Lack of rain has left many rivers at low levels unseen for decades, and while this creates problems for river commerce, it also offers an occasional treasure trove of history. For example, a rock containing what is believed to be an ancient map has emerged in the Mississippi River in southeast Missouri, with etchings that may be 1,200 years old.
One of the big environmental stories of 2012 was the record melting of sea ice in the Arctic, which reached its smallest extent this summer since satellite data began being kept in the late 1970s. But it’s not the Arctic alone that’s reacting to manmade climate change by transforming into a large puddle. On the…
Nearly every coral reef could be dying by 2100 if current carbon dioxide emission trends continue, according to a new review of major climate models from around the world. The only way to maintain the current chemical environment in which reefs now live, the study suggests, would be to deeply cut emissions as soon as…
When you hear about climate change it’s most often about melting glaciers and sea ice, increasing frequency of heatwaves and powerful storms. Maybe, just maybe, you’ll hear about the acidification of the oceans too. What you don’t hear about is the saltiness of the seas. But that’s changing too, according to a new piece of…
A leaked draft of the UN’s most comprehensive study ever on climate change shows increasing evidence that links human activity to global warming. It is “extremely likely” mankind is responsible for more than half of the observed temperature rises since the 1950s, a United Nations agency said in a draft report. In the UN’s last…
The New York Times recently printed a story describing how the sewage systems of New York and New Jersey were badly damaged by Hurricane Sandy: Hundreds of millions of gallons of raw and partially treated sewage from crippled treatment plants have flowed into waterways in New York and New Jersey, exposing flaws in the region’s…
AP poll shows that events like superstorm Sandy are succeeding with climate sceptics where scientists have been failing
The death rate of many of the biggest and oldest trees around the world is increasing rapidly, scientists report in a new study published in the journal Science. They warned that research to understand and stem the loss of the trees is urgently needed. The research team found that big, old trees are dying at…
The planet must not be allowed to warm beyond 2 degrees Celsius, according to the official targets at the Climate Change Conference in Doha. But a new study shows the goal is far from realistic. Current human activity is set to increase the temperature by some 5 degrees, and the consequences will be dire, scientists…
Countries are working towards a new global agreement on climate change that would, unlike the Kyoto protocol, require cuts in greenhouse gas emissions from both developed and developing countries, to be signed in 2015 and come into force from 2020. At Doha, they cleared away some of the obstacles to the proposed new treaty, including…