Blogging the End of the World™
by Deborah Smith, Science Editor MOST southern hemisphere plants – except for weeds – will not be able to adapt to rapid climate change, a study of more than 11,000 species suggests. Researchers, including the Sydney botanist Peter Weston, traced the history of plants that live in a range of different habitats including bogs, alpine […]
From Calculated Risk: The American Institute of Architects reports: Another Historic Low for Architecture Billings Index Note that historically there is an “approximate nine to twelve month lag time between architecture billings and construction spending”. The ABI fell off a cliff in early 2008 and we are just starting to see that decline show up […]
LIMA (AFP) – Andean glaciers and the region’s permanently snow-covered peaks could disappear in 20 years if no measures are taken to tackle climate change, the World Bank warned Tuesday. A World Bank-published report said rising temperatures due to global warming could also have a dramatic impact on water management in the Andean region, with […]
Scientists involved in the most comprehensive study of life in the oceans ever conducted have documented changes in species distribution in the polar regions as warmer oceans spur migration by Jessica Aldred Global warming is changing the distribution, abundance and diversity of marine life in the polar seas with "profound" implications for creatures further up […]
By Jeff Benjamin Iceland’s economic meltdown, fueled by its exposure to foreign debt, could bring the country to the brink of failure, according to research from Hennessee Group LLC. “Iceland had one of the highest standards of living in the world just a few months ago,” said Charles Gradante, co-founder of the New York-based hedge […]
Archival photographs spanning more than five decades reveal a drastic decline of so-called “trophy fish” caught around coral reefs surrounding Key West, Florida. Loren McClenachan, a graduate student at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego, estimates that large predatory fish have declined in weight by 88 percent in modern […]
From Tamino: One of the most dramatic signs of the recent drought is the level of lakes in the region. The level for lake Alexandrina is at a remarkable all-time low, presently half a meter below sea level. Drought in Australia Technorati Tags: Australia,drought,global warming
Madrid – Antarctica’s Wilkins Ice Shelf is rapidly disintegrating, Spanish scientists reported on Tuesday, with potentially ominous implications for climate change. An ice sheet of 14,000 square kilometres has broken off from the Wilkins Shelf, and has itself broken into several large icebergs, according to a statement from Spain’s National Research Council (CSIC). CSIC scientists […]
Sydney (AFP) Feb 16, 2009 – Australia Monday began counting the economic cost of wild weather this month which left the northeast under water and the southeast in flames. Floods unleashed by cyclonic rains saw much of Queensland state declared a disaster area, a week before a record heatwave sparked the worst wildfires in history […]
More than half of cropland expansion between 1980 and 2000 occurred at the expense of natural forests, while another 30 percent of occurred in disturbed forests, reported a Stanford University researcher presenting Saturday at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Chicago. Holly Gibbs, formerly of the University […]
