The antiscience assault on NASA: What it’s like on the inside

  15 May 2017 (Alt NASA) – Thank you for supporting us. We have not been able to post because of our hostile working conditions. If you have a friend or family member working for NASA, EPA, or NPS, the stories they tell are true, it is truly a hard time. Officials have been trying […]

New study ranks 100 solutions to global warming. At the top: Educating girls and family planning.

By David Roberts 10 May 2017 (Vox) – By now, the looming dangers of climate change are clear to anyone who’s been paying attention, covered extensively in both academic literature and the popular press. But what about solutions? For all the hand-wringing on climate change over the years, discussion of solutions remains puzzlingly anemic and […]

All the trees will die, and then so will you – Fusarium dieback is on track to kill 26.8 million trees across Southern California

By Adam Rogers9 May 2017 (Wired) – The polyphagous shot hole borer, a brown-black beetle from southeast Asia, never gets bigger than a tenth of an inch. It breeds inside trees; pregnant females drill into trunks to create networks of tunnels where they lay their eggs. The beetles also carry a fungus called Fusarium; it […]

Scott Adams embarks on the Johnny Hart road – “Dilbert” goes full climate science denialist

By PZ Myers14 May 2017 (Pharyngula) – I don’t normally read Dilbert — I’ve seen far too much of the benighted ignorant psyche of its creator — but this one was just laid out on a table at the coffee shop yesterday, and I knew I’d have to deal with it. In this one, Dilbert […]

Human noise pollution is everywhere, even in the national parks

By Sarah Kaplan 4 May 2017 (The Washington Post) – In wintertime, the sounds of nature are so subtle they’re almost imperceptible: The whistling of the wind though craggy mountaintops, the whispering branches of the trees; the soft, delicate patter of an unseen animal’s paws across snowy ground. “It’s a really quiet experience,” said Rachel […]

A giant beached whale sculpture illustrates the plastic pollution problem

12 May 2017 (Plastic Pollution Coalition) – Greenpeace Philippines recently created and installed a giant whale art piece made out of plastic pollution at the Sea Side Beach Resort in Naic, Cavite. The 50-foot installation will be on display until 14 May 2017. “Listen to the dead whale’s wake-up call, look closer and see what […]

Media freedom declines globally, especially in leading democratic countries – “The rate at which democracies are approaching the tipping point is alarming”

4 May 2017 (RSF) – The 2017 World Press Freedom Index compiled by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) reflects a world in which attacks on the media have become commonplace and strongmen are on the rise. We have reached the age of post-truth, propaganda, and suppression of freedoms – especially in democracies. Читать по-русски / Read […]

Venezuela’s worst economic crisis: What went wrong?

3 May 2017 (Al Jazeera) – Venezuela is experiencing the worst economic crisis in its history, with an inflation rate of over 400 percent and a volatile exchange rate. Heavily in debt and with inflation soaring, its people continue to take to the streets in protest. President Nicolas Maduro announced the highest increase in the […]

Record-breaking weather in 2016 pushes world into “truly uncharted territory” – World Meteorological Organization

21 March 2017 (United Nations) – Global temperatures set yet another record last year and the world witnessed exceptionally low sea ice, and unabated sea level rise and ocean heat, the United Nations World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said today, warning that the extreme weather and climate conditions have continued into 2017. According to the agency’s […]

China’s severe winter haze tied to climate change – “The very rapid change in polar warming is really having a large impact on China”

By John Toon15 March 2017 ATLANTA, GA (Geirgia Tech) – China’s severe winter air pollution problems may be worsened by changes in atmospheric circulation prompted by Arctic sea ice loss and increased Eurasian snowfall – both caused by global climate change. Modeling and data analysis done by researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology suggest […]

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