Latest science news in Earth & Climate
Pork products recalled in Hawaii
WASHINGTON, Aug. 11 (UPI) -- The U.S. Food Safety and Inspection Service announced the recall of approximately 4,535 pounds of pork products in Hawaii because they might be...
New Approach To Ad Hoc Networks For First Responders Debuts
Researchers successfully demonstrated a prototype approach to maintain two-way communications with first responders as they make their way in building fires, and mine and tunnel collapses.
Meta-materials Mimic Ice And Illuminate Why Water-ice Doesn't Fully Conform To Third Law Of Thermodynamics
Researchers are using meta-materials, which mimic the behavior of ice, but are created out of completely different substances, to and figure out why water ice doesn't completely conform to the...
NOAA Forecasts Even Stronger Atlantic Hurricane Season For 2008 Than Earlier Prediction
In the August update to the Atlantic hurricane season outlook, NOAA's Climate Prediction Center has increased the likelihood of an above-normal hurricane season and has raised the total number of...
Study: China's hail storms are decreasing
BEIJING, Aug. 7 (UPI) -- U.S. and Chinese researchers say they've determined climate change might be responsible for a decrease in hail falling across China.
Acid Rain Reduces Methane Emissions From Rice Paddies
Acid rain from atmospheric pollution can reduce methane emissions from rice paddies by up to 24 per cent according to new research. This is potentially a beneficial side effect of...
Drivers Of Tropical Deforestation Are Changing, Say Scientists
A shift from poverty-driven to industry-driven deforestation threatens the world's tropical forests but offers new opportunities for conservation, according to a new article.
New Arctic map depicts disputed areas
DURHAM, England, Aug. 7 (UPI) -- British scientists say they've created the first Arctic map depicting disputed areas nations might claim in the race to develop new sources...
Fuel from Cellulose
Independence from fossil fuel exporting nations, a reduction in the release of greenhouse gases, conservation of dwindling resources: there are any number of reasons to stop the use of fossil...
Blind students learn to surf in Southern California program
Two best friends want to live independently one day, so they push themselves to tackle new and sometimes scary experiences. ...
The Curious History of an Herbal Remedy
The herbal remedy foxglove joined the ranks of modern medicine, thanks to its eighteenth-century champion, Dr. William Withering. Would we be better off without it?
Aussie forests store more carbon
Scientists have found that some Australian forests hold three times more carbon than expected, which could cause problems if these forests are logged.
Growing Wheat In Acidic Soil
Many wheat farmers in the southern Great Plains states face a significant challenge: High levels of aluminum released in the acidic soils can stunt crop growth. So Agricultural Research Service...
Mark Lynas: Why we must heed Bob Watson's climate change warning
Mark Lynas: Bob Watson rightly warns us to prepare for 4C global warming. To avoid that, we must make drastic CO2 cuts now
Cement from CO2: A Concrete Cure for Global Warming? [News]
The turbines at Moss Landing power plant on the California coast burn through natural gas to pump out more than 1,000 megawatts of electric power. The 700-degree Fahrenheit (370-degree Celsius)...
Mining companies, U.S. agency faulted in last year's Utah mine tragedy
The collapse of the Crandall Canyon mine one year ago was so extensive that federal officials found no other mining disaster in the last 50 years to compare to it.
Study questions Cascade snowpack concerns
SEATTLE, Aug. 7 (UPI) -- A study on snowpack in Washington's Cascade Mountains suggests there is little evidence of human-caused climate change on snow levels.
New storm model better predicts flooding
STONY BROOK, N.Y., Aug. 6 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists say a newly developed storm surge model should provide more accurate predictions of flooding in the New York metropolitan...
Will Grasslands Overtake U.S. Forests Due to Warming?
Dramatic climate change could shift the boundaries between ecosystems, such as in the central U.S., where prairie gives way to forest, a new study says.
'Land that never melts' is melting: Erosion probed in Nunavut park
Experts working with Parks Canada say flooding and erosion at Nunavut's Auyuittuq National Park are related to a flood that hit the nearby hamlet of Pangnirtung in June.
Aphids are sentinels of climate change
Aphids are emerging as sentinels of climate change, researchers at BBSRC-supported Rothamsted Research have shown. One of the UK's most damaging aphids - the peach-potato aphid (Myzus persicae) - has...
Award-winning Student Investigates Potential Antibiotic
Thompson Rivers University student Quinn Mason won a prestigious award for a presentation on his research in support of a larger project underway by his supervisor Dr. Cynthia Ross Friedman,...
Feature: Soil test for safer nuclear waste
Australian researchers are working with a French laboratory in order to improve the long-term stability of stored nuclear waste.
Opinion: Ocean acidification - cooler or not, reason to take CO2 seriously
Forget forecasts of global warmth, ocean pH levels are the thing to watch, believes Steven Watkinson.
Wildlife eats into farmers' profits
Research has found that Tasmania's browsing wildlife could severely damage agriculture pastures and eat into the profit margins of farmers.
The wilderness at risk from the latest dash for gas
Between two national parks lies a corridor rich in wildlife - but also in fossil fuels. Will protection follow now that the gas extraction drillers want to move in? Jim...
Dead Penguins Found Closer to Equator Than Ever Before
Hundreds of dead or dying Magellanic penguins have washed up on Brazil's beaches, with some experts citing global warming and pollution as possible causes.
ENVIRONMENT PHOTOS WEEKLY: Subs, Salmon, Storms, More
A typhoon crashes into a Chinese province; farmers slather sunblock on crops, and more in our new weekly roundup of nature news photos.