Science

Worst Case Climate Scenario Could Be Even Worse Than Thought

Worst Case Climate Scenario Could Be Even Worse Than Thought

When scientists set out to model the impacts of climate change, they use four different Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs), which each represent a different possible radiative forcing, i.e.a total of human-caused greenhouse gas emissions measured in Watts per square meter, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC.) The four different RPCs.IPCC Each RCP […]

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    To Fight Deadly Air Pollution, Indian Inventors Turn Diesel Soot Into Ink

    To Fight Deadly Air Pollution, Indian Inventors Turn Diesel Soot Into Ink

    India’s struggles with air pollution are well-known. Just last week, the World Health Organization (WHO) published a report showing that two of the world’s most polluted megacities—Delhi and Mumbai—are in India. But a team of engineers have analyzed the problem and found a way to be part of the solution. Their company, Chakr Innovation, now […]

    Earth’s Average CO2 Levels Cross 410 ppm for the First Month Ever

    Earth’s Average CO2 Levels Cross 410 ppm for the First Month Ever

    April was the first month in recorded history with an average concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide topping 410 parts per million (ppm). This dubious new milestone was recorded at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii by the Keeling Curve, a program of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego. ICYMI: […]

    Climate Change Threatens Kelp Forests With Invasions of Weeds

    Climate Change Threatens Kelp Forests With Invasions of Weeds

    The devastating consequences climate change is already having on coral reefs is well known, but now scientists have discovered that yet another unique marine ecosystem is threatened by rising carbon dioxide levels. A paper published in Ecology this month based on research led by the University of Adelaide found that ocean carbon dioxide levels projected […]

    Satellite Reveals Troubling Retreat of Patagonian Glaciers

    Satellite Reveals Troubling Retreat of Patagonian Glaciers

    Researchers with the European Space Agency (ESA) have mapped in stunning detail the extensive retreat of South America’s Patagonian ice fields, where some glaciers are melting at the highest rates on Earth and contribute to global sea level rise. In a report this week, ESA revealed that between the years 2011 and 2017, Patagonia’s ice […]

    U.S. Air Pollution Falling More Slowly Than EPA Data Suggests

    U.S. Air Pollution Falling More Slowly Than EPA Data Suggests

    U.S. air pollution isn’t declining as fast as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has claimed, a study published Monday in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences revealed. To track the levels of nitrogen oxides and carbon monoxide, two pollutants that contribute to smog formation, an international research team used satellite pollution measurements backed up […]

    Scientists Develop ‘Infinitely’ Recyclable Plastics Replacement

    Scientists Develop ‘Infinitely’ Recyclable Plastics Replacement

    One of the factors driving the plastic pollution crisis is that very little of it gets reused effectively—as of 2015, only 9 percent of all plastics ever made had been recycled, a 2017 Science Advances study found. This is because, as ScienceNews explained, when plastics break down, they usually break down into molecules that can’t […]

    Pruitt Prepares Block on Scientific Studies That Protect Public Health

    Pruitt Prepares Block on Scientific Studies That Protect Public Health

    Under the guise of “transparency,” U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt signed a controversial proposed rule Tuesday that actually limits the type of scientific studies and data the agency can use in crafting public health and environmental regulations. The change—long championed by conservative lawmakers, chemical manufacturers and the fossil fuel industry—would only allow […]