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  • ‘Lost’ caribou herd was behind the couch the whole time

    The Beverly herd of caribou, 276,000 strong, had apparently vanished off the face of the planet last time scientists surveyed the tundra. Turns out, they just moved. There aren't quite as many of them as there were, but the herd is safe and sound a bit further north and closer to the coast. And now […]

  • Critical List: Turkeys to be pardoned; Bill O’Reilly can totally get solar if he wants it

    President Obama will pardon two 19-week, 45-pound turkeys from Minnesota today. Their names are Liberty and Peace. It is possible to have Thanksgiving without turkey or turkey-shaped soy loaf. Here are a few ideas for what to serve instead. We're sacrificing holiday time to commercialism for no reason. Longer Black Friday sales don't increase stores’ […]

  • New batch of Climategate emails even lamer than the first

    The hackers who originally leaked the so-called "Climategate" emails (perhaps more accurately called the "Big Fuss Over Nothing" emails) have released a new batch of stolen communication from the University of East Anglia's Climatic Research Unit. Now that those involved in "Climategate" have been cleared of all suspicion by multiple independent investigations, climate scientists are […]

  • We’re on track to kill the planet faster than the worst extinction in history

    Earth has had many mass extinctions, but about 250 million years ago something really, really bad happened. In an event known to paleontologists as "the Great Dying," life itself was nearly extinguished by massive releases of greenhouse gases. And by “massive releases” we mean “releases slower than what we’ve got going on today.” Scientists at […]

  • Critical List: U.S. winning solar trade fight; the rise of agroforestry

    The U.S. is winning the trade spat with China over solar manufacturing. Agroforestry — growing crops under a tree canopy instead of on clear-cut land — is growing in popularity. Hydrofracking gone wrong looks "like 1,000 Alka-Seltzers going off" as gas bubbles through puddles, according to a whistleblower. China's Durban strategy includes a drive for […]

  • The art of talking climate science

    By tweaking their language, scientists can communicate better with the public on climate change.Cross-posted from Sightline Daily. This is part five in the series “Talking Weather and Climate.” Read parts one, two, three, and four. Let’s face it: Few of us speak in perfect, clear, stirring, and memorable soundbites. But scientists are particularly apt to […]

  • Climate change pantry raid: Oysters

    Here's the current list of delicious foods that climate change is going to take away: pecan pie, chocolate, coffee, wine, bacon, peanut butter. Now, a new addition: oysters. This list does sound like the grocery list of a 1 percenter who shops only at a Dean & Deluca in Park Slope. (Wine-filled, coffee-flavored, bacon-flecked chocolate […]

  • Critical List: Ozone fix is warming planet; weighing Thanksgiving’s environmental impact

    To fix the ozone, manufacturers of fridges and other products replaced ozone-busting CFCs and HCFCs with HFCs. But now the U.N. is warning that HFCs do a number on the climate. In other words, the solution to the ozone problem could be creating a climate change problem. Oh, and no one thinks that the world […]

  • Why are we eating bluefin tuna to extinction?

    Photo: Tom PuchnerCross-posted from Gilt Taste. If you eat fish regularly, you’ve probably grown used to regularly being told by conservation groups — or that slightly irritating, politically correct friend — that certain fish shouldn’t be eaten: American Striped bass, Atlantic swordfish, Chilean sea bass, and Caspian sturgeon have all been the focus of vocal […]

  • 5 takeaways from the IPCC report on extreme weather and climate change

    Flooding in Pakistan.Photo: N BCross-posted from World Resources Institute. The world must brace for more extreme weather. That is the clear message from a new report that finds climate change is likely to bring more record-breaking temperatures, heat waves, and heavy downpours. The much-anticipated Special Report on Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters […]