News: Archive for April, 2022
‘Russia announced on Wednesday it had successfully launched a new missile that it said could deploy nuclear warheads at hypersonic speeds anywhere in the world and outwit defenses, a move that President Vladimir V. Putin said was aimed at showing Russia’s adversaries that they needed to “think twice” before threatening his country.’
Source: Russia Said It Has Successfully Tested a New ICBM That Can Evade Defenses – The New York Times
‘Soon, millions of these engineered mosquitoes could be set loose in California in an experiment recently approved by the federal government.’
Source: Genetically modified mosquitoes may be released in California – Los Angeles Times
‘WASHINGTON — The Biden administration announced on Friday that it would resume selling leases for new oil and gas drilling on public lands, but would also raise the federal royalties that companies must pay to drill, the first increase in those fees in more than a century.’
Source: Biden Plans to Open More Public Land to Drilling – The New York Times
‘Boreal forests—together comprising the largest land biome on Earth—account for about 23% of our planet’s forested area and generally experience less pressure from human activities than other regions. A recent analysis of satellite images, however, showed that anthropogenic climate change has reached the biome—and it’s a scene worthy of Tolkien: The entire boreal forest is on the move.’
Source: Satellites Reveal Slow Shift of the Entire Boreal Biome – Eos
‘Even if greenhouse gas emissions peak by 2025 and fall by 43 percent by 2030, the world will likely surpass the 1.5 degree Celsius threshold above pre-industrial temperatures that was an aspirational target of the Paris climate agreement. But if emissions reduction goals are met, the world could fall below that threshold again by the end of the century. This will require “rapid and deep and in most cases immediate GHG [greenhouse gas] emission reductions in all sectors.”’
‘Earth breakdown is much worse than most people realize. The science indicates that as fossil fuels continue to heat our planet, everything we love is at risk. For me, one of the most horrific aspects of all this is the juxtaposition of present-day and near-future climate disasters with the “business as usual” occurring all around me. It’s so surreal that I often find myself reviewing the science to make sure it’s really happening, a sort of scientific nightmare arm-pinch. Yes, it’s really happening.’