Cities need more than air conditioning to get through heat waves

Aug 08, 2017 14:48 pm UTC| Insights & Views Nature

In May of this year, a hot spell broiled Boston. In June, extreme temperatures grounded Phoenixs planes. Last week, Seattle suffered under record temperatures. When a heat wave is forecast, the standard advice is to...

Trying to keep nature the same is a fool's errand – we should embrace change

Aug 02, 2017 17:13 pm UTC| Insights & Views Nature

When it comes to deciding which plants and animals to protect and which to remove, our approach might make even the most forthright nationalist blush if it were ever applied to people. The central question in the UK and...

Rising carbon dioxide is making the world's plants more water-wise

Jul 25, 2017 14:58 pm UTC| Insights & Views Nature

Land plants are absorbing 17% more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere now than 30 years ago, our research published today shows. Equally extraordinarily, our study also shows that the vegetation is hardly using any extra...

Using forests to manage carbon: a heated debate

Jul 25, 2017 14:40 pm UTC| Insights & Views Nature

The best way of managing trees and forests for climate change and accounting for contributions of forests and forestry activities in carbon budgets remains hotly contested. Forests can either take up carbon dioxide (CO₂)...

Sharkathon 2017 is here: How to watch it like a scientist

Jul 22, 2017 07:41 am UTC| Nature

Just when you thought it was safe to turn on your television, the Discovery Channels Shark Week and National Geographic Wilds SharkFest are hitting the air with competing daily programming. As director of the Florida...

Human noise pollution is disrupting parks and wild places

Jul 18, 2017 12:22 pm UTC| Nature

As transportation networks expand and urban areas grow, noise from sources such as vehicle engines is spreading into remote places. Human-caused noise has consequences for wildlife, entire ecosystems and people. It reduces...

Climate Change Series

Rising sea temperatures will hit fisheries and communities in poor countries the hardest

Jul 12, 2017 19:21 pm UTC| Insights & Views Nature

Despite having some of the worlds smallest carbon footprints, small island developing states and the worlds least-developed countries will be among the places most vulnerable to climate changes impacts on marine life, new...