23 February 2012 (AFP) – The collapse of the Mayan civilization was likely due to a relatively mild drought, much like the drier conditions expected in the coming years due to climate change, scientists said Thursday. Scholars have long believed that a major drought caused severe dry conditions that killed off the ancient culture known […]
There’s a common saying in Appalachia: what we do to the land, we do to the people. Recently, 21 peer-reviewed scientific studies have confirmed the truth of those words. Not only has mountaintop removal permanently destroyed more than 500 Appalachian mountains, but people living near the destruction are 50% more likely to die of cancer […]
By Chris Meyers and Elaine Lies; Editing by Robert Birsel22 February 2012 RIKUZENTAKATA, Japan (Reuters) – Very little was left standing in the Japanese city of Rikuzentakata after a huge tsunami tore through nearly a year ago. Even the centuries-old pine forest by the sea that had long been a symbol of the city was […]
By Mark Lobel, BBC News22 February 2012 A gas-fuelled fire, with flames as high as 5m, may burn for months in waters off the Niger Delta in south-east Nigeria, Chevron has told the BBC. Two workers died after January’s explosion at the KS Endeavour exploration rig, owned by the US firm. Friends of the Earth […]
Contact: Qinfeng Guo, qguo@fs.fed.us, 828-257-4246, Pensoft Publishers23 February 2012(Pensoft Publishers) – Extensive ongoing research on biotic invasions around the world constantly increases data availability and improves data quality. New research in the United States shows how using improved data from previous studies on the establishment of exotic plant species changes the understanding of patterns of […]
Contact: Rachel Feldman, rfeldman@univ.haifa.ac.il, 972-482-88722, University of Haifa23 February 2012 A 28-year comparative study of wild emmer wheat and wild barley populations has revealed that these progenitors of cultivated wheat and barley, which are the best hope for crop improvement, have undergone changes over this period of global warming. The changes present a real concern […]
By Katherine Bagley, InsideClimate News22 February 2012 A number of prominent U.S. climate scientists who identify themselves as Republican say their attempts in recent years to educate the GOP leadership on the scientific evidence of man-made climate change have been futile. Now, many have given up trying and the few who continue notice very little […]
Contact: Michael RobinUniversity of Saskatchewan (306) 966-1425michael.robin@usask.ca Human activity is likely a greater threat to coastal groundwater used for drinking water supplies than rising sea levels from climate change, according to a study conducted by geoscientists from the University of Saskatchewan and McGill University in Montreal. Grant Ferguson from the U of S Department of […]
By Tom Godfrey, Toronto Sun18 February 2012 TORONTO – A Japanese woman who claimed exposure to radiation from damaged nuclear reactors has been denied refugee status in Canada almost one year after that nation was rocked by an earthquake and tsunami that left more than 100,000 people homeless. The woman’s identity has not been released […]
[cf. U.S. CO2 emissions to stay below 2005 levels as coal use shrinks] 22 February 2012 (Bloomberg News) – China’s energy use rose at the fastest pace in four years in 2011 and efficiency improved, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. Consumption climbed 7 percent to 3.48 billion metric tons of standard coal equivalent, […]
