Earth Not Only Getting Warmer, but Wetter

(NEWSER) - Central Britain is under water after record rains, and scientists are now saying that the heavy downfall is caused by man-made global warming. Britain's sodden summer, with swollen rivers, thousand homeless and water plants failing, has been caused by a southward shift of the jet stream. Not unprecedented, the Independent reports, but just what a new study predicts with warming. More»

Science scribes lambaste articles in the Wall Street Journal , Daily Mail

(NEWSER) - Science writers are in a tizzy over two articles this weekend that deny the existence of global warming. One, signed by 16 scientists in the Wall Street Journal , notes "the lack of global warming for well over 10 years now." It argues that a world economy unburdened by carbon controls would enjoy an excellent "benefit-to-cost ratio" and strengthen developing countries. Another, in the Daily Mail , warns readers that solar activity will soon die down and plunge Earth into "cold summers" and "bitter winters." Enter the critics: More»

Try ditching wood cook stoves in developing world

(NEWSER) - Just because the world can't agree on a battle plan against carbon dioxide doesn't mean we can't take big strides against climate change, scientists say. In fact, a dozen or so relatively simple steps could cut global warming by nearly 1 degree Fahrenheit by mid-century, a process that could save countless lives and increase crop production, a study in Science asserts. That's because carbon dioxide isn't the only problem: Methane and soot are big contributors to climate change, too, the Washington Post reports. More»

Carbon dioxide levels creating long 'interglacial' period

(NEWSER) - On the glass-half-full side, our carbon dioxide emissions may fend off the next Ice Age, the BBC reports. Researchers say the Ice Age due in about 1,500 years won't happen because CO2 levels will be too high: "At current levels of CO2, even if emissions stopped now we'd probably have a long interglacial" period, says Luke Skinner of Cambridge University. The Earth's CO2 level must drop by about 150 parts per million to allow for another Ice Age, in case you're counting. More»

The animals are the first hybrid sharks in the world

(NEWSER) - Shark Week will have some new additions this year: Scientists found the first hybrid sharks in the world—57 of them—off the coast of Australia. The animals are a cross between the Australian blacktip shark and the common blacktip shark, and their existence may show that sharks are adapting to climate change, CNN reports. While such interbreeding occurs among fish, which lay eggs, it's more deliberate among sharks, which physically mate, notes a scientist. More»