In a twist that sounds like science fiction, researchers have modified mouse DNA to include traits that were once found in the extinct woolly mammoth. These <a href="https://www.genome.gov/genetics-glossary/Genetic-Engineering" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">genetic engineering</a> efforts highlight growing attempts to make de-extinction a reality for vanished <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/world-wildlife-day-2025-a-global-call-to-protect-nature/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">species</a>.



This project has yielded small mice bearing a fluffy, woolly coat that echoes features of the Ice Age giant. The lab results have stirred curiosity among scientists and the general public.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-de-extinction-of-lost-species">De-extinction of lost species</h2>



“For us, it’s an incredibly big deal,” said Beth Shapiro, chief science officer at <a href="https://colossal.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Colossal Biosciences</a> in Dallas. Scientists behind this plan envision a future where <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/half-of-the-worlds-heliconia-species-are-at-risk-of-extinction/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">extinct creatures</a> might roam again.&nbsp;



The experts see these tiny rodents as proof that <a href="https://www.genome.gov/genetics-glossary/CRISPR" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CRISPR</a> can modify multiple genes to recreate lost traits. The technology harnesses molecular tools to snip and rearrange DNA inside living cells.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tweaking-the-genes">Tweaking the genes</h2>



To make the mice woolly, the researchers analyzed ancient mammoth genomes alongside elephant DNA. They disabled certain genes tied to hair texture, color, and heat regulation.



They also introduced a unique mutation found in woolly mammoths to see if it would produce thick fur. The resulting offspring exhibited curly coats that surprised many observers.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-can-de-extinction-bring-species-back">Can de-extinction bring species back?</h2>



Vincent Lynch, a biology professor at the University at Buffalo, remains unconvinced about bringing back the vanished giants and recently voiced his skepticism. "Mammoths are extinct and cannot be ‘de-extincted’ or resurrected,” he stated.



Critics argue that the time and resources funneled into reviving extinct beasts might be better spent saving <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-forests-rose-again-after-the-planets-most-extreme-extinction/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">creatures</a> that are currently teetering on the brink of extinction. They question whether any environment could truly accommodate the needs of species that disappeared thousands of years ago.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-practical-stumbling-blocks">Practical stumbling blocks</h2>



Even if these genetic tweaks scale up, an elephant’s <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/facts/african-elephant" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">gestation</a> lasts nearly two years, which complicates experiments. The size of the mother and the specialized procedures that are required add another layer of difficulty.



Some scientists also worry about how herds of woolly-elephant hybrids might affect fragile ecosystems. These delicate networks of living organisms can be disrupted in ways that are hard to predict.



Others are worried about overshadowing urgent efforts to protect living species. They believe well-tested conservation approaches must not lose momentum.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-concerns-about-unpredictable-mutations">Concerns about unpredictable mutations </h2>



Recreating extinct species raises questions about ethics and responsibility. Some bioethicists warn that modifying living animals to resemble long-lost <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/public-concern-over-species-extinctions-fades-quickly/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">species</a> could create unintended suffering, especially if genetic changes cause health complications. 



Others argue that lab-engineered species might blur the lines between conservation and unnatural interference.



Scientists also face concerns about <a href="https://www.genome.gov/genetics-glossary/Genetic-Drift" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">genetic drift</a>, where unpredictable mutations arise over generations. If mammoth-like elephants are introduced into the wild, they may not behave like their Ice Age relatives.



Such changes might influence their ability to interact with the environment as their ancient counterparts did, affecting everything from diet and migration patterns to social structures and survival strategies.



This uncertainty fuels debate over whether reviving extinct species serves scientific curiosity more than real-world ecological benefits.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-future-of-de-extinction-research">Future of de-extinction research</h2>



Colossal Biosciences aims to produce elephant embryos with mammoth-like traits within a few years. The ambitious timeline hinges on refining gene-editing steps and ensuring safe pregnancies.



In the meantime, these fuzzy rodents serve as a tiny window into how far science can push modifications. The experiment demonstrates a desire to study <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/saving-earths-most-endangered-plants-from-extinction-proving-difficult-botanic-gardens/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">extinct</a> adaptations without waiting for a living mammoth to appear.



Many experts remain unconvinced that this venture will lead to practical conservation gains. Others see an inventive effort to better understand genetic traits that once shaped Ice Age creatures.



Supporters argue that advanced editing approaches might shield certain species from threats like habitat loss or disease, whereas critics counter that tinkering with extinct DNA could distract from proven strategies such as habitat restoration.



Debates aside, each step in this research reveals new layers of complexity in de-extinction. We now face the question of how far to push these technologies.



The controversies will likely intensify as the conversation shifts from lab-born mice to massive mammals.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.03.03.641227v1" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">bioRxiv</a>.



Image Credit: Colossal Biosciences



-----



Like what you read? <a href="https://www.earth.com/subscribe/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Subscribe to our newsletter</a> for engaging articles, exclusive content, and the latest updates.&nbsp;



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by <a href="https://www.earth.com/author/eralls/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Eric Ralls</a> and Earth.com.



-----

How creating 'woolly mice' in the lab will bring back the woolly mammoth

In a twist that sounds like science fiction, researchers have modified mouse DNA to include traits that were once found in the extinct woolly mammoth. These genetic engineering efforts highlight growing attempts to make de-extinction a reality for vanished species. This project has yielded small mice bearing a fluffy, woolly coat that echoes features of the Ice Age giant. The lab results have stirred curiosity among scientists and the general public. De-extinction of lost species “For us, it’s an incredibly big deal,” said Beth Shapiro, chief science...

Scientists: Global Warming Caused 14 Extreme Weather Events In 2014. New scientific analysis shows the fingerprints of man-made climate change on 14 2014 extreme weather events, hitting every continent but Antarctica.
Dozens of scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and across the world examined 28 strange weather conditions last year to see if global warming partly increased their likelihood or their strength. In a series of papers in a 180-page, peer-reviewed report, the scientists spotted some effects of climate change in half of them.
In other weather events, scientists found no evidence of climate change making conditions more likely or stronger. Scientists: Global Warming Caused 14 Extreme Weather Events In 2014
Researchers found climate change fingerprints on Hawaii's tropical cyclones and heat in Argentina, Europe, South Korea, China, and repeatedly in Australia. The studies also found global warming partly to blame for heavy rain and flooding in Canada and New Zealand, winter storms in Nepal and drought in Africa and the Middle East.
In the case of the California wildfires, they found that global warming has increased the likelihood of fires and should increase with time; the cause of the 2014 wildfire situation is a bit harder to assess.
In a record hot year, heat stood out. Hundreds of millions of people live in areas where 2014 extreme heat was linked to climate change.
"Globally, extreme heat is becoming more common," said NOAA climate scientist Stephanie Herring, lead editor of the report published Thursday in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society.
One study looked at a giant swath of Europe and found it was unusually warm because of climate change. The study found 12 percent of the large area set warm records in 2014, but no records for cold were established.
The studies varied in how much influence climate change had on those events, but it was never the sole cause, scientists said.
"This series of papers makes it more clear than ever that human-caused climate change is increasing both the severity and frequency of an increasing variety of climate extremes," said University of Arizona climate scientist Jonathan Overpeck, who wasn't part of the report.
The researchers used statistical analysis and computer simulations to show what would happen without man-made warming and compare that to what did happen.
Scientists could not find a climate fingerprint on 13 events, including winter storms in the United States, heavy rain in England and France, tropical cyclone Gonzalo, the Singapore drought and an increase in Antarctica's sea ice.
Climate change's influence would make a cold snap such as the one that occurred in the U.S. upper Midwest 20 to 100 times less likely, but it happened anyway, Herring said.
Last year some people speculated that harsh cold winters had been influenced by climate change, but the scientists who looked at that just couldn't find it, said NOAA climate scientist Martin Hoerling, a co-editor of the paper.
"All that is unusual is not necessarily happening due to climate change," he said. "Some of these events are climate surprises."
Kevin Trenberth, a senior scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research, said humans have changed Earth's climate as a whole, so it is "seriously misguided" to ask if individual events are affected by humans.
---
Online:
The report: <a href="http://bit.ly/1NSh8A7" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">http://bit.ly/1NSh8A7</a>
---
Seth Borenstein can be followed at <a href="http://twitter.com/borenbears" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">http://twitter.com/borenbears</a>
© 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

Scientists: Global Warming Caused 14 Extreme Weather Events In 2014

Scientists: Global Warming Caused 14 Extreme Weather Events In 2014....

