Latest science news in Earth & Climate
Smaller Colorado River flows predicted
NEW YORK, Dec. 24 (UPI) -- A projected drop in the Colorado River's flow could disrupt longtime water-sharing agreements between farms and cities in the U.S. Southwest, researchers say.
Genetically engineered salmon moves closer to FDA approval
The fish, modified to grow extra fast, wouldn't be dangerous for the environment or consumers, says a draft report from the agency. Critics find fault with the announcement's timing, for...
South Korea’s president-elect promises science boost
Park Geun-hye vows to raise investment in basic research and to accelerate Moon-lander plans.Nature News doi: 10.1038/nature.2012.12114
Tatu-bola, 2014 World Cup mascot, could vanish soon
The three-banded armadillo, a threatened species chosen as the official mascot for the 2014 World Cup, could disappear entirely within decades, a Brazilian NGO has warned.
China to open world's longest high-speed rail line
BEIJING/ZHENGZHOU, China (Reuters) - China will open the world's longest high-speed rail line next week when a link between Beijing and the southern metropolis of Guangzhou is inaugurated, officials said...
Intrepid Museum, Home of Shuttle Enterprise, Reopens after Hurricane Sandy Closure
Manhattan's Intrepid Museum reopened for the first time after Hurricane Sandy damage was repaired.
Federal government lists 2 ice seals as threatened
Two types of ice seals joined polar bears Friday on the list of species threatened by the loss of sea ice, which scientists say reached record low levels this year...
Antarctic ice cores a window to the past
WELLINGTON, New Zealand, Dec. 21 (UPI) -- Scientist say they've managed to obtain a bedrock sample from Antarctica that could yield information on the climate of the frozen continent...
Study: Hawaiian island slowly dissolving
PROVO, Utah, Dec. 21 (UPI) -- The mountains on Oahu in the Hawaiian Islands are dissolving from within under the slow but inexorable onslaught of groundwater, researchers say.
Green Blog: A Progress Report on Fracking and Water Safety
The E.P.A. releases nearly 200 pages of information on its research but draw no conclusions on whether the gas drilling method threatens water supplies.
Hurricane Sandy Moved Barrier Islands
Hurricane Sandy's powerful storm surge shifted NY's Fire Island toward shore.
U.S. Reopens Waters Off New England for Fishing
Regulators on Thursday voted to reopen about 5,000 square miles of protected waters off the coast of New England to new applications from commercial fishing interests.
A Reminder of What Midwest Winters Are About
Snow, absent for so long in much of the Midwest that people seemed to have forgotten all about it, returned with a fury on Thursday.
Seafloor collapse threatens tsunami
BRISBANE, Australia, Dec. 21 (UPI) -- An area of the seafloor near Australia's Great Barrier Reef is in the early stages of collapse and could trigger a tsunami, scientists...
In the News
Worried about Underwater Creatures, Scientists Want to Hush the Noisy Oceans “[O]ceans have actually become very loud due to man-made noise from oil rigs, sonar and ship propellers. And...
Hurricanes ‘can benefit coastal wetlands’
Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, Gustav and Ike carried sediments to the shores of the Gulf of Mexico that will benefit their composition and density, says a study
Ups and downs of biodiversity after mass extinction
The climate after the largest mass extinction so far 252 million years ago was cool, later very warm and then cool again. Thanks to the cooler temperatures, the diversity of...
Science, the public and the history of science | Rebekah Higgitt
What made historians and philosophers of science get all of a flutter on Twitter yesterday?Some Twitter-types may have noticed that the New Statesman editorial by Brian Cox and Robin Ince on science, evidence...
Woods Hole Research Center Senior Scientist Irving Foster Brown awarded Chico Mendes Forest Citizenry Prize
On December 15, 2012, Tiao Viana, the governor of the State of Acre, Brazil, awarded the National/International Chico Mendes Forest Citizenry Prize to Dr. Irving Foster Brown, a Senior Scientist...
Weather model gives four-month dengue outbreak warning
Deadly dengue outbreaks could be forecast up to eight times earlier than is currently the case, claim scientists in Singapore.
Video: Scientist: End-of-world predictions distract from climate change
Michio Kaku, physics professor at the City University of New York and a best-selling author, talks to Charlie Rose and Norah O'Donnell about the apocalyptic predictions surrounding the Mayan calendar...
AUDIO: GM sprouts 'could blow away flatulence'
The Today programmes science correspondent Tom Feilden reports that it could be that by solving the flatulence associated with the Brussels sprout - researchers could blow away the clouds of...
2012 in infographics: how Graphic News saw the world
The satellite that would catch stardust, China's new aircraft carrier and a canoe made using origamiSimon Rogers
Huge expansion of U.S. protection for N. Calif. waters proposed
The proposal by federal officials would more than double the size of the national marine sanctuaries that bar offshore oil drilling, seabed mining and ocean dumping. Federal officials Thursday proposed...
Satellite Data Helps Map Invasive Reeds in Great Lakes
Phragmites australis is an invasive species also known as common reed. It grows fast and high and poses an extreme threat to the Great Lakes' coastal wetlands. Now scientists have...
Green Blog: Fewer Americans Say Their Actions Can Slow Climate Change
Doubt is also growing that even widespread concerted action can make a difference when it comes to climate change, a survey shows.
Hollies Get Prickly for a Reason
When animals browse, holly trees make more spiny leaves, an example of epigenetic adaption to environmental pressure.
Trio of complex antarctic science projects reach significant technological milestones 'on the ice'
A trio of very large-scale, National Science Foundation-funded Antarctic science projects—investigating scientifically significant subjects as varied as life in extreme ecosystems, the fate of one of the world's largest ice...