their own satellites despite freely available Western data. Do the gains outweigh the costs, asks Tatum Anderson.
Satellites can help monitor and manage African droughts
Kenyan MP and remote sensing expert, Wilbur Ottichilo, argues the time is ripe for using satellites to spot developing African droughts.
Satellites offer crucial data for volcano safety
Volcano expert Geoff Wadge explains how the International Charter on Space and Major Disasters helped manage a volcanic eruption in Montserrat.
Disaster management needs satellite 'constellations'
Disaster management needs constellations of satellites with multispectral sensors, says Indian space researcher, Ranganath Navalgund.
Remote sensing for natural disasters: Facts and figures
Sian Lewis explains how remote sensing can be used to help manage natural disasters and highlights ongoing efforts and obstacles.
Personal Best: Train the Mind to Run Right Through Winter
Those who exercise in all sorts of weather will attest that there is a certain thrill that can come from terrible conditions.
Plentiful Poinsettias Without Plant Growth Regulators
Poinsettia, a holiday favorite, is produced using plant growth regulators (PGRs) to achieve their desired height, but the high cost of PGRs, environmental use restrictions, and increasing pressure from consumers...
Ricin 'antidote' to be produced
An anti-toxin that protects against ricin poisoning is to move into production for the first time, after eight years of research.
What Would Failure at Copenhagen Mean for Climate Change?
This is the consequence of failure at Copenhagen: A marked shift in scientific effort from solving global warming to adapting to its consequences, a hodge-podge of uncoordinated local efforts to...
Copenhagen climate talks: Time to change, no time to waste
Next month, 192 countries will meet to set targets on carbon emissions. The summit will pit the developed world against the developing world in a last-ditch bid to limit warming to 2CThe world's...
Noise Evidence Could Expand Hurricane Record
As sea-surface temperatures rise across the globe, some scientists believe that hurricane frequency and intensity may increase. A fresh technique offers promise to generate new data from long-dead storms, which...
Electronic Waste Needs to Go Green
(PhysOrg.com) -- Americans love their consumer electronics, but what happens to all the gadgets when their useful life is over? Despite being one of the largest generators of "e-waste" in...
Scientists to develop 'swarms' of miniature robotic ocean explorers (w/ Video)
In an effort to plug gaps of knowledge about key ocean processes, scientists at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego have been awarded nearly $1 million from the...