As new areas become suitable for planting, researchers predict that vast swaths of biodiversity will be at risk, particularly in northern regions and the tropics. Climate change has the potential to restructure the world’s agricultural landscapes, making it possible to plant crops in places where they have never been viable historically. Within the next 40...
Some Canary Island ants have picked up an unwelcome stowaway — plastic waste. Plastic entanglement is commonly associated with aquatic and ocean life. Finding plastic-wrapped ants suggests that humankind’s pernicious polymer pollution affects a wider range of wildlife than previously thought, researchers report September 18 in Ecological Entomology. Scientists noticed the tangled insects while studying 113 ants they’d...
OP28 in November is being hosted by the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a major oil and gas producer. The COP President will be Sultan Al Jaber, the CEO of ADNOC, one of the world’s biggest oil companies. It’s attracted heavy criticism from many quarters. Robin Mills at the Center on Global Energy Policy reviews the contradictions inherent...
Women living and working in places with higher levels of fine particle air pollution are more likely to get breast cancer than those living and working in less polluted areas. Results of a study looking at the effects of both residential and workplace exposure to air pollution on breast cancer risk will be presented by...
More than 100 species, from frogs to killer whales, contaminated with long-lasting chemicals with serious health effects. More than a hundred species of wildlife found across every continent are contaminated with highly toxic flame retardants, and the pollution is probably responsible for population declines in some species, a new analysis of published research shows. The dangerous chemicals...
From staple crops like potatoes and maize, to cash crops for wealthier customers like cocoa and coffee, climate change is having a widespread impact on global agricultural production. Read more: foodnavigator.com Photo: foodnavigator.com
Canada aims to add more satellites to its flagship Earth observation program “as soon as possible” thanks to a fresh funding infusion, a senior space official said in an exclusive interview. The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) will receive substantial new government funding to extend the long-standing Radarsat satellite series, a keystone of the country’s climate change strategy and international disaster response,...
Climate change is making it harder to grow enough nutritious food to adequately feed our planet’s population. Temperature increases, rainfall pattern shifts, reduced water availability and increased frequency and intensity of extreme weather events are all impacting agricultural productivity. Across Africa, this challenge is particularly acute. Whilst the continent is responsible for less than 4 percent of...
More than 40 “flesh-eating” infections have been identified in Florida this year amid record-high water temperatures in the North Atlantic. The bacterium Vibrio vulnificus, which thrives in warm seawater, has killed ten people in the state this year out of 43 infections, giving an estimated case fatality of 23 per cent. Experts have noted a concerning rise...
EU environment ministers scrapped a commitment to lift its greenhouse gas emissions reduction target after several countries held back during many hours of negotiations over the proposals thebloc will present to the upcoming UN climate summit. Poland, Hungary and Italy objected to a pledge to increase the bloc’s emissions reduction target from 55 per cent...