Latest science news in Earth & Climate
Inquiry into stolen climate e-mails
Details of a university inquiry into e-mails stolen from one of the UK's leading climate research units are likely to be made public.
China vows to cut greenhouse gas emissions 40% by 2020
The promise, along with a target announced by Obama the day before, raises expectations for the Copenhagen climate summit next month. ...
Hacked emails denying climate change are skewed: scientists
Climate change scientists are on the defensive after hackers broke into a server of a British climate research centre over the weekend and posted hundreds of private emails that appear...
International expedition investigates climate change, alternative fuels in Arctic
Biogeochemistry and geology and geophysics scientists have returned from Arctic expedition exploring methane hydrate deposits in the Beaufort Sea and spatial variation of sediment contribution to Arctic climate change.
Ukraine's `hot air' bedevils global climate deal
Vladimir Gapor is a plumber by trade, but now he's a scavenger, prying bits of scrap steel from the ruins of his old factory and selling them for a pittance.
Australia issues 'catastrophic' alerts as fires rage
Australia has issued "catastrophic" alerts after record-breaking temperatures and wild lightning storms sparked more than 100 fires across the country, officials said Saturday.
'Carbon tax' is sensible, and perhaps inevitable, advocate says
Dieter Helm of Oxford says climate change policy should focus not on carbon production, but carbon consumption. A tax on carbon-heavy activities places the emphasis where it belongs, he says. With the global...
Voracious Invader May Be Nearing Lake Michigan
Evidence of Asian carp, a fish that some fear could destroy the ecosystem of Lake Michigan, has been found beyond a barrier intended to keep the fish out.
Lava Cave Minerals Actually Microbe Poop
Blue-green ooze in Hawaii and crunchy golden crusts in New Mexico are among newfound mats of microbial waste that could offer clues in the search for extraterrestrial life, scientists say.
New method to measure snow, vegetation moisture with GPS may benefit farmers, meteorologists
A research team led by the University of Colorado at Boulder has found a clever way to use traditional GPS satellite signals to measure snow depth as well as soil...
Dutch build more dunes against rising seas
On the beach at Monster, bulldozers painstakingly turn sand dredged from the bottom of the North Sea bed into dunes in an ambitious effort to safeguard the Netherlands from flooding.
Cigarette butts toxic to fish, say researchers
U.S. researchers say cigarette butts are toxic to fish and should be labeled as toxic hazardous waste.
Microwave Meter Measures Moisture and Density of In-Shell Peanuts
(PhysOrg.com) -- A microwave meter that instantaneously measures both moisture and density of in-shell peanuts has been developed by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists, making it easier and faster for...
Biodiversity loss is Earth's 'immense and hidden' tragedy, Darwin's 'natural heir' warns
Problem of biodiversity loss has been 'eased off centre stage' by focus on climate change, according to Prof Edward Wilson, the ecologist described as 'Darwin's natural heir'The diversity of life on Earth is...
Flax and yellow flowers can produce bioethanol
Surplus biomass from the production of flax shives, and generated from Brassica carinata, a yellow-flowered plant related to those which engulf fields in spring, can be used to produce bioethanol....
Delft breakthrough in bioethanol production from agricultural waste
With the introduction of a single bacterial gene into yeast, researchers from Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands achieved three improvements in bioethanol production from agricultural waste material: 'More...
Sand dams voted best solution in water crisis debate
Technique developed by the Chinese centuries ago has potential to give up to 3 million people access to clean water in the drylands of Africa, winner saysA 400-year-old water-saving technique that could save...
Military experiment seeks to predict PTSD
(AP) -- Two days before shipping off to war, Marine Pfc. Jesse Sheets sat inside a trailer in the Mojave Desert, his gaze fixed on a computer that flashed...
Biologists save fish after landslide
NILE, Wash. (AP) -- A gigantic landslide that buried a highway, uprooted homes and rerouted a river in Washington state's Cascade Range left hundreds of smaller...
Rethinking The Antibody-dependent Enhancement Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever Model
New research challenges the dogma of the antibody-dependent enhancement model for the development of dengue hemorrhagic fever.
Smog clouds Montrealers' commute
Montrealers made their way to work Thursday amid smog for the third day in a week.
Rich ore deposits linked to ancient atmosphere
Much of our planet's mineral wealth was deposited billions of years ago when Earth's chemical cycles were different from today's. Using geochemical clues from rocks nearly 3 billion years old,...
WHOI'S Bruce A. Warren Is Awarded Sverdrup Gold Medal
Bruce A. Warren-- one of the world's pre-eminent researchers of deep ocean currents and scientist emeritus at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI)--is the 2010 winner of the prestigious Sverdrup...
Microorganism may provide key to combating giant salvinia throughout Louisiana
A team of researchers at Louisiana Tech University has found that a naturally occurring microorganism acts as a natural herbicide against giant salvinia.
ORNL, Los Alamos pioneer new approach to assist scientists, farmers
Sustainable farming, initially adopted to preserve soil quality for future generations, may also play a role in maintaining a healthy climate, according to researchers at the Department of Energy's Oak...
Climate not really what doomed large mammals
Prevalence of a dung fungus over time suggests megafauna extinctions at end of last ice age started before climate warming
FAA glitch causes widespread US air travel delays
(AP) -- Air travelers nationwide scrambled to revise their plans Thursday after an FAA computer glitch caused widespread cancellations and delays for the second time in 15 months.
The greener car park alternatives to America's asphalt jungle
With car parks accounting for up to 10% of land in US cities, measures to make them more environmentally friendly are urgentIn the 40 years since Joni Mitchell sang about paving paradise, putting...