Latest science news in Earth & Climate
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...
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.
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...
EU Leaders Agree On Climate Change Deal
European leaders agreed to stick to an ambitious plan to fight global warming through emissions cuts and renewable energy, and on ways to share the hefty costs of setting a...
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...
Expedition uncovers three never-before identified coral reefs off Florida's coast
The team efforts of scientists and crew from the Waitt Institute for Discovery, Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute at Florida Atlantic University and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute have paid off with...
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.
Bush Curbs Endangered Species Protections
Just six weeks before President-elect Barack Obama takes office, the Bush administration issued revised endangered species regulations Wednesday to reduce the input of federal scientists and to block the law...
Mood mixed as climate summit ends
The UN climate summit concludes with satisfaction among many delegates, but criticism from environmentalists.
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.
Commission agrees to cut tuna catches in Pacific
(AP) -- A commercial fishing commission agreed Friday to cut the catches of bigeye tuna in parts of the Pacific Ocean, a small step in an effort to save...
'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.
Weather Forecasting: Mathematical Model Illuminates Polar Lows
Scientists have developed a mathematical method that enables a reconstruction of the occurrence of small-scale polar storms -- so-called polar lows -- in the North Atlantic.
Chile launches climate change plan
The plan includes strategies for reducing the effects of climate change on health, availability of water and biodiversity.
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.
Earth from Space: Snow-kissed Alps
The snow-capped, crescent-shaped Alps and Italy’s Apennines mountain chain are shown in this Envisat image. Snowfall in early winter – for meteorologists winter begins on the 1 December – covered...
Climate change alters ocean chemistry
Researchers have discovered that the ocean's chemical makeup is less stable and more greatly affected by climate change than previously believed. The researchers report in the 12 December issue of...
Title, but Unclear Power, for a New Climate Czar
Carol M. Browner’s new position as White House coordinator of energy and climate policy may be undefined, but her thinking on those issues is clearly in line with the president-elect’s.
Observatory: Corals Indicate Another Sumatra Quake Is Likely
Scientists are forecasting that in the next several decades there will be another major earthquake off Sumatra like the one that spawned the tsunami in 2004.
Avalanches -- Triggered From The Valley
When slab avalanches thunder into the valley, winter sports fans are in danger. Researchers have now gained amazing insights into the formation of these avalanches -- especially regarding how they...
U.S. Transition Hampers Talks on Climate Change
The anticipation of Barack Obama’s presidency has left a critical meeting on a new climate treaty in a bit of limbo.
German islands tilting at windmills lose court case
Two North Sea German islands Thursday lost a court bid to prevent the building of giant wind turbines off their coastlines.
Canada recalls some blue Stilton cheese
OTTAWA, Dec. 11 (UPI) -- The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is warning people not to eat Cropwell Bishop Creamery-brand blue Stilton cheese due to possible bacterial contamination.
Greenhouse gases warming North America unevenly
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Climate change caused by greenhouse gases is warming the United States, though unevenly, government researchers said Thursday....
Arctic change conference held in Canada
QUEBEC CITY, Dec. 11 (UPI) -- Nearly 1,000 scientists from Canada and 15 other nations are in Quebec for the Arctic Change 2008 International Conference.
Coral may predict future Indian Ocean quake: study
HONG KONG (Reuters) - A study of Indonesian reefs showed corals record cyclical environmental events and could predict a massive earthquake in the eastern Indian Ocean within the next 20...