Spring comes 10 days earlier in changed U.S. climate
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Spring comes about 10 days earlier in the United States than it did two decades ago, a consequence of climate change that favors invasive species over indigenous ones, scientists said on Tuesday.
The phenomenon known as “spring creep” has put various species of U.S. wildlife out of balance with their traditional habitats, from the rabbit-like American pika in the West to the roses and lilies in New England, the environmental experts said in a telephone news briefing.
Earth’s missing heat could haunt us later: report
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The rise in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere means far more energy is coming into Earth’s climate system than is going out, but half of that energy is missing and could eventually reappear as another sign of climate change, scientists said on Thursday.
In stable climate times, the amount of heat coming into Earth’s system is equal to the amount leaving it, but these are not stable times, said John Fasullo of the U.S. National Center for Atmospheric Research, a co-author of the report in the journal Science.
The tweets of your life, now archived at the Library of Congress
Did you tweet what you had for breakfast today? If so, that bagel and coffee are now immortalized, sort of, as the Library of Congress has acquired the entire Twitter archive. Billions of 140-character musings, some 55 million tweets a day, just waiting to be read. You may wonder if anyone reads your tweets, but at least they’ll be in good company.
Even though Twitter has only been around since 2006, there are tweets that will live in history, such as Barack Obama’s message when he won the presidency in 2008: “We just made history. All of this happened because you gave your time, talent and passion. All of this happened because of you. Thanks” — a pretty big message for 140 characters, and yet gets the story told.
Exclusive: Climate change could raise cost of allergies
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Climate change could push the cost of U.S. allergies and asthma beyond the current $32 billion annual price tag, conservation and health groups reported on Wednesday.
A warming planet makes for longer growing seasons that would produce more allergy-provoking pollen in much of the heavily populated eastern two-thirds of the United States, the National Wildlife Federation and the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America said in their report.
Climate change could raise cost of U.S. allergies
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Climate change could push the cost of U.S. allergies and asthma beyond the current $32 billion annual price tag, conservation and health groups reported on Wednesday.
A warming planet makes for longer growing seasons that would produce more allergy-provoking pollen in much of the heavily populated eastern two-thirds of the United States, the National Wildlife Federation and the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America said in their report.
World marine debris totals 10 mln pieces in 1-day cleanup
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – More than 10 million pieces of trash were plucked from the world’s waterways in a single day last year. But for Philippe Cousteau, the beach sandals that washed up in the Norwegian arctic symbolized the global nature of the problem of marine debris.
“We saw flip-flops washing ashore on these islands in far northern Norway near the Arctic Circle,” Cousteau, a conservationist and grandson of famed oceanographer Jacques Cousteau, said in a telephone interview.
World marine debris totals 10 mln in 1-day cleanup
WASHINGTON, April 13 (Reuters) – More than 10 million
pieces of trash were plucked from the world’s waterways in a
single day last year. But for Philippe Cousteau, the beach
sandals that washed up in the Norwegian arctic symbolized the
global nature of the problem of marine debris.
“We saw flip-flops washing ashore on these islands in far
northern Norway near the Arctic Circle,” Cousteau, a
conservationist and grandson of famed oceanographer Jacques
Cousteau, said in a telephone interview.
Firms urge Obama to offer consumer energy info
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Almost 50 U.S. firms and organizations, including Google, General Electric and AT&T, urged President Barack Obama on Tuesday to let consumers know how much energy they use so they can decide where to cut back.
This could “unleash the forces of innovation in homes and businesses … reduce greenhouse gas emissions and save consumers billions of dollars,” the group of 47 companies and organizations said in a letter to Obama.
Philippines dragon-sized lizard is a new species
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A dragon-sized, fruit-eating lizard that lives in the trees on the northern Philippines island of Luzon has been confirmed as a new species, scientists reported on Tuesday.
Hunted for its tasty flesh, the brightly colored forest monitor lizard can grow to more than six feet in length but weighs only about 22 pounds (10 kg), said Rafe Brown of the University of Kansas, whose team confirmed the find.
FBI probes threats over Democrats’ healthcare vote
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The FBI and police are investigating attacks and threats against Democratic members of Congress who voted for healthcare reform, and a senior House of Representatives Democrat said on Wednesday his colleagues are at risk.
Democrats decried heated Republican rhetoric, including 2008 vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin’s Twitter comment urging supporters, “Don’t Retreat, Instead — RELOAD.”
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