Climate Change
Reducing greenhouse emissions through contraception
Population Matters is a British nonprofit dedicated to improvements in family planning, sex education, and girls’ and women’s’ rights worldwide. [Read more…] about Reducing greenhouse emissions through contraception
The hazards of dust
[audio:http://wamcradio.org/EarthWise/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/EW-01-28-13-Toxic-Dust.mp3|titles=EW 01-28-13 Toxic Dust]
It’s well known that dust is a human health hazard. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regulates the emissions of particulate matter, which is essentially dust, from construction sites, power plants, dirt roads, automobile tailpipes and industry. [Read more…] about The hazards of dust
Loss of Arctic ice claims two more victims
Polar bears were the first animals to gain Endangered Species Act protection as a result of climate change. At a press conference announcing their listing some five years ago, then Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne acknowledged that warming was shrinking the sea ice essential to the bear’s survival. [Read more…] about Loss of Arctic ice claims two more victims
Climate change and the Big Apple
A few months ago, Superstorm Sandy tore through the New York Metropolitan region, causing significant damage to homes, businesses, and municipal infrastructure. Hard hit areas, like the Jersey Shore and Staten Island, are still recovering. [Read more…] about Climate change and the Big Apple
Penguins on thin ice
Anyone who’s watched the documentary “March of the Penguins” knows that emperor penguins have evolved to live and breed under remarkably harsh conditions. [Read more…] about Penguins on thin ice
A world without insects?
The revered biologist E.O. Wilson said, “If all mankind were to disappear, the world would regenerate back to the rich state of equilibrium that existed ten thousand years ago. If insects were to vanish, the environment would collapse into chaos.” [Read more…] about A world without insects?
How fast will the waters rise?
Everyone agrees that if the ice-caps on Greenland and Antarctica melt, the seas will rise. What is difficult is to estimate how fast this may happen, with the ongoing rise in global temperature. Recent measurements of sea-level rise hover about 3.5 mm/year—or about a foot and a half by the end of the century. The highest estimates puts the rate of rise at about twice that fast. [Read more…] about How fast will the waters rise?
Tough times for the Arctic
Arctic permafrost is warming, the Greenland Ice Sheet is melting, and the Arctic fox is facing extinction. So reports the 2012 Arctic Report Card—recently unveiled by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. [Read more…] about Tough times for the Arctic
Kicking the can down the road
Fifteen years ago, the first international agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions was adopted. The Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change recognized the threat elevated greenhouse gases posed. And it presented a framework for stabilizing emissions. [Read more…] about Kicking the can down the road
Underestimating climate risks
Climate scientists are often portrayed as alarmists by deniers, with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, or the IPCC, derided by naysayers. But a new review in the journal Global Environmental Change highlights a reality that most scientists already know: over the past 20 years the IPCC has underestimated climate change impacts. [Read more…] about Underestimating climate risks
Why should we care about one endangered fish?
The humpback chub is a rather homely fish that lives only in the Colorado River. It is federally listed as protected under the Endangered Species Act. [Read more…] about Why should we care about one endangered fish?
Thawing permafrost. What does that mean?
Permafrost is defined as soil, sediment, or rock – including ice and organic material – that’s remained frozen for at least two straight years. Permafrost covers a large area of land in the Northern Hemisphere. The problem? It’s thawing. [Read more…] about Thawing permafrost. What does that mean?
Bad news for maple syrup and moose
[audio:http://wamcradio.org/EarthWise/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/EW-12-14-12-Maple-Moose.mp3|titles=EW 12-14-12 Maple & Moose]
Following an exhaustive review of more than fifty years of long term data on environmental conditions at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, the results are clear: spring is advancing and fall is retreating. [Read more…] about Bad news for maple syrup and moose
Protecting the monarch butterfly migration
We’ve all heard about the great monarch migration. Millions of butterflies fly to Mexico or Southern California every fall, some traveling as far as 3000 miles to escape the winter cold, and millions fly back every spring. But what is not as well known is that no butterfly makes the complete round trip. [Read more…] about Protecting the monarch butterfly migration
Cap & trade
[audio:http://wamcradio.org/EarthWise/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/EW-12-12-12-Cap-Trade.mp3|titles=EW 12-12-12 Cap & Trade]
Environmental scientists have high hopes that the newly elected Congress will tackle rising concentrations of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere, and the global warming that it will bring. [Read more…] about Cap & trade
Clouding our ability to forecast severe weather
Hurricane Sandy battered the New York metropolitan region. Floods, blackouts, fires, and gas shortages left many feeling vulnerable. A number of areas are still recovering, and damages are expected to top $50 billion. [Read more…] about Clouding our ability to forecast severe weather
Climate change and the American mind
More Americans believe global warming is real, the number of climate deniers is shrinking, and the majority of Americans believe that climate change is causing extreme weather. So reports a new opinion poll conducted by Yale and George Mason University. It is the seventh poll in an ongoing series initiated to track evolving public attitudes toward climate change. [Read more…] about Climate change and the American mind
A holiday tradition "for the birds"
The term “crowd-sourcing” may be new. But it’s exactly what the National Audubon Society has been doing for more than 100 years, with the Christmas Bird Count. In December, tens of thousands of people participate in this, the longest running citizen science initiative ever. Local groups set forth on a designated day and count every single bird they see or hear in a 15-mile-diameter circle. [Read more…] about A holiday tradition "for the birds"
The military as a climate change ally
