Tag archives for extreme weather
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Seeing the photos from the record-breaking algal bloom on Lake Erie in 2011 was like déjà vu for me. I grew up in the Great Lakes region in the 1960s and 1970s and remember the days when Lake Erie was declared “dead.” I later learned that the green scum that plagued the lake during summer…
A named tropical storm had dramatic effects on a group of aquatic ecosystems last year, but the affected waters were not what you might expect. They were freshwater lakes and reservoirs spread across the northeastern U.S. and southeastern Canada, some located far inland from the coast. A new study sheds light on the consequences of…
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This year has seen the Arctic sea ice sheet melt further, and faster, than has ever been seen before in human history – a whopping 760,000 square kilometers less than ever recorded (which is 3.29 million square kilometers below the average minimum). Though images of polar bears and walrus stranded on melting ice-cubes pop…
Presidential Candidates, Studies Dissect Climate Change
Posted by Tim Profeta of Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, Duke University on September 6, 2012 As campaigning for the November presidential election moves forward, President Barack Obama and his Republican challenger Mitt Romney spelled out their interpretations on one issue in a bit more detail than usual. To Science Debate, Obama identifies climate change as one of the most pressing concerns of the era and lists the steps he has taken during his…
Harnessing Sun, Wave Power for Energy
Posted by Tim Profeta of Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, Duke University on July 26, 2012 Oceans, which cover more than two-thirds of the planet, hold a large amount of energy. In fact, the U.S. Department of Energy estimates ocean wave and tidal currents have the potential to account for 15 percent of the nation’s electricity by 2030. While technologies harnessing energy from tides and currents have been domestically discussed for decades, the…
Record Temperatures May Bring More Than Just Early Spring Flowers
Posted by Tim Profeta of Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, Duke University on March 22, 2012 Washington, D.C.’s famed cherry blossoms—now celebrating their centennial—decided to spring one on visitors, peaking well before the arrival of most Cherry Blossom Festival–goers. Spring’s forward leap is also causing coupling confusion among flowers and pollinators. Above-average temperatures are responsible for these early blooms, marking this the fourth warmest winter on record, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric…
From Texas to India to the Horn of Africa, Concern about Weather, Water, and Crops
Posted by Sandra Postel of National Geographic's Freshwater Initiative in Water Currents on March 6, 2012 
Hardly a week goes by without new reasons to be concerned about the impact of changing precipitation patterns and mounting water stress on food production. This past week, officials in Texas cut off irrigation water to rice farmers downstream of reservoirs depleted by the worst one-year drought in Texas history. Even with recent rains,…
Posted by If you can’t recall the last time such a bizarre snowstorm hit the northeastern U.S. in October, it’s not because your memory’s failing. The nor’easter that dumped snow from Virginia to Maine over the weekend—as much as 30 inches in some places—was something new.
Now Is the Winter of our Discontent …
Posted by Stuart Pimm on January 18, 2011 By Stuart Pimm “Now is the winter of our discontent,” the soon-to-be Richard III declares in opening Shakespeare’s play. He then quips to his brother, the current House of York king, that the future is surely sunny: the king has two sons and two brothers, so the York succession is certain. Life is full of…
