Category Archives: Climatology and Meteorology

Union of Concerned Scientists Issues New “Warning to Humanity”

Photo by Patrick Kelley.

This week marks 25 years since more than 1,700 scientists, led by the Union of Concerned Scientists, issued a “warning to humanity” concerning the costs of continued environmental destruction.

Now, they’ve issued another — this one signed by 15,000 scientists representing 184 countries.

Read/listen to my full story at KJZZ’s Arizona Science Desk:
25 Years Later, Global Scientists Issue Second Warning To Humanity

Report: U.S. Fire Seasons are Only Getting Worse

Red Canyon wildfire at night. Photo courtesy of inciweb.nwcg.gov.

Bigger, hotter wildfires — and more of them — are becoming the new normal, and a combination of climate change, sub-par fire management and budget limitations are to blame, says an October 2017 National Wildlife Federation report.

Read/listen to my full story at KJZZ’s Arizona Science Desk:
Why U.S. Wildfires Are Bigger, Hotter And More Frequent

El Nino CO2 Levels Suggest Grim Carbon Future

Image: OCO-2 /JPL-Caltech/NASA.

The years 2015 and 2016 saw record levels of excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, even though human carbon emissions have stabilized in recent years. Now, scientists think they know why.

Read/listen to my full story at KJZZ’s Arizona Science Desk:
NASA: Spike In Atmospheric CO2 Related To El Nino

Worth Doing Right: How Climate Change Could Throw a Wrench Into Road repairs

Repairing with the wrong materials for shifting climates could be a road to nowhere, like this spot in the Suffolk village of Covehithe. Picture by Timothyansell123.

The American Society of Civil Engineers has given America’s roads a D rating. But a recent study shows that trying to raise that grade without accounting for climate change could put the country’s roadways at risk.

Read/listen to my full story at KJZZ’s Arizona Science Desk:
Not Planning For Climate Change Could Cost Billions In Infrastructure Repairs Down The Road

For Some Dinosaurs, it Wasn’t the Asteroid, but the Aftermath

Image by Don Davis/NASA.

The recent solar eclipse plunged a swath of the U.S. into two minutes of gloom, but it’s nothing compared to the years-long night that almost wiped out life on Earth 66 million years ago.

Read/listen to my full story at KJZZ’s Arizona Science Desk:
Years-Long Darkness Doomed Survivors Of Dinosaur-Killing Asteroid