World's fastest land animal in race to survive

Apr 29, 2013

World's fastest land animal in race to survive

The cheetah, the world’s fastest land animal, survived mass extinction during the last ice age 10,000 years ago. But it has taken just the last few decades for man to place the hunter on the endangered species list, with experts warning it could disappear ...

Apr 29, 2013

Mozambique losing fight to save elephants

Mozambique’s elephant population risks being obliterated within a decade unless tight antipoaching measures are introduced, conservationists have warned. The alarming scale of the poaching problem has become increasingly apparent, with an aerial survey of the north of the country in 2011 tallying 2,667 elephant ...

Humboldt penguins face extinction in Chile

Apr 29, 2013

Humboldt penguins face extinction in Chile

Several dozen Humboldt penguins sun themselves along the coast of an islet in central Chile where the majestic birds coming to nest once numbered in the thousands. Humboldt penguins — which nest only in parts of Chile and Peru — over the years have ...

Apr 23, 2013

Late 20th century was warmest in 1,400 years

The Earth was cooling until the end of the 19th century, yet 100 years later the planet’s surface was on average warmer than at any time in the previous 1,400 years, according to climate records presented Sunday. In a study spanning two millenniums published ...

Apr 10, 2013

Climate change may make flights bumpier

Flights will become bumpier as global warming destabilizes air currents at altitudes used by commercial airliners, climate scientists warned Monday. Already, atmospheric turbulence injures hundreds of airline passengers each year, sometimes fatally, damaging aircraft and costing the industry an estimated $150 million, scientists said. ...

Apr 9, 2013

Smog-eating pavement on greenest street in U.S.

The big rigs rattling past smokestacks sure don’t make this Chicago roadway look like the greenest street in America. But their tires roll over smog-eating pavement, the streetlights run on solar and wind power, the sidewalks were made with recycled concrete, and shrub-filled “bioswales” ...

Ocean acidification supersizing blue crabs

Apr 9, 2013

Ocean acidification supersizing blue crabs

by Darryl Fears

It is the dawn of the supercrab. Crabs are bulking up on carbon pollution that pours out of power plants, factories and vehicles and settles in the oceans, turning the tough crustaceans into even more fearsome predators. That presents a major problem for Chesapeake ...