Yellow mine waste water is seen at the entrance to the Gold King Mine in San Juan County, Colorado

EPA Widens Investigation Into Colorado Gold Mine Spill. The Environmental Protection Agency's inspector general is expanding its investigation into a toxic spill from an inactive <a href="https://www.earth.com/image/cameron-peak-fire-is-now-the-largest-in-colorados-recorded-history/">Colorado</a> gold mine to include questions about whether the agency was following its own rules when it triggered the blowout.
The inspector general's office said Thursday that it will add more than a dozen lines of inquiry, some requested by Congress and others raised by a review of the spill by the Interior Department.
An EPA-led contractor inadvertently released 3 million gallons of wastewater tainted with heavy metals from the Gold King Mine on Aug. 5 during cleanup operations. Rivers in Colorado, New Mexico and Utah were contaminated. <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=epa&amp;cvid=ec6e2c375cb84d42bebe1160c35d8d51&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">EPA</a> Widens Investigation Into Colorado Gold Mine Spill
The inspector general will also look into what kind of legal protection EPA gave the contractor and whether that affected the way the work was done.
Gold mining in Colorado, a state of the <a title="United States" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States">United States</a>, has been an industry since 1858. It also played a key role in the establishment of the state of <a title="Colorado" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colorado">Colorado</a>.

Explorer <a title="Zebulon Pike" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zebulon_Pike">Zebulon Pike</a> heard a report of gold in <a title="South Park (Park County, Colorado)" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Park_(Park_County,_Colorado)">South Park</a>, present-day <a title="Park County, Colorado" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Park_County,_Colorado">Park County, Colorado</a>, in 1807.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gold_mining_in_Colorado#cite_note-H._Bergendahl_1968_p.143-1">[1]</a>

Gold discoveries in Colorado began around Denver; prospectors traced the placer gold to its source in the mountains west of Denver, then followed the <a title="Colorado Mineral Belt" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colorado_Mineral_Belt">Colorado Mineral Belt</a> in a southwest direction across the state to its terminus in the <a title="San Juan Mountains" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Juan_Mountains">San Juan Mountains</a>. The <a title="Cripple Creek, Colorado" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cripple_Creek,_Colorado">Cripple Creek</a> district, far from the mineral belt, was one of the last gold districts to be discovered and is still in production.
© 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

EPA Widens Investigation Into Colorado Gold Mine Spill

EPA Widens Investigation Into Colorado Gold Mine Spill. The Environmental...

Drought Monitor: Majority Of Texas Out Of The Drought. Recent rains that fell on Texas saturated many parts of the state and lessened drought conditions.
The U.S. Drought Monitor map released Thursday shows that about 95 percent of Texas has no drought. Just more than 4 percent has moderate drought.
Heavy rains that brought flooding to the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/sauna-sessions-workout/">Austin</a> region eliminated small areas of severe drought, the third-driest category on the weekly map, in places such as Wichita Falls and Abilene. Drought Monitor: Majority Of <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=texas&amp;cvid=16517738d93f482eaa77807dcc598c78&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">Texas</a> Out Of The Drought
A Texas A&amp;M University statement says the five-day period beginning Oct. 22 was the wettest on record, with a statewide average of 3.97 inches. That's when remnants of Hurricane Patricia and a separate storm moved across the state. Those five days eliminated the two driest drought categories.
The previous five-day record came in December 1991, when 3.82 inches fell.Other major cities include <a title="Austin, Texas" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austin,_Texas">Austin</a>, the second-most populous <a title="List of capitals in the United States" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_capitals_in_the_United_States">state capital</a> in the U.S., and <a title="El Paso, Texas" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Paso,_Texas">El Paso</a>. Texas is nicknamed the "Lone Star State" for its former status as an independent republic
© 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

Drought Monitor: Majority Of Texas Out Of The Drought

Drought Monitor: Majority Of Texas Out Of The Drought. Recent...

INDIA FESTIVAL

Greenpeace Says They Have Been Banned From India. Greenpeace says its registration to operate in India has been canceled under orders from the country's Home Ministry.
The <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=environmental&amp;cvid=87d4b4503bcc46ba8a3cf4585fcdc8d0&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">environmental</a> group said in a statement that it would challenge Friday's decision in court.
India began cracking down on foreign-funded charities last year after a government intelligence bureau report said economic growth was hurt when the groups rallied communities against polluting industries.
In April the government suspended <a href="http://www.earth.com/organizations/greenpeace-international/">Greenpeace</a> India's registration for six months, saying it was underreporting foreign contributions and using them without government clearance. Greenpeace challenged the order in court. Greenpeace Says They Have Been Banned From India
Greenpeace India said Tamil Nadu state, where it was registered, canceled the registration at the Home Ministry's direction without giving the group a hearing.
Ministry officials were unavailable for comment after normal working hours Friday.Greenpeace is known for its direct actions and has been described as the most visible environmental organization in the world.It has raised environmental issues to public knowledge, and influenced both the private and the public sector.The organization has received criticism
© 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

Greenpeace Says They Have Been Banned From India

Greenpeace Says They Have Been Banned From India. Greenpeace says...

Keystone XL Pipeline: The Long Road To Rejection. President Barack Obama's decision to reject TransCanada's application to build the Keystone XL pipeline was seven years in the making. Since the company first proposed the 1,179-mile pipeline, the project has been studied, stalled, slammed and hyped - all amid intense political pressure from powerful interests on both sides of the debate. Here's a look at the Keystone pipeline's long road to rejection:
Sept. 19, 2008 - TransCanada submits an application for a presidential permit for the Keystone XL pipeline. The pipeline would extend from <a href="http://www.earth.com/image/the-fall-rhapsody-in-ottawa/">Canada's</a> tar sands through Montana, South Dakota and Nebraska and connect with existing pipelines to carry more than 800,000 barrels of crude oil a day to specialized refineries along the Texas Gulf Coast. Because the pipeline crosses the border, the State Department must determine whether it is in the national interest.Keystone XL Pipeline: The Long Road To Rejection
Oct. 15, 2010 - As the permit is reviewed, then Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton says the department is "inclined" to approve project. "We're either going to be dependent on dirty oil from the Gulf or dirty oil from Canada," she said. The project begins to galvanize the environmental movement to pressure the administration to act on climate change. Republicans and other project supporters argue the project will create jobs and juice the economy.
Aug. 26, 2011 - The State Department issues its final environmental impact statement determining "there would be no significant impacts to most resources along the proposed project corridor."
Nov. 10, 2011 - Amid intense political pressure, President Barack Obama announces a delay pushing off a decision until after his reelection campaign. The administration says other potential routes through Nebraska needed to be studied.
Dec. 23, 2011 - Congress tries to force Obama's hand by passing legislation requiring approval of the Keystone XL pipeline within 60 days unless the president determines the project does not serve the national interest. Weeks later, Obama rejected the application, but allowed TransCanada to re-apply.
May 4, 2012 - TransCanada reapplies and restarts the review process.
June 25, 2013 - Obama declares he will only approve the project if it doesn't worsen carbon pollution. "Our national interest would be served only if this project does not significantly exacerbate the problem of carbon pollution," Obama says in a speech declaring that fighting climate change will be a major priority his second term.
Jan. 31, 2014- The State Department releases another final environmental impact statement, again voicing no major environmental objections to the project.
Feb. 19, 2014 - A Nebraska judge overturns the state law that allowed the pipeline, throwing the project into legal limbo.
April 18, 2014 - The State Department announces it is again delaying its review, citing the legal dispute over the Nebraska route.
Feb. 11, 2015 - Congress again tries to push the Obama administration to decide on the permit by passing legislation forcing the decision and sending it to the White House. Obama vetoes the bill days later.
Sept. 22, 2015 - Clinton, now seeking the Democratic nomination for president, says she opposes construction of the Keystone pipeline.
Nov. 2, 2011 - As it appears increasingly likely that Obama will reject the pipeline, TransCanada asks the administration to suspend its application. The State Department reviews the request for a day and rejects it.
Nov. 6, 2011 - Obama announces he is rejecting the permit to build the Keystone pipeline. The project is not in the national interest, he says. "America is now a global leader when it comes to taking serious action to fight climate change. And frankly, approving this project would have undercut that global leadership," he says.
© 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

Keystone XL Pipeline: The Long Road To Rejection

Keystone XL Pipeline: The Long Road To Rejection. President Barack...

