Latest science news in Earth & Climate
Making Good Time: Doomsday Clock Moves 1 Minute Back to 6 from Midnight
The human race can breathe a tiny bit easier (but not too much) now that the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists has moved the hand of...
Climate conditions in 2050 crucial to avoid harmful impacts in 2100
While governments around the world continue to explore strategies for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, a new study suggests policymakers should focus on what needs to be achieved in the next...
Scripps Research team wins global race to achieve landmark synthesis of perplexing natural product
LA JOLLA, CA -- January 12, 2010 -- In 1993 researchers discovered a chemical compound in a sponge off Palau, an island nation in the Pacific Ocean, that has shown...
Chile plans deepwater salmon farm to reverse poor yields
SANTIAGO, Chile, Jan. 12 (UPI) -- Chile will launch its first deepwater salmon farming project with a Norwegian loan to try and reverse the low yields on salmon amid...
Giant Salamanders Helped to Spawn
A new program in Japan is helping giant salamanders get past dams built to control flooding so the rare amphibians can lay their eggs upstream.
The Efficacy of Bacteria
(PhysOrg.com) -- Marching to their own drummer. That's what bacteria from different environments do when turning toxic, mobile selenium into a less dangerous, non-mobile form, according to a study led...
Migratory birds bear brunt of climate-charged weather
(PhysOrg.com) -- As global climate change fuels more frequent and intense hurricanes and droughts, migratory birds, especially those whose populations are already in decline, will bear the brunt of such...
Biologists merge methods, results from different disciplines to find new meaning in old data
A growing number of scientists are merging methods and results from different disciplines to extract new meaning from old data, say researchers. As science becomes increasingly focused on new data,...
Butterflies reeling from impacts of climate and development
California butterflies are reeling from a one-two punch of climate change and land development, says an unprecedented analysis. The new analysis gives insights on how a major and much-studied group...
Protection status for Lundy sea
The sea around Lundy Island becomes the first marine site in England to be protected by new government powers.
Con Mine geothermal plan nets federal funding
Yellowknife's plan to harness geothermal heat from a defunct gold mine is in line for at least $10 million from Ottawa.
Video: Climate Summit Junket?
U.S. Congress members wracked up a sizeable bill at the Copenhagen Climate Summit. Sharyl Attkisson reports that U.S. tax dollars may have been put to better use.
Arctic tern's epic journey mapped
The Arctic tern's extraordinary pole-to-pole 70,000km migration is detailed by Danish and UK scientists.
Hydrothermal vent environments not unchanging
Once-rare organisms can become dominant, probably as some environmental conditions change over time
The secrets of the Sahara revealed
"When I first arrived in the Sahara, I was struck by how utterly barren it was, like the color green was removed from the palette when they made this place,...
Not All Ski Slopes Are Environmentally Equal, Study Concludes
Research finds that cleared ski runs, where trees are cut down to open paths, cause less damage to the ecosystem than graded ski runs, which are bulldozed.
Scientists Ask Farm Bureau to Recognize Climate Change
Climate specialist Jeff Gaffney explains Union of Concern Scientists' call for dialogue with American Farm Bureau, which recently said there is no generally agreed scientific assesment on the impact of...
Microsoft To Allow Windows, Office Rental
Worldwide Policy Change Follows Months of Deliberations, Experimentation
Taking Japan to court over whaling is risky, says international legal expert
(PhysOrg.com) -- An international legal expert says Australia has some very difficult decisions about how best to approach the increasingly tense situation arising from Japanese whaling in the Southern Ocean.
Oceans losing ability to absorb greenhouse gas
(PhysOrg.com) -- Like a dirty filter, the Earth's oceans are growing less efficient at absorbing vast amounts of carbon dioxide, the major greenhouse gas produced by fossil-fuel burning, reports a...
Tunisia launches first nanotech project
Tunisia is the latest North African country to launch a nanotechnology project – monitoring the water of the Medjerda River.
Croatia's Mesic slated for South Stream?
ZAGREB, Croatia, Jan. 11 (UPI) -- The outgoing president of Croatia could join the consortium managing a section of the South Stream gas pipeline should the country join the...
Turkmen gas flowing to Russia
ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan, Jan. 11 (UPI) -- Turkmenistan restarted natural gas shipments to Russia during the weekend amid speculation Ashgabat was making strong moves away from Moscow, Gazprom said.
Economists: Appliance rebates waste government money
NEWARK, DEL -- Taxpayers will lose a significant portion of the $300 Million they are shelling out for the federal government's appliance rebate program and the energy-saving program could...
Florida utilities brace for record cold
JUNO BEACH, Fla., Jan. 11 (UPI) -- Florida Power & Light Co. said it is bracing for soaring demand during a brutal cold snap that brought record lows to...
Leading climate scientist challenges Mail on Sunday's use of his research
Mojib Latif denies his research supports theory that current cold weather undermines scientific consensus on global warmingA leading scientist has hit out at misleading newspaper reports that linked his research to claims that...
Total launches carbon capture facility
LACQ, France, Jan. 11 (UPI) -- French supermajor Total inaugurated a carbon capture facility in the south of France that could remove more than 120,000 tons of greenhouse gas...
Serbian route for South Stream unclear
BELGRADE, Serbia, Jan. 11 (UPI) -- The Serbian entry point for the South Stream natural gas pipeline from Russia depends on a final analysis of the potential route, Gazprom...