Latest science news in Earth & Climate
Coal demand set to continue rising
LONDON, Aug. 24 (UPI) -- Global coal demand and consumption is set to continue rising over the next two decades despite parallel moves to switch to green and renewable...
Earth's Plant Growth Fell Because of Climate Change, Study Finds
Drought linked to climate change has reversed a decades-long trend of increased global plant growth, according to a new analysis of NASA satellite data.
Stranded whales buried in New Zealand
Forty-nine pilot whales have been buried on a northern New Zealand beach following a two-day struggle by more than 200 rescuers to save them.
Extent of lingering Gulf oil plume revealed
Extensive chemical analysis confirms that undegraded oil remains at ocean depths.
Is the ice in the Arctic Ocean getting thinner and thinner?
The extent of the sea ice in the Arctic will reach its annual minimum in September. Forecasts indicate that it will not be as low as in 2007, the year...
Limiting ocean acidification under global change
Emissions of carbon dioxide are causing ocean acidification as well as global warming. Scientists have previously used computer simulations to quantify how curbing of carbon dioxide emissions would mitigate climate...
Study tracks ocean plastic spread
US researchers measure the amount of plastic accumulating in a region of the Atlantic Ocean over a 22-year period.
The Caregiver's Bookshelf: A 'Keeper'
Andrea Gillies's caregiving memoir arrives in the United States trailing awards and awed reviews.
Well's blowout preventer to be replaced before 'bottom kill'
BP and U.S. officials decide to move ahead with caution to prepare for complications.BP and government officials said Thursday that they planned to remove the damaged existing blowout preventer on...
The Science Of The Root Beer Float
A few days ago, while talking about mundane business issues, I learned that today, August 19th, was the birthday of that famous childhood delight, the 'black cow', what would later...
Atlantic Hurricane Season Set to Intensify
An expert on tropical storms sees trouble brewing in the Atlantic Ocean.
Geologists revisit the Great Oxygenation Event
In "The Sign of the Four" Sherlock Holmes tells Watson he has written a monograph on 140 forms of cigar-, cigarette-, and pipe-tobacco, "with colored plates illustrating the difference in...
Great Barrier Reef had predecessor
BRISBANE, Australia, Aug. 19 (UPI) -- Scientists studying Australia's Great Barrier Reef say they've discovered a less spectacular but more ancient fossilized reef just a half mile away. ...
Oil firm upbeat despite Falklands setback
STANLEY, Falkland Islands, Aug. 19 (UPI) -- Rockhopper Exploration remains upbeat about prospects for a commercially feasible hydrocarbons find in the Falkland Islands waters despite poor results from a...
Fidel Castro's Conspiracy Theories
The CIA is known to have tried to kill Castro many times, including with exploding cigars.
Geologists revisit Earth's Great Oxygenation Event: More like the 'Great Redox Evolution'
Recent work with geochemical proxies for oxygen levels suggests that oxygen levels continued to fluctuate long after the Great Oxygenation Event 2.7 billion years ago, and that the oceans were...
Listening to Earth breathe through 500 towers
It takes a global village to monitor and analyze trends in Earth's "breathing" -- or the exchange of carbon dioxide, water vapor and energy between vegetation on the ground and...
Earth's green carbon sink on the wane
Satellite data indicate that carbon storage by plants is decreasing despite climate warming.
5 Years After Katrina, Ruins—And a Natural Wonder—Remain
On Hurricane Katrina's fifth anniversary, many Gulf Coast buildings remain damaged, but an iconic natural wonder still stands strong. Video. ...
Study reveals UK upland waters are recovering from acid rain
(PhysOrg.com) -- Upland waters damaged by acid rain are beginning to recover according to UCL research published today.
Seabirds Spew Useful Contaminant Data
Persistent Pollutants: Stomach oils from northern fulmars provide an easy measure of organochlorines.
UT, ORNL Crunching Numbers to Make Sense of Climate Change
Buried in mountains of meteorological and hydrological data are likely clues that could help in predicting floods, hurricanes and other extreme weather events.
Oil Spill Panel Summons Witnesses
S. Elizabeth Birnbaum, who led the Minerals Management Service for a year before her abrupt resignation on May 27, will testify on her tenure at the troubled agency.
Ecologist Studies Air-Polluting Kudzu Vines
Jonathan Hickman uses his creative approach to science to study ecology.
The Case of the Missing Climate Pledge
Obama's pledge to invest in energy research seems to have vanished from White House Web sites.
BP role in release of Lockerbie bomber?
WASHINGTON, Aug. 19 (UPI) -- Questions remain about oil giant BP's possible role in the release of convicted Lockerbie bomber Abdel Basset al-Megrahi one year after his release. ...
BioVectra gets $14.8M provincial loan
BioVectra Inc. of Charlottetown has received a $14.8-million loan from the Prince Edward Island government to expand its manufacturing facility near the city's airport.
Rwanda harnesses energy from exploding lake
Beneath the beautiful surface of Lake Kivu lie huge reservoirs of methane and carbon dioxide that could power Rwanda for 100 years. But if released onto the surface, these gasses...