Articles tagged with climate-change

Researchers have drilled into the middle of America in hopes of understanding past eras when the Earth burped out huge amounts of greenhouse gases.

Did you follow the news from the global climate conference in Durban and discuss it with your peers? If you said no, welcome to the club.

An astrophysicist surveys Miller-McCune’s carbon footprint graphic from a post-Durban climate change vantage and wonders if the U.S. and the world can’t do a better job of stepping up to the challenge of climate control.

Shunned in the past as trumping mitigation, the issue of climate adaptation is now receiving serious attention.

Burned by past introductions of “helpful” foreign species, New Zealand inches toward releasing the imported insects to clean up its pastures full of other introduced animals.

Robert Socolow, the co-author of an influential plan to reduce carbon emissions, revisits his work seven years later to understand why it failed.

Efforts at geoengineering to cool a warming planet are picking up steam.

We don’t really know if the giant squid is endangered, but this animal still could inspire protection of the world’s invertebrates.

Climate scientists carry forth the memory, spirit, and research of Stephen Schneider, the field’s greatest ambassador.

Climatologist Chris Funk explains his findings that long-term ocean warming has created a chain reaction that is likely to permanently dry out East Africa.

Even without fancy new cars or fuels, technology now motoring off the drawing board will help you take that lead foot off the accelerator and start driving green.

With temperatures rising and lake levels lowering, environmentalists say there’s reason to be worried about the future of national parks.

A new report suggests that the social cost of carbon — the economic damage done by one ton of carbon dioxide emissions — could be drastically higher than government agencies have estimated.

In the first of a series of stories tracking their progress in real time, three scientists explain the genesis of a global effort to present the health of the world’s oceans with a single number.

A documentary film airing on PBS looks at New Mexico’s Jemez range, and gently and sparely shows how changing climate affects these unique “sky islands.”

In an interview with Miller-McCune.com, meteorologist Kevin Trenberth examines the world’s recently wacky weather and whether it’s a sign of climate change or just routine variability.

With climate change set to wreck agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa, what will happen to the world’s poorest people?

A controversial new report suggests scientists share some of the blame for Congress’ failure to enact cap-and-trade legislation in response to climate change.

Companies ranging from banks and defense contractors to organic yogurt makers reap benefits by creating a corps of sustainable-savvy employees.

Millions of people worldwide die every year because of primitive cooking stoves. Around the globe, helpers ranging from Hillary Clinton to African entrepreneurs are making inroads.

Index of Clean Energy Leadership finds Midwestern upstarts mixed among the usual suspects.

Being vocally anti-science has become a defining mark of a current style of politics, an intentional ignorance that recalls the Scopes Monkey Trial, argues law professor Robert Benson.

New research finds Republicans scoff at “global warming,” but are much more receptive to the notion of “climate change.”

A requirement for cost/benefit analyses of federal rules has created — without any real public input — a very important number in deciding what to do about greenhouse gases.

What’s one way to convert climate change skeptics? By making them sweat.

The loss of sea ice is a concern for more than polar bears, as the loss of reflectivity it represents means the planet may warm even faster.

The manager of the energy portfolio for the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory discusses the benefits of evening out our day’s use of electricity and how future appliances will decide when they can spark up most cheaply.

An old American idea to capture and use waste heat from electricity generation, adopted by Europe, needs to come back home for a visit.

Passenger travel in the industrialized world has been stagnant for nearly a decade, researchers say.

Peasants in Mexico’s jungle state of Oaxaca show that conservation need not take a back seat to development.

While visiting Oaxaca’s forestry cooperatives, Kristian Beadle considers the link between remembering the dead and managing living resources — including new climate policies to reduce deforestation.

Talking out our differences on controversial scientific and technological issues may be just the wrong way to reach agreement, new research suggests.

The new administration was expected to usher in a new era of scientific learning infusing government policy. It hasn’t exactly worked out that way.

A footprint comparison of total carbon dioxide emissions by nation and per capita shows there’s plenty of room for smaller countries to reduce their carbon footprints.

Melting glaciers yield evidence on new theories of Asian migration to the Americas. Underwater robots search the sea bottom, looking for more.

Abandoning sticks and taking up carrots, those concerned about climate change got a little sweaty on Oct. 10. Ecologist and blogger Kristian Beadle argues their Global Work Party had genuine results.

Putting carbon dioxide in the ocean is a terrible way to deal with climate change. Maybe we should do it.

A conversation with penguin expert Grant Ballard on the short-term wins and long-term losses facing one of the world’s most charismatic animals.

