NOAA released the annual Arctic Report Card in December, revealing that the climate was slightly cooler than the previous year—but that long-term climate warming and changes in the environment persist. The Arctic Report Card aggregates trends in the atmosphere, sea ice and ocean, marine ecosystems, terrestrial ecosystems and the terrestrial cryosphere (i.e., ice on land). …
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Faithful readers of this blog will surely recognize the sentiment behind this next post. Disposable plastic crap—from drinking straws to shopping bags to flip-flops—bears hideous witness to our callous view of the environment around us. I’ve picked up cubic yards of junk off an otherwise pristine beach in Mexico that had the misfortune of acting …
Just-published report reveals that oil and gas and shipping activity is on collision course with whale habitat The World Wildlife Fund (Canada) has published a paper in the journal Marine Policy that reveals the extensive overlap of areas targeted for Arctic energy development with the habitat of the endangered bowhead whale. Reported by the …
Read more “Bowheads May Bear Brunt of Energy Exploration in the Arctic”
Kansas, who knew? Instead of the usual sunflowers, a striking photograph of American Lotus (Nelumbo lutea) at dawn in the Great Plains is the top winner in the 2013 National Natural Landmarks Program Photo Contest. The competition is sponsored by the National Natural Landmarks (NNL) Program of the National Park Service, which promotes conservation of sites …
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Artifacts remain in Maryland while repairs continue Ellis Island Immigration Museum, part of Statue of Liberty National Monument, will reopen to the public today for the first time since Hurricane Sandy submerged the island a year ago. Visitors will once again walk the halls of the former federal immigration processing station, which handled more than …
Read more “Ellis Island Museum Reopens, One Year after Hurricane Sandy”