Beyond your doorstep: What you buy and where you live shapes land-use footprint
In recent years, the attention of scientists and environmentalists has turned toward how population growth and urban expansion are driving habitat loss and an associated decline in ecosystem productivity and biodiversity. But the space people directly occupy is only one part of the land-use puzzle, according to new research.
Exploring the secrets of marsh happiness
NOAA research reserve scientists and partners recently published a study that examines the secret to marsh happiness. The team learned that “happy” marshes shared similar characteristics, whereas “unhappy” marshes deteriorate in diverse ways. By understanding how marshes can deteriorate so differently, coastal managers can make wiser conservation decisions.
Antarctica Warmer Than Tel Aviv
Temperature in the northern Antarctic peninsula hit an all-time high of 18.3 degrees Celsius (64.9 degrees Fahrenheit) on February 6, says an Argentine research station there. In February, the daytime temperature in Tel Aviv averages 64.5 degrees.
The danger of creating a designer planet
It is understandable that in the absence of a meaningful action plan emerging from last December’s UN climate meeting in Madrid people are grasping at almost any idea that might offer a solution to climate change. But pursuing an idea without a firm understanding of the inner workings of our planet is folly at best and just plain dangerous at worst
Why Australia’s 2019-2020 bushfire season was not normal
Data from satellite sources assembled by the United Nations Environment Programme’s (UNEP) World Environment Situation Room confirms that the wildfires in Australia in the last two months of 2019 and the first six weeks of 2020 were far from normal. 2019 was the second hottest year on record since 1880, and Australia recorded its warmest temperatures ever in December 2019.
Salvation or pipe dream? A movement grows to protect up to half the planet
Leading scientists and conservationists are proposing that up to 50 percent of the earth’s land and oceans be protected in the coming decades. While some view the goal as unrealistic, proponents say it is essential for preserving the natural systems on which life itself depends.
The toxic reach of Deepwater Horizon’s oil spill was much larger — and deadlier — than previous estimates
The spread of oil from the Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico was far worse than previously believed, new research has found.
Scientists listen to whales, walruses and seals in a changing Arctic seascape
A year-round acoustic study of marine mammals in the northern Bering Sea is providing scientists with a valuable snapshot of an Arctic world already under drastic pressure from climate change.
STOP Disney – Last Chance for Lighthouse Point
This is NOT the place where an environmentally responsible corporation would choose to construct a massive private cruise ship port – the centerpiece of which is a half-mile-long pier cutting across coral reefs including endangered staghorn coral. The port’s construction and operation would seriously harm the environment, while the economic benefits to communities in South Eleuthera are still unclear and very questionable.