19 March 2015 (IUCN) – With the majority (56.7%) of European bee species being listed as Data Deficient, any overview of the threats to the continental apifauna will necessarily be incomplete. However, for conservation and management of bee diversity to be undertaken effectively, it is critical to have a clear understanding of taxonomy and ecology […]
By Bill Weir9 April 2015 (CNN) – The world’s glaciers are disappearing. Climate change skeptics are not. The people who study our oceans and skies worry about both of these phenomena. But in wide swaths of 21st century America, the argument is still stuck on what to call the other side. “Denier” can also describe […]
February 2015 (McKinsey Global Institute) – Seven years after the bursting of a global credit bubble resulted in the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, debt continues to grow. In fact, rather than reducing indebtedness, or deleveraging, all major economies today have higher levels of borrowing relative to GDP than they did in 2007. […]
Environmental groups say countries are not fishing sustainably and quotas are too high 25 March 2015 (Associated Press) – Two studies from environmental groups show European Union nations continue to overfish their Atlantic waters despite commitments to fish sustainably and stay within safe scientific limits. The studies obtained Wednesday by The Associated Press ahead of […]
19 March 2015 (IUCN) – The first-ever assessment of all European wild bee species shows that 9.2% are threatened with extinction, while 5.2% are considered likely to be threatened in the near future. A total of 56.7% of the species are classified as Data Deficient, as lack of experts, data and funding has made it […]
By Angela Fritz 11 March 2015 (Washington Post) – The Italian weather Web site MeteoWeb reports that Capracotta, Italy, saw 100.8 inches of snow in just 18 hours on March 5 — a total that, if verified, would set a new world record for snowfall in a 24-hour period. However, the reports from Capracotta at […]
By Michael E. MannJanuary/February 2015 (Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists) – Much as lions on the Serengeti seek out vulnerable zebras at the edge of a herd, special interests faced with adverse scientific evidence often target individual scientists rather than take on an entire scientific field at once. Part of the reasoning behind this approach […]
9 December 2014 (OECD) – The gap between rich and poor is at its highest level in most OECD countries in 30 years. Today, the richest 10% of the population in the OECD area earn 9.5 times more than the poorest 10%. By contrast, in the 1980s the ratio stood at 7:1. The average incomes […]
By Doyle Rice10 November 2014 (USA TODAY) – In the battle to combat global warming, the world isn’t moving fast enough to stay in the fight. The United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) — which releases a new report every few years — again gave grim news last week as emissions rose 2.3% […]
By Liz Core10 September 2014 (Grist) – Plastics are everywhere: on the street, in our refrigerators, all over the oceans — you name it. But now they’re hitting us where it really hurts. Authors of a new study published in the latest edition of Food Additives and Contaminants found traces of plastic particles (and other […]