Climate Science
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How humans are forcing other species to evolve
Presumably everybody knows the basic depressing mechanisms of natural selection: In response to a cruel and unforgiving environment, those creatures that can adapt best or are already best-suited survive to reproduce, and everyone else dies horribly. It's all red-in-tooth-and-claw-y, and humans are well out of it, right? Yeah, well, about that: Turns out that now […]
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It’s almost summer, we can start believing in climate change again
It's common knowledge that global warming deniers are prone to confusing climate with weather, as in this video that we posted last year but which I am embedding anyway because it's awesome. But a study in this month's Psychological Science confirms that your average schmo is more likely to believe in global climate change on […]
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Cute guy hand-rears baby hummingbird, what’s not to love?
How's this for a hands-on approach to saving the natural world: When this baby hummingbird was attacked, this guy rescued it and nursed it to a healthy adulthood in a stirring montage set to a Jack Johnson tune. The dude says: when she thought she was ready to leave (and she was) she flew off […]
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Building the economic case for climate action
The Economics for Equity and the Environment Network convened a recent meeting of economists [PDF] at the Pocantico Center of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund to discuss the role of economics in building support for climate action in the U.S. The economists who convened view climate change as a civilizational challenge that demands immediate action to […]
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Top climate scientist on monster tornadoes: ‘It’d be irresponsible not to mention climate change’
“Climate change is present in every single meteorological event,” says scientist Michael Mann.Photo: Tom VanNortwickCross-posted from the Wonk Room. Throughout human history, the climate system has been a source of life and death, the sun and rain capable of feeding our crops and bringing us comfort, or unleashing terrible devastation in wind, fire, drought, storm, […]
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Climate change could lead to more tornadoes, say NASA scientists
There have been increasing numbers of measured tornadoes in the past 60 years, and may be even more in the future. Meteorologists chalk this up to better detection. But climatologists believe that we’re going to see more and worse severe storms and tornadoes in the U.S. in coming years thanks to climate change. Two studies […]
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Dr. Grist’s four-part prescription for managing climate change
Dr. Grist fills in the blanks.We are not going to solve climate change. That’s not pessimism — it’s just not the kind of thing that can be “solved.” It’s already underway. There’s enough carbon stocked in the atmosphere to keep the temperature going up for decades even if we cease polluting entirely, which isn’t going […]
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Extreme weather costs lives, health, economy — and could be here to stay
A wildfire burns out of control in Texas earlier this month.Photo: Texas Military ForcesCross-posted from the Center for American Progress. This post was coauthored by Valeri Vasquez, special assistant for energy policy at the Center for American Progress, and Ben Kaldunski, a former intern with the Energy Team at American Progress. “April is the cruelest […]
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City birds have bigger brains than country birds, says study
Will the intrusion of cities into the natural environment cause birds to become brainier? That appears to be the case, say a passel of ecologists in the April 27 issue of Biology Letters. (This story has no implications for humans. Really. It just illustrates a principle that might possibly generalize to other animals. Including apes? […]
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Awesome bird records its own habitat destruction
Robert Krulwich has a post up about the superb lyrebird (real name!), which is COMPLETELY RIDIC. What's so superb? How about the ability to mimic any noise it hears with astonishing faithfulness, that do anything for you? It's the auditory equivalent of that girl from Heroes who could copy anything she saw on TV and […]
