Earth

Tech

Hooking fish, not endangered turtles

A tuna fisherman has taken it upon himself to make the seas safer for sea turtles, animals that are threatened or endangered with extinction worldwide. He’s designed a new hook that he says will make bait unavailable to marine birds and turtles until long after it’s sunk well below the range where these animals venture to eat.

Humans

Contrasting the concerns over climate and ozone loss

On November 7, ozone and climate scientists met in Washington, D.C., to discuss whether the history of stratospheric ozone protection offered a useful case study about how to catalyze global action on carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. The simple answer that emerged: No.

Earth

Pollution may be strengthening Asian cyclones

Sooty brown clouds may underlie the recent emergence of mega-storms striking from India to the Middle East.

Humans

Infected bats can recover . . . with lots of help

Researchers reported new data today confirming that with enough coddling, many heavily infected bats can recover. The rub: These scientists also pointed out that there really aren’t sufficient resources to save more than a handful this way.

Earth

A particulate threat to diabetics

As levels of soot and other fine air pollutants increased, so did blood pressure in patients whose disease was not well-controlled, a study finds.

Humans

Sarah’s tale of Arctic warming

Over a half-century or so, Sarah James' town of some 150 Athabascan Indians has watched as the formerly extreme but fairly predictable climate in this amazingly remote region of inland Alaska has become warmer and more erratic. Overall, that’s definitely not been a change for the better, she says. James ventured to South Florida this week — and the Society of Environmental Journalists’ annual meeting — to describe what it’s like to weather life on the frontlines of climate change.

Paleontology

Oxygen blew up ancient amoebas

Single-celled creatures' size spiked as oxygen levels rose.

Earth

Trees have a tipping point

Satellite data confirm that the amount of forest cover can shift suddenly in response to relatively small changes in fire frequency and rainfall.

Humans

Columbus’ arrival linked to carbon dioxide drop

The depopulation of the Americas due to introduced European diseases may have spurred Europe's Little Ice Age.

Chemistry

Cloud seeding by trees could alter precipitation, climate

Some tree pollens shed molecules that can affect precipitation.

Earth

Solar changes help create cold northern winters

Fluctuations in ultraviolet light can set up frigid, snowy conditions across parts of the Northern Hemisphere.

Life

When snowpack shrinks, elk can binge on aspen

As winters warm in the Rockies, majestic grazers may be threatening iconic Western tree.