By Mead Gruver, Associated Press Writer Cheyenne, Wyo. » Glaciers on the iconic Teton Range are shrinking, researchers say, joining a growing list of glaciers in North America and beyond that are losing their surface area and potentially reducing the water supply for nearby regions. Two of the Tetons’ biggest glaciers have lost more than […]
by Rahul Goswami The first reports of drought-related suicides have begun filtering in from the district press. Farmers in the eastern coastal state of Andhra Pradesh are taking their own lives – the toll is said to be 20 farmers over the last 40 days. The state is one amongst many which has so far […]
(University of Virginia) Massive burning of forests for agriculture thousands of years ago may have increased atmospheric carbon dioxide enough to alter global climate and usher in a warming trend that continues today, according to a new study that appears online Aug. 17 in the journal Quaternary Science Reviews. Researchers at the University of Virginia […]
Half of all weeds come to dominate the ocean island habitats they invade, a new analysis reveals. By Matt Walker, Editor, Earth News Almost 400 invasive plant species have set up home as weeds on some of the world’s most distant oceanic islands. About half now dominate their new habitat, and hundreds more species are […]
By Nora Schultz You may have thought that the silver lining of rising carbon dioxide levels would be a boost in crop yields. But evidence is mounting that we may trade quantity for quality. The discovery that staple crops like wheat have less protein when grown in high concentrations of CO2 has already caused concern, […]
By John Platt Who stole 83 loggerhead sea turtle hatchlings from their nest on Ocean Isle Beach in North Carolina? A $5,000 reward has been posted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the turtle-napper(s). Loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) are protected as a threatened species […]
The planet’s ocean surface temperature was the warmest on record for July, breaking the previous high mark established in 1998 according to an analysis by NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, N.C. The combined average global land and ocean surface temperature for July 2009 ranked fifth-warmest since world-wide records began in 1880. The combined […]
Increased amounts of air pollution in China over last 50 years reduces days of rain by up to a quarter RICHLAND, Wash. – New research shows that air pollution in eastern China has reduced the amount of light rainfall over the past 50 years and decreased by 23 percent the number of days of light […]
By BOB WEBER Environmentalists want Ottawa to set caps on emissions from Alberta’s oilsands that are likely responsible for acid rain falling over northern Saskatchewan’s pristine rivers and lakes. “It’s not just regulation on every individual plant that’s needed. There also needs to be a regional cap that’s established for the industry,” said Peter Prebble […]
Pesticides used by farmers in California’s Central Valley could be killing frogs in the Sierra mountains, report researchers. Don Sparling of Southern Illinois University Carbondale found that minute quantities of endosulfan — the active ingredient in many pesticides — was enough kill frogs. “At 0.8 parts per billion, we lose all of them,” Sparling said. […]
