Nature & Environment : Science World Report

Feb 28, 2012 01:49 PM EST

Indigenous Peoples at Forefront of Climate Change Offer Lessons on Plant Biodiversity

Humans are frequently blamed for deforestation and the destruction of environments, yet there are also examples of peoples and cultures around the world that have learned to manage and conserve the precious resources around them. The Yanesha of the upper Peruvian Amazon and the Tibetans of the Himal...

Feb 28, 2012 12:21 PM EST

Reduction in US Carbon Emissions Attributed to Cheaper Natural Gas

In 2009, when the United States fell into economic recession, greenhouse gas emissions also fell, by 6.59 percent relative to 2008. In the power sector, however, the recession was not the main cause. Researchers at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) have shown that the p...

Feb 28, 2012 09:51 AM EST

Arctic Sea Ice Decline may be driving Snowy Winters Seen in Recent Years

A new study led by the Georgia Institute of Technology provides further evidence of a relationship between melting ice in the Arctic regions and widespread cold outbreaks in the Northern Hemisphere. The study's findings could be used to improve seasonal forecasting of snow and temperature anomalies ...

Feb 28, 2012 08:46 AM EST

Report Examines What US Can Learn From EU Chemicals Law

U.S. industry and environmental groups agree that the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) of 1976 needs to be modernized to better protect public health and the environment. However, there is no consensus on what the reform should look like.

Feb 27, 2012 08:28 AM EST

Call for Tough New Targets on European Union Energy Reduction

Energy efficiency experts at the University of East Anglia (UEA) are calling for ambitious new targets to reduce energy demand across the European Union. In a report published today by the Build with CaRe consortium, the researchers propose a new EU target of a 40 per cent reduction in primary en...

Feb 27, 2012 07:41 AM EST

Ancient Arabic Writings Help Scientists Piece Together Past Climate

Ancient manuscripts written by Arabic scholars can provide valuable meteorological information to help modern scientists reconstruct the climate of the past, a new study has revealed. The research, published in Weather, analyses the writings of scholars, historians and diarists in Iraq during the Is...

Feb 25, 2012 08:14 AM EST

Extending the Ozone Monitoring Record

A new satellite instrument is sending back detailed information about the health of Earth's ozone layer, the atmospheric gas that shields life from harmful levels of the Sun's ultraviolet radiation. The Ozone Mapper and Profiler Suite, or OMPSâ€”one of five new instruments on the Suomi National...

Feb 24, 2012 03:39 PM EST

IAEA Team Concludes Peer Review of Sweden's Nuclear Regulatory Framework

An international team of senior nuclear safety and radiation protection experts today concluded a 12-day mission to review the regulatory framework for nuclear and radiation safety in Sweden.

Feb 24, 2012 10:38 AM EST

Study IDs New Marine Protected Areas in Madagascar

A new study by the University of California, Berkeley, Wildlife Conservation Society, and others uses a new scientific methodology for establishing marine protected areas in Madagascar that offers a "diversified portfolio" of management options â€“ from strict no-take zones to areas that would ...

Feb 24, 2012 10:29 AM EST

Protecting the Climate by Reducing Fluorinated Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), which have been used in recent years in increasing quantities as substitutes for CFCs, are also climatically very active and many are also extremely long-lived. In the renowned journal Science an international team of researchers recommends that the most potent of these ga...

Feb 23, 2012 01:28 PM EST

'Storm of the century' may become 'storm of the decade'

As the Earth's climate changes, the worst inundations from hurricanes and tropical storms could become far more common in low-lying coastal areas, a new study suggests. Researchers from Princeton University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology found that regions such as the New York City me...

Feb 23, 2012 10:39 AM EST

Study: Nation's Urban Forests Losing Ground

National results indicate that tree cover in urban areas of the United States is declining at a rate of about 4 million trees per year, according to a U.S. Forest Service study published recently in Urban Forestry & Urban Greening.