“Earth’s average annual surface temperature is higher today than it was when record keeping began in the mid- to late 1800s, an indicator of long-term, global-scale climate warming.”
Tag: Climate Change
TEDtalk: How Behavioral Science Can Lower Your Energy Bill
In this February TED talk, Alex Laskey, founder and president of Opower, talks about using psychology to help energy customers lower their costs. The method isn’t what you think. Laskey notes an experiment asking residents to turn off their air conditioning to save energy. Residents received one of four messages about the request, from saving…
NASA to launch new solar satellite
On June 26, NASA will launch it’s next solar satellite which the agency hopes will provide the most detailed look ever at the sun’s lower atmosphere. The spacecraft will orbit “for almost continuous solar observations” during its 2-year mission. It will carry an ultra-violet telescope that can take high-res images and catch areas as small…
Winter sports athletes urge action on climate change
Dozens of Olympic gold medalists and other winter sports athletes sent a letter to President Barack Obama today urging action on climate and clean energy. From the letter, which can be found here at Protect our Winters: As professional athletes, representing a community of 23 million winter sports enthusiasts, we’re witnessing climate change first-hand. Last…
National Fish, Wildlife and Plants Climate Adaptation Strategy
In 2009, Congress asked that the Department of the Interior develop a nationwide “climate change strategy.” The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service was subsequently tasked with developing a strategy to ensure the sustainability of fish, wildlife, plants and habitats in the face of accelerating climate change. The USFW released the plan today, which it calls…
“It’s like Winnipeg, Manitoba, moving to Minneapolis-Saint Paul”
Using data from 1982 to 2011, scientist Ranga Myneni of Boston University’s Department of Earth and Environment and colleagues studied vegetation rates at different latitudes, and the relationship between changes in surface temperature and vegetation growth 45 degrees north latitude to the Arctic Ocean. And their findings, published in a study in the journal Nature…
Women in the Outdoors: Giving new meaning to “mama earth”
Today is International Women’s Day to honor women and promote gender equality, fairness and advancement. The environmental and outdoors communities have a tremendous and rich history of female leadership and innovation. HuffPo Green posted this slideshow but here’s a warning, it includes celebs like Lucy Lawless. Mother Earth News Network published this list of “5…
A Blue Time for Green News?
In January, the New York Times killed its environmental desk, assigning the 9 staffers to other departments, while pledging it wouldn’t affect coverage of climate change or the environment. This week, the Old Gray Lady put the final nail in its environmental coffin, by dismantling its Green blog. And no this doesn’t mean the Times…
Polar Bear Day: Action, education
It’s International Polar Bear Day, a day of action by Polar Bears International to encourage reducing our carbon footprints. And polar bears, after all, are in serious danger of extinction due to global warming. Polar Bears International encourages self-challenges today viaThe Thermostat Challenge by adjusting your thermostat a few degrees; installing a programmable thermostat to…
Sequestration and the environment/outdoors
We’ve written before about potential budget cuts to the National Park Service and what it might do to your favorite parks as a result of sequestration — or mandatory, across-the-board federal budget cuts on domestic and defense budgets unless federal lawmakers come to a deal by tomorrow Friday, March 1. Estimates coming out today indicate…
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