Obama Officially Kills Keystone XL Pipeline. President Barack Obama killed a Canadian energy giant's application to build the Keystone XL pipeline on Friday, declaring the proposed project wouldn't serve U.S. national interests and would have undercut America's global leadership on climate change. The decision capped a seven-year saga that spiraled into one of the biggest environmental flashpoints of Obama's presidency.
Announcing his decision at the White House,<a href="http://www.earth.com/news/coal-plants-closed-trump/"> Obama</a> said he agreed with Secretary of State John Kerry, whose department recommended rejecting the proposal for a 1,179-mile pipeline crossing the nation's heartland. He downplayed the claimed economic benefits of the pipeline, arguing it wouldn't have lowered U.S. gas prices, created long-term jobs or reduced U.S. dependency on foreign energy.
"This pipeline would neither be a silver bullet for the economy, as was promised by some, nor the express lane to climate disaster proclaimed by others," Obama said in the Roosevelt Room.
Killing the pipeline allows Obama to claim aggressive action on the environment, potentially strengthening his hand as world leaders prepare to finalize a major global climate pact. Obama used the occasion to announce his plans to travel to Paris in the coming weeks for talks on that agreement, which Obama hopes will be a crowning jewel for his environmental legacy.
The president, flanked by Kerry and Vice President Joe Biden, said the U.S. had become a global leader on climate action in the run-up to the Paris meeting.
"Frankly, approving this project would have undercut that global leadership," he said.
Obama's decision places him in a direct confrontation with Republicans and energy advocates that will almost surely spill over into the 2016 presidential election. The GOP field is unanimous in support of Keystone, while Hillary Rodham Clinton, Bernie Sanders and the other Democratic candidates are opposed.
The rejection also risked damaging U.S. relations with its neighbor and major trading partner. New Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he was "disappointed by the decision," but pledged to pursue a "fresh start" with Obama nevertheless.Obama Officially Kills Keystone XL Pipeline
In a nod to the domestic fight that intensified over many years of delay, Obama said the project had taken on an "overinflated role" in U.S. political discourse. He lamented that both Democrats and Republicans had used Keystone as a "campaign cudgel" but glossed over his own role in allowing the controversy to drag out over several national elections.
Keystone has been in limbo for more than 7 years, awaiting reviews that have lasted more than 5 times longer than average, according to a recent Associated Press analysis. Over time, the pipeline was elevated by environmentalists and energy advocates into a proxy battle for climate change.
Environmental groups hailed Obama's decision, with some declaring Friday "a day of celebration."
"Stopping the Keystone XL pipeline is a victory for the planet, for the health and well-being of the communities along the pipeline route," said Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune.
Yet while the project is dead for now, Obama's rejection will likely not be the last word for Keystone XL.
Backers are expected to challenge his decision in court, and the Republican-controlled Congress may try to override the president, although those efforts have previously failed. The project could also get a fresh look in 2017 if a Republican wins the White House and invites TransCanada to reapply.
"Given this project's importance to North American energy independence, the question still remains not if but when Keystone will be built," said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.
Another open question is whether TransCanada will try to recoup the more than $2 billion it says it has already spent on the project's development. Earlier in the year, the company left the door open to suing the U.S. government. The company said Friday it remained "absolutely committed" to building the project and was considering filing a new application for permits.
"Today, misplaced symbolism was chosen over merit and science. Rhetoric won out over reason," said TransCanada CEO Russ Girling.
TransCanada, an Alberta-based company with an expansive North American footprint, first applied for Keystone permits in September 2008 - shortly before Obama was elected. As envisioned, Keystone would snake from Canada's tar sands through Montana, South Dakota and Nebraska, then connect with existing pipelines to carry more than 800,000 barrels of crude oil a day to specialized refineries along the Texas Gulf Coast.
Democrats and environmental groups latched onto Keystone as emblematic of the type of dirty fossil fuels that must be phased out. Opponents chained themselves to construction equipment and the White House fence in protest.
But Republicans, Canadian politicians and the energy industry touted what they said were profound economic benefits - thousands of jobs and billions injected into the economy. They argued transporting crude by pipeline was safer than alternatives like rail, and charged Obama with hypocrisy for complaining about the lack of infrastructure investment while obstructing an $8 billion project.
The first major delay came in 2011, when Obama postponed a decision until after his re-election. He cited opposition to the proposed route through Nebraska's sensitive Sandhills region and said the U.S. would wait while the route was revised. When Congress passed legislation requiring a decision within 60 days, Obama rejected the application, but allowed TransCanada to re-apply.
In a major speech unveiling his climate change agenda in 2013, Obama established a litmus test for Keystone: He wouldn't approve it if it were shown to significant increase carbon dioxide emissions. A U.S.-commissioned review found Keystone unlikely to exacerbate emissions, but that was based on outdated, higher oil prices, so environmentalists insisted it be redone.
For TransCanada, the financial imperative to build Keystone may have fallen off recently amid a sharp drop in oil prices that could make extracting and transporting the product much less lucrative. But Girling has insisted that wasn't the case.
---
Associated Press writers Julie Pace, Matthew Daly, Kevin Freking and Matthew Lee in Washington and Rob Gillies in Toronto contributed to this report.
---
Reach Josh Lederman on Twitter at <a href="http://twitter.com/joshledermanAP" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">http://twitter.com/joshledermanAP</a>
© 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

Obama Officially Kills Keystone XL Pipeline

Obama Officially Kills Keystone XL Pipeline. President Barack Obama killed...

UN Raises Global Greenhouse Gas Emissions 'Point Of No Return' Ceiling. The U.N.'s environmental authority has quietly raised its assessment of the level at which global greenhouse gas emissions must peak to avoid dangerous climate change.
In annual emissions reports since 2010, the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/united-nations-bans-trade-of-african-grey-parrots/">United Nations</a> Environment Program has said emissions must not exceed 44 billion tons in 2020 for the world to limit global warming to 2 degrees C (3.6 degrees F).
But in this year's report, a summary of which was released Friday, UNEP says 52 billion tons in 2020 is consistent with the 2-degree target. UN Raises Global Greenhouse Gas Emissions 'Point Of No Return' Ceiling
The new analysis assumes that emissions cuts will drop faster after 2030 than was assumed in previous reports.
Explaining the change, <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=unep&amp;cvid=59e40f88ab91469580d52fa746e7d8e8&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">UNEP</a> chief scientist Jacqueline McGlade said earlier assessments were based on emissions scenarios that are "no longer realistic."Human activities since the beginning of the <a title="Industrial Revolution" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industrial_Revolution">Industrial Revolution</a> (around 1750) have produced a 45% increase in the <a title="Carbon dioxide in Earth's atmosphere" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_dioxide_in_Earth%27s_atmosphere">atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide</a>, from 280 <a class="mw-redirect" title="Parts per million" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parts_per_million">ppm</a> in 1750 to 415 ppm in 2019.
The last time the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide was this high was over 3 million years ago. This increase has occurred despite the uptake of more than half of the emissions by various natural "sinks" involved in the <a title="Carbon cycle" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_cycle">carbon cycle</a>.The vast majority of <a title="Human impact on the environment" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_impact_on_the_environment">anthropogenic</a> carbon dioxide emissions come from <a title="Combustion" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Combustion">combustion</a> of <a title="Fossil fuel" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fossil_fuel">fossil fuels</a>, principally <a title="Coal" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coal">coal</a>, <a title="Petroleum" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petroleum">petroleum</a> (including <a title="Oil" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oil">oil</a>) and <a title="Natural gas" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_gas">natural gas</a>,
© 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

UN Raises Global Greenhouse Gas Emissions

UN Raises Global Greenhouse Gas Emissions 'Point Of No Return'...

