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Lonely Species Matter Too
Posted by Nature World: None Given on November 1st, 2014
Nature World: The lemur, Javan rhino and Santa Cruz kangaroo rat are all lonely animals, but they matter too, according to a new study. As endemic species, living in habitats restricted to a particular area, they are more important to biodiversity than previously thought.
Factors like climate change and urban development have all forced these animals into a lonely existence, however, they have also developed unique strategies as a means for survival. And these characteristics, as described in the journal PLOS...
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Miles of Gulf Seafloor Slick with Oil from BP Spill
Posted by Nature World: None Given on October 30th, 2014
Nature World: Back in 2010, the infamous Deepwater Horizon oil spill gushed millions of barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, but where a lot of that oil ended up remained a mystery. Now however, a large amount of that elusive oil has been found, coating miles of the Gulf seafloor, according to new research.
Between two and 16 percent of the total oil spilled sits just within 25 miles (40 kilometers) of the BP-operated Macondo well responsible for the environmental disaster.
"This analysis provides us...
Even Worldwide Pandemic Can’t Cull Unsustainable Human Population
Posted by Nature World: None Given on October 28th, 2014
Nature World: Environmental scientists for the most part agree that the human population is growing at an unsustainable rate, to the point that even fertility restrictions and a worldwide pandemic couldn't solve the problem, according to new research.
There are currently more than seven billion people on Earth. And despite the United Nation's (UN) belief that humanity would level off, so to speak, a report published just last month shows that the 21st century may get a lot more crowded than previously thought....
Florida Lizards Evolve in Just 15 Years
Posted by Nature World: None Given on October 25th, 2014
Nature World: A native lizard species from Florida has demonstrated some rapid evolution - in as little as 15 years - due to pressures from an invading lizard species hailing from Cuba, according to a recent study.
Fearful of invading Cuban anoles or brown anoles, the native lizards reportedly began perching higher in trees, and, generation after generation, their feet evolved to become better at gripping the thinner, smoother branches found higher up.
The change occurred so quickly, that just within a matter...
Uncovering Evidence of a 6th Mass Extinction
Posted by Nature World: None Given on October 23rd, 2014
Nature World: New fossil evidence is pointing to the possibility of a sixth mass extinction event in Earth's past, and this one may have helped usher in the largest "great dying" that that ever occurred. If that is right, the Permian period may have actually been hit with a two-punch knockout that caused more species loss than the infamous extinction of the dinosaurs.
New fossil evidence is pointing to the possibility of a sixth mass extinction event in Earth's past, and this one may have helped usher in the...
‘Plumbing System’ Slows Greenland Ice Sheet
Posted by Nature World: None Given on October 6th, 2014
Nature World: The subglacial "plumbing system" beneath Greenland is slowing the ice sheet's movement toward the sea as the summer progresses, according to new research.
"Everyone wants to know what's happening under Greenland as it experiences more and more melt," study co-author Ginny Catania, a research scientist at the University of Texas at Austin's Institute for Geophysics, said in a statement. "This subglacial plumbing may or may not be critical for sea level rise in the next 100 years, but we don't really...
Air Pollution is Driving Fewer Monsoons?
Posted by Nature World: None Given on October 6th, 2014
Nature World: A new study has found that pollutant emissions produced by human activity has been causing the world's total annual monsoon rainfall to decline over the past five decades. And while that may be good news for some flood-prone regions, experts do not doubt that it has had a significant adverse impact on delicate ecologies.
That's all according to a study recently published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.
"This study shows for the first time that the drying of the monsoon over the...
Natural Gas Usage Won’t Help Curb Carbon Emissions
Posted by Nature World: None Given on September 25th, 2014
Nature World: Switching from coal to natural gas for power generation will do very little to reduce harmful US carbon emissions causing climate change, according to new research. In fact, burning this cheap gas will just make us use more energy and hinder the expansion of renewable resources like wind and solar.
It's no secret that coal-fired plants, the nation's largest source of power, produce vast quantities of carbon dioxide (CO2), the main greenhouse gas polluting Earth's atmosphere. Increased use of natural...
206 Million Pounds Chemicals Hit Our Waterways in One Year
Posted by Nature World: None Given on September 21st, 2014
Nature World: A new report prepared by the Environment America Research and Policy Center (EARPC) has revealed than in 2012 alone, more than 206 million pounds of toxic chemicals found were dumped into United States waterways despite efforts by local officials and the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to prevent this harmful action.
The report, dramatically named the "Wasting Our Waters" report, comes as the EPA considers a new ruling that would add Clean Water Act (CWA) protections to about two million...
Climate Change Means More Farmland but Fewer Harvests
Posted by Nature World: None Given on September 19th, 2014
Nature World: Researchers have recently crafted a new model of how climate change will impact agricultural production around the world, and they have found that it isn't as simple as "good" or "bad" consequences.
According to Wolfram Mauser at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, about two-thirds of all land that could even be potentially suitable for agricultural use in its current state is already in use, with the last third either part of protected ecosystems or likely going to be put into use in the approaching...