Climate change is threatening to turn sublime summer stone fruits disgusting, or rob us of their pleasures entirely. Summer, to me, is all about stone fruit: dark-purple plums, peaches you can smell from three feet away. But last summer, I struggled to find peaches at the farmers’ markets in New York City. A freak deep...
Tag: Science
SpaceX rocket launches pioneering methane-tracking satellite to orbit
A new satellite that will track climate-heating methane emissions from oil and gas companies around the world launched this week from California’s Vandenberg Space Force Base. The washing-machine-sized satellite, named MethaneSAT, lifted off Monday (March 4) atop a Falcon 9 rocket, one of 53 payloads on SpaceX’s Transporter-10 rideshare mission. MethaneSAT is designed to ultimately help policymakers...
Cop28 president says there is ‘no science’ behind demands for phase-out of fossil fuels
Exclusive: UAE’s Sultan Al Jaber says phase-out of coal, oil and gas would take world ‘back into caves’ The president of Cop28, Sultan Al Jaber, has claimed there is “no science” indicating that a phase-out of fossil fuels is needed to restrict global heating to 1.5C, the Guardian and the Centre for Climate Reporting can reveal....
In early 2029, Earth will likely lock into breaching key warming threshold, scientists calculate
In a little more than five years—sometime in early 2029—the world will likely be unable to stay below the internationally agreed temperature limit for global warming if it continues to burn fossil fuels at its current rate, a new study says. The study moves three years closer the date when the world will eventually hit...
Inside scientists’ mission to save America’s wine industry from climate change
The U.S. West Coast produces over 90% of America’s wine, but the region is also prone to wildfires — a combustible combination that spelled disaster for the industry in 2020 and one that scientists are scrambling to neutralize. Sample a good wine and you might get notes of oak or red fruit. But sip on wine made...
Climate change may worsen spread of West Nile virus: What to know
Climate change may worsen the spread of the West Nile virus. What to know. The West Nile virus is more commonly contracted in warmer climates. There, hot and tropical temperatures allow the mosquitoes that carry it to thrive. Health experts are increasingly concerned that climate change could worsen the spread of the virus in less...
For the third time this week, Earth sets an unofficial heat record. What’s behind those big numbers?
Earth’s average temperature set a new unofficial record high on Thursday, the third such milestone in a week that already rated as the hottest on record and what one prominent scientist says could be the hottest in 120,000 years. But it’s also a record with some legitimate scientific questions and caveats, so much so that the National...