Tuesday, June 7th, 2016
Washington, D.C.—Over 200 cities have set greenhouse gas reduction goals or targets. Action in these cities, which represent a combined population of 439 million people, could propel countries to meet their Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs)—–the national greenhouse gas reduction pledges embodied in the Paris Agreement. According to Can a City Be Sustainable?, the latest
Thursday, June 2nd, 2016
NEW YORK, June 1, 2016—The Wrangel Island Federal Reserve, a remote island some 300 miles north of the Arctic Circle in Russia, was recently the site of an expedition to understand the impacts of climate change and polar bear predation on muskoxen—a Pleistocene relic that survived the woolly mammoths and woolly rhinos that once roamed
Wednesday, June 1st, 2016
MANHATTAN, KANSAS — Kansas State University researchers have found a three-year absence of fire is the tipping point for the tallgrass prairie ecosystem and advise an increase in burning. A collaborative study, recently publish in Elsevier’s journal,Rangeland Ecology and Management, suggests many land managers in the Flint Hills need to increase burning frequency to more
Thursday, May 26th, 2016
A new analysis of global data related to wildfire, published by the Royal Society, reveals major misconceptions about wildfire and its social and economic impacts. Prof. Stefan Doerr and Dr Cristina Santin from Swansea University’s College of Science carried out detailed analysis of global and regional data on fire occurrence, severity and its impacts on
Wednesday, May 18th, 2016
It is well known that the dog days of summer in St. Louis are hot, humid and hazy. On the warmest of these days, the air arrives from the south, bringing with it high temperatures, moisture and natural forest emissions of chemicals, known as hydrocarbons, from the Ozark Plateau. The hydrocarbons can interact with human-influenced
Tuesday, May 17th, 2016
Climate change creates more shrub vegetation in barren, arctic ecosystems. A study at Lund University in Sweden shows that organisms, such as bacteria and fungi, are triggered to break down particularly nutritious dead parts of shrubbery. Meanwhile, the total amount of decomposition is reducing. This could have an inhibiting effect on global warming. A large
Friday, May 13th, 2016
Satellite readings show that atmospheric methane and carbon dioxide are continuing to increase despite global efforts to reduce emissions. Methane concentrations were somewhat constant until 2007, but since then have increased at about 0.3% per year, whereas global carbon dioxide levels continue to rise at about 0.5% per year. The results, presented this week at
Thursday, May 12th, 2016
MISSOULA—Climate change is melting glaciers, reducing sea-ice cover and increasing wildlife activity – with some of the most dramatic impacts occurring in the northern high latitudes. New research by University of Montana affiliate scientist Adam Young and UM fire ecology Associate Professor Philip Higuera projects an increased probability of fires occurring in Alaskan boreal forest
Thursday, May 12th, 2016
GAINESVILLE, Fla.—New research from University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences researchers shows birds may be avoiding habitats near noisy highways because they can’t hear fellow birds’ alarms that warn them of attacking hawks or owls. Some highways cut through or run along natural areas, and researchers know that wild birds often make
Tuesday, May 10th, 2016
Washington, D.C.—Today, nearly 3.9 billion people–half of the world’s population–live in urban areas. By 2050 that number is expected to nearly double. According to Can a City Be Sustainable? (State of the World), the latest edition of the annual series from the Worldwatch Institute, there is no question cities will continue to grow; the only
