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Fracking’s Impact on Animals Still Largely Unknown
Posted by Nature World: None Given on August 18th, 2014
Nature World: Fracking's impact on animals is still largely unknown, which scientists see as a real problem given that business is booming.
Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, shows no signs of stopping. Between 2005 and 2013, some 82,000 fracking wells were drilled into the shale deposits beneath 17 states, according to the environmental advocacy group Environment America.
But scientists are concerned about this method of accessing oil and gas beneath the soil - which involves injecting chemicals into the...
Japan: The Fukushima Effect: Insidious Radiation Impact
Posted by Nature World: None Given on August 15th, 2014
Nature World: Compared to the Chernobyl meltdown, the levels of radiation released by the Fukushima-Daiichi power plant disaster in 2011 were a drop in the bucket. Even so, a new series of studies has shown that certain types of birds, plants and insects in Japan are all suffering from the impacts of fallout. Researchers say studying these organisms will help them better understand the complex dangers of radiation.
These studies were all recently published in the Journal of Heredity and detail observations...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Japan: The Fukushima Effect: Insidious Radiation ImpactThe Arctic is Definitely Losing its Snow, Say Experts
Posted by Nature World: None Given on August 14th, 2014
Nature World: Experts from NASA and the University of Washington (UW) have recently determined with certainty that the Arctic is losing its snow depth at an alarming rate, especially on its sea ice.
This should not be surprising for anyone who has been paying attention to the recent alarming news from the Arctic. NASA and other organizations say that the Arctic has started experiencing increased summer sea ice loss within the last few years, indicating a drastic shift in overall seasonal sea and air temperatures...
Giant Sequoias Under Pressure from Climate Change
Posted by Nature World: None Given on August 13th, 2014
Nature World: Giant sequoias, some of the world's oldest and tallest trees, are under pressure from drought, wildfires and climate change, according to scientists with the US Geological Survey.
Although sequoias aren't yet in trouble - even with the ongoing drought in California - scientists worry that them and trees alike, such as ancient redwoods and bristlecone pines, will soon be feeling the heat.
These types of trees aren't built to withstand decades of dry and warming weather. Their seedlings and saplings...
Red Tide Threatens Gulf of Mexico Fish
Posted by Nature World: None Given on July 28th, 2014
Nature World: A "Red Tide" of harmful algae has been identified just off Florida's west coast in the Gulf of Mexico. Officials say that it is likely behind the large number of fish and sea turtle deaths recently reported by fishermen and beachgoers.
Red Tide, also known as "Rust Tide" or "Red Bloom," are most commonly characterized by a rusty red color of the blooming phytoplankton dinoflagellates Alexandrium or Karenia brevis - single celled algae.
Harmful algae blooms, (HABs) have been associated with...
Serious Water Losses Identified in Colorado Basin
Posted by Nature World: None Given on July 24th, 2014
Nature World: The Colorado River basin is drying up. According to data recently released by NASA, the basin has lost nearly 53 million acre feet of freshwater since 2004, taking away far more water than the nation's largest reservoirs can refill.
The Colorado River basin is drying up. According to data recently released by NASA, the basin has lost nearly 53 million acre feet of freshwater since 2004, taking away far more water than the region can hope to refill.
Based on data from NASA's Gravity Recovery...
Following Africa’s Water: A Threat of Scarcity
Posted by Nature World: None Given on July 24th, 2014
Nature World: Irrigation systems are essential for maintaining food production in Africa. However, compared to the developed worlds, African farmers have barely any water access. Now researchers are warning that some deprived parts of the continent are due for even more water scarcity in the wake of climate change.
As first described by Nature World News last month, churning atmospheric winds are utterly reforming what is "normal" weather for the globe, and are reallocating some very important patterns for...
Atlantic Salmon can Adapt to Warm Waters
Posted by Nature World: None Given on July 18th, 2014
Nature World: Atlantic salmon can cope with climate change, a new study has found.
The study, conducted by researchers at the University of Oslo and University of British Columbia, has found that populations of Atlantic salmon have the ability to adjust to warmer temperatures.
For the study, researchers looked at salmon populations in two European rivers. The team compared fish population from Norway's northern Alta River with fish population in France's Dordogne River. The temperature of the Alta river...
Rare Florida Forest to be Bulldozed and Turned into Wal-Mart
Posted by Nature World: None Given on July 14th, 2014
Nature World: A plot of Miami-Dade forest home to rare plants and endangered species is to be torn down to make way for a Wal-Mart, a move that's causing alarm among some environmentalists.
The University of Miami (UM) sold 88 acres of pine rockland to Ram, a Palm Beach County-based developer planning a 185,000-square-foot Wal-Mart, along with an LA Fitness, Chik-fil-A, Chili's and 900 apartments.
Though the company agreed to set aside 40 acres for a preserve, it's not nearly big enough to hold the vast...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Rare Florida Forest to be Bulldozed and Turned into Wal-MartLesions of Gulf of Mexico Fish Linked to Oil Spill
Posted by Nature World: None Given on July 10th, 2014
Nature World: Skin lesions found on large a number of fish in the northern Gulf of Mexico have been linked to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon (DWH) ocean spill, scientists from the University of South Florida (USF) say.
Published in the journal Transactions of the American Fisheries Society, USF scientists reported a strong resemblance between oil from the Deepwater blowout and an outbreak of skin lesions and oil residue signatures discovered in bottom-dwelling fish, like the red snapper, a year after the spill....