Earth
- Humans
Redefining ‘concern’ over lead
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced May 16 that it would no longer designate any particular blood-lead value in children as representing a “level of concern.” Its justification: There is no threshold below which lead exposures are not a concern.
- Earth
Natural sinks still sopping up carbon
Ecosystems haven’t yet maxed out their ability to absorb fossil fuel emissions, new calculations suggest.
- Life
Climate change may leave many mammals homeless
In some places over the next century, projected warming threatens the survival of more than one in three species.
- Earth
Big Antarctic ice sheet appears doomed
Warming climate is expected to trigger the sudden retreat of a partially floating glacier on the continent’s western side by 2100.
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- Earth
Study keeps pace with Greenland glaciers
Herky-jerky motion of the island’s ice suggests that melting ice is unlikely to contribute to dramatic sea level rise this century, but the news isn’t all good.
- Earth
Oceans’ salinity changed over last half-century
Warmer atmosphere may be to blame for changes in the water cycle.
- Life
Bacteria, insects join forces against pesticide
Microbes in gut, rather than genetic changes, allow insects to develop chemical resistance.
- Earth
Arctic sea emits methane
Source of climate-warming gas remains uncertain, but might be microbes.
- Life
Polar bears older than previously thought
New analysis reveals that the Arctic species dates back to about 600,000 years ago.
- Earth
Indonesian quake passes without major tsunami
A magnitude 8.6 tremor displaced far less water than the 2004 Indian Ocean disaster.
- Humans
Warming Marches in
People may argue about why Earth is warming, how long its fever will last and whether any of this warrants immediate corrective action. But whether Earth is warming is no longer open to debate. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has just published domestic examples to reinforce what Americans witnessed last month — either on TV or in their own backyards.
