climate change

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Rice Has a Goldilocks Problem
Rice Has a Goldilocks Problem
Jan 6, 2024 3:55 PM CST

Rice Has a Goldilocks Problem

Too much or too little water hurts the crop, and changing climate is causing both conditions

(Newser) - Rice is essential to feeding the planet, but climate change is forcing farmers to adapt as heat and flooding reach extreme conditions. Per Modern Farmer , breeders and scientists are working toward that goal (an essential one to fighting hunger, with 20% of human calories consumed from rice). They write that...

Climate Researcher's Unusual Message: Hope

Dr. Hannah Ritchie says hypernegative messaging obscures real progress, and might even hinder it

(Newser) - How do we keep positive about the environment after the hottest year on record ? By focusing on wins, not climate change doom reports, says Dr. Hannah Ritchie, who spoke with the New York Times Magazine about her new book, Not the End of the World . In it, she makes...

On Climate Studies, Meet the 'Worst-Worst-Case Scenario'

Renowned scientist's new study warns that a feared acceleration of warming is already underway

(Newser) - As the world puts to bed the hottest year on record, the Washington Post calls attention to a study suggesting we haven't seen anything yet. The paper by renowned climate scientist James Hansen—the New York Times notes that it was Hansen's testimony before Congress 35 years ago...

Al Gore: 'We Can Reclaim Control of Our Destiny'

Former VP says technology to reverse climate change exists, calls for grassroots pressure

(Newser) - Al Gore sounded a familiar theme in an end-of-year interview with CNN—the climate change situation is "dire." But the former VP also sounded a distinct note of optimism about the ability to fix it. "The good news is we can reclaim control of our destiny,"...

Bing Crosby Would Be Disappointed This Christmas

Prospects aren't good for a white Christmas across much of the US—except in Alaska

(Newser) - For most Americans dreaming of a white Christmas, this year's prospects aren't good. Although parts of the Rockies and Midwest already have snow or could get a fresh dusting by Monday, other parts of the country that are normally coated in white this time of year are still...

Drought Kills at Least 100 Elephants
Drought Kills
at Least 100
Elephants
Dec 19, 2023 12:00 PM CST

Drought Kills at Least 100 Elephants

El Nino blamed for lack of water killing pachyderms in recent weeks in Zimbabwe's largest national park

(Newser) - At least 100 elephants have died in Zimbabwe's largest national park in recent weeks because of drought, their carcasses a grisly sign of what wildlife authorities and conservation groups say is the impact of climate change and the El Nino weather phenomenon. Authorities warn that more could die as...

The Farm of the Future Might Just Float
This Is a Farm. Yes, It Floats
Dec 17, 2023 4:35 PM CST

This Is a Farm. Yes, It Floats

Cows have basically a houseboat in Rotterdam harbor, while Indians try seedling rafts to outsmart climate change

(Newser) - On the top deck of a three-tiered structure moored near downtown Rotterdam, brown and white cows graze on hay dropped from a conveyor belt above their heads. Canopies protect the cows from sun and collect rainwater they will drink. Sometimes the cows walk over to a machine that automatically milks...

Out of COP28, 'Historic' Deal to 'Do What Is Long Overdue'

But critics say little has changed with loopholes that could 'potentially take us backward'

(Newser) - United Nations climate negotiators directed the world on Wednesday to transition away from planet-warming fossil fuels in a move the talks chief called historic, despite critics' worries about loopholes, per the AP . "Humanity has finally done what is long, long, long overdue," Wopke Hoekstra, European Union commissioner for...

At Climate Summit, a Record Number of Fossil Fuel Reps

Experts fear their influence at COP28 could block vital action on climate change

(Newser) - A record number of fossil fuel representatives are attending the ongoing United Nations climate summit, something experts fear could translate to a lack of progress toward curbing climate change. The Kick Big Polluters Out Coalition, comprising more than 450 groups working in environmental and climate action, analyzed a provisional attendance...

Al Gore Has Fighting Words at UN Climate Summit

Says conference host is head of 'one of the largest and one of the dirtiest ... oil companies in the world'

(Newser) - Don't trust the oil and gas industry to report their actual carbon pollution, says former US Vice President Al Gore, who adds that the man leading the United Nations climate talks runs one of the "dirtiest" oil companies out there. "They're much better at capturing politicians...

