Earth’s sixth mass extinction has begun, new study confirms

By James Dyke19 June 2015 (The Conversation) – We are currently witnessing the start of a mass extinction event the likes of which have not been seen on Earth for at least 65 million years. This is the alarming finding of a new study published in the journal Science Advances. The research was designed to […]

Western wildfires: Firefighters battling blazes in 4 states as weather heats up in West

18 June 2015 (Associated Press) – Wildfires are chewing through parched parts of the West, where temperatures are rising Thursday. Here’s a look at the latest hotspots and what crews are doing to control them. ALASKA Two wildfires are burning outside Anchorage, one that tripled in size and forced the evacuation of campsites on the […]

Brazil’s Belo Monte dam puts livelihood of 2,000 indigenous families at risk, prosecutors say

São Paulo, 16 June 2015 (Associated Press) – Construction of a massive hydroelectric dam is endangering the livelihoods of at least 2,000 families in Brazil’s Amazon jungle state of Pará, according to federal prosecutors who recommend that efforts to move the residents be suspended. The federal prosecutors’ office said in a statement Monday that the […]

Accelerated warming of the continental shelf off U.S. Northeast Coast – ‘The warming rate since 2002 is 15 times faster than from the previous 100 years’

11 June 2015 (WHOI) – A couple of unexplained large scale changes in the waters off the northeast coast of the U.S. have oceanographers perplexed: an accelerated rate of sea level rise compared to most other parts of the world; and the disturbing signs of collapsing fisheries in the region. A new study by physical […]

Japan to defy IWC ban on whaling – ‘We of course intend to resume whaling again this year’

By Elaine Lies; Editing by Jeremy Laurence 19 June 2015 TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan hopes to resume whale hunting in the Antarctic later this year, a top official said on Friday, despite a finding by the International Whaling Commission (IWC) that Tokyo had yet to prove the kill was scientifically justified. In April, an IWC […]

Floodwaters causing new Gulf of Mexico dead zone off Texas

By Rusty Surette18 June 2015 COLLEGE STATION (KBTX) – Record rainfall totals in many parts of Texas the past few weeks means a record amount of freshwater pouring into the Gulf of Mexico – as high as 10 times the normal rate – and that could lead to huge problems for marine life and commercial […]

Carbon Counter: There is no renewable energy revolution in China – Here are the numbers

17 June 2015 (Carbon Counter) – Last year China installed more new wind and solar capacity than any country in history. This is a fact, and it has led some to talk of China being a “renewables powerhouse” and of there being a “renewables revolution”. But out of context, this fact can be much less […]

Salmon-killing parasite is thriving in California drought – Massive die-off of young Chinook salmon could happen anytime now

17 June 2015 (WBUR) – Drought is creating problems in river systems all around the Northwest. Nowhere is this more evident than on the Klamath River in Southern Oregon and Northern California. Scientists there say there’s not enough cool water flowing, and a massive die-off of young Chinook salmon could happen anytime now. Releasing more […]

What happens when the sea swallows a country?

By Rachel Nuwer17 June 2015 (BBC) – As the seaplane lifts off the water’s surface and begins to climb, paradise opens up beneath us. The deep blue ocean stretches in every direction, but it is punctuated here and there by aquamarine discs of shallow coral reef that give way to the slightest slivers of white […]

A third of the world’s biggest groundwater basins are in distress – Reserves likely far smaller than previously thought

Irvine, California, 16 June 2015 (UCI) – Two new studies led by UC Irvine using data from NASA Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment satellites show that human consumption is rapidly draining some of its largest groundwater basins, yet there is little to no accurate data about how much water remains in them. The result is […]

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