Delicate chords echo from towering glacier walls. A steely sea churns against jagged chunks of floating ice. And bobbing on a platform in the frigid water, pianist Ludovico Einaudi plays a foreboding melody. Einaudi wrote his piece, “Elegy for the Arctic,” as a call to action, and Greenpeace arranged for a videotaped performance in front […]
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Biofuel takes off with airplane travel
Biofuel is now helping power United Airlines flights out of Los Angeles. United began mixing biofuel with traditional jet fuel earlier this year. The biofuel is made from waste products like animal fats and manure. This farm waste would otherwise rot and produce methane, a potent global-warming gas. Angela Foster-Rice is the managing director of […]
Posted inThis Is Not Cool
Experts explore weather-causes riddle
TV weathercasters often are asked if a recent weather event ‘was caused’ by global warming. This new video provides expert analyses of that riddle. TV weathercasters often are asked if a recent weather event ‘was caused’ by global warming. This new video provides expert analyses of that riddle.
Posted inSpecies & Ecosystems
A climate pilgrimage to Glacier
“What has led you here?” we ask our group of fellow climate hikers. Silence. For the next several minutes, the only sounds come from pens scratching, insects humming, and the fire crackling. It is night three of our five-day, 44-mile “Climate Hike” through Glacier National Park in Montana, and 22 are gathered in a circle […]
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Costs mount to protect Statue of Liberty
Once a beacon of hope for immigrants crossing the Atlantic, the iconic Statue of Liberty is now at risk. Rising sea levels and more extreme weather events threaten Liberty Island in New York Harbor. In 2012, Superstorm Sandy flooded 75 percent of the island, and it remained closed to visitors for nine months. While the […]
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Citizens help track nature’s changes
As the climate changes, the four seasons do not always arrive when expected. And because climate scientists cannot be everywhere at once, they need help tracking these changes. To help fill that gap, the National Phenology Network created a citizen science project called “Nature’s Notebook.” The project asks regular citizens with a passion for nature […]
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Citizen observations on climate change
Scientists rely on precise measurements to determine how the climate is changing. But new research finds that observations from the rest of us matter, too. Simon Fraser University scientists looked at the first-hand experiences of 92,000 people around the world – specifically people who obtain their food directly by farming, hunting, or fishing. From Sweden […]
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Curbing CO2 emissions from airplanes
The term jet-setter was coined in the 1950s and referred to people who flew from one party to the next. Jet-setting for pleasure and business is common today, and it’s expected to become even more popular in the coming decades. Air travel currently emits about 2 percent of global warming pollution worldwide. But analysts believe those emissions […]
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Designers memorialize sea-level rise
Sea-level rise will have a significant impact on coastal communities as the world warms in the coming decades. But it happens too slowly to easily see. Now, designers Erik Jensen and Rebecca Sunter want to give people a tangible way to mark the change. They’ve proposed “Climate Chronograph,” a new memorial in Washington, D.C., and […]
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Regulating self-driving vehicles
Self-driving cars are not a distant dream. And as the technology advances, regulatory agencies are focused on making sure the vehicles are safe before they hit the market. But Amanda Eaken of the Natural Resources Defense Council says they need to do more. Eaken: “I think we now need to evolve the conversation beyond just […]
Posted inWeather Extremes
Heat causes air-quality woes
It might be hard to believe, but the Los Angeles region once suffered from air pollution akin to that found in today’s Beijing. Southern California has worked to improve air quality by cutting back on pollution from cars, industrial plants, trash incinerators, and other sources, and the region has come a long way since the 1950s […]
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Summon a self-driving car, please
Ride-sharing services may seem like a threat to the auto industry, which has traditionally made its money selling personal vehicles. But as the saying goes, “if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em.” So rather than simply fight the car-sharing trend, General Motors has announced a long-term alliance with on-demand ride sharing network, Lyft. Lyft’s transportation […]