Latest science news in Earth & Climate
Proposal To Merge NOAA And US Geological Survey To Form An Earth Systems Science Agency
In a new article in the journal Science, a group of former senior federal officials call for the establishment of an independent Earth Systems Science Agency to meet the unprecedented...
Volcanic Activity Shaped Mercury After All
Planetary geologists have determined that volcanism played a central role in forming Mercury's surface. The evidence of volcanic activity, published in Science, lends important insights into Mercury's geologic history.
A New Twist in Penguins’ Already Uncertain Future
P. Dee Boersma has been watching the penguins of Punta Tombo for almost 30 years and now sees a new threat to their survival: a changing climate.
R. C. Seamans Jr., NASA Figure, Dies at 89
Dr. Seamans was NASA’s nuts-and-bolts manager of the Apollo moon-landing program, later serving as the first administrator of the federal energy research agency.
Gophers Beware: Biology Team Builds a Better Trap
Better gopher trap helps University of Arkansas at Little Rock scientists study gopher behavior.
Chile pushes for high tech biofuel
Chile is offering US$6 million for projects joining the private-public sectors, to develop and commercialisehigh tech biofuel.
Lasers, Software And The Devil's Slide
Running for more than 1,000 kilometers along picturesque coastline, California's Highway 1 is easy prey for many of the natural hazards plaguing the region, including landslides.
Workers scramble to clear embarrassing algae sludge
China scrambled Thursday to clear tonnes of algae that is covering a third of the Olympic sailing course and causing huge embarrassment for authorities trying to promote a "Green Games."
VIDEO: Safer Snow
Snow machines at ski resort use a questionable protein/bacteria slush to encourage water to freeze. Newfound microbes may be better.
Mercury's Surface Dominated By Volcanism And Iron-deficiency
Multispectral data on the composition of rock untis of the surface of Mercury show a widespread role for volcanism and an apparent deficiency in iron in the rocks' minerals.
Acidifying Oceans Add Urgency To Carbon Dioxide Cuts
It's not just about climate change anymore. Besides loading the atmosphere with heat-trapping greenhouse gases, human emissions of carbon dioxide have also begun to alter the chemistry of the ocean....
Ontario woman gains East Coast accent following stroke
A case of foreign accent syndrome recently cropped up in southwestern Ontario, says a new report published by researchers at McMaster University.
Scientists Set Out To Measure How We Perceive Naturalness
Scientists at the National Physical Laboratory are working towards producing the world's first model that will predict how we perceive naturalness. The results could help make synthetic products so good...
Oil drilling may help biomedical research
WASHINGTON, July 3 (UPI) -- The U.S. Department of the Interior's Minerals Management Service says it has identified three marine organisms that may be useful in biomedical research.
New Pathway For Methane Production In The Oceans Discovered
A new pathway for methane production has been uncovered in the oceans, and this has a significant potential impact for the study of greenhouse gas production on our planet. The...
Extended cyclone relief efforts aided from space
Earth observation satellites have provided vital information to relief workers in Myanmar throughout a particularly long crisis response window following the devastating Cyclone Nargis that hit the country on 2...
Japan beefs up undersea quake monitoring system
Japan, one of the most tremor-prone countries in the world, started work Thursday to beef up its undersea earthquake monitoring system.
UN's climate change guru sees record oil price as a positive
The UN's top climate change official said Thursday that record oil prices, which have surged to 146 dollars a barrel, were positive for the environment.
New software helps tunnel excavators
BLACKSBURG, Va., July 3 (UPI) -- New U.S. technology is helping engineers safely excavate a roadway tunnel beneath a landslide-prone stretch of California's Highway 1.
8 dangerous volcanoes around the world
The eruption of the Chaiten volcano in southern Chile in May claimed at least one life and serves as a stark reminder that slumbering volcanoes pose grave dangers.
Health-care rally in Grand Falls-Windsor expected to draw thousands
A rally in Grand Falls-Windsor in central Newfoundland on Thursday afternoon in support of overworked doctors is expected to be attended by thousands protesting cutbacks in health-care services in that...
G-8 climate scorecard shows US in last
BERLIN (AP) -- The U.S. has done the least among the world's eight largest economies to address global warming, a study released Thursday found....
Africa moves to stop fish theft
African governments meet to stop illegal and unregulated fishing that costs the continent $1bn a year.
FutureGen re-launched amidst Congressional enquiry
US lawmakers probe DOE decisions on flagship clean coal programme
Stampede turns off lights to go green
The Calgary Stampede is introducing utensils and plates made from corn starch and turning off the midway lights during the day in an effort to reduce the environmental impact of...
Environment: Climate risk from flat-screen TVs
Nitrogen trifluoride in televisions could have more impact on global warming than coal-fired power stations
Tahmima Anam on climate change and 'perineal re-education'
Tahmima Anam: Climate change is happening. We, and the generations before us, have caused it. It should not matter whether we believe it or not
VIDEO: Lebanon Caves a New Wonder?
Lebanon has launched a campaign to get its renowned Jeita Grotto caves named as one of the world's "New Seven Wonders of Nature".