Putin Will Join 100 World Leaders At The UN Climate Conference In Paris. More than 100 world leaders will attend the upcoming U.N. climate conference in Paris, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, France's foreign minister said Sunday during a three-day ministerial meeting in the capital to prepare the negotiations.
Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said that Putin has accepted an invitation to attend the conference in Paris. He will be among the speakers on the conference's first day, along with President Barack Obama and the leaders of India and <a href="http://www.earth.com/image/historic-flooding-has-killed-hundreds-across-china/">China</a>.
The Kremlin hasn't confirmed Putin's participation at the so-called COP 21 talks, which aim to reach the most ambitious accord to date limiting emissions that cause global warming. Putin Will Join 100 World Leaders At The UN Climate Conference In <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=paris&amp;cvid=adb3663319804cbbbe5d1688f562e50b&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">Paris</a>
Organizers expect at least 40,000 people in addition to thousands of activists from environmental, human rights and other groups to attend the Nov. 30-Dec. 11 conference.
Fabius spoke during a meeting of foreign and environment ministers to prepare the way for the climate conference's final negotiations.
"The purpose of these three days is to find the road of compromise on as many issues as possible," Fabius told senior officials from more than 70 countries.
One key issue to be discussed is how rich countries can provide financial and other support to help developing countries reduce emissions.
The foreign minister of the Marshall Islands, Tony de Brum, told The Associated Press that "the most important thing that is at stake is the survival of my country. We need to get an agreement that's going to ensure the most vulnerable states will not be forgotten."
The Marshall Islands is among the small island states that fear they will be submerged by rising seas caused by global warming.
The Paris climate conference will gather 196 parties to reach an agreement aiming at limiting the rise in global temperatures below 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) between pre-industrial times and the end of the century.
---
Associated Press writer Greg Keller in Paris contributed to this report.
© 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

Putin Will Join 100 World Leaders At The UN Climate Conference In Paris

Putin Will Join 100 World Leaders At The UN Climate...

Obama Is Working To Cement His Environmental Legacy. For years, President Barack Obama chided Republicans and Democrats alike for treating the Keystone XL pipeline as a signal of whether the U.S. would seriously fight global warming. Now that he's killed the project, Obama is holding it up as Exhibit A as he works to lock in his environmental legacy with a powerful international climate accord.
Rejecting Keystone, the proposed 1,179-mile crude oil pipeline from Canada to the U.S., was the latest in a long and growing list of steps<a href="http://www.earth.com/news/coal-plants-closed-trump/"> Obama</a> has taken to try to show that the U.S. is leading the effort against global warming. Even while Republicans have fought Obama tooth-and-nail at home, he's sought to use those steps to pressure other countries into taking similar action - especially poorer, developing countries that for years have argued that climate change is not their problem.
At the center of Obama's efforts are landmark carbon dioxide emissions limits on U.S. power plants that have been cheered by environmentalists but derided by most energy advocates. Although the rules are proceeding for the time being, they face an uncertain future. Half of the states in the U.S. are suing to try to block them.
"There has been a steady drumbeat of steps the president has taken that are more impactful for climate change, factually, than Keystone," said White House communications director Jen Psaki. "Our view is that we need to continue to lead by example. Is that difficult? Yes, of course it is."
If the power plant rules falter, Obama would be hard-pressed to secure the 26 percent to 28 percent cut in U.S. emissions that he's pledged as America's commitment to the climate treaty. If the U.S. comes up short, analysts predict, other countries like China will start backing out.
Obama is counting on the climate treaty, to be finalized early next month in Paris, to vault him into a category of his own: the first president to treat climate change as a top-tier issue, and the first to secure the type of commitments from other countries needed to address the problem significantly.
To that end, Obama's many executive steps to reduce greenhouse gases have been designed in part to maximize his leverage when he negotiates overseas.
Aside from the power plant rules, Obama has ramped up fuel efficiency standards for cars and trucks, taking aim at one of the biggest sources of greenhouse gases. His administration has also moved to curb emissions from methane, hydrofluorocarbons and other pollutants while providing more federal dollars for renewable energy sources like wind, hydro and solar.
And in the run-up to Paris, Obama struck major climate deals with China, hoping that a commitment by the world's largest polluter to cut emissions would make it impossible for other developing nations like India and Brazil to beg off from making commitments of their own. China, which is still building coal plants to fuel growing power consumption, plans to max out its carbon emissions around 2030, if not sooner.
"To fight climate change effectively, we will need to make thousands of changes across our economy," Michael Brune, the head of the Sierra Club, said in an interview. "We have gone through a period of increased climate denial, but now we're in a place of dramatically increased acceptance of the need to act on climate."
World leaders have been working for years to hash out what they hope will be the most sweeping and powerful pact ever reached on global warming. Although the initial deal will include pledges by countries that extend through 2030, negotiators are wrangling over mechanisms to ensure countries revisit and ramp up their commitments for the rest of the century.
Yet while prospects for finishing a deal in Paris are high, already there are growing doubts about whether the pact will go far enough to avert the worst effects of climate change, and concerns about its durability. Facing bleak prospects for getting a Republican-controlled Congress to ratify a climate treaty, Obama is pursuing a deal that won't require formal congressional sign-off, a strategy that reflects the challenges many other world leaders face in securing domestic support for tough action on climate.
In rejecting TransCanada's application for Keystone, Obama set aside the litmus test he established in 2013 when he unveiled his second-term climate change agenda with plenty of pomp. Wiping sweat from his brow under the summer sun at Georgetown University, Obama said he'd block the pipeline if it would "significantly exacerbate the problem of carbon pollution."
It wouldn't, Obama's administration concluded, but he nixed it anyway. Casting forward to global climate talks, Obama suggested he'd have less credibility if he approved Keystone - not because it would hasten climate change, but because that's what people think. In documents, his administration cited the "broad perception" that Keystone would carry "dirty" oil.
"America is now a global leader when it comes to taking serious action to fight climate change," Obama said in the Roosevelt Room. "And frankly, approving this project would have undercut that global leadership."
Yet Obama's ambitious steps to curb U.S. emissions have been tempered by other moves aimed at bolstering U.S. energy production - to the dismay of environmentalists who believe the U.S. must move quicker to phase out fossil fuels entirely. In addition to loosening the U.S. ban on crude oil exports, Obama has opened up new areas to oil drilling and declined to ban the use of "fracking" to drill for natural gas.
---
Reach Josh Lederman at <a href="http://twitter.com/joshledermanAP" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">http://twitter.com/joshledermanAP</a>
© 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

Obama Is Working To Cement His Environmental Legacy

Obama Is Working To Cement His Environmental Legacy. For years,...

