Earth

  1. Earth

    Long dry spell

    Falling reservoir levels in the western United States are just one symptom that the region is suffering through a drought that may be the worst to strike in the past 500 years.

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  2. Earth

    Cost of protecting the oceans

    Operating an extensive global network of marine parks in which fishing and habitat-stressing activities are restricted would probably be more affordable for governments than continuing to subsidize struggling fisheries at current levels.

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  3. Earth

    Blueberry Hills: Utah nodules resemble some found on Mars

    Analyses of small iron oxide nodules found within certain sandstones of the U.S. Southwest could shed light on how similar spherules may have formed on Mars.

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  4. Agriculture

    Coming Soon—Spud Lite

    A new variety of baking potato has about 25 percent fewer calories and 30 percent fewer carbohydrates per unit weight than the typical brown-skinned Idaho potato.

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  5. Earth

    Newspaper’s Footprint: Environmental toll of all the news that’s fit to print

    The environmental impacts of getting a newspaper dropped on your doorstep each morning vastly outweigh those of receiving the same information via a handheld electronic device.

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  6. Earth

    Limiting Dead Zones

    To limit algal blooms and the development of fishless dead zones in coastal waters, farmers and other sources of nitrate are investigating novel strategies to control nitrate runoff.

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  7. Earth

    Geyser Bashing: Distant quake alters timing of eruptions

    A powerful earthquake that struck central Alaska on Nov. 3, 2002, changed the eruption schedule of some geysers in Wyoming's Yellowstone National Park, more than 3,100 kilometers away.

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  8. Earth

    Killer weather on Mount Everest

    An analysis of weather patterns around Mount Everest in May 1996, when eight climbers died, suggests that a sudden drop in barometric pressure may have played a significant role in the deaths.

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  9. Earth

    Dead Waters

    Coastal dead zones—underwater regions where oxygen concentrations are too low for fish to survive—are mushrooming globally, threatening to transform entire ecosystems.

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  10. Earth

    Big Thaw Coming: Climate change may slam Arctic

    If the changes in climate predicted for this century come to pass, the people and creatures of the Arctic will face some of the largest challenges.

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  11. Earth

    Global Vineyard

    Recognizing that continued climate change may leave some renowned grape-growing regions too hot or too dry to support vineyards, growers may turn to new technology and techniques to produce consistently better fruit.

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  12. Earth

    A Portrait of Pollution: Nation’s fresh water gets a checkup

    Virtually all of America's fresh water is tainted with low concentrations of chemical contaminants, according to a new nationwide study.

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