New research finds we trust experts who agree with our own opinions, suggesting that subjective feelings override scientific information.

The dust on high peaks, blown in from Southwestern pastures, farms, mining roads and off-road vehicle parks, is hastening snowmelt and reducing the runoff into the Colorado River, scientists say.

Hotter temperatures, higher seas viewed as “greatest threat ever” to country’s scenic treasures.

Fresh from the European Union photovoltaic conference, our John Perlin takes on some of the misconceptions clouding the solar power movement.

A smarter way of raising herd animals, known as holistic management, may be a catalyst to helping the soil reclaim its role as a global carbon sponge.

A dye made from the purple pokeberry — a common weed — proves uncommonly effective at juicing up the prospects for solar power.

A groundbreaking study of pristine national parks in the Western United States found an amazing array of airborne pollutants, including some chemicals banned for decades.

Having completed his 5,000-mile voyage, Kristian Beadle weighs his trip’s carbon use and examines whether the benefits balance the costs.

Scientists who argue for human-caused climate change published twice as many papers and are cited 64 percent more often than researchers who doubt climate change.

In the spirit of lighting a single candle rather than cursing the darkness, the innkeepers at Playa Viva are shining a light on ‘regenerative design.’

A mile-and-a-half-long ice cube tells a story about Earth’s climate.

The various data points collected so far in the Kiri’s voyage demonstrate how environmental decisions affect the resilience of human habitats and ultimately their cultures.

Tales of bandits lead our Kiri blogger to reflect on the environmental causes of poverty and poverty’s relation to crime.

The U.S. government opts takes an easy step toward reducing — in a small way — global warming and energy use.

The late Stephen Schneider was one of the most influential and eloquent advocates for human-caused climate change.

Software used to optimize flow for jets and phone calls adds a new wrinkle in protecting plants migrating due to climate change.

Beyond the human carnage of Mexico’s drug conflict, another innocent bystander — the environment — has long been a victim.

A new satellite will measure to the centimeter just how far gone, or going, the Arctic ice cap really is.

Fresh from surveying the detritus of storms past, our Kiri blogger reviews the case for and against human action making tropical storms bigger and more destructive.

A picturesque Baja town has been hammered repeatedly by the escalating tempo of flooding from tropical storms.

Forests of trees that live in the salty and submerged tropical coastlines provide a wealth of benefits, although humanity is spending that wealth recklessly.

Offering some idea of what cap-and-trade might cost average Americans, the EPA estimates between $79 and $146 a year.

The “meager targets” of the House energy bill suggest some hot air on greenhouse gases, as we learned in mischaracterizing the House energy bill of 2009.

Mexico’s Sea of Cortez has always had a wealth of whales, but even protected areas can’t stave off other pressures on the leviathans.

A tenuous compromise that promised to move a U.S. climate bill forward may be part of the Deepwater Horizon’s collateral damage.

How might climate change affect homes and businesses built helter-skelter on a seaside cliff.

Welcome to the Voyage of Kiri, an overland educational and research journey from Miller-McCune’s home city of Santa Barbara, Calif., along the Pacific Coast of Mexico.

“DIRT! The Movie” links hope for the future with the earth beneath our feet. The documentary makes its national debut on PBS as an Earth Day special.

Newly published research on belief in ESP suggests a public disregard for — and perhaps even hostility toward — the scientific consensus.

Three prominent environmental activists reflect on the state of the American green movement for the 40th anniversary of Earth Day.

Music festivals, like the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, provide a model for reducing the carbon footprint of large events.

Two planets diverged in a solar system, and the successful one took a path more wooded.

The mass of Americans still accept reality of climate change, but a glut of complex polls manages to make that difficult to discern.

Letters to the Editor: The keyboard may be quicker, but the supporters of cursive aren’t about to give up the fight.

Researchers from Oregon State argue that when it comes to carbon emissions, not all forest fires are created equal.

Despite the weight of scientific evidence, many TV meteorologists are global warming skeptics, survey shows

Freakish snowstorms warm the hearts of both believers and skeptics of global warm … err … climate change.

Reporting from the El Paso innovation conference, our Michael Haederle explains how a toy frog may have hopped over some biomedical manufacturing obstacles.

Our Michael Haederle reports live from El Paso, where academics gathered at a conference looking for practical innovations to address the big problems.

National security blueprint finds climate change “inextricably” linked to energy and economic concerns.

Adolescents are aware of the serious consequences of climate change. So why don’t they do anything about it?

A host of meaningful stories from Miller-McCune.com’s second full year on the Web.

Could soil engineered specifically to maximize carbon storage dampen some effects of climate change? Very possibly.

