Um… uh oh? The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said today that levels of greenhouse gasses in our atmosphere are at their highest level since pre-industrial times. These are the gasses that cause climate change and have increased 27.5% from 1990 to 2009 — that’s a huge jump. Saying that it could take 100 years for [...]
Dear EarthTalk: I’ve noticed that wildflower blooms in the mountains have been coming earlier and earlier in recent years. Is this a sign of global warming? And what does this mean for the long term survival of these hardy yet rare plants? As always, it’s hard to pin specific year-to-year weather-variations and related phenomena – [...]
Dear EarthTalk: When we talk about endangered species we usually think of animal species, but someone recently told me that there was a worldwide crisis pertaining to the extinction of plants. Can you enlighten? We may not realize it, but the health of the plant kingdom is crucial to the health of the planet and [...]
Dear EarthTalk: The U.S. got socked with several major storms this past winter. Local weather reports never mentioned this as odd. But is it a sign of global warming? Weather patterns and trends are notoriously unpredictable, varying due to a great many different inputs. While it’s true that snowier, stormier winters could be the result [...]
The Global Climate Coalition (GCC) was an industry group in the United States battling reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and pollution. Started in 1989, some of the original members included Amoco, American Petroleum Institute, Chevron, Exxon, Shell Oil, and Texaco, and they assembled together in order to fight any movement on climate change policies in [...]
Dear EarthTalk: If the ice caps are melting, what is happening to the salt content of the oceans? And might this contribute to weather patterns or cause other environmental problems? It”™s true that the melting of the polar ice caps as a result of global warming is sending large amounts of freshwater into the world”™s [...]
I know you know that some foods can have a detrimental effect on our environment, but do you know which foods and just how much damage they can do? Me neither, and that’s why I was so happy to come across the website for the Cool Foods Campaign, which aims to teach us about such [...]
