Nature & Environment : Science World Report

Apr 13, 2012 06:51 AM EDT

NOAA Retires GOES-7 after 25 Years As a Weather and Communications Satellite

This week, the GOES-7 satellite, one of NOAA's earliest geostationary satellites, was moved into a higher orbit and retired from service. Launched in 1987, GOES-7 first served as a critical weather satellite, capturing images of developing hurricanes and other severe storms that impacted the United ...

Apr 13, 2012 06:18 AM EDT

New Data Shows Canada to Miss Emissions Goal: Greens

Although Canada's output of greenhouse gases was almost unchanged in 2010 from 2009, the major oil producer will find it tough to meet its 2020 emissions-cut target, government figures signaled on Wednesday.

Apr 13, 2012 06:06 AM EDT

Wildfires Engulf Tennessee, Probed in New Jersey, New York

Wildfires scorched Tennessee on Wednesday as blazes in New Jersey and on New York's Long Island were largely brought under control and some were investigated as possible arson.

Apr 12, 2012 02:38 PM EDT

Poor spring Rain Projected in Africa

Spring rains in the eastern Horn of Africa are projected to begin late this year and be substantially lower than normal. From March - May, the rains are expected to total only 60 to 85 percentage of the average rainfall in this region. This is a significant deterioration compared to earlier forec...

Apr 12, 2012 12:41 PM EDT

Rapid Climate Change Threatens Asia's Rice Bowl

As Asia's monsoon season begins, leading climate specialists and agricultural scientists warned today that rapid climate change and its potential to intensify droughts and floods could threaten Asia's rice production and pose a significant threat to millions of people across the region.

Apr 12, 2012 11:22 AM EDT

In Environmental Disasters, Families Respond with Conflict, Denial, Silence

Environmental disasters impact individuals and communities; they also affect how family members communicate with each other, sometimes in surprising ways, according to a paper published by a faculty member at the University at Buffalo in the Journal of Family Issues.

Apr 12, 2012 10:58 AM EDT

Gulf Coast Residents Say BP Oil Spill Changed Their Environmental Views, UNH Research Finds

University of New Hampshire researchers have found that residents of Louisiana and Florida most acutely and directly affected by the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster -- the largest marine oil spill in U.S. history -- said they have changed their views on other environmental issues as a result of the sp...

Apr 12, 2012 10:05 AM EDT

New Research Puts Focus on Earthquake, Tsunami Hazard for Southern California

Scientists will convene in San Diego to present the latest seismological research at the annual conference of the Seismological Society of America (SSA), April 17-19.

Apr 12, 2012 06:53 AM EDT

FACTBOX-Largest Earthquakes Since 1900

Here is a factbox showing the 10 strongest earthquakes recorded since 1900, by order of magnitude, as Indonesia issued a tsunami warning for a time after a 8.6 magnitude earthquake struck off its westernmost province of Aceh on Wednesday.

Apr 12, 2012 06:44 AM EDT

Second Tremor Hit Western Mexico

Two large earthquakes struck western Mexico, shaking buildings as far away as the capital and sending people rushing out of offices onto the streets, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

Apr 12, 2012 05:56 AM EDT

Tsunami Alerts Pass Indonesia Quake Test, with Luck

Damage was light - the quakes were horizontal rather than vertical - and the big waves never came, unlike eight years ago when walls of water roared across the same ocean and ploughed into seaside communities in 13 countries without warning.

Apr 11, 2012 04:35 PM EDT

Buy coal? New Analysis Shows Purchasing Fossil Fuel Deposits Best Way to Light Climate Change

Environmental policy has historically been driven by a demand-side mindset - attempting to limit consumption of precious fossil fuels through pollution permits, taxation, and multi-national climate change treaties. However, new research from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern Universit...