Human : Science World Report

Apr 13, 2012 06:06 AM EDT

Wildfires Engulf Tennessee, Probed in New Jersey, New York

Wildfires scorched Tennessee on Wednesday as blazes in New Jersey and on New York's Long Island were largely brought under control and some were investigated as possible arson.

Apr 12, 2012 02:38 PM EDT

Poor spring Rain Projected in Africa

Spring rains in the eastern Horn of Africa are projected to begin late this year and be substantially lower than normal. From March - May, the rains are expected to total only 60 to 85 percentage of the average rainfall in this region. This is a significant deterioration compared to earlier forec...

Apr 12, 2012 12:41 PM EDT

Rapid Climate Change Threatens Asia's Rice Bowl

As Asia's monsoon season begins, leading climate specialists and agricultural scientists warned today that rapid climate change and its potential to intensify droughts and floods could threaten Asia's rice production and pose a significant threat to millions of people across the region.

Apr 12, 2012 11:22 AM EDT

In Environmental Disasters, Families Respond with Conflict, Denial, Silence

Environmental disasters impact individuals and communities; they also affect how family members communicate with each other, sometimes in surprising ways, according to a paper published by a faculty member at the University at Buffalo in the Journal of Family Issues.

Apr 12, 2012 10:58 AM EDT

Gulf Coast Residents Say BP Oil Spill Changed Their Environmental Views, UNH Research Finds

University of New Hampshire researchers have found that residents of Louisiana and Florida most acutely and directly affected by the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster -- the largest marine oil spill in U.S. history -- said they have changed their views on other environmental issues as a result of the sp...

Apr 12, 2012 10:05 AM EDT

New Research Puts Focus on Earthquake, Tsunami Hazard for Southern California

Scientists will convene in San Diego to present the latest seismological research at the annual conference of the Seismological Society of America (SSA), April 17-19.

Apr 12, 2012 06:53 AM EDT

FACTBOX-Largest Earthquakes Since 1900

Here is a factbox showing the 10 strongest earthquakes recorded since 1900, by order of magnitude, as Indonesia issued a tsunami warning for a time after a 8.6 magnitude earthquake struck off its westernmost province of Aceh on Wednesday.

Apr 12, 2012 06:44 AM EDT

Second Tremor Hit Western Mexico

Two large earthquakes struck western Mexico, shaking buildings as far away as the capital and sending people rushing out of offices onto the streets, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

Apr 12, 2012 05:56 AM EDT

Tsunami Alerts Pass Indonesia Quake Test, with Luck

Damage was light - the quakes were horizontal rather than vertical - and the big waves never came, unlike eight years ago when walls of water roared across the same ocean and ploughed into seaside communities in 13 countries without warning.

Apr 11, 2012 04:35 PM EDT

Buy coal? New Analysis Shows Purchasing Fossil Fuel Deposits Best Way to Light Climate Change

Environmental policy has historically been driven by a demand-side mindset - attempting to limit consumption of precious fossil fuels through pollution permits, taxation, and multi-national climate change treaties. However, new research from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern Universit...

Apr 11, 2012 04:05 PM EDT

Ocean Acidification Linked to Larval Oyster Failure

Researchers at Oregon State University have definitively linked an increase in ocean acidification to the collapse of oyster seed production at a commercial oyster hatchery in Oregon, where larval growth had declined to a level considered by the owners to be "non-economically viable."

Apr 11, 2012 01:58 PM EDT

Climate Change Boosts Then Quickly Stunts Plants, Decade-long Study Shows

Global warming may initially make the grass greener, but not for long, according to new research results. The findings, published this week in the journal Nature Climate Change, show that plants may thrive in the early stages of a warming environment but then begin to deteriorate quickly.