Cyclone Nargis decimated part of Myanmar from May 2-4, its huge rains and storm surge flooding the Irrawaddy River delta, killing at least 22,000 people and leaving twice as many missing as of this writing.
Archive for the 'Oceans' Category
Why the Myanmar cyclone was so deadly
Published May 9th, 2008 in Hurricanes, Science, Photos, Oceans, Climate & Weather, Earth and Global Warming. 1 CommentHow does ‘global climate disruption’ sound?
Published February 29th, 2008 in Hurricanes, Science, Oceans, Earth, Global Warming, Climate & Weather and Human World. 7 CommentsThat’s the term we should use instead of “global warming,” says Harvard scientist John Holdren. He argues that “global warming” underrates the problem. Here’s why …
How do you conserve what the climate’s going to change?
Published January 31st, 2008 in Oceans, Science, Earth, Climate & Weather, Global Warming, Animals and Human World. 4 CommentsAn article this week in the New York Times explores an interesting predicament: In an era of climate change, conservation groups that work to preserve biologically important landscapes could find their work eventually undermined, or even pointless.
2007 continued warm trend
Published January 25th, 2008 in Science, Oceans, Earth, Climate & Weather and Global Warming. 3 CommentsTwo recent reports put 2007 as either the second-warmest year in the last century, or the fifth-warmest. Either way, 2007 was part of a trend of warm years — a trend that has seen the rate of warming triple in recent decades.
Two approaches to saving coral reefs
Published December 8th, 2007 in Oceans, Science, Innovation, Earth, Animals and Global Warming. 2 CommentsIn Papua New Guinea and Indonesia, people are taking different approaches to preserving – and in one case re-growing – coral reefs. Global warming and rising sea temperatures have been “bleaching” and killing reefs worldwide, making reef conservation an important issue.
How biodiversity is like an airplane
Published November 30th, 2007 in Science, Plants, Oceans, Earth and Animals. 0 CommentsIf you were flying in a plane, would you remove a rivet or bolt from the fuselage? Would you toss the spare parts out the window because they’re not doing anything at the moment?
‘Storm World’ examines hurricanes and global warming
Published October 31st, 2007 in Hurricanes, Science, Oceans, Earth, Climate & Weather and Global Warming. 3 CommentsThe record-setting Atlantic hurricane season of 2005, which included Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, sparked a lot of debate over whether global warming was in part responsible for all of the records, including the way the hurricane season lasted five weeks longer than normal, finally ending Jan. 6, 2006.
Right whales getting wronged?
Published October 22nd, 2007 in Science, Oceans and Animals. 3 CommentsThere’s a good plan to protect the endangered North Atlantic right whale, but the government is not implementing it. A recent Washington Post article explains why.
Arctic sea ice melts to record low
Published October 8th, 2007 in Arctic, Science, Oceans, Earth, Climate & Weather and Global Warming. 6 CommentsThe National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) announced October 1 that the summer melting of the sea ice at the North Pole hit a new record this year, shrinking to its lowest extent since satellite records started being kept in 1979. The big melt left 23 percent less ice than in 2005, the previous […]
Hurricanes and climate change: the big picture
Published September 30th, 2007 in Oceans, Hurricanes, Earth, Climate & Weather, Global Warming and Human World. 22 CommentsBack on Sept. 21 I covered a seminar on hurricanes and climate change. Five scientists presented some of their latest research into the topic. It was an excellent event – and quite an education for me.
Dr. Kerry Emanuel, a professor of atmospheric science at M.I.T., opened the seminar by describing the three approaches scientists […]