Climate Science

You know you want to knit a sweater for a penguin

Now is the time for all good knitters to come to the aid of some penguins. The New Zealand oil spill has left the little guys in need of some warmth and protection, and a Kiwi yarn store has posted patterns for how to knit "penguin jumpers" and instructions on where to send them. 

NYT asks where climate change went, ignores own failed coverage

The New York Times asks why climate change is fading from the U.S. agenda, without addressing the paper's own complicity in collapsing coverage.

Climate change is making plants and insects shrink

Here's a novel weight loss tip: Live on a planet whose global warming trend is so severe that you need to shrink in order to adapt. Oh, and it helps to be an insect, spider, plant, or marine creature. (Or a sheep. Evidently we already knew sheep were shrinking.) If you can manage that, you could be on your way to losing up to 22 percent of your body size, just from climate change!

What happens when a whale dies?

What happens when a whale dies? Little ocean beasties get a feast, as illustrated in this video, the most beautiful and least icky illustration of decomposition you may ever see.

Critical List: Climate change is shrinking animals; Mexico could export water to the U.S.

Climate change is shrinking animals, like sheep and salamanders, and fruits too.

Mexico could start exporting water into the United States.

One partner in the Macondo well is ponying up $4 billion to settle with BP over last year's oil spill.

Why the insurance industry won’t save us from climate change

Could pricey premiums deter people from living in high-risk areas and prompt action on climate change? The evidence so far suggests not.

Critical List: Texas drought creating baby animal shortage; Keystone XL doc on Oscar shortlist

The Texas drought has meant fewer births of adorable baby animals. Maybe the new climate lobby can include all of the internet.

Also joining the climate fight: yuppies and freelancers. Starbucks is worried about the future of its business model, as rising temperatures threaten coffee crops.

Democrats aren't the only ones who back clean energy projects that don't end up saving the world. Orrin Hatch, for instance, backed a company trying to develop a hybrid Hummer, which collapsed under the weight of its own irony.

China wants to dominate the global wind-turbine market, as well as the solar market.

Democrats who campaign for climate action win more

Listen up, Obama: Analysis of recent elections shows that expressing and pursuing goals for climate action pays off politically.

Record heat will rob us of peanut butter

Start getting accustomed to nothing and jelly sandwiches, Fluffernothings, and Reese's Nothing Cups. Record temperatures and droughts are projected to drive the price of peanut butter through the roof, with wholesale costs going up by as much as 40 percent, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Texas tries to censor climate change information

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality is learning the hard way that politicizing a government report is much, much harder after you've hired a reputable and principled scientist to write it. John Anderson, the author of the agency's report on Texas' Galveston Bay, says the agency removed references to humans' contributions to climate change. Anderson and the research center that gave him the assignment are fighting against the release of the edited report.