By Marguerite Holloway January-March 2010 (Vol. 11 No. 1)
Galvanized by observations of environmental destruction in the U.S. and in many of the countries he studied or visited during his career as an American diplomat, George Perkins Marsh wrote Man and Nature. Published in 1864, the influential book awakened the American public to the […] Read More »
By Nathanael Johnson January-March 2010 (Vol. 11 No. 1)
Beekeeper Eric Olson has lost so many bees in the past few years, he’s had to consider closing shop. But nothing prepared him for what he found when he went out early one November morning to do a final check on “his girls,” as he […] Read More »
By Susan Casey January-March 2010 (Vol. 11 No. 1)
Fate can take strange forms, and so perhaps it does not seem unusual that Captain Charles Moore found his life’s purpose in a nightmare. Unfortunately, he was awake at the time, and 1300 kilometers north of Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean.
Returning to Southern California […] Read More »
Plastic poses a deadly threat to marine organisms that swallow or become ensnared in it, but researchers have long wondered whether plastic also affects marine species on a molecular level. Now, a team of Japanese scientists has uncovered the first evidence that plastic may decompose in seawater—suggesting that it could contaminate marine life from […] Read More »
In August 2009, scientists from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography set sail on an unprecedented research mission. Their goal: start unraveling plastic’s impact on ocean ecology.
The research team headed west from San Diego to the North Pacific garbage patch, where they encountered a surprise. Based on previous reports, the scientists had expected to […] Read More »
Frank, my husband, is a self-described “hard” scientist. He studies chemicals in the brain—how desire actually works in the cells, the little switches and locks. He listens to me talk about what it means to love a place, but he says I can’t just assume that people care about places. He says I need […] Read More »
by George Monbiot
There is no point in denying it: we’re losing. Climate change denial is spreading like a contagious disease. It exists in a sphere that cannot be reached by evidence or reasoned argument. This sphere is expanding with astonishing speed.
A recent survey by the Pew Research Center suggests that the proportion […] Read More »
The Earth After Us
What Legacy Will Humans Leave in the Rocks?
By Jan Zalasiewicz
Oxford University Press, 2009
Taking the very long view, geologist Jan Zalasiewicz embarks on a provocative thought experiment in his new book: if extraterrestrials landed on Earth 100 million years from now, what traces of humanity would they find? […] Read More »
As global warming lengthens the growing season for many ecosystems, trees may suck more carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere—or so some have hoped. A study of a subalpine forest, however, shows that the exact opposite can happen.
Researchers studied nine years of data on a Colorado forest composed mainly of pine, fir, and […] Read More »
Scientists are challenging the widespread idea that amphibians are more sensitive to environmental contamination than other species. Amphibians are thought to provide early warning signs of environmental damage because they have permeable skin, diverse diets, and habitats spanning both land and water.
But some scientists argue that amphibians’ supposed sensitivity is not backed up […] Read More »
The marriage between chocolate and conservation might be more bitter than sweet. For years, conservationists have chased after the goal of making shade-grown cacao farms a win-win for business, poor farmers, and the environment. But a new study in Conservation Letters explains how economic boom-bust cycles have gotten in the way.
Led by Yann […] Read More »
Do you feel a little better about yourself when you opt for the organic yogurt, recycled paper towels, and compact fluorescent light bulbs at the store? If so, you may be surprised to learn that buying environmentally friendly products might make you more likely to engage in unethical behavior.
Research done in the past […] Read More »
In a puzzling development, blue whales around the world are singing in deeper tones. This finding came as researchers analyzed historical recordings of seven types of blue whale songs taken in the Pacific, Atlantic, Southern, and Indian Oceans. The most-extensively monitored type of song, recorded in the eastern North Pacific, dropped in tonal frequency […] Read More »
Carbon-offsetting schemes often focus on planting new forests as a means of lowering atmospheric CO2. Most climate models have suggested that this strategy will be most effective in the tropics, where forests are more productive and can therefore store more carbon. But a new study in the journal Global and Planetary Change says those […] Read More »
The nitrogen pumped by humans into the environment may reduce plant biodiversity, but higher carbon-dioxide levels could hold those losses in check.
University of Minnesota researcher Peter Reich carried out a ten-year experiment to determine the combined effects of elevated nitrogen and carbon-dioxide levels on 16 species of plants. When nitrogen alone was increased, […] Read More »
