Climate Change
California Battles Historic Drought with $5.2 Billion
The state is using the money to upgrade drinking and wastewater systems, improve streamflows, and relocate vulnerable fish
"Anthropocene"
Climate Change
‘Historical’ Western Drought Is Likely to Persist
The severe dry conditions have left critical reservoirs depleted and helped fuel intense wildfires
Climate Change
Earth Could Be Alien to Humans by 2500
Unless greenhouse gas emissions drop significantly, warming by 2500 will make the Amazon barren, Iowa tropical and India too hot to live in
Climate Change
How Climate Change Helped Fires Cross the Sierra Nevada for the First Time
High, rocky peaks are no longer an insurmountable hurdle for ever fiercer flames fueled by heat and drought
Weather
Hurricane Sam Is Latest Monster in Active Storm Season
Tropical cyclones are becoming more intense, but not necessarily more frequent, with climate change
Ecology
Invasive Cheatgrass Spreads Under City Lights
The prolific plant, which impacts agriculture and spurs wildfire, seems to particularly benefit from streetlights
Climate Change
Scientists Flood Forests to Mimic Rising Seas
The experiments will help better understand how much inundation trees can stand before they succumb
Water
Democrats Seek ‘Historic’ Changes to U.S. Flood Program
Proposed legislation includes funding to redo badly out-of-date flood risk maps
Climate Change
Australian Bush Fires Belched Out Immense Quantity of Carbon
The 2019–20 wildfires generated 700 million tonnes of carbon dioxide—but a lot of that might have been mopped up by phytoplankton in the ocean
Climate Change
U.S. Climate Equity Office Debuts, But With a Tiny Budget
It aims to help communities become more resilient to climate change, particularly its health impacts
Natural Disasters
‘Explosive’ Dixie Fire Could Become Biggest in CA History
Extremely dry conditions could help the blaze overtake last year’s August Complex fire as the record holder
Plants
In Missouri, a Human ‘Bee’ Works to Better Understand Climate Change’s Effects
Researcher Matthew Austin has become a wildflower pollinator, sans the wings.
Natural Disasters
Hurricane Ida May Spark Mass Migration
Like Katrina before it, the storm may make living conditions untenable in hard-hit areas
Ecology
Wolf Populations Drop as More States Allow Hunting
Repercussions of planned and anticipated wolf hunts and traps could ripple through ecosystems for years to come, scientists say
Conservation
Summer of Science Reading, Episode 3: Abandoned and Underground but Not Lost
In Science Book Talk, a new four-part podcast miniseries, host Deboki Chakravarti acts as literary guide to two science books that share a beautiful and sometimes deeply resonant entanglement.In this week’s show: Underland, by Robert MacFarlane, and Islands of Abandonment, by Cal Flyn. ...
Climate Change
Paleoclimate Data Raise Alarm on Historic Nature of Climate Emergency
The new Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report uses data from our planet’s distant past to better understand current warming
Climate Change
How Much Worse Will Thawing Arctic Permafrost Make Climate Change?
Global warming is setting free carbon from life buried long ago in the Arctic’s frozen soils, but its impact on the climate crisis is unclear
Evolution
Life inside the Extinction
These are startling times, but there’s a way out
The Crazy Scale of Human Carbon Emission
Want some perspective on how much carbon dioxide human activity produces? Here it is
Environment
Will Mines, Tunnels and Drilling Scar Earth Permanently?
Human activity has left permanent marks on the planet
