climate change

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Scientists Unlock Key of Octopus's Blue Blood

New research could explain why they'll thrive in warming Antarctic waters

(Newser) - Unlike human royalty, a species of octopus that thrives in frigid Antarctic waters has actual blue blood, and scientists think they've figured out its advantage: The key is a blue-hued protein called hemocyanin—which Phys.org notes is comparable to hemoglobin in vertebrates, and which distributes oxygen throughout the...

Florida to Workers: Don't Say 'Climate Change'

'Nuisance flooding' suggested instead of 'sea-level rise'

(Newser) - At Florida's Department of Environmental Protection, employees whose jobs include preparing for the effects of climate change and sea-level rise say life got a little tougher after Rick Scott took office in 2011 and the use of terms like "climate change," "global warming," and "...

Senator Hurls Snowball to Disprove Climate Change

Inhofe successfully proves that snow exists

(Newser) - The chair of the Senate Environment Committee offered the chamber some compelling evidence yesterday against man-made climate change: a snowball. "Because we keep hearing that 2014 has been the warmest year on record, I ask the chair, do you know what this is?" Sen. Jim Inhofe said to fellow...

Western US Poised for Worst Drought in 1K Years: Study

But experts say there's still time to change our ways

(Newser) - Within a few decades, a significant chunk of the US could be in for the worst drought in more than a millennium. That's if we don't change our greenhouse-gas-emitting ways, scientists say: A study co-author says the chance of a megadrought in the central and western US sometime...

Senate: Climate Change Is Real, but Not Humans' Fault

Votes reject measures that say people are causing environmental devastation

(Newser) - Even though Republicans have acknowledged that climate change does indeed exist (and the Pentagon has called it a military threat ), GOPers still don't want to commit to stating it's humans who actually cause it. On Wednesday the Senate voted down two measures that say just that—and...

Obama Rolls Out Rules to Hack Methane Emissions

Obama administration aims to cut emissions by 45% by 2025

(Newser) - President Obama is rolling out major new steps to fight methane emissions, aiming to cut them by up to 45% of 2012 levels within a decade. The administration's rules will address the growing domestic oil and gas industries, whose expansion is expected to significantly increase the amount of methane...

New Climate Change Culprit: Beavers
 New Climate Change 
 Culprit: Beavers 
study says

New Climate Change Culprit: Beavers

Numbers are rising as dammed ponds release methane into atmosphere

(Newser) - We were just trying to help. Turns out the efforts of humankind to save beavers from extinction over the past century have had an eco-unfriendly side effect: The animals, whose population has rebounded, are contributing to climate change, researchers say at EurekAlert . Beaver dams create shallow ponds, which can host...

Climate Deal Goes From 'Weak to Weaker to Weakest'

Delegates sign off on 'watered-down' deal in Peru

(Newser) - Climate negotiators salvaged a compromise deal in Lima early today that sets the stage for a global pact in Paris next year, but rejected a rigorous review of greenhouse gas emissions limits. More than 30 hours behind schedule, delegates from more than 190 countries agreed on what information should go...

Study Has Bad News for Reindeer

Reindeer populations experiencing rapid decline

(Newser) - The iconic reindeer is in peril, according to a new study analyzing population trends in China. While their numbers have been in decline for decades, dropping by at least 28% since the 1970s, the rate of decline has increased dramatically since 1998, reports UPI . The study, published in the Journal ...

NOAA: Don't Blame Climate Change for Calif. Drought

Lack of rain caused by natural patterns, report says

(Newser) - Is humanity off the hook for California's record-breaking drought? A new federal report says the drought, "while extreme, is not an uncommon occurrence for the state," and is the result of natural weather patterns instead of man-made climate change, reports USA Today . NOAA researchers say a major...

Scary Fish Caught on Video for 1st Time

It's called the black seadevil

(Newser) - Talk about nasty: She's got serious fangs, a jutting jaw, and a light-pole attached to her forehead. But then, she's only 3.5 inches long. For the first time, scientists shot video this week of the rarely observed black seadevil during a dive in Monterey Bay, Calif., Fox...

MIA in Glacier National Park: Actual Glaciers

Receding ice sheets could have big ramifications in the West

(Newser) - "National Park" doesn't have much of a ring to it, but that soon might be a more fitting name for Glacier National Park if its eponymous glaciers keep going the way of the dinosaurs: The New York Times takes a look today at glacier melt in the Montana...

Scientists Explore Mysterious 'End of World' Crater

Working theory is that the crater formed from a release of gas hydrates

(Newser) - When a mysterious crater was discovered this past summer on the Yamal Peninsula in northern Siberia, origin theories abounded, including it being the work of extraterrestrials, a man-made hoax, a meteorite, or the result of a stray missile colliding with the surface of the Earth. Now that it's cold...

Expect More Lightning in Coming Years
Expect More Lightning in Coming Years
STUDY SAYS

Expect More Lightning in Coming Years

Study: Climate change could spur up to 50% more strikes over next century

(Newser) - The US and China are working together to temper greenhouse-gas emissions, which could come in handy now that scientists are saying climate change might cause something else down the road: more lightning strikes. A study in Science says lightning frequency in the continental US could spike by more than 12%...

It's Not a Treaty, but GOP Can Defang Climate Deal

And one route could lead to another government shutdown

(Newser) - Yesterday's surprising deal on climate change between the US and China came about after a personal letter from President Obama to his Chinese counterpart last spring, reports the Guardian . But while Xi Jinping will presumably face no substantive opposition from Chinese lawmakers on the goals to cut carbon emissions,...

Climate Deal Between US, China Is 'Game Changer'

Ambitious goals please advocates for reform

(Newser) - Agreements that emerge from international summits often are met with a shrug. Not so the surprise deal between the US and China on climate change. Writers at Grist , Mother Jones , and Slate all use the phrase "game changer" in describing this one. The big takeaway numbers: The US set...

US, China Pull a Surprise: Major Climate Deal

World's 2 largest polluters join forces to curb emissions

(Newser) - The US and China rank as the world's two largest polluters , but a surprise deal is turning them into the world's two largest pollution fighters: The nations announced that they'll be working in tandem on long-term greenhouse-gas controls that would cut emissions by nearly a third over...

South Florida Wants to Be 51st State—Over Climate Change

South Miami officials pass resolution due to rising sea levels

(Newser) - South Florida could be our 51st state if officials in South Miami get their way. Vice Mayor Walter Harris has put forth a resolution to split the state due to concerns over rising sea levels. "We have to be able to deal directly with this environmental concern, and we...

Scientists Pinpoint Worst Drought in 1K Years

Dust Bowl of 1934 was 30% more intense than the runner-up drought of 1580

(Newser) - If you've lately found yourself wondering when the worst drought North America has suffered occurred, here's your answer: 1934. At least, as far as the last millennium goes. In a new NASA study, scientists say that a combination of atmospheric conditions (a high pressure ridge off the West...

Plants Suck Up More CO2 Than Thought
 Plants Suck Up More 
 CO2 Than Thought 
STUDY SAYS

Plants Suck Up More CO2 Than Thought

Finding makes climate fight 'slightly easier,' experts say

(Newser) - Some rare good news in the fight against climate change: Plants are an even greater ally than we knew, absorbing around 16% more carbon than previously thought, according to new research. University of Texas researchers took a fresh look at climate models and at how CO2 is absorbed by plants,...

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