Copenhagen Aims for Climate Neutrality By 2025
By investing in bike paths and energy-efficient buildings, the capital of Denmark aims to produce no more CO2 than it consumes by 2025
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Spy Telescopes Could Advance U.S. Dark Energy Mission
The two telescopes were designed to gaze down upon Earth from space to collect intelligence. Now, NASA hopes to repurpose the instruments to study dark energy, extrasolar planets, and a host of other questions in astronomy. The telescopes were originally supposed to be deployed by the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), which manages the nation’s spy…
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EPA Seeks to Ease Rules on Muddy Runoff From Logging Roads
The Obama administration wants to change the rules applying to stormwater running off logging roads, blunting a landmark court ruling that found the muddy water running into salmon streams and reservoirs should be regulated like industrial pollution. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) filed notice in the Federal Register proposing to revise stormwater regulations to…
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Zoos’ Bitter Choice: To Save Some Species, Letting Others Die
As the number of species at risk of extinction soars, zoos are increasingly being called upon to rescue and sustain animals, and not just for marquee breeds like pandas and rhinos but also for all manner of mammals, frogs, birds and insects whose populations are suddenly crashing. To conserve animals effectively, however, zoo officials have…
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Climate Pact Process Stumbles as Countries Bicker
Less than six months after the world agreed to craft a new climate pact by 2015, negotiations stumbled at a crucial preparatory phase as rich and poor countries butted heads. The concluding session of an already troubled 11-day haggle in Bonn ran into delays as countries clashed over who will chair the long negotiations, which…
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Private Space Travel: A New Era Begins?
Some NASA supporters are mourning what they see as the decline of U.S. leadership in space. But they should really be celebrating the dawn of a new era. After all, we’ve been stuck in low Earth orbit for several decades now, at considerable cost. Visionary plans for genuine space exploration have gathered dust at NASA,…
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The Biochemistry of Love and Empathy
In his latest book The Moral Molecule, neuroeconomist Paul Zak describes oxytocin’s role in trust, bonding and even virtuous behavior. New Scientist caught up with him about avoiding the term “the cuddle chemical” and trying not to make a bride faint on her wedding day.
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NASA Budget Cuts Draw Threat of Presidential Veto
A 2013 spending bill that would fund NASA’s commercial crew program below the level President Barack Obama requested drew a veto threat as the U.S. House of Representatives was preparing to begin debate on the proposal. The $51 billion Commerce, Justice, Science Appropriations Act for 2013 (H.R. 5326) that the Republican-led House began debating on…
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U.S. National Ocean Policy: No Success Without Science?
Coaxing U.S. federal agencies to work together is no small feat. But an emerging National Ocean Policy (NOP) is attempting to do just that. The Obama Administration’s proposed NOP will help federal agencies better organize marine research efforts and inject data into policy decisions—and potentially prevent conflicts between ocean users and save money, U.S. officials…
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Is Global Warming Driven By Economic Growth?
To slow climate change the world will either have to put the brakes on economic growth or change the way the world’s economies work, scientists say. A study by University of Michigan researchers assessed the effects of several factors on year-to-year changes in atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide. Researchers looked at two natural phenomena believed…