By Claire Salisbury 9 November 2017 (Mongabay) – In 2012, Brazil celebrated a dramatic reduction in its deforestation rate. A sharp annual decline took forest loss to a record low, down 76 percent from 1990. Accomplishing this milestone — achieved alongside GDP growth and a major financial incentive scheme for reducing deforestation in collaboration with […]
By Mark Buchanan 7 November 2017 (Bloomberg) – The latest U.S. government report on climate change illustrates how expensive the phenomenon can be: It estimates that more frequent flooding, more violent hurricanes and more intense wildfires, among other things, have cost the country $1.1 trillion since 1980.What’s particularly striking, though, is how much the report […]
By Cory Reppenhagen 10 November 2017 (KUSA) – This year has been the most disastrous weather and climate year on record – and it’s not even over yet.The California Department of Insurance just announced that losses incurred from the October wildfires exceeds 3 billion dollars, and is expected to rise even further. That has now […]
By Roger Harrabin 10 November 2017 (BBC News) – Huge quantities of nitrate chemicals from farm fertilisers are polluting the rocks beneath our feet, a study says.Researchers at the British Geological Survey say it could have severe global-scale consequences for rivers, water supplies, human health and the economy.They say the nitrate will be released from […]
By Umair Irfan 7 November 2017 (Vox) – Kevin Pluck has a cool hobby: turning climate trend data into stunning graphics.The Manchester, England-based software engineer’s latest is an animated “barrel graph”comparing atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations and temperature variations relative to the average between 1951 and 1980, drawing on data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric […]
6 November 2017 (WMO) – It is very likely that 2017 will be one of the three hottest years on record, with many high-impact events including catastrophic hurricanes and floods, debilitating heatwaves and drought. Long-term indicators of climate change such as increasing carbon dioxide concentrations, sea level rise and ocean acidification continue unabated. Arctic sea […]
By Lydia Ramsey 10 November 2017 (Business Insider) – Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the US, accounting for one in four deaths in Americans, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Over the last few decades, cancer death rates have been falling, with the exception of a few key types […]
By Michael J. Paul 7 November 2017 (GIS Use in Public Health) – Today’s map of the day shows the prevalence of obesity in the United States by county. According to the Centers for Disease Control, a person with a body mass index (BMI) greater than or equal to 30 is considered obese. From the […]
By Andrew Kolodny 6 November 2017 (Quartz) – Drug overdose deaths, once rare, are now the leading cause of accidental death in the US, surpassing peak annual deaths caused by motor vehicle accidents, guns, and HIV infection.As a former public health official, clinician, and researcher, I’ve been engaged in efforts to control the opioid addiction […]
By Seth Borenstein 27 October 2017 WASHINGTON (AP) – Winter is coming … later. And it’s leaving ever earlier. Across the United States, the year’s first freeze has been arriving further and further into the calendar, according to more than a century of measurements from weather stations nationwide. Scientists say it is yet another sign […]