China Promises Climate Change Action Ahead Of <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=paris&amp;cvid=adb3663319804cbbbe5d1688f562e50b&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">Paris</a> Talks. China has changed course and emerged as a leader in curbing greenhouse gas emissions six years after it was accused of obstructing the last high-level climate talks in Copenhagen.
Heading into this month's Paris meeting, the world's biggest source of climate-changing gases has yet to accept binding limits. But it has invested in solar, wind and hydro power to clean up its smog-choked cities and curb surging demand for imported <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/warming-of-2c-would-unleash-230-billions-tons-of-soil-carbon/">oil</a> and gas. That contributed last year to a surprise fall in coal consumption. China Promises Climate Change Action Ahead Of Paris Talks
Beijing's about-face began last year when President Xi Jinping, in a joint declaration with his American counterpart, Barack Obama, set a 2030 deadline for emissions to stop rising. This June, Beijing promised to cut carbon emissions per unit of economic output by 65 percent from 2005 levels. In September, Xi pledged $3.1 billion to help developing countries combat climate change.
Beijing "recognizes it should take a different responsibility than a few years ago," said Li Shuo, senior climate officer for Greenpeace East Asia.
China's status as the leading source of emissions makes its cooperation essential for any global climate deal to succeed.
Until now, China has been exempt from limits. But pressure on Beijing intensified as its share of world carbon output rose last year to 28 percent, double the U.S. level. Forecasts show its historic total will soon pass the United States as the biggest.
Washington and Beijing "had fundamental disagreements in Copenhagen" over China's obligations, said Li. "I think this has been resolved over the past two years."
Without a formal commitment, China is making faster progress than most countries as a side effect of Communist Party efforts to nurture more self-sustaining growth based on consumer spending and technology instead of trade and energy-hungry heavy industry.
Pollution has "created immense and escalating social pressures for change," said researchers Fergus Green and Nicholas Stern in a June report for the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at the London School of Economics.
In 2005, communist leaders launched a campaign to improve efficiency in an economy that devours two to three times as much energy as the United States, Europe or Japan per unit of output. Older power plants and steel mills were closed. Utilities were ordered to invest in wind turbines and gas-fired generation.
Last year, China spent $83.3 billion on renewables, or nearly one-third of the global total, according to a report by the Frankfurt School and the U.N. Environment Program. The United States was a distant second at $38.3 billion.
The slowdown in steel and other heavy industries has prompted suggestions China can beat its 2030 deadline.
"Emissions are likely to peak by 2025, and could well peak even earlier than that," said Green and Stern in their report. "China's emissions could fall strongly after their peak."
China has reduced carbon intensity, or emissions per unit of economic output, by 33.8 percent from 2005 levels, the Cabinet planning agency said in a June letter to the Paris organizers.
That is "a greater rate than most other countries have ever been able to achieve," said Xiaochen Zhang, associate director for climate change of the group Business for Social Responsibility, in a report in October.
In Copenhagen in 2009, some participants complained China and India stymied global emissions reduction efforts, possibly for fear they might hamper economic growth.
"China wrecked the Copenhagen deal," wrote an aide to one negotiator in The Guardian newspaper.
Since then, growth of renewables has allowed China to raise economic output without boosting emissions.
China leads the world in hydro and wind capacity and is No. 2 behind Germany in solar, according to the Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century, a Paris-based alliance of environmental groups.
Last year's coal consumption fell 2.9 percent while the economy grew 7.4 percent, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. It was the first reduction in 14 years, according to the China National Coal Association, an industry group.
Still, China is forecast to rely on coal for at least 60 percent of its power for the foreseeable future.
China accounted for 80 percent of new coal generating capacity worldwide over the past decade, according to Greenpeace.
"The extreme growth of coal power generation, especially in China, undercuts many successes with renewables," said the group in a report.
The Chinese Cabinet's energy plan through 2020 promises to hold coal's share of energy to 62 percent, down from last year's 66 percent.
It calls for doubling the share of energy from non-fossil fuels to 20 percent by 2030. But that will only bring China into line with today's global average.
And Beijing has yet to say how high emissions might be allowed to rise before the 2030 peak.
It is too early to assume last year's decline in coal use is permanent, said Greenpeace's Li. He said Chinese leaders might face pressure in coming years to stimulate China's cooling economy by launching resource-intensive construction projects.
© 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

China Promises Climate Change Action Ahead Of Paris Talks

China Promises Climate Change Action Ahead Of Paris Talks. China...

Volkswagen Emission Testing

Greenpeace Targets Volkswagen Over Emissions Scandal. Environmental activists protested outside the main entrance to Volkswagen headquarters in Wolfsburg, unfurling a banner reading "Das Problem" - a play on the carmaker's marketing slogan "Das Auto."
The Greenpeace protest Monday comes after Volkswagen announced last week that it had "understated" the carbon dioxide emissions on 800,000 vehicles. Greenpeace Targets Volkswagen Over Emissions Scandal
In addition to their banner, the Greenpeace protesters also held a "C'' and a "2'' on either side of the round VW logo at the factory entrance, spelling out "CO2."
Volkswagen has also admitted installing software on 482,000 cars that enabled them to cheat on <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=american&amp;cvid=024b01c61c264caca7ba672369e7adcd&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">American</a> emissions tests for <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/plants-adjust-roots-to-reach-their-preferred-form-of-nitrogen/">nitrogen</a> oxide, a pollutant that contributes to smog and respiratory problems.Greenpeace is a non-governmental environmental organization with offices in over 55 countries and an international coordinating body in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Greenpeace was founded in 1971 by Irving Stowe and Dorothy Stowe, Canadian and US ex-pat environmental activists. Greenpeace states its goal is to "ensure the ability of the Earth
Volkswagen acknowledged that 11 million vehicles with small diesel engines worldwide have the software.
© 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

Greenpeace Targets Volkswagen Over Emissions Scandal

Greenpeace Targets Volkswagen Over Emissions Scandal. Environmental activists protested outside...

Saloum Delta Islands On Front Lines Of Climate Change. The place where Fatou Faye's kitchen once stood is now outlined with short branches of mangroves, a small and perhaps futile attempt to prevent the sea from destroying the rest of her house.
The rising sea levels pushing into the waters of Senegal's Saloum Delta islands threaten to carve the rest of her gray cement home from its foundation, leaving her and 30 other relatives homeless on low-lying Diamniadio Island.
"I am very afraid for my sons and grandsons and for when the next house collapses," says the 60-year-old, looking down and adjusting the peach and blue scarves intertwined around her head. "But I have no money and no land, so there's nowhere else to go."
She cooks peanuts in front of a patchwork aluminum shack separated from the house, gazing to the water's edge where other homes once stood. She said they all brace themselves for the full moon that pushes the tides even higher.
Faye and thousands of others on these tiny islands and villages in this part of West Africa are living on the frontline of climate change: Not only are water levels here now higher than they used to be, droughts and erratic rainfalls lead to floods that carve through the white-shell-lined alleyways, and increased salt levels are poisoning the fresh waters, land and agriculture. The loss of mangrove habitat - driven by nature and human actions - means coastal lines and fish breeding grounds are being erased.
The islanders' way of life is fundamentally changing with the climate, and livelihoods based on fishing and agriculture are disappearing, leaving them with little income and fears of starvation. Some are making the perilous journey to Europe in hopes they can help support their families.
Activists working to save these islands in Senegal hope their plight is front and center at an upcoming U.N. climate summit in Paris.
"It is important that the world knows about the cases you have on the islands, because climate change is not just about one house or one country. You know, we are living on the same planet," said Aissata Dia, ActionAid Senegal's head of programs and policy.
"I just want them to visit our islands, where they can't do agriculture" and must walk miles or take a boat to buy fruit, vegetables and the rice they used to grow, she said.
In 1987, strong northwest waves breached the Sangomar sandbar that protected the delta, speeding up the invasion of salt water from the Atlantic Ocean about two decades after a severe drought led to the loss of major mangrove habitat.Saloum Delta Islands On Front Lines Of Climate Change
A government-funded program has paid for sea walls in front of several villages, including Rofangue. Ibrahim Sarr, a Rofangue community leader, said the government consulted the village when it built the wall, but it is not high or long enough, and it's too close to the village.
Many homes still are flooded; water also often collects behind the wall, and residents must empty it back to the sea.
He pointed hundreds of meters away to a small peninsula that juts out from the village - the old cemetery, final resting place for 200 villagers. The waters unearthed a body last year, he said, and they had to rebury it in a new cemetery they've created within the village.
"We are angry to see our ancestors disrespected," said Sarr, whose father is buried there.
The rising sea also has increased salt levels in the nearby water, poisoning the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/warming-of-2c-would-unleash-230-billions-tons-of-soil-carbon/">soil</a> and killing crops.
Bineta Fall, 72, remembers the days of abundance in the village of Baout on an island close to the mouth of the sea, when people here could harvest their own rice. That was more than 20 years ago, before the salt contamination. Now these communities have to buy the very products they once cultivated, with little income to do so.
"I'm afraid we might starve in the village," Fall says as her eyes well up with tears. "In the deepest part of my heart, I loved harvesting rice. And the new generation doesn't know the work it takes."
In Baout village, home to nearly 1,100 people, the earth is dry, white and salty.
When the community lost its rice crops, residents turned to collecting shellfish and fishing for food and money. But when the mangroves die they take with them breeding grounds for the fish; illegal overfishing takes its toll, as well. Now, fishing vessels must go out farther for their catch, and it takes more time, money and effort to earn a living.
Years ago, one might have gathered up to 30 kilograms (66 pounds) of fresh fish in three hours of work. Now you'd be lucky to get 5 kilograms (11 pounds) in a day, residents say.
Fall is so determined to revive her land that, with the help of ActionAid, she's set up a patch to test the use of fish meal to take the salt from the soil. Rice is now growing in that 15-foot-by-15-foot spot.
Along with the construction of sea walls, local non-governmental organizations are working with the communities to set up sand barriers, provide water tanks to collect rain water, and grow table gardens with soil made from peanut shells and other material.
They're also replanting mangroves that form the first line of defense against salty sea water. These trees also protect against shoreline erosion and storm surges, serve as retention and filtration systems and can provide wood for cooking to those who can't afford fuel.
"It's the best means to stop this. It's the least expensive and most durable approach and it's the way to save these islands," from disappearing, said ecologist and former Senegalese Minister of Environment Haidar El Ali, who has led replanting campaigns for nearly a decade.
In the community of Nema Ba on the mainland, mangrove replanting has allowed those living there to collect oysters and crabs, or farm eggplants, onions or other crops.
On a sweltering afternoon, a group of nearly 100 women and some men sing and dance before work begins, praying for continued success in protecting their village.
Seynabou Diatta, the president of the local group Let's Work Together, says women used to cut down mangrove trees for firewood. They are now using less, and only taking it from designated areas.
As she leads the replanting, she digs her heels into the wet, muddy earth, creating lines a couple feet apart. Women quickly drop in seedlings, the stems reaching toward the sky.
"Without the mangroves we cannot live," she says.
© 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

