Blogging the End of the World™
By Peter Lord A new study by researchers at Brown University finds that climate change is reducing the diversity of plants in New England salt marshes by causing a decline in small, flowering plants and allowing the spread of salt marsh grasses such as Spartina patens. The study, called “Experimental warming causes rapid loss of […]
Dhaka (AFP) July 21, 2009 – A delay to Bangladesh’s monsoon season is posing a severe risk of drought in the impoverished nation and threatening food supplies, officials warned Tuesday. Monsoon rains normally sweep Bangladesh from June to September and the South Asian country gets more than 75 percent of its annual rainfall during this […]
ScienceDaily (July 22, 2009) — Winter chill, a vital climatic trigger for many tree crops, is likely to decrease by more than 50 percent during this century as global climate warms, making California no longer suitable for growing many fruit and nut crops, according to a team of researchers from the University of California, Davis, […]
The Sea Around Us Project investigates the impact of fisheries on the world’s marine ecosystems. This is achieved by using a Geographic Information System (GIS) to map global fisheries catches from 1950 to the present, under explicit consideration of major critical habitats of fish, marine invertebrates, marine mammals and other components of marine biodiversity. North […]
The weak economy is taking its toll, with an increasing number of bodies in Los Angeles County being cremated at taxpayers’ expense. By Molly Hennessy-Fiske The poor economy is taking a toll even on the dead, with an increasing number of bodies in Los Angeles County going unclaimed by families who cannot afford to bury […]
By Roland Buerk, Tokyo correspondent, BBC News, Choshi Few industries have been immune to the worldwide collapse in demand, and the fishing industry in Choshi in Japan has been no exception. The high price of fuel drove some boats out of business. Then with the downturn, came a decline in the exports of fish. … […]
Global ocean temperatures rose to the warmest on record, according to data released last week by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The combined average global land and ocean surface temperature for June was second-warmest since global recording-keeping began in 1880. NOAA reports that both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres experienced record sea surface […]
Researchers for the first time have linked air pollution exposure before birth with lower IQ scores in childhood, bolstering evidence that smog may harm the developing brain. CHICAGO – Researchers for the first time have linked air pollution exposure before birth with lower IQ scores in childhood, bolstering evidence that smog may harm the developing […]
Boulder CO (SPX) Jul 21, 2009 – All reservoirs along the Colorado River might dry up by mid-century as the West warms, a new study finds. The probability of such a severe shortage by then runs as high as one-in-two, unless current water-management practices change, the researchers report. The study’s coauthors looked at the effects […]
Baghdad (AFP) July 20, 2009 – Iraq’s water resources ministry on Monday called for talks with neighbouring Turkey and Syria after the flow of water in the Euphrates river fell by more than half in less than a month. The ministry is aiming for “an urgent meeting with ministers and experts from the three countries […]
