New maps reveal industrial fishing in more than half of world’s oceans

By Shreya Dasgupta 24 February 2018 (Mongabay) – Industrial fishing takes place across more than 55 percent of the world’s oceans, according to a new study published in Science.Fishing is vital for food security and livelihoods across the globe, yet the extent of industrial fishing has remained largely unknown. Now, a team of researchers has […]

Puerto Rico power grid snaps, nearly 1 million in the dark

1 March 2018 (AFP) – Puerto Rico’s power grid broke down again on Thursday, leaving some 800,000 customers without power, as the US Caribbean possession struggles to recover five months after Hurricane Maria slammed the island. Justo Gonzalez, head of the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA), said that one of the island’s main transmission […]

North Atlantic right whales face extinction by 2040 after no new births recorded – “At the rate we are killing them off, this 100 females will be gone in 20 years”

By Joanna Walters 26 February 2018 (The Guardian) – The dwindling North Atlantic right whale population is on track to finish its breeding season without any new births, prompting experts to warn again that without human intervention, the species will face extinction.Scientists observing the whale community off the US east coast have not recorded a […]

North Pole surges above freezing in the dead of winter, stunning scientists

By Jason Samenow 26 February 2018 (The Washington Post) – The sun won’t rise at the North Pole until March 20, and it’s normally close to the coldest time of year, but an extraordinary and possibly historic thaw swelled over the tip of the planet this weekend. Analyses show that the temperature warmed to the […]

Studies are increasingly clear: Uber, Lyft congest cities

By Steve LeBlanc 25 February 2018 BOSTON (Associated Press) – One promise of ride-hailing companies like Uber and Lyft was fewer cars clogging city streets. But studies suggest the opposite: that ride-hailing companies are pulling riders off buses, subways, bicycles and their own feet and putting them in cars instead.And in what could be a […]

Rome blanketed by snow as Arctic storm sets European records

By Nicole Winfield 26 February 2018 ROME (Associated Press) – The Arctic storm dubbed the “Beast from the East” set record temperatures across much of Europe on Monday and brought a rare snowstorm to Rome, paralyzing the city and giving its residents an unusual chance to ski, sled, and build snowmen in its famous parks […]

China’s lust for jaguar fangs imperils big cats

By Barbara Fraser 23 February 2018 (Nature) – The jaguar was found floating in a drainage canal in Belize City, Belize, on the day after Christmas last year. Its body was mostly intact, but the head was missing its fangs. On 10 January 2018, a second cat — this time, an ocelot that may have […]

Graph of the Day: Percent of U.S. children earning more than their parents, by year of birth, 1940-1985

By Raj Chetty, David Grusky, Maximilian Hell, Nathaniel Hendren, Robert Manduca, and Jimmy NarangDecember 2016 (The Equality of Opportunity Project) – A defining feature of the “American Dream” is upward income mobility: the ideal that children have a higher standard of living than their parents. Our work shows that children’s prospects of earning more than […]

Record atmospheric moisture feeds flooding in Central U.S.

By Dr. Jeff Masters 23 February 2018 (Weather Underground) – An unusually severe winter flood event is underway across the center of the U.S., from Texas to Michigan, thanks to heavy rains that fell during the week, fed by record to near-record atmospheric moisture for this time of year. The most significant flooding thus far […]

“Extreme” rainstorms becoming more common in Seattle, says city meteorologist – “Our definitions of extreme and normal have changed”

By Daniel Beekman 3 February 2018 (The Seattle Times) – Attention, Seattle residents: Have you noticed more steady, long-lasting rainstorms in a city better known for gray skies, short showers and drizzle? Turns out you’re on to something. Over the last 15 years, the city’s had more extreme rain, according to a new study by […]

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