Saloum Delta Islands On Front Lines Of Climate Change

Saloum Delta Islands On Front Lines Of Climate Change. The...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="0ynNMYkMKa-2340414-12187" type="single"]</div>



Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Nushagak Bay, a large estuary in southwest Alaska. Nushagak runs mainly north to south and exits in Bristol Bay, a large body of water in the Bering Sea.



"The bay is primarily fed by the Nushagak River, which begins in the Alaska Range and flows southwest approximately 450 km. The bay is also fed by several additional rivers including the Wood, Igushik, Snake and Weary rivers," says ESA.



"The dark colors of the Nushagak River are most likely due to tannins or lignins (chemical substances found in plants). Tannins and lignins from roots, leaves, seeds, bark and soil can leach into the water and give it a brown or even black colour. The sediments then flow southwards where it is mixed with the bluer waters of the bay."



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



---



By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

[sendtonews key="0ynNMYkMKa-2340414-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="G9bUoxcjr4-2511624-12187" type="single"]</div>



Today's Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.acs.org/">American Chemical Society</a> (ACS) reveals that proteins on flu viruses are actually flexible, tilting and waving in a “breath-like” motion. According to the experts, these proteins could be used to better defend against the flu.



"The main antigenic targets of influenza virus are two surface glycoproteins, hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA). Whereas the structural and dynamical properties of both glycoproteins have been studied previously, the understanding of their plasticity in the whole-virion context is fragmented," wrote the researchers.



To investigate, the team conducted detailed simulations of the influenza A H1N1 virion, or the swine flu. The experts concluded that the visualizations show many new vulnerable states of flu viruses, which could improve future vaccines and antiviral drugs.



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



---



By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

[sendtonews key="G9bUoxcjr4-2511624-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from the...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="3upvlAaHgO-2256633-12187" type="single"]</div>



Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Lake Trasimeno, which is located west of Perugia in central Italy. It is the fourth largest lake in the country. While Trasimeno’s water level varies, it has a maximum depth of approximately six meters.&nbsp;



"In this Copernicus Sentinel-2 image, captured on 6 August 2022, the lake’s emerald green colour is likely due to the presence of phytoplankton. Streaks in the water, particularly visible in the west, indicate the presence of soil and sediments which have been stirred up by winds. Dark colored waters in the southern part of the lake indicate a presence of submerged and floating macrophytes (aquatic plants) as well as algae," says ESA.



"Surrounded by hills on three sides, Trasimeno is subject to heavy storms created by winds, especially from the north and west. There are three islets in the lake: Maggiore, Minore and Polvese (the largest). The lake’s shores are sparsely inhabited with only two popular villages: Castiglione del Lago and Passignano sul Trasimeno."



"Italy is experiencing its worst drought in 70 years which has affected drinking water supplies, hydroelectric power and agricultural production. High temperatures, hot winds and lack of rainfall are the main causes of drought in the Umbrian region which saw Lake Trasimeno’s drop 1.3 m, reaching the limit of the hydrometric zero in July 2022."



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



---



By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

[sendtonews key="3upvlAaHgO-2256633-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="LvS8v8bp9z-2564889-12187" type="single"]</div>



Today's Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.acs.org/">American Chemical Society</a> describes a new self-powered nanosensor that can instantly detect mercury contamination with the tap of a finger.&nbsp;



The oxidized form of mercury can be harmful when it is ingested through contaminated water or food. This makes it necessary for experts to develop sensors that can quickly and accurately detect the presence of mercury.&nbsp;



Zong-Hong Lin and colleagues have now created a triboelectric nanosensor (TENS) that can detect mercury by simply by touching a sample. According to the researchers, their TENS could serve as the basis for similar devices to safely and remotely monitor other pollutants.



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



---



By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

[sendtonews key="LvS8v8bp9z-2564889-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from the...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="iuA5mpp3jv-1641775-12187" type="single"]</div>



Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Kainji Lake, a reservoir on the Niger River.



In 1968, Kainji Lake was created by the construction of the Kainji Dam. The Niger River, the third longest in Africa, enters the lake in the north.&nbsp;



According to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/rivers-in-the-american-west-are-a-lifesaving-resource-for-birds/">ESA</a>, the creation of the lake submerged Foge Island and the town of Bussa and permanently flooded other riverine settlements, leaving around 50,000 people displaced.&nbsp;



Large parts of Foge Island are temporarily exposed during low water tides, and the land is often used by migrating fishermen. Kainji Dam is a dam across the Niger River in Niger State of Central Nigeria. 



Wild mammals occur at relatively low densities due to illegal hunting. Lake Kainji has suffered a dramatic decline as a fishery due to the high numbers of artisanal and subsistence fisherfolk using the lake. It has been suggested that a period of closure, together with controlled fishing rights may help improve fish stocks.



Kainji Lake National Park is the oldest of its kind in Nigeria. The park contains three distinct areas: a part of the Kainji Lake, the Borgu Game Reserve to the west of the lake, and the Zugurma Game Reserve to the southeast. The park is home to around 65 mammal species, 350 bird species, and 30 species of reptiles and amphibians. 



Video/ Image Credit: European Space Agency&nbsp;



---



By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Kainji Lake in north central Nigeria

[sendtonews key="iuA5mpp3jv-1641775-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="QGPzYnXEtN-1712599-12187" type="single"]</div>



Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.igb.illinois.edu/">Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology</a> reveals how scientists can modify common crops like soybean, rice, and wheat to protect them from heat stress.



“We need to double crop production by 2050 to feed a growing global population, and not only are we not on track to do that, but climate change is further complicating things,” said Amanda Cavanagh, a lecturer at the University of Essex. 



The study is part of Realizing Increased Photosynthetic Efficiency (RIPE), an international research project that aims to develop food crops that turn the sun’s energy into food more efficiently.



“Using an engineering approach we designed multiple alternative metabolic pathways to photorespiration. Testing them in the field showed increases in productivity which led Amanda to significantly move the project forward by showing our engineered plants can withstand pretty extreme temperature stress,” said study co-author and RIPE researcher Paul South.&nbsp;



“As the climate changes and temperature stresses increase the pressure on our global food supply, farmers will need every tool available including engineering approaches like the synthetic biology used here to maintain safe and productive harvests.”



