Here’s a dark secret about the earth’s changing climate that many scientists believe, but few seem eager to discuss: It’s too late to stop global warming. Greenhouse gasses pumped into the planet’s atmosphere will continue to grow even if the industrialized nations cut their emissions down to the bone. Furthermore, the severe measures that would…
How is the absence of discussion about global warming going to affect our ability to do something about it? Climate change and the federal government’s role in addressing it are conspicuously missing from the presidential campaign trail and the halls of Congress. A broad range of environmental groups and other experts have called on the…
As much as 44 billion tons of nitrogen and 850 billion tons of carbon stored in arctic permafrost, or frozen ground, could be released into the environment as the region begins to thaw over the next century as a result of a warmer planet, according to a new study led by the U.S. Geological Survey…
Researchers from China’s Fudan University have found major prehistoric human population expansions may have begun before the Neolithic period, which probably led to the introduction of agriculture. Major prehistoric human population expansions in three continents may have begun before the Neolithic period — around 15-11,000 years ago in Africa, from around 13,000 years ago in…
A University of British Columbia and Centre for Molecular Medicine and Therapeutics study has revealed that childhood poverty, stress as an adult, and demographics such as age, sex and ethnicity, all leave an imprint on a person’s genes. And, that this imprint could play a role in our immune response. The study was published in…
A nine-year study conducted in the Plum Island estuary indicates that sewage and fertilizers may be seriously damaging salt marshes. The study, published in the journal Nature, indicates salt marshes may be crumbling from the inside out, due to polluted waterways and runoff from people’s lawns. It’s a concern because the marshes are critical to…
The following is from a guest post to the Chronicle’s WorldWise blog, written by John D. Holm, the former director of the Office of International Education and Partnerships at the University of Botswana and director of international programs at Cleveland State University: International-development experts have expressed much concern about the brain drain of African scholars…
Jim Yong Kim, the new president of the World Bank, said that dealing with climate change will be one of his priorities. “Since becoming president of the World Bank, I have looked deeply into the data on climate change, and I have to say I was surprised that even in last 6 months to a…
Reducing the risk of extinction for threatened species and establishing protected areas for nature will cost the world over $76 billion annually. Researchers say it is needed to meet globally agreed conservation targets by 2020. The scientists say the daunting number is just a fifth of what the world spends on soft drinks annually. And…
The world’s largest reinsurer has examined the recent rise in the number and severity of natural disasters worldwide, and finds the trend bears the unmistakable fingerprints of climate change. What’s more, America is bearing the brunt of that change. The drumbeat of a warming climate, worsening weather, and the resulting human toll continues, and keeps…