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This is now deepest lake in Iceland, thanks to melting glaciers
Posted by Mother Nature Network: None Given on October 5th, 2015
Mother Nature Network: This gorgeous but frigid scene is Jökulsárlón, perhaps the most famous lake in Iceland.
Located at the head of the Breiðamerkurjökull glacier, the lake first appeared only in 1934-1935. Since then, it has continued to grow at varying rates based on the speed of glacier melt. Only a handful of years ago, it became the deepest lake in Iceland at over 814 feet deep.
The floating icebergs that have calved from the glacier are a big tourist and photographer attraction, and a variety of companies...
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We’re running out of water, NASA images show
Posted by Mother Nature Network: None Given on June 18th, 2015
Mother Nature Network: The Earth’s largest aquifers, a source of water for more than 60 million people, are depleting fast, likely due to a growing world population and industries such as agriculture, according to a new study. Scientists at the University of California, Irvine led the research that used NASA’s GRACE satellite to find out just how much groundwater we’re losing and how quickly. The detailed images show that 21 of the world’s 37 largest aquifers are “past sustainability tipping points,” meaning that those...
The unexpectedly weird and beautiful world of lichens
Posted by Mother Nature Network: None Given on March 11th, 2015
Mother Nature Network: Lichen is something we commonly see growing on rocks or tree branches, on old wood fences and rotting stumps. But how often do you stop to really ponder lichens? Probably not often. And yet lichens are surprisingly fascinating, and weird -- and beautiful! Despite their looks, lichens aren't actually a plant. Nor are they a fungus. They're a unique composite organism, the result of a symbiotic relationship of organisms from as many as three kingdoms, with the main partner being fungus. As Lichens...
Now is the time to invest in real geothermal energy
Posted by Mother Nature Network: None Given on February 22nd, 2015
Mother Nature Network: In a recent post on ground source heat pumps, I purposely used a photo of a geothermal installation in Iceland to make the point that geothermal energy was a very different thing. Many complained that I obviously didn't know what I was talking about ("The big clue starts with the picture at the top which is NOT a geothermal heat pump system.") Well, duh — that was the whole point. Geothermal power is a very different thing and a very important source of renewable energy. With true geothermal energy...
EPA: Proposed Pebble Mine could destroy Alaskan salmon fishery
Posted by Mother Nature Network: None Given on July 18th, 2014
Mother Nature Network: For one of the largest mines ever conceived, the proposed Pebble Mine project in southwest Alaska hasn't gotten much press. The site, located about 200 miles from Anchorage and accessible only by plane, is said to contain half a trillion dollars' worth of copper, gold and other valuable minerals. For years now a group called the Pebble Limited Partnership has been working to start mining operations at the site, but for just as long, conservation groups have fought the plan, saying it would cause...
5 reasons why West Coast is more vulnerable to mudslides
Posted by Mother Nature Network: None Given on March 28th, 2014
Mother Nature Network: Deadly mudslides can unfold in any of the 50 U.S. states, but a combination of geologic factors makes the West Coast especially vulnerable to the type of destructive flow that pummeled northwest Washington on Saturday (March 22), geologists say. Mudslides generally form when a massive layer of unconsolidated rock becomes waterlogged and slips under the force of gravity. The basic ingredients for a mudslide include large areas of unconsolidated rock, steep mountain slopes, and areas with shallow...
5 things that probably aren’t killing honeybees – and 1 thing that definitely is
Posted by Mother Nature Network: None Given on May 8th, 2013
Mother Nature Network: You’ve probably heard that honeybees in America had a particularly difficult time this winter, with hive losses surpassing 50 percent in some areas. Colony collapse disorder or CCD is blamed for doubling or tripling the usual rate of winter hive die-offs, and years into the epidemic, scientists are still scrambling to understand the cause or causes. Linkages have been found between CCD and a number of factors, but a single, smoking, bee-killing gun remains elusive. Let’s take a look at some of...
Protestors dislike Mark Zuckerberg’s support of Keystone XL pipeline
Posted by Mother Nature Network: None Given on May 2nd, 2013
Mother Nature Network: Dozens of protestors rallied outside Facebook's Menlo Park headquarters on Wednesday after FWD.US, the social welfare organization co-founded by Mark Zuckerberg, funded television ads in support of the Keystone XL pipeline and other oil drilling positions. "Facebook, dislike, Keystone take a hike," the protestors chanted, according to a report from the Mercury Daily News. When it was first announced, Zuckerberg and other FWD.US founders said the organization would focus mostly on immigration...
EPA: The nation’s rivers are in sad shape
Posted by Mother Nature Network: None Given on March 27th, 2013
Mother Nature Network: From the largest urban rivers to the tiniest undisturbed creeks, nearly 2,000 locations in rivers and streams across the country were sampled by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 2008 and 2009. The findings, published in the National Rivers and Streams Assessment 2008–2009, paint a dismal picture of the state of the nation’s waterways. The study found that more than 55 percent of our rivers and streams are in poor condition, posing health risks to fish, other wildlife and humans. Meanwhile,...
Obama needs to face climate change, reject Keystone pipeline
Posted by Mother Nature Network: None Given on November 13th, 2012
Mother Nature Network: It will be painfully easy to tell if President Barack Obama is going to take a serious stab at doing something about climate change in his second term: the purest, starkest test he faces will be the proposed Keystone XL pipeline from the tar sands of Canada to the Gulf of Mexico. Last fall, his stance on the Keystone project exemplified his waffling and contradictory climate policy. Faced with a solid front of the nation's foremost Earth scientists explaining that tapping Canada's tar sands for...