The experts tested plants modified to have more efficient photorespiration to see if they were better adapted to warmer temperatures.&nbsp;



The team found that the engineered plants produced 26 percent more biomass than the wild-type plants exposed to the same temperatures, and had 15 percent less yield loss under the higher temperatures.



Video Credit: Amanda Nguyen/University of Illinois



---



By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Designing crops that can beat the heat

[sendtonews key="QGPzYnXEtN-1712599-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from Carl...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="X0f6OHYoI4-2310561-12187" type="single"]</div>



Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.acs.org/">American Chemical Society</a> explores the ability of salt to transform the way that foods and beverages taste. Salt is known to cover up undesirable flavors, such as bitterness in coffee or beer, but how exactly does sodium chloride change the taste of other compounds?



One previous study showed that, not only does salt suppress bitterness, but also enhances sweetness and sourness. Another study revealed that bitterness reduction by salt seems to be happening at the tongue receptor level as well as in the brain.&nbsp;



While it is known that salt taste is mediated by the presence of sodium channels in the form of taste buds, experts believe that there is also an unknown receptor responsible for how we taste salt that has not yet been identified.&nbsp;



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



---



By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

How does salt makes things taste better?

[sendtonews key="X0f6OHYoI4-2310561-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="JRaP49ISmm-2357509-12187" type="single"]</div>



Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Santiago, the capital city of Chile. The city is located in the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Region, which has a population of about eight million people.&nbsp;



'The weather of Santiago resembles the Mediterranean climate with dry and warm summers with temperatures reaching up to 35°C (from October to March) and cool and humid winters that can drop to 0°C (from April to September)."



"The city lies in the centre of the country’s central valley around 80 km from the Pacific Ocean to the west and borders Argentina to the east. A tiny part of Argentina is visible in the top-right corner of the image where the mountain crest of the Andes Mountains acts as a divider between the two countries," says ESA.



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



---



By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Santiago, Chile in South America

[sendtonews key="JRaP49ISmm-2357509-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

Spiral,Galaxy,,Illustration,Of,Milky,Way

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="e4ZG0Jawp3-2374785-12187" type="single"]</div>



Astronomers at <a href="https://www.jhu.edu/">Johns Hopkins University</a> have created an interactive map of the universe, including the actual position and real colors of 200,000 galaxies. The map allows the public to access data that was previously only available to scientists.



The map was developed using data collected by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. For over two decades, a telescope in New Mexico was aimed at slightly different locations to capture the night sky.&nbsp;



"Growing up I was very inspired by astronomy pictures, stars, nebulae and galaxies, and now it's our time to create a new type of picture to inspire people," said map creator Brice Ménard, a professor at Johns Hopkins. "Astrophysicists around the world have been analyzing this data for years, leading to thousands of scientific papers and discoveries. But nobody took the time to create a map that is beautiful, scientifically accurate, and accessible to people who are not scientists. Our goal here is to show everybody what the universe really looks like."



"In this map, we are just a speck at the very bottom, just one pixel. And when I say we, I mean our galaxy, the Milky Way which has billions of stars and planets. We are used to seeing astronomical pictures showing one galaxy here, one galaxy there or perhaps a group of galaxies. But what this map shows is a very, very different scale."



"From this speck at the bottom, we are able to map out galaxies across the entire universe, and that says something about the power of science."



The <a href="https://mapoftheuniverse.net/">interactive map</a> is available online, where it can be downloaded for free.



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



---



By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

[sendtonews key="e4ZG0Jawp3-2374785-12187" type="single"] Astronomers at Johns Hopkins University have created...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="EjmSP20gQK-2593093-12187" type="single"]</div>



Today's Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard</a> describes the first comprehensive estimate of carbon density in the Saharan, Sahel, and Sudanian zones of Africa. In an effort to measure the amount of carbon stored across these drylands, a team of scientists used high-resolution satellite images and artificial intelligence to map nearly 10 billion individual trees. 



"The high spatial resolution (50 cm) combined with AI and field measurements used in this study is key to improving tree inventories in drylands," said Pierre Hiernaux, a French researcher working for NASA. "The ever-increasing availability of very high-resolution satellite imagery will make it possible to assess carbon pools and their dynamics at the individual tree level on a global scale."



"This study is exceptional because it is pioneering a type of approach that will revolutionize the monitoring of trees and forests on a global scale: in the short term, it will be possible to map the world's trees from the centre of the Amazon to our schoolyards," said <a href="https://www.inrae.fr/en">INRAE</a> researcher Jean-Pierre Wigneron.



"Many fields of application will become much more efficient and accurate, such as tracking carbon stocks, biodiversity, monitoring logging and protection against illegal forest degradation, in near real time.”



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



---



By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Remote sensing will revolutionize the way we monitor trees

[sendtonews key="EjmSP20gQK-2593093-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from NASA...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="qjvhBOBnY8-2426650-12187" type="single"]</div>



Today's Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Dublin, the capital and largest city of Ireland. Beyond its pub culture, Dublin is known as a modern culinary destination and a UNESCO City of Literature.



"Dublin is located near the midpoint of Ireland’s east coast in the province of Leinster. The city, which covers an area of around 115 square kilometers, is bordered by the Dublin Mountains, a low mountain range to the south, and is surrounded by flat farmland to the north and west," says ESA.



"The city straddles the River Liffey, which rises in the Wicklow Mountains and flows around 80 kilometers eastwards through the city of Dublin, in which it is canalised and bordered with quays. It then empties into Dublin Bay, an arm of the Irish Sea."



Dublin has an abundance of green spaces, including one of the largest enclosed public parks in any European capital city. Phoenix Park, which was originally formed as a royal hunting park in the 1660s, includes 707 hectares of green space.



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



---



By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

[sendtonews key="qjvhBOBnY8-2426650-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from the...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="oL4FnPTGCV-2384527-12187" type="single"]</div>



Today's Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features the province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain. The image was captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission.



"Together with the provinces of Huesca and Teruel, Zaragoza formed the old kingdom of Aragon. Its capital, also called Zaragoza (not visible in this image) is home to around half of Aragon’s population," says ESA.



"The Ebro River can be seen winding its way through the province from west to east in this image. Between its source in the Cantabrian Mountains in the northwest and its delta on the Mediterranean coast, the Ebro River is fed by more than 200 tributaries as it flows 910 km across much of northern Spain."



Since rainfall is very scarce in this region, irrigation in the Ebro basin is critically important. In the valleys surrounding the Ebro River, many fields are used for growing crops such as corn, wheat, and barley.



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



---



By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

[sendtonews key="oL4FnPTGCV-2384527-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from the...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="f8fukm28Vz-2491833-12187" type="single"]</div>



Today's Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard</a> features a visual dataset of.methane emissions from wetlands across the globe. Atmospheric methane levels have reached record highs in recent years, and wetlands are a major source of these emissions.&nbsp;



"Methane is an important greenhouse gas that contributes substantially to global warming. On a molecule by molecule basis, methane is much more efficient at trapping heat than carbon dioxide, the main driver of warming," says NASA.



"Though human activities, including agriculture, oil and natural gas production and use, and waste disposal, collectively contribute the majority of methane to the atmosphere, about a third of total methane emissions comes from wetlands."&nbsp;



According to NASA, understanding methane emissions from wetlands and other natural sources is critically important for scientists and policymakers who are working to combat climate change by reducing emissions from human activities.



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



---



By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Wetlands are a major source of methane emissions

[sendtonews key="f8fukm28Vz-2491833-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from NASA...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="0879czfG3k-1785905-12187" type="single"]</div>



Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/">NASA Earth Observatory</a> reveals the evolution of the Columbia Glacier in southeastern Alaska. Columbia is among the fastest shrinking glaciers in the world, and the video documents its rapid retreat over the years.&nbsp;



Columbia Glacier is a large, multi-branched calving glacier that flows out of the Chugach Mountains to the Prince William Sound.&nbsp;



According to USGS, Columbia had a long history of stability prior to 1980, with a length 41 miles, and small, short-lived advances or retreats.



