Political Strife Caused By Climate Change Doomed the Mayans
Archaeologists argue that drought caused by climate variation played a major role in the decline and fall of Mayan civilization.
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Warmer Still: Extreme Climate Predictions Appear Most Accurate
Climate scientists agree the Earth will be hotter by the end of the century, but their simulations don’t agree on how much. Now a new study suggests the gloomier predictions may be closer to the mark. “Warming is likely to be on the high side of the projections,” said John Fasullo of the National Center…
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Chinese Survey Reveals Widespread Coastal Pollution
Massive declines in coral reefs, mangrove swamps and wetlands.
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Lack of Science Capacity Threatens Africa’s Development
The “remarkable recent economic growth” in many African countries may be able to sustain science through domestic funding (rather than through external sources) — but a lack of scientists and research capacity is threatening to reel back that economic growth, a meeting has heard. The gross domestic product (GDP) of many African countries has been…
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Storms, Floods, and Droughts
The source of the rain that filled your town reservoir, or flooded your nearby river, or never arrived to water your crops, is most likely the ocean. The ocean contains 96% of the free water on Earth, and it acts like a massive water pump. It is powered by heat evaporating water into water vapor….
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The First All-Carbon Solar Cell
Stanford University scientists have built the first solar cell made entirely of carbon, a promising alternative to the expensive materials used in photovoltaic devices today. “Carbon has the potential to deliver high performance at a low cost,” said Zhenan Bao, senior author of the study, which was published online in the journal ACS Nano. “To the best of our…
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Bill McKibben Does the Sandy Math
As a writer and activist Bill McKibben has devoted his life to tackling the threat posed by man-made climate change. As Hurricane Sandy brought normal life on the East Coast to a standstill, McKibben’s Twitter feed went into overdrive — a veritable deluge of storm updates and political commentary. He just took some time out of a very busy day…
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Climate and Cost Concerns Mount in Wake of “Frankenstorm”
The mammoth storm that caused severe flooding, damage and fatalities to the eastern U.S. will raise pressure on Congress and the next president to address the impacts of climate change as the price tag for extreme weather disasters escalates. Hurricane Sandy devastated the east coast of the United States, claiming dozens of lives so far,…
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Climate Crimes Against Humanity?
PBS recently aired Frontline’s “Climate of Doubt,” documenting the success of the denialists in reversing U.S. political opinion on climate science. While journalists and academics have been covering this story, this was the first comprehensive television documentary about the groups and political forces driving the climate change denial effort. Scientists’ physical predictions are often accompanied…
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What’s a Lake Doing in the Middle of the Desert?
One place you don’t expect to see waves lapping against the shore is in the middle of a desert. But that’s exactly what’s happening deep inside the United Arab Emirates, where a recently formed lake is nestled into the sand dunes, and a new ecosystem is emerging. Dave Clark, a hydrologist with the U.S. Geological…