Rare Breed of Ancient Trees With Incredible Lifespans Help Keep Their Forests Alive

The venerable elders of a forest are hugely important to the diversity, fitness, and survival of the woodland as a whole, new research shows – and they bring with them a hardiness and experience in dealing with change, as well as a lifetime of ecological interactions preserved in their immediate surrounds..   Scientists used models … Read more

Spring: UK flowers are blooming a month early due to climate change

The shift to early flowering in the UK is greater for smaller plants than trees and shrubs, and is related to warming temperatures in winter and spring over the past 70 years Environment 2 February 2022 By Clare Wilson People walk past daffodils in Green Park in London TOLGA AKMEN/AFP via Getty Images Seen any … Read more

US on Track For ‘Staggering’ Flood Damage by 2050, Scientists Predict

Climate change is on track to ramp up the annual cost of US flood damage more than 25 percent by 2050, according to new research Monday that warns disadvantaged communities will likely bear the brunt of the financial burden.   The study published in the journal Nature Climate Change used new flood models to map … Read more

The Latest Verdict on The Future of Coffee Is Here, And The News Is Not Good

The world could lose half of its best coffee-growing land under a moderate climate change scenario. Brazil, which is the currently world’s largest coffee producer, will see its most suitable coffee-growing land decline by 79 percent.   That’s one key finding of a new study by scientists in Switzerland, who assessed the potential impacts of … Read more

Bat evolution: Subtle change to inner ear bone distinguishes two major groups

The two major groups of bats diverged tens of millions of years ago, and the main difference between them lies in a tiny inner ear bone Life 26 January 2022 By Michael Marshall The common pipistrelle (Pipistrellus pipistrellus) belongs to the Yangochiroptera group of bats David Cole/Alamy Stock Photo A single bone in the inner … Read more

Climate Change Could Open Up ‘Rivers in The Sky’ Over East Asia

We know that the climate crisis is already having a profound effect on global weather systems, altering temperatures, rainfall, wind patterns, and more – and a new study predicts likely deluges over the mountainous parts of East Asia in the future.   The pouring rain will be brought on by atmospheric rivers, scientists predict. These … Read more

To Fully Mitigate Climate Change, We Need to Curb Methane Emissions

It’s been more than two months since the House of Representatives passed the Build Back Better Act—a bill that would make desperately needed and decades-overdue strides toward the U.S. meeting its moral responsibility to combat the climate crisis. But instead of moving into a new year on the hope that would come with the Senate … Read more

The Doomsday Clock Is About to Tick, And We’ve Never Been So Close to Midnight

In less than 24 hours the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists will update the Doomsday Clock. It’s currently at 100 seconds from midnight – the metaphorical time when the human race could destroy the world with technologies of its own making.   The hands have never before been this close to midnight. There is scant … Read more

Yutu-2: China’s rover finds sticky soil on the far side of the moon

We haven’t been able to take a close-up look at the far side of the moon until now, and the discoveries being made by the Yutu-2 rover might prove important for future missions 19 January 2022 By Alex Wilkins A photo of the Yutu-2 moon rover, taken by the Chang’e-4 lunar probe AFP The first … Read more

Climate change: Last 7 years were the warmest on record

The UN’s World Meteorological Organization found that 2021 was the seventh hottest year to date, at 1.11°C above pre-industrial levels Environment 19 January 2022 By Adam Vaughan In Palmdale, California, temperatures reached 41.1°C in July 2021 ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images The past seven years were the warmest on record as climate change continued apace, … Read more