Climate263
-
Food Miles, Fair Miles
It’s not often that when we purchase food from a bodega or grocery store that we consider where it came from. Is my apple from New York, Washington, or China? Were my tomatoes grown in Florida, California, or Mexico? Whose hands planted and picked them? Why did this planter choose this variety? Wherever our food…
-
Is there hope from Copenhagen?
Can we find positives from the United Nations Summit on climate change? Even President Obama admits that disappointment is justified, although the Commander in Chief claims a non-binding accord was better than a complete collapse of the negotiations. Jeffrey Sachs, fearless leader of the Earth Institute, adamantly opposed such victory proclamation from the President, for…
-
Global Environment Index Downgrades U.S. and China
Richer Countries Tend to Do Better—But Not Always
-
Tundra, Microbes and World Climate
O. Roger Anderson is a microbiologist at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory who studies bacteria, amoebas, fungi and other microorganisms. Lately he has been thinking about how tiny organisms that inhabit the vast northern tundra regions could contribute to changing climate, since, like humans, they breathe in oxygen and breathe out carbon dioxide. Recently, Anderson found a…
-
The State of the Arctic
Where climate change is concerned, the Arctic region acts as a harbinger: the extremely sensitive Arctic system reacts earlier and more profoundly to anthropogenic climate change than many other regions. And as climate change progresses, it is also projected to experience greater environmental changes than other places on earth. As such, it has become an…
-
2000-2009: The Warmest Decade
Long-Term Rise in Global Temperature Unabated
-
Rough seas bring unexpected rewards
Working in Antarctica is always a challenge but this trip has had more than the usual setbacks. After working feverishly in Punta Arenas to prepare our ship, we had to wait two days for some essential cargo to arrive. Not long after pushing off, we encountered rough weather in the Drake Passage, a region notorious…
-
Adelie penguins
The nice folks up on the bridge always give us a call when they see wildlife. Then we all grab our cameras and rush out to our favorite spots to try and photograph whatever creatures have come to visit. I’m no biologist, but seeing so many beautiful animals has made me curious. So I’ve been…
-
Girls on Ice
While I’ve been staying on the ship, Erin Pettit has been flying off by helicopter to study glaciers. She has a really cool job, and I wish she would take me with her on some of her adventures. But it turns out that she wants to take you! Erin runs a program called Girls on…