The Amazon’s biggest trees store disproportionately more carbon than smaller trees do, new study finds. But in the Peruvian Amazon, large trees are currently prioritized for harvest. The biggest trees in the Peruvian Amazon store disproportionately more carbon than smaller trees do, a new study finds. But these larger trees are also the ones most […]
climate change
Canada could remove 5 times its annual carbon emissions by planting trees on edge of boreal forest, study finds
Planting trees on 6.4 million hectares of northern taiga forest could remove 3.9 gigatons of CO2 by 2100 — five times Canada’s annual emissions. Canada could remove more than five times its annual carbon emissions from the atmosphere by the end of the century by planting trees along the northern edge of its boreal forest, […]
Once-in-a-century floods set to become annual events in northeastern US in the next 75 years, study finds
Rising sea levels and storm surges from hurricanes will bring more frequent extreme floods to northeastern U.S. states, including Connecticut, New York and New Jersey. Extreme flooding events caused by hurricanes that used to happen once every 100 years in the northeastern U.S. may become annual occurrences by the end of this century, according to […]
Weathering of Arctic rocks produces CO2 in climate feedback loop
When we think about climate feedback loops in the Arctic, thawing permafrost releasing huge quantities of methane is usually the first that comes to mind. But now researchers have discovered that the weathering of sulfide minerals like pyrite, or fool’s gold, is also generating carbon dioxide, and the process is speeding up as the region […]
How to Produce Hydrogen Gas as Cleanly as Possible
Green hydrogen? More like electrification with extra steps. As humanity works to slash greenhouse gas emissions and stem the pace of planetary warming, scientists, governments, and industry leaders are looking for low-carbon alternatives to fuel the future. Alongside renewables such as solar and wind energy, hydrogen gas is bubbling to the forefront as a fuel […]
‘Fire clouds’ from super-hot wildfires are on the rise as Earth warms
Intense blazes burning in the United States and Canada are creating their own thunderstorms, which can spark more fires. The monstrous fires that are now charring vast areas of western North America aren’t just colossal and fast-moving, they have also created their own thunderstorms — an example of exotic fire behaviour that scientists say is […]
Can Animals Evolve Fast Enough to Keep Up with Climate Change?
Maybe. The world is always changing, leaving plants and animals everywhere to adapt to new habitats and living conditions. Evolution offers a pathway for life to adapt to these changes, but it takes time. So as human-caused climate change increases the rate at which the environment is changing, the big question is, can evolution keep […]
Why are the Canadian wildfires so bad this year?
Hot, dry weather and human carelessness have led to a huge burnt area — and to choking haze affecting millions of people. Smoke from wildfires raging in eastern Canada has been filling lungs and turning skies orange across the northeastern United States, most dramatically in New York City and the surrounding area, for the past […]
Underground fungi absorb up to a third of our fossil fuel emissions
Researchers estimate that plants transfer more than 13 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide each year to mycorrhizal fungi, which grow around their roots. The relationships between plants and the fungi that colonise their roots are responsible for locking away a huge amount of carbon underground – maybe equivalent to more than one-third of global emissions from […]
Rising Sea Levels Will Isolate People Long Before They’re Underwater
Time and tide wait for no man. Neither does sea level rise. The Chignecto Isthmus—the low marshy strip connecting New Brunswick and Nova Scotia—may be one of the most vulnerable places in Canada to sea level rise. At just 21 kilometers wide, the interprovincial land bridge is battered on its southwestern flank by the famously […]