Climate Science

Giant mice are eating all the endangered baby birds

Considering all the threats facing endangered seabirds — extreme weather, pollution, oil spills — I would not guess that “giant mice” would really rate concern. But on Gough Island in the South Atlantic, 10-inch mice have been decimating Atlantic petrel populations by eating the birds’ young. This is especially bad news because Gough Island is […]

G8 summit might have actually done something about climate change

There’s a bit of news from the G8 summit that might have escaped notice: International leaders agreed to take collective action to decrease greenhouse-gas emissions. And pigs do fly. The agreement (which, unlike flying pigs, is real — we promise) could be “the biggest step in years in tackling climate change,” as The Telegraph’s Geoffrey […]

Peter Gleick did not forge Heartland documents

Before the Heartland Institute decided to alienate even right-wing denialists with their OTT billboard campaign, they were already in kind of hot water — some of their internal documents had come to light, and the light was not flattering. Climate scientist Peter Gleick admitted to obtaining the documents under false pretenses, which absolutely scandalized Heartland, […]

Breakthrough Institute gets it wrong on climate economics — again

The Breakthrough Institute is missing the point: Carbon pricing can't do the whole job alone, but that doesn't mean we should dismiss it outright.

Global warming makes syrup taste gross

We’ve known for a while that climate change will threaten supplies of our favorite foods, like wine and bourbon. (Oh, and bacon, coffee, chocolate, oysters, and pecan pie.) But the optimists among us took this news with good humor. “Oh sure, our favorite foods and intoxicants might be a little scarcer,” these imaginary chirpy little […]

Giant snake and giant turtle were besties

Researchers from the University of Florida announced they've found an eight-foot-long prehistoric turtle in the same Colombian mine where the one-ton "Titanoboa" snake was discovered.

Romney choosing climate skeptic as running mate

Virtually all high-level Republicans are dubious about the climate crisis, so what other options does Mitt Romney have?

This lazy harp seal is a drain on society

We’ve lost 30 to 70 percent of our wildlife since 1970

We love wildlife! We love watching it in high definition on our TV screens while David Attenborough says something droll to ease the trauma of looking at a whale penis. (SO FLEXIBLE.) But apparently we don’t love it so much that we’re dedicated to keeping it around. A new report [PDF] from the World Wildlife Fund […]

Puppy rescued after escaping hawk and falling from sky

"When God drops a puppy from the sky, you keep it."