Latest science news in Earth & Climate
Antarctic glacial ice loss unprecedented
HOUSTON, Nov. 10 (UPI) -- U.S. and British scientists say the current warming and widespread loss of glacial ice on the Antarctic Peninsula is unprecedented.
Nitrogen loss threatens desert plant life, study shows
As the climate gets warmer, arid soils lose nitrogen as gas, reports a new Cornell study. That could lead to deserts with even less plant life than they sustain today,...
A kettlebell can add intensity to a traditional squat
Kick up your squat workout with this kettlebell movement. It'll spice things up and add more intensity to a traditional squat.
Small nations urge tougher climate deal
Wealthy countries came under attack at the UN climate talks in Spain on Friday for not pursuing a legally binding global treaty on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and instead pushing...
Leaders 'likely' to go to summit
At least 40 world leaders are likely to attend December's UN climate summit in a bid to secure a new global treaty.
Changing Arctic Affecting Air, Ocean, And Everything In Between
Despite the fact that summer 2009 had more sea ice than in 2007 or 2008, scientists are seeing drastic changes in the region from just five years ago and at...
Hylas payload shipped to India
(PhysOrg.com) -- Hylas, a flexible, broadband Ka-band satellite, is steadily moving towards completion. The communications payload has been shipped from England to India for integration with the platform, marking a...
United States Using Less Water Than 35 Years Ago
The United States is using less water than during the peak years of 1975 and 1980, according to water use estimates for 2005. Despite a 30 percent population increase during...
New Landscape Rating System to Transform The Industry, Complete Green Building Puzzle
The American Society of Landscape Architects, the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center at The University of Texas at Austin and the U.S. Botanic Garden today released the nation's first rating...
Kilauea's new lava flow reaches ocean
HONOLULU, Nov. 6 (UPI) -- New lava flows from Hawaii's Kilauea volcano have reached the ocean, creating a new lava tube separate from the main tube, geologists said.
The politics of climate fixes
In the middle of a day filled with a stream of information-packed PowerPoint displays and alarming projections of what the future holds for our planet and our civilization, Judith Layzer`s...
Can Biodiversity Persist In The Face Of Climate Change?
Predictions made over the last decade about the impacts of climate change on biodiversity may be exaggerated, according to a paper published in the journal Science.
B.C. MLAs work overtime on paramedics bill
Members of the B.C. legislature had girded themselves for an all-night debate Thursday as NDP MLAs tried to slow passage of a bill forcing striking paramedics back to work. It...
Caribbean, Gulf spared widespread coral damage
Lower-than-feared sea temperatures this summer gave a break to fragile coral reefs across the Caribbean and the central Gulf of Mexico that were damaged in recent years, scientists say.
States call on EPA for tougher air pollution regulations
Twelve states and the District of Columbia urged the Environmental Protection Agency Thursday to adopt more rigorous national policies so they can meet federal air pollution reduction requirements for the...
Airborne nitrogen shifts aquatic nutrient limitation in pristine lakes
The impact of airborne nitrogen released from the burning of fossil fuels and wide-spread use of fertilisers in agriculture is much greater that previously recognised and even extends to remote...
New 'smart' electrical meters raise privacy issues
The new "smart meters" utilities are installing in homes around the world to reduce energy use raise fresh privacy issues because of the wealth of information about consumer habits they...
Lightning's 'NOx-ious' Impact On Pollution, Climate
More than 1.2 billion lightning flashes occur around the world every year. Each of those billion lightning flashes produces a puff of nitrogen oxide gas (NOx) that reacts with sunlight...
Study suggests peat CO2 credits more valuable
JAKARTA (Reuters) - An Indonesia-based study is showing carbon-rich tropical peat lands trap more greenhouse gases than first thought, driving up their potential value on the carbon market and strengthening...
Canada to investigate disappearing Pacific salmon
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (Reuters) - Canada will launch an investigation into why far fewer sockeye salmon than scientists had predicted returned to the Fraser River on the Pacific Coast this...
What's in our water?
(PhysOrg.com) -- Although America's supply of drinking water is considered among the world's safest, there is an urgent need to develop more stringent regulations to guide how water is monitored...
Ecuador's Plan To Save The Amazon And Fight Climate Change--The Yasuní-ITT Initiative
The Ecuadorian government has devised a novel, albeit idealistic, plan to prevent gas and oil development in the Yasuní National Park in hopes of protecting biodiversity and combating climate change....
Newly Discovered Fat Molecule: An Undersea Killer with an Upside
(PhysOrg.com) -- A chemical culprit responsible for the rapid, mysterious death of phytoplankton in the North Atlantic Ocean has been found by collaborating scientists at Rutgers University and the Woods...
Can Closing the Ozone Hole Also Help Combat Climate Change?
Carbon dioxide is the primary greenhouse culprit in human-generated global warming , most scientists agree, but CO 2 itself, and a handful of other substances, are now being...
Frigid Antarctica is loaded with viruses
Antarctica's icy lakes are home to a surprisingly diverse community of viruses, including some that were previously unidentified.
Date A Water Strider, Where Nice Guys Get The Girls
Female water striders don't like the bad boys and they don't even have to reach the age of 30 before they wise up about choices in males. Water striders are those...
Climate deal 'unlikely' this year
The UK government has admitted that a new legally-binding global treaty on climate change is highly unlikely to be agreed this year.
Sept. Atlanta flooding: 1 in 10,000 event
ATLANTA, Nov. 5 (UPI) -- The U.S. Geological Survey says the September flooding that inundated the Atlanta area was so extreme, scientists say the data are stunning.