Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been tagged as “Earth”
For decades, the earth’s oceans have soaked up more than nine-tenths of the atmosphere’s excess heat trapped by greenhouse gas emissions. By stowing that extra energy in their depths, oceans have spared the planet from feeling the full effects of humanity’s carbon overindulgence. But as those gases build in the air, an energy overload is rising below the waves. A raft of …
A world renowned biologist told me over breakfast one morning that great scientific advances do not begin with moments of sudden insight that elicit “Eureka,” but with moments of puzzlement that produce a…..”Huh?” In other words, things that suddenly make sense are less likely to revolutionize the way we look at the world than things that make no sense. Discoveries that make sense …
Singing whales, talking trees, dancing bees, birds who make art, fish who navigate, plants who learn and remember. We are surrounded by intelligences other than our own, by feathered people and people with leaves. But we’ve forgotten. There are many forces arrayed to help us forget—even the language we speak. I’m a beginning student of my native Anishinaabe language, trying …
Human activity dangerously compromises four of the nine systems that are key to maintaining the stability of Earth, report researchers. The study establishes planetary boundaries—thresholds beyond which there will be irreversible and abrupt environmental change. Those nine boundaries are: Climate change Change in biosphere integrity, meaning biodiversity loss and species extinction Land-system change, such as deforestation Biogeochemical flows, meaning phosphorus and …
To hear the far-right ideologues of Fox News and AM talk radio tell it, life in Europe is hell on Earth. Taxes are high, sexual promiscuity prevails, universal healthcare doesn’t work, and millions of people don’t even speak English as their primary language! Those who run around screaming about “American exceptionalism” often condemn countries like France, Norway and Switzerland to justify …
In California’s epic drought, wars over water rights continue, while innovative alternatives for increasing the available water supply go untapped. Wars over California’s limited water supply have been going on for at least a century. Water wars have been the subject of some vintage movies, including the 1958 hit The Big Country starring Gregory Peck, Clint Eastwood’s 1985 Pale Rider, 1995’s Waterworld with Kevin Costner, …
A new study suggests the world’s forests are more fragmented than ever before. Analysis by researchers at North Carolina State University showed that if one were to be dropped randomly into one of the world’s many forests, there would be a 70 percent chance of being within a half-mile of the forest edge. And if forests are fragmented, so are …
Scientists warn that our fate is in our own hands as humans now control almost every aspect of the planet, on a scale akin to the great forces of nature. Nature has been replaced by humans as the driving force behind changes on the planet − and we need to take urgent action if we are to avoid our own …
An extensive study of global habitat fragmentation – the division of habitats into smaller and more isolated patches – points to major trouble for a number of the world’s ecosystems and the plants and animals living in them. The study shows that 70 percent of existing forest lands are within a half-mile of the forest edge, where encroaching urban, suburban …
I have dedicated my life to the exploration of the profound potential for transformation that all human beings possess. In this pursuit I have had the grace of experiencing transformation at the core of my being and I have always had other pioneering souls with whom to share and explore. All of that experience has brought with it an unshakeable …
