Climate Change

Cargo Ships May Double Lightning Strikes in Their Path

Ship exhaust impacts cloud formation, which may influence lightning over busy shipping lanes

Despite the predicted declines, at least five species of bees would survive in areas that would still be suitable for growing coffee, says the new study.

With Smart Planning, Coffee and Bees Can Survive Climate Change

In a new study, a Smithsonian scientist says coffee-growers have options

Tapeworms, like this one imaged using a scanning electron micrograph, weaken their victims but don't typically kill them.

The World's Parasites Are Going Extinct. Here’s Why That’s a Bad Thing

Up to one-third of parasite species could vanish over the next few decades, disrupting ecosystems and even human health

Water water everywhere, and not a day to think.

How Coastal Cities Are Evolving to Deal With Extreme Rain

Facing the specter of more and worse rainstorms, these vulnerable areas are turning to innovative urban design

Why Are Some Leaves Massive and Others Minuscule?

Researchers have found that the rainfall, sunshine and the threat of frost or overheating set the maximum size for leaves

This slimy green algae is far more complex than the type that helped fuel the formation of modern creatures, but it's a distant relative.

How Microscopic Algae Kick-Started Life As We Know It

Some 650 million years ago, algae took over the seas, which may have been a needed spark in the formation of complex life

Usually the massive creatures rest between hunting dives on floating ice. But as ice becomes increasingly scarce, the creatures are forced ashore.

Melting Sea Ice Forces Walruses Ashore in Earliest Gathering Yet Observed

As ice melts, the Pacific walruses are losing their icy resting platforms

A NASA image of Hurricane Sandy moving along the United States' East Coast. Extreme weather events like this are becoming more frequent, but scientists still face challenges when attributing any one storm to climate change.

Does Climate Change Cause Extreme Weather Events?

It's a challenge to attribute any one storm or heat wave to climate change, but scientists are getting closer

Americans have started feeding their pets an abundance of high-quality meats, suitable for human consumption. But fido doesn't need filet mignon.

America's Fancy Pet Food Addiction Is a Big Problem for the Environment

American pets have been increasingly served up prime cuts of meat, but this food comes at a cost

In a healthy reef, coral symbionts make food for the coral animal.

A Blueprint for Genetically Engineering a Super Coral

Why some researchers are proposing a drastic measure to save a threatened ecosystem

Musk ox have laid claim to this tundra for thousands of years, but today they face new threats. Joel Berger is determined to find out just what they are.

To Understand the Elusive Musk Ox, Researchers Must Become Its Worst Fear

How posing as a grizzly helps one biologist grasp the threats facing this ancient beast

A NASA research plane photographed the widening crack on Antarctica's Larsen C ice shelf on November 10, 2016.

Delaware-Sized Iceberg Breaks Off Antarctica

'Whopper' of an iceberg weighs more than one trillion metric tons—and has been threatening to make the break for years

Paris may still be congested in 2040, but fossil fuel congestion will fall with a new ban on gas- and diesel-burning vehicles.

France May Say ‘Au Revoir’ to Fossil-Fueled Vehicles

It’s a bid to dramatically reduce the country’s carbon emissions

A view from within the Tyson Forest Dynamics Plot in Missouri.

Why Do We See More Species in Tropical Forests? The Mystery May Finally Be Solved

Surveying 2.4 million trees showed that predators may help keep the trees at sustainable levels

This structure in Tuscany holds clues to why Roman concrete is still so strong.

Why Ancient Roman Concrete Is So Strong

A rare chemical reaction strengthens it even today—and that could help threatened coastal communities

Tree rings are easiest to see in trees that grew in temperate places, because the temperature changes at different times of the year.

Why an Astronomer Turned to Trees to Try to Solve a Celestial Mystery

Andrew Ellicott Douglass's theory of sunspots and climate was wrong, but he still pioneered the science of tree-ring dating

Kemper County coal gasification plant

Major "Clean Coal" Project in Mississippi Shuts Down

Billions over budget and three years behind, the Kemper County coal gasification project will now produce electricity using natural gas

Coastal regions and islands are vanishing due to a lethal combination of erosion, sea rise and subsidence, or the slow sinking of land over time. The network of 1200 coral islands and atolls that makes up the Maldives in the Indian Ocean is ground zero.

What Are All The Ways That Land Can Disappear Beneath Your Feet?

From sinkholes to liquefaction, we look at how solid earth can shrink and elude our grasp

This bleached reef near Guam shows what happens when ocean temperatures rise.

Unesco-Protected Reefs Could Be Destroyed by 2100

Over 70 percent of world heritage reefs were damaged during the recent bleaching event

Though some reefs may soon get reprieve, not all are in the clear.

The Latest Bleaching Event May Be Over, But Reefs Are Still in Danger

Places like Guam and Hawaii could soon face more hot water

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