Climate change expected to intensify summertime droughts across Europe

Washington DC (UPI) Sep 7, 2021 The planet is getting hotter, that’s for certain, but studies suggest large portions of the planet are also getting variably wetter and drier. Over the last few decades, intense droughts have stressed water resources across the planet. Now, new findings – published Tuesday in the journal Frontiers in Water – suggest Europe is likely to experience longer more frequent … Continue reading Climate change expected to intensify summertime droughts across Europe

Birds are shapeshifting in response to climate change

Washington DC (UPI) Sep 7, 2021 Animals are changing their bodies to adapt to rising global temperatures. Among shape-shifters, birds are leading the charge. According to a new survey, published Tuesday in the journal Trends in Ecology and Evolution, bird species are altering their physiology – growing bigger beaks or longer legs – in response to climate change. In the news, climate change is often … Continue reading Birds are shapeshifting in response to climate change

Paleontologists find massive half-billion-year-old fossil species in Canadian Rockies

Washington DC (UPI) Sep 8, 2021 Paleontologists have discovered a massive new arthropod fossil species that lived in North America during the Cambrian period more than a half-billion years ago. The fossil remains were uncovered from the Burgess Shale deposit found throughout Canada’s Kootenay National Park. Scientists described the new species, Titanokorys gainesi, in a paper published Wednesday in the journalhttp://dlvr.it/S7Dtr6 Continue reading Paleontologists find massive half-billion-year-old fossil species in Canadian Rockies

Armed with voting rights, native groups join conservation fray

Marseille (AFP) Sept 6, 2021 Newly armed with voting rights, indigenous peoples have come to the world’s leading conservation congress meeting in the French city of Marseille both hopeful and wary. They have demands, and will not go quietly into the night, their representatives say. “It makes no sense for consultants and companies to come to teach us how to protect what we have always … Continue reading Armed with voting rights, native groups join conservation fray

Social cost of 2019’s plastic more than GDP of India

Marseille (AFP) Sept 6, 2021 The pollution, emissions and clean-up costs of plastic produced in 2019 alone could be $3.7 trillion, according to a report released Monday by wildlife charity WWF, warning of the environmental and economic burden of this “seemingly cheap” material. There is increasing international alarm over the sheer volumes of fossil-fuel based plastics entering the environment, as microplastics have inhttp://dlvr.it/S79BMP Continue reading Social cost of 2019’s plastic more than GDP of India

BlackSky secures investment from Palantir

Herndon VA (SPX) Sep 02, 2021 BlackSky announced Wednesday that Palantir Technologies Inc. has committed to making an equity investment in BlackSky, which is scheduled to close after the completion of BlackSky’s business combination with Osprey Technology Acquisition Corp (“Osprey”). Following the successful completion of a joint pilot program between BlackSky and Palantir, this investment signifies the strengthening of a sthttp://dlvr.it/S79BJH Continue reading BlackSky secures investment from Palantir

Improving food security through capacity building

Greenbelt MD (SPX) Sep 02, 2021 Food security – the consistent availability and affordability of food – is a basic human need, yet it remains elusive for billions of people around the world. The United Nations’ 2021 State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World report, released in July, paints a grim picture of this reality: in 2020, nearly 1 in 3 people globally … Continue reading Improving food security through capacity building

Tipping points in Earth’s system triggered rapid climate change 55 million years ago

Exeter UK (SPX) Sep 01, 2021 Scientists have uncovered a fascinating new insight into what caused one of the most rapid and dramatic instances of climate change in the history of the Earth. A team of researchers, led by Dr Sev Kender from the University of Exeter, have made a pivotal breakthrough in the cause behind the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) – an extreme global … Continue reading Tipping points in Earth’s system triggered rapid climate change 55 million years ago

When land rises, bird and mammal evolution speeds up

Washington DC (UPI) Sep 2, 2021 Over the last 3 million years, bird and mammal species have evolved more rapidly in places where land has risen more dramatically – according to a new research. The study, published Thursday in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution, is one of the first to investigate the links between elevation change and speciation on a global scale. According to … Continue reading When land rises, bird and mammal evolution speeds up

Rapid Arctic warming triggers extreme winter events in US: study

Washington (AFP) Sept 2, 2021 Rapid warming of the Arctic is likely a key driver of extreme winter weather in the United States, according to a new study that addresses a longstanding apparent contradiction in climate science and could explain events like February’s cold snap in Texas. The paper, published in the journal Science, used observational data and modeling to establish a link between planetary … Continue reading Rapid Arctic warming triggers extreme winter events in US: study