Two new studies show that the effects of changing climate are with us regardless of where governments or public opinion stand.

Social psychology finds a thread linking opposition to health care reform and climate change — and a possible way around the problem.

Collective guilt regarding climate change can be a catalyst to individual action, but new research suggests eliciting that emotion can be tricky.

Just how toxic is the term “tax?” A newly published study suggests its use decreases support for climate change initiatives.

The world of carbonate chemistry is rocking over claims that a new kind of cement can sequester carbon.

As the need to measure carbon absorption takes on global political and environmental import, researchers are rushing to resurrect a project that literally crashed and sank.

We practice preventive maintenance on our cars and our health. Why not apply it to our natural resources?

The perception that a veneer of certainty must reign over all levels of climate change has led proponents to come a cropper.

Advocacy groups en masse ratchet up their messages in the lead-up to the global climate change conference.

And you thought carbon only came in basic black!

The U.S. Senate’s balkiness at passing a weak-kneed symbolic climate plan leaves an open door to a genuine and meaningful American bill.

In a less remarked-upon aspect of climate change, tropical diseases like dengue fever — once restricted to warmer or moister climes — are infiltrating the United States.

If only some incredibly common rock would just sit around and suck up carbon dioxide all day. Oh, there is one. Why aren’t we excited about it?

Worldwatch founder Lester Brown, long known for dire prognosis, reports cheerful climate and energy news for United States.

Whether meaningful mass grassroots action or silly stunt, the political theater of the International Day of Climate Action made a splash.

Students on island of Yap learn that climate change is not an abstraction in their futures.

As some high-profile corporations publicly embrace the reality of climate change, are they moving faster than the American population as a whole?

The hidden costs of all energy choices aren’t posted on the pump, but, nonetheless, they’re just as real.

Population growth is the real driver for higher greenhouse gas emission, so why don’t more mainstream solutions start there?

U.S. military and intelligence officials are factoring the symptoms of climate change into their estimates of where and what kind of conflicts are in store.

Emission standards will help manage rising temperatures, but the time to act is now.

Scientists propose guardrails for how far mankind can push the planet tomorrow, while others examine how far collapsed civilizations pushed it yesterday.

Overcoming inertia on climate change is unlikely to take place through the time-honored methods of hectoring and lecturing. Perhaps a little salesmanship and psychology is called for.

Biologist Brian Helmuth has observed firsthand the devastation wrought by climate change, but he’s also seen how ecological forecasting can prepare us.

Serious scientists are mulling geoengineering — from space sunshades to planetwide aerosols — as reduced-sacrifice methods to address global warming.

Sailing from the Atlantic to the Orient across the roof of the world has been the dream of Arctic explorers and world traders for centuries. It saves fuel, too, so what’s not to like? Well …

While the corn ethanol bubble has pretty much popped, serious efforts to find an economically sound and carbon-smart biological-based fuel continue.

Cost and carbon have chopped down the high hopes America’s Midwest had for growing the nation off climate-changing foreign oil.

A recent energy policy summit concluded what the Group of 8 powers are learning: The Third World may require help reducing heat-trapping gases.

In the wake of some devastating blazes, Sam Kornell asks why few major media properties have explored the connection between the changing complexion of wildfires and climate change.

Is fancy-schmancy, fair-trade, shade-grown, bird-friendly, etc., etc., specialty coffee better for the planet’s climate, too?

If current projections of a warming planet prove accurate, researchers say the percentage of dangerously underweight newborns will increase significantly in the U.S. by the end of the century.

Climate change is likely to raise more than just the world’s temperature — changing conditions in the Western U.S. leading to more and more severe wildfires will raise insurance rates, too.

Humans have shown they’re pretty much serial bunglers when it comes to managing fire, but some fire ecologists say that with global warming, mankind now really needs to learn how to manage change.

The quick, simple act of turning your car off instead of idling whenever possible could play an enormous role in slowing the rate of climate change.

Deforestation has long been associated with global warming, but a new paper suggests the method of deforesting — intentionally burning — may be a terrifically potent climate changer, too.

Genetic mutations are allowing woodrats to eat toxic creosote as climate change makes their preferred diet of juniper harder to find.

The co-author of A Golden Thread: 2500 Years of Solar Architecture and Technology takes a look at how white backgrounds — be they snow, concrete or rooftops — might help bend back a little bit of global warming.

Americans seem to be of two minds on the reality of climate change, and which mind is ahead depends on when you ask.

Environmental and scientific policy reversals signal difference between last and current presidential administrations.

