AS WEEDS GO, Arabidopsis thaliana is a rather charming specimen. On a spring day, you might see it sprouting from the cracks of a parking lot, unleashing a small riot of white flowers that give it the common name “mouse ear cress.” But its rotund leaves often bear unwelcome passengers: among them, a bacteria called Pseudomonas syringae. It sits there looking for a way into the plant, usually the stomata through which the leaf takes in water and carbon dioxide, or through a wound. That’s when things get interesting.
Tag Archives: climate
Powerful Cyclone Bears Down on India, Forcing Millions to Evacuate
Cyclone Fani is bearing down on India and has forced the largest evacuation in the country’s history as millions flee from the coast. Continue reading Powerful Cyclone Bears Down on India, Forcing Millions to Evacuate
Typhoon Yutu Could Strike Guam as a Category 5 Beast
It feels like 2018 is the year of rapid intensification. Storm after storm after storm has spun up from humble begins to cyclonic monster around the world. The latest cyclone to join the ignominious club is Typhoon Yutu which is in the midst of spinning up into a forecast Category 5 super typhoon by Wednesday. Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands lie squarely in the typhoon’s path. Continue reading Typhoon Yutu Could Strike Guam as a Category 5 Beast
What happens if Earth gets 2°C warmer?
If the world gets warmer by two degrees Celsius, we’re screwed. To prevent that, the United Nations signed the Paris Agreement, an international treaty designed to keep the average global temperature “well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels”…A.K.A. what the Earth was like before factories started spewing greenhouse gases into the air.
Apparently Storms Can Push 600-Ton Boulders Around
On the rocky shores of a windswept island just west of Ireland, the 620-ton boulder looks almost at home. But careful analysis of its position over the last few years has revealed something odd: between the summers of 2013 and 2014, the boulder shifted a couple meters toward the sea. That discovery is causing scientists to rethink what they know about the impacts of powerful storms.
Continue reading Apparently Storms Can Push 600-Ton Boulders Around
Trump administration freezes grants and contracts at the EPA
Donald Trump’s administration has frozen all grants and contract operations at the Environmental Protection Agency, ProPublica reports. The freeze could disrupt critical, ongoing projects such as toxic cleanups and water quality testing, and it may impact the EPA’s budget allocations. The EPA currently has $6.4 billion worth of federal contracts, which it uses to organize clean-up and testing services across the country. It’s unclear how long the freeze will be in place or whether it will impact only new grants.
Continue reading Trump administration freezes grants and contracts at the EPA
Huge Cracks In the West Antarctic Ice Sheet May Signal Its Collapse
Last year, a 225 square-mile chunk of West Antarctica’s Pine Island Glacier broke off and tumbled into the sea. Now, Earth scientists at Ohio State University have pinpointed the root cause of the iceberg calving event: a crack that started deep below ground and 20 miles inland.
Continue reading Huge Cracks In the West Antarctic Ice Sheet May Signal Its Collapse
The Fat Cat Collective 