Science

Conservationists, Computer Scientists to Map a ‘Safety Net’ for Earth

Conservationists, Computer Scientists to Map a ‘Safety Net’ for Earth

By Mike Gaworecki A team of biologists and computer scientists plan to map a global “safety net” for planet Earth. The mapping effort, to be led by Washington, DC-based non-profit research organization RESOLVE together with Globaïa, an NGO based in Quebec, Canada, and Brazil’s Universidade Federal de Viçosa, aims to identify the most critical terrestrial […]

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    World’s Largest Tropical Reforestation to Plant 73 Million Trees in Brazilian Amazon

    World’s Largest Tropical Reforestation to Plant 73 Million Trees in Brazilian Amazon

    The largest tropical reforestation effort in history aims to restore 73 million trees in the Brazilian Amazon by 2023. The multimillion dollar, six-year project, led by Conservation International, spans 30,000 hectares of land—the equivalent of the size of 30,000 soccer fields, or nearly 70,000 acres. The effort will help Brazil move towards its Paris agreement […]

    EPA Limits Independent Science Advisors, Provokes Conflict of Interest Concerns

    EPA Limits Independent Science Advisors, Provokes Conflict of Interest Concerns

    U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) chief Scott Pruitt announced a new policy Tuesday to limit the presence of researchers who have received EPA research grants on the agency’s Scientific Advisory Board (SAB). The move, which Pruitt has said will promote “objective, independent-minded” advisors, has been promoted by conservative think tanks and industry as a way […]

    Solar Windows Could Meet Nearly All of America’s Electricity Demand

    Solar Windows Could Meet Nearly All of America’s Electricity Demand

    By Joe McCarthy There’s an estimated 5 to 7 billion square meters of glass surfaces in the U.S. For windows on homes, cars and buildings, these glass surfaces perform a few basic functions—letting light and fresh air in when open, and blocking bugs and keeping the cold out when closed. Now they could all serve […]

    EPA Pulls Scientists From Talk on Climate Change, Highlighting Fears Agency Is ‘Muzzling’ Staff

    EPA Pulls Scientists From Talk on Climate Change, Highlighting Fears Agency Is ‘Muzzling’ Staff

    Ever since Scott Pruitt took the helm of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), he has worked to undo decades of hard-fought climate protections, denied that carbon dioxide is a “primary contributor” to climate change, and even removed mentions of the term “climate change” from agency websites. Now, the agency has canceled the speaking appearances […]

    Car Pollution Is Killing Coho Salmon

    Car Pollution Is Killing Coho Salmon

    The grisly video above shows a coho salmon struggling to survive in polluted stormwater runoff on the Duwamish River in Washington. This contaminated water—filled with oil from cars, pesticides, dirt and debris—can kill this particular species of Pacific salmon in hours, according to Puget Soundkeeper Alliance, which posted the clip on Oct. 21. Sadly, it […]

    Scientists Discover Sea Levels Rose in Sharp Bursts During Last Warming

    Scientists Discover Sea Levels Rose in Sharp Bursts During Last Warming

    By Rice University Scientists from Rice University and Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi’s Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies have discovered that Earth’s sea level did not rise steadily but rather in sharp, punctuated bursts when the planet’s glaciers melted during the period of global warming at the close of the last ice age. […]