scientific research
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Paleoclimatologist studies sea levels in a desert
Exactly how much did the sea level rise three million years ago? Okay. Probably not a question you’ve asked yourself lately. But the question and, more importantly, its answer are significant. They will help scientists understand how fast and how high our current sea levels are likely to rise as today’s global warming trend melts […]
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Weighing safety of weed killer in drinking water, EPA relies heavily on industry-backed studies
Illustration by Lagan Sebert, Huffington Post Investigative Fund, EPA Image by Harry Hanbury, Crop Duster image courtesy Jenni Jone via FlickrCross-posted from the Huffington Post Investigative Fund Companies with a financial interest in a weed-killer sometimes found in drinking water paid for thousands of studies federal regulators are using to assess the herbicide’s health risks, […]
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The man behind the climate models
Warren Washington literally wrote the book on climate modeling. Introduction to Three-Dimensional Climate Modeling, which he co-authored with Claire L. Parkinson in 2005, is the classic graduate-level text in the field. A former head of the American Meteorological Society and an adviser to every president — Republican and Democrat alike — since Jimmy Carter, Washington […]
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Evidence of climate change springs ahead with blooming wildflowers
Spring certainly seems to arrive earlier these days than it used to. But is it a sure sign of global warming or just natural variability? After decades of careful research on wildflowers, University of Maryland ecologist David Inouye has some definitive — and disturbing — answers. This summer Inouye returns to the Rocky Mountain Biological […]
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PR lessons from a 1960 oil trade group [VIDEO]
The oil drilling and oyster industries both extract things from coastal waters, so it’s no surprise they’ve been interacting for decades. Here’s a cheesy 1960 video from the American Petroleum Institute that gives a fun look into that relationship, and the industry-funded science that keeps it humming: I don’t know the full background, but Louisiana […]
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Global warming vs. biblical armageddon: How will we all die? [VIDEO]
Kids have a right to know the possible scopes of their own demise. You don’t have to put a monkey on trial to figure it out: It’s either gonna be biblical plagues or global climate change. Thank goodness both make a snazzy diorama! [UPDATE]: Leave it to The Onion to cover fake news that turns […]
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Top U.S. scientists to Congress: No more ‘business as usual’ on climate change
A group of the country’s top scientists say that the Earth definitely is getting hotter, that human activity is driving it, and that, unless dramatic measures are taken, the planet’s water supply, sea levels, coral reefs, etc. will be changed forever. So what else is new? Well, actually, this time the National Academy of […]
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People who eat organic junk food don’t know what organic means
Organic Oreos? Don’t bite the hype.EricSkiff via Creative Commons Atkins. South Beach. Master Cleanse. Each of these diets is supposed to help you lose weight (and feel great!). “Organic,” on the other hand, does not belong in quite the same category. According to a new study, however, there appears to be an organic-cookie-eating portion of […]
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Let's rename Earth Day
In 2008, I wrote a piece for Salon about renaming ‘Earth’ Day. It was supposed to be mostly humorous. Or mostly serious. Anyway, the subject of renaming Earth Day seems more relevant than ever because this is the 40th anniversary. In a 2009 interview last year, our Nobel-prize winning Energy Secretary, Steven Chu, said: I would say that from here […]