In the years since 1980, however, satellite images have captured Columbia’s alarming retreat. By using false-color images, scientists can distinguish between snow and ice, open water, vegetation, and rocky debris on the glacier’s surface.



The series of false-color images featured in today's video were acquired over the span of 35 years. You can see that by 2021, the glacier’s main branch had retreated about 15 miles from its initial position.



The Columbia Glacier has also lost more than 50 percent of its volume, mostly due to calving. <a href="https://www.earth.com/video/nasa-reveals-3d-visual-of-an-atmospheric-river/">NASA</a> reports that while climate change likely started the retreat, mechanical processes kept the disintegration going.



The NASA images are provided by Jesse Allen, Robert Simmon, Joshua Stevens, and Lauren Dauphin using data from Landsat satellites, from the U.S. Geological Survey, and data from MODIS on NASA’s Terra satellite. The structure of Columbia’s moraine played a large role in the stability of the glacier before 1980. 



Like other tidewater glaciers, the Columbia built up a moraine over time, and the mixture of ice and rock functioned like a dam keeping out the sea. It was supported on one end by the shoreline and by the underwater terminal moraine at the other.



Video Credit: NASA Earth Observatory/&nbsp; NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio



---



By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

[sendtonews key="0879czfG3k-1785905-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from NASA...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="6HyfrAJTBI-1831843-12187" type="single"]</div>



Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features the Pyrenees Mountains, which form a natural boundary between France and Spain in southwest Europe.



The mountain range is 430 kilometers in length. It stretches from the Mediterranean Sea on the east to the Atlantic Ocean on the west.



At an elevation of 3404 meters, Pico de Aneto is the highest mountain peak in the Pyrenees, and the third-highest peak in Spain. Pico de Aneto is located in the Posets-Maladeta Natural Park, which spans more than 82,000 acres.&nbsp;



"Geological studies have revealed that the Pyrenees Mountains have been around for longer than the Alps, with their sediments first deposited in coastal basins during the Paleozoic and Mesozoic eras," reports ESA.



"The entire mountain range formed due to the upwelling of large sedimentary rocks by the collision of the Iberian and the Eurasian plate around 100 to 150 million years ago, followed by intense erosion from ice and water."



The western Pyrenees receive more precipitation due to moisture blowing in from the Atlantic Ocean. The mountain range contains many lakes, several small glaciers, and some of the highest waterfalls in Europe.



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



---



By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

[sendtonews key="6HyfrAJTBI-1831843-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="0dEcERCq61-2283382-12187" type="single"]</div>



Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.stowers.org/">Stowers Institute for Medical Research</a> describes why experts are studying zebrafish to gain a better understanding of how the immune system responds to injury. Zebrafish have the ability to repair and regenerate organs.



“Organ regeneration offers an exciting opportunity for studying the immune system and to inquire why some species can regenerate organs like the heart or missing limbs while others like humans cannot,” explained Dr. Tatjana Piotrowski.



Zebrafish sensory organ hair cells are an ideal system to investigate the pathways and cell types involved in regeneration since they are easily destroyed with antibiotics and begin regenerating within five hours. This enabled the researchers to identify the exact timing and genetic programs for each anti-inflammatory macrophage activation state.&nbsp;



“Our hypothesis is that human macrophages do not receive the proper chemical activation 'cocktail' to instruct pro-regenerative processes,” said Dr. Nicolas Denans. “Identifying the molecular recipe of macrophage activation in zebrafish may one day enable us to design regenerative immunotherapies in humans.”&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



“The new evidence is a valuable resource for comparative studies on the genetic programs involved in macrophage-mediated repair and regeneration. In other words, different types of injuries may induce different kinds of inflammatory responses. We want to decipher whether this 'language' is universal or if there are a variety of dialects."



Video Credit: Stowers Institute for Medical Research&nbsp;



---



By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

How the immune system responds to injury

[sendtonews key="0dEcERCq61-2283382-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from Stowers...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="3UUsNkFOuS-2487333-12187" type="single"]</div>



Today's Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard</a> describes how record-breaking heat expressed itself around the world in 2022.



Scientists have determined that 2022 was the 5th warmest year since 1880. Furthermore, the last nine consecutive years have been the warmest on record.



From devastating floods and wildfires to natural disasters like Hurricane Ian, 2022 showed us yet again how a warming climate affects people across the globe.&nbsp;



"As we look back at 20:22 and years past, we see that each year we better understand the challenges we face and how important it is to meet them," says NASA.



Video/ Image Credit: NASA Goddard



---



By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

2022 illustrated the consequences of a warming climate

[sendtonews key="3UUsNkFOuS-2487333-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from NASA...

Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="QIoVYJqRBi-2434608-12187" type="single"]</div>



Today's Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard</a> describes two exoplanets that are orbiting a star 218 light-years away. A team of researchers led by the University of Montreal has found evidence that these planets are "water worlds."



The experts used data from NASA’s Hubble and Spitzer Space Telescopes. They discovered that exoplanets Kepler-138 c and Kepler-138 could be composed largely of water.



"We previously thought that planets that were a bit larger than Earth were big balls of metal and rock, like scaled-up versions of Earth, and that's why we called them super-Earths," explained study co-author Björn Benneke.&nbsp;



"However, we have now shown that these two planets, Kepler-138 c and d, are quite different in nature and that a big fraction of their entire volume is likely composed of water. It is the best evidence yet for water worlds, a type of planet that was theorized by astronomers to exist for a long time."



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



Image Credit: NASA, ESA, and Leah Hustak (STScI)



---



By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

[sendtonews key="QIoVYJqRBi-2434608-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from NASA...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="JbW4VsY53O-1632195-12187" type="single"]</div>



Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard</a> describes Earth’s interconnected systems, and how this network is affected by rising temperatures.&nbsp;



During 2020, average global temperatures matched the hottest year on record. The hurricane season was also record-breaking, with many of the storms intensifying at extraordinary speeds. Hot water in the ocean is fuel for hurricanes. The satellite data shows that it's all one interconnected system showing how Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected.



According to NASA, dust swept up from Northern Africa plays a major role in the formation of hurricanes, and is also a key source of fertilization in the Amazon rainforest. As a result of<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/seagrass-wasting-disease-is-fueled-by-climate-change/"> climate</a> change, dust plumes are expected to decline, which will have an effect on vegetation far away.&nbsp;



Images from Earth-observing satellites show how the world’s plant life is affected by natural disasters, fires, and deforestation. Satellites also reveal how widespread changes in vegetation impact waterways,&nbsp; the climate, air quality. Satellites communicate by using radio waves to send signals to the antennas on the Earth. "Earth From Space" is a groundbreaking two-hour special that reveals a spectacular new space-based vision of our planet. 



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



---



By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

[sendtonews key="JbW4VsY53O-1632195-12187" type="single"] Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected...

Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://welcome.miami.edu/">University of Miami</a> Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science explores how changes in water temperatures have affected tiger shark habitats and movements in the North Atlantic Ocean. The study reveals that rising temperatures have caused the sharks to shift toward the poles over the past 40 years.



“Tiger shark annual migrations have expanded poleward, paralleling rising water temperatures,” explained study lead author Neil Hammerschlag. “These results have consequences for tiger shark conservation, since shifts in their movements outside of marine protected areas may leave them more vulnerable to commercial fishing.”



The researchers analyzed nine years of tracking data from satellite-tagged tiger sharks, combined with four decades of conventional tag and recapture data provided by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Cooperative Shark Tagging Program.



The experts found that during the last decade of record heat, for every one-degree Celsius increase in water temperatures, tiger sharks migrated further poleward by over 400 kilometers. They also migrated two weeks earlier than usual to waters off the northeastern coast of the United States.



“Given their role as apex predators, these changes to tiger shark movements may alter predator-prey interactions, leading to ecological imbalances, and more frequent encounters with humans,” concluded Professor Hammerschlag.



Video Credit: University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science



---



By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

Today’s Video of the Day from the University of Miami...

News coming your way