Scientists marvel at “increasingly non-natural” Arctic warmth – “What has happened over the last year goes beyond even the extreme”

By Jason Samenow 1 February 2017 (The Washington Post) – The Arctic is so warm and has been this warm for so long that scientists are struggling to explain it and are in disbelief. The climate of the Arctic is known to oscillate wildly, but scientists say this warmth is so extreme that humans surely […]

Depleted fish stocks and huge dead zone signal tipping point in the Bay of Bengal

By Amitav Ghosh and Aaron Savio Lobo31 January 2017 (The Guardian) – The Bay of Bengal’s basin contains some of the most populous regions of the earth. No less than a quarter of the world’s population is concentrated in the eight countries that border the bay1. Approximately 200 million people live along the Bay of […]

60 percent of primate species face impending extinction, and 75 percent have declining populations globally

By Russell A. Mittermeier and Anthony B. Rylands24 January 2017 (mongabay.com) – The Year of the Monkey has just ended, and won’t come around again for another 12 years. In the meantime, what is happening with our closest living relatives, the nonhuman primates? A recent paper in Science Advances by 31 of us indicates that […]

Brazil President Temer reduces preservation in Pará forest and legalizes squatters – Protection removed from 305,000 hectares (754,000 acres)

By Fabiano Maisonnave; translation by Thomas Muello22 December 2016 MANAUS (Folha de S. Paulo) – In an action criticized by environmentalists and commemorated by squatters, the President of Brazil, Michel Temer, ratified a provisional measure that paves the way to legalize dozens of rural proprieties inside the National Forest (Flona) of Jamanxin, in the southwest […]

Carbon capture needed to make carbon dioxide emissions fall – Wind and solar alone won’t meet Paris Agreement goals

By Ker Than30 January 2017    (Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment) – Without a significant effort to reduce greenhouse gases, including an accelerated deployment of technologies for capturing atmospheric carbon and storing it underground, and sustained growth in renewables such as wind and solar, the world could miss a key global temperature target set by […]

More than 100 wildfires rage across Chile – Fires have destroyed nearly one million acres

DICHATO, Chile, 31 January 2017 (Associated Press) – Strong winds are continuing to stoke the flames of raging wildfires in Chile, forcing the evacuation of more than 800 families in the coastal town of Dichato. Firefighters and residents fought the fast-spreading blazes on the ground Tuesday, while a Russian supertanker plane and a Brazilian Hercules […]

“Sharkwater” filmmaker Rob Stewart missing after Florida dive

By Lauren Pelley1 February 2017 (CBC News) – Toronto filmmaker and conservationist Rob Stewart is missing after a Tuesday night dive off the coast of Florida. The U.S. Coast Guard is on the scene Wednesday morning to search for Stewart, who vanished while diving near Islamorada in the Florida Keys, a chain of islands between […]

Trump will definitely pull out of Paris global warming deal, says former advisor – “He could do it by executive order tomorrow”

By Tom Batchelor 30 January 2017 (The Independent) – A former climate change adviser to Donald Trump has said the US President will pull America out of the landmark Paris agreement and an executive order on the issue could come within “days”. Myron Ebell, who took charge of Mr Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) transition […]

UN agencies express hope US will continue long tradition of protecting those fleeing conflict, persecution

28 January 2017 (United Nations) – The United Nations agencies dealing with global refugee and migration issues today expressed the hope that the United States will continue its strong leadership role and long tradition of protecting those who are fleeing conflict and persecution. “The needs of refugees and migrants worldwide have never been greater, and […]

Antarctic bottom waters freshening at unexpected rate – “If you change the circulation, you change everything in the ocean”

25 January 2017 (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution) – In the cold depths along the sea floor, Antarctic Bottom Waters are part of a global circulatory system, supplying oxygen-, carbon- and nutrient-rich waters to the world’s oceans. Over the last decade, scientists have been monitoring changes in these waters. But a new study from the Woods […]

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