University of Colorado’s Roger Pielke Jr. “air capture” — direct removal of carbon dioxide from the air — deserves far more serious consideration than it has received to date.

The promise of electric vehicles is enormous, but so are the challenges standing in the way of large-scale adaptation of this new technology.

Energy researcher Jonathan Dorn says he backs electric cars, dismisses natural gas as our savior and reluctantly supports a Big Three bailout.

A host of meaningful stories from Miller-McCune.com’s first full year on the Web.

The National Ice Core Laboratory tries to answer one question: As the Earth warms, will sea levels rise three feet? Or 30? Or even more?

Miller-McCune’s experts offer solutions to problems that were under-discussed during the presidential campaign.

UPDATED: President-elect reportedly selects physicist John Holdren as his consigliere on science.

A method of buttressing California’s aging levees shows promise for capturing carbon dioxide.

Professionals hope the new president can change the culture of science in the White House.

B Lab wants to separate companies that merely claim they are responsible from those that actually do good in the world. But can a logo really change the way America does business?

The EPA acknowledges, finally, that climate change will have public-health implications, increasing the incidence of heart disease, allergies, asthma, tropical diseases and … kidney stones.

The climate change memorandum we can only hope for.

Looking at the complex U.S.-Saudi relationship in a time of terrorism, rising oil prices and climate change.

Mike Wallace helps climate-savvy investors determine whether companies will prosper or shrivel as carbon dioxide regulation becomes reality.

Here’s how government can help curb America’s seemingly endless appetite for “more.”

To stave off water crises created by climate change, we need new systems that manage water, energy and ecosystems together. Here’s why.

Solar is a great theoretical answer to climate concerns and energy independence. Although some nettlesome questions keep it from becoming a practical solution, skyrocketing oil makes some answers more palatable.

A conversation with renowned entomologist Hans Herren on a United Nations report calling for changes in how the world produces its food.

By funding its own research, industry has raised unwarranted doubts about a range of scientific issues — from the risks of tobacco to the reality of climate change — delaying response to public dangers for decades. Can scientists and journalists learn to beat the doubt industry before our most serious problems beat us all?

Ken Nedimyer and the Nature Conservancy find coral tough enough to withstand global warming.

A discussion with ecologist Alan Townsend on mankind’s love-hate relationship with nitrogen, and how this marriage can be saved.

In the wildflower meadows of the West, we may be hearing the whisperings of a post-climate-change world.

As political debate heats up about a potentially greater role for nuclear energy in a world struggling to abate global warming, British researchers have been looking at what influences public opinion on this issue.

The United States has built one of the most advanced technological societies the world has ever seen, but we still don’t really know when spring starts.

Two new surveys regarding Americans’ attitudes toward climate change suggest that Americans have yet to make a personal connection to the issue.

Reducing global carbon dioxide emissions will be an even more daunting challenge than we have been led to believe, according to a sobering commentary in the April 3 issue of Nature magazine.

As Americans argue about how to tackle the issue of climate change, the astonishingly rapid industrialization of China is threatening to negate whatever progress we might achieve in reducing greenhouse gases. According to a new analysis by economists at two University of California campuses, China’s carbon dioxide emissions are growing at a far faster pace than previously estimated — and earlier estimates were worrying.

Climate change and fossil-fuel costs have re-energized the flickering nuclear movement in the United States, but many proponents are the fairest-weather of friends.

The climate problem can be solved. But tackling it is going to be a lot harder than you’ve been led to believe.

Individual states are taking occasionally painful steps to rein in emissions.

While geographer Alan Grainger has upset conventional wisdom by suggesting the world’s tropical forests are not shrinking, he sees his research as a clarion call.

Hydropower will never be the complete answer to emissions-free energy production in the U.S., but a strong case can be made for it becoming a useful part of the answer.

While scientists monitor how our clothing affects the climate, trend-watchers are more interested in the reverse: how climate change is beginning to alter our apparel. Bamboo underwear, anyone?

Take that, hakuna matata. The Disney-fied notion that, left to its own devices, nature will always revert to an idyllic equilibrium is a dangerous fallacy, say two researchers. The cultural bias colors discussions on climate change.

Reports show the ocean’s unique ecosystems are adapting to fluctuation in water temperatures likely caused by global warming, but increasing acidic levels may prove fatal for the world’s coral reefs.

A roundup of research taken in the wake of the Bali summit on climate change finds little to warm the heart with the one exception that Atlantic hurricanes may grow more numerous but less fierce.

While it’s widely acknowledged that forests can be useful for holding carbon, they release phenomenal amounts of greenhouse gases when they burn.