Science

NOAA’s terrifying tornado time-lapse [VIDEO]

By now, most of us know last month was the busiest April ever for tornadic activity; with May hosting the deadliest single tornado on record, the whole country’s talking about the Fujita Scale, core bursting, and Helen Hunt like it’s 1996. For those who refuse to even talk about the links between twisters and climate […]

Ted Alvarez Science

Et tu, pistachios? How climate change will mess with trail mix

Pistachios: What shell remain? Photo: PatternedCross-posted from Cool Green Science. What won’t climate change affect? Well, cross trail mix and cherry pie off that ever-shrinking list. It turns out that crisp apples, chewy almonds, ripe plums, and a host of other nuts and stone fruits might become much more costly to grow — or not […]

Robert Lalasz Science

House GOP pays for climate disaster relief by increasing climate pollution

Eric Cantor.Photo: Talk Radio News ServiceCross-posted from the Wonk Room. In a stunningly heartless move, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) put strings on emergency relief for the victims of the killer Joplin tornado, saying that other government services would have to be cut to offset aid spending. Yesterday afternoon, the House Appropriations Committee passed […]

Brad Johnson Science

Missouri tornado whips up media discussion of climate change and extreme weather

Devastation in Joplin, Mo.Photo: KOMUnewsThe devastation of Joplin, Mo., has led to a super-storm of media stories on the link between climate change and extreme weather, including tornadoes. After April saw records set for most tornadoes in a month and in 24 hours, I examined the link in great detail here, looking at the data, […]

Joseph Romm Science

Chicago’s government prepares for climate change to turn the city into Baton Rouge

While other cities ignore climate change, Chicago is doing the obvious: planning its infrastructure as if the next 50 years, and the next generation of Chicagoans, actually matter. Its efforts, started under one of the mayors Richard Daley (we can’t keep track), are now bearing fruit, leading to everything from flood-proof streets to heat-tolerant trees. […]

Christopher Mims Science

Hasta la vista, Arnie: Can the climate movement afford to lose Arnold Schwarzenegger?

He’s a colossal jerk, but do we still need him?Photo: Steve JurvetsonThe most prominent Republican voice for climate action is now in the (hound)doghouse. Turns out the Sperminator has been pumping more than iron. If you’re as revolted as I am, you might be tempted to toss the bum permanently overboard — but can we […]

Lisa Hymas Science

The coming decline of accurate hurricane forecasts

NOAA put out this summer's hurricane forecast late last week, and it looks like it's going to be another doozy of a storm season. And that’s probably all we’re going to get in terms of forecasting. NOAA administrator Jane Lubchenco took the opportunity to point out that, in the last round of budget cuts, Congress […]

Sarah Laskow Science

Feral camels are coming to eat your air conditioner

… if you live in Australia, that is. Perhaps as a punishment for making me think about giant snakes, Australia is suffering yet another attempted takeover by non-native species, which periodically come in and disrupt the continent's carefully balanced ecosystem of massively deadly freaks of nature. This time, it’s feral camels. And they eat air […]

Jess Zimmerman Science

Apocalypse now? Lessons for the climate movement from the ‘Rapture’ that didn’t happen

So, the world did not end on Saturday. Harold Camping’s predicted Judgment Day and “Rapture” failed. I wonder how disappointed his followers are. I also wonder if this might be a good time for the environmental community to reconsider its use of apocalyptic terms when describing our fears for the future. There’s no doubt that […]

Claire Hope Cummings Science

Last seen in 1898, red-crested tree rat pokes its nose out

This is a very fuzzy, cute rodent, and no one has seen one like it since 1898. It's called a red-crested tree rat, or, more evocatively, a red-crested soft-furred spiny-rat. This one wandered up to two volunteers at Fundacións ProAves' El Dorado Nature Reserve in Colombia earlier this month and hung around for a couple […]