Xprize Winner Is Betting on Seaweed to Save the Planet

Seaweed farms are a food source and store carbon, but some scientists are wary

(Newser) - The Climate Foundation won a $1 million Milestone award from Elon Musk's Xprize foundation last year for its innovative solutions to trapping carbon via seaweed farming. Now, the group is vying for part of the foundation's $100 million fund alongside 14 other prize winners, but the Guardian reports...

Farming Is New Hope as Droughts Erase Truffles

Already rare wild truffles are becoming harder to find, driving up prices

(Newser) - If you thought wild truffles were already an indulgence, climate change is expected to make the fungal delicacy even harder to obtain. However, the newer practice of farming truffles may save the industry, Modern Farmer reports. In terms of the problem, "the climate's no good," Italian truffle...

In 1971, His Climate Research Raised Early Alarm Bells
Early Climate Scientist:
'Where Did I Go Wrong?'
LONGFORM
Nov 26, 2023 9:00 AM CST

Early Climate Scientist: 'Where Did I Go Wrong?'

Australia's Graeme Pearman, 82, now laments that so little action was taken decades ago

(Newser) - "I often wonder: where did I go wrong?" Graeme Pearman tells the Guardian . "Why didn't people respond? Is that my responsibility?" In the early '70s, Pearman rang the alarm about what he saw as an impending climate crisis as part of CSIRO, Australia's government agency...

Gruesome 'Valley Fever' Is Spreading in US West

Cases of flesh-eating fungus that grows in the dirt are rising amid warming temperatures

(Newser) - Extreme heat, flooding, and all manner of severe weather are strongly linked to climate change, but a new threat would like to enter the chat, and as a fair warning, it's pretty gruesome. Scientists warn that coccidioides, a fungus that causes an ailment known as Valley Fever , is spreading...

Peru Says More Than Half Its Glacier Surface Is Gone

In one mountain range, 99% of glacial surface has disappeared since 1962

(Newser) - Peru has lost more than half of its glacier surface in the last six decades, and 175 glaciers became extinct due to climate change between 2016 and 2020, Peruvian scientists from the state agency that studies glaciers said Wednesday, per the AP . "In 58 years, 56.22% of the...

12 Richest People Cause More Pollution Than 2M Homes

New Oxfam report points the finger at the 1% for more carbon emissions than poorest 2/3 of world

(Newser) - If you're feeling guilty that you haven't yet bought an EV or installed solar panels on your roof to cut down on your portion of greenhouse gases, you're (somewhat) off the hook—you can blame the 1% for a lot of that pollution. A new Oxfam International...

Climate 'Whisper' Now Will Soon Be a 'Roar'

So says lead author of new UN report on how we're closing in on blowing past global climate threshold

(Newser) - The globe is speeding toward 2.5 degrees Celsius to 2.9 degrees Celsius (4.5-5.2 degrees Fahrenheit) of global warming since preindustrial times, set to blow well past the agreed-upon international climate threshold, a United Nations report has calculated. To have an even-money shot at keeping warming to...

Humanity Is Facing &#39;the Ultimate Threat&#39;
Humanity Is Facing
'the Ultimate Threat'
the rundown
Nov 15, 2023 8:09 AM CST

Humanity Is Facing 'the Ultimate Threat'

National Climate Assessment shows need for 'transformative' change to reduce emissions

(Newser) - US greenhouse-gas emissions fell less than 1% per year on average from 2005 to 2019, a trend that is not going to cut it, according to the Fifth National Climate Assessment and first since 2018. Emissions need to decline more than 6% per year on average to prevent global warming...

Food Waste Accounts for 58% of Methane in Landfills

More than 50 local officials are asking the EPA to help accelerate food scrap recycling

(Newser) - More than one-third of the food produced in the US is never eaten. Much of it ends up in landfills, where it generates tons of methane that hastens climate change. That's why more than 50 local officials signed onto a letter Tuesday calling on the Environmental Protection Agency to...

In Parched California, This Plant Offers Hope

More people are growing drought-resistant agave for use in alcoholic drinks

(Newser) - Leo Ortega started growing spiky blue agave plants on the arid hillsides around his Southern California home because his wife liked the way they looked. A decade later, his property is now dotted with thousands of what he and others hope is a promising new crop for the state following...

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