Today: September 20, 2024
Today: September 20, 2024

Science

Science

See how an Alaska paddleboarder escaped a close encounter with a humpback whale

An Alaska man on a paddleboard escaped a close encounter with a humpback whale, not even getting wet during a tense few seconds caught on camera by friends and family as the giant creature surfaced right in front of him then glided under his board. “It’s just so massive. You’re puny against this whale,” Kevin Williams of Anchorage said Thursday, a week after his adventure with an adult humpback whale in Prince William Sound. Adult females can weigh up to 70,000 pounds (31,700 kilograms) and average about 49 feet (15 meters) in length, according to the

July 20, 2023
See how an Alaska paddleboarder escaped a close encounter with a humpback whale
Science

Low levels of radioactive tritium may be near the Mississippi River after an energy company's leak

Groundwater containing low levels of radioactive material may have reached the edge of the Mississippi River, the energy company responsible for the leak from its nuclear power plant in Monticello, Minnesota, announced on Thursday. Tritium, a radioactive isotope of hydrogen, has not been detected in the river water itself, Xcel Energy said in a statement. “The closest sample to detect tritium is about 30 feet from the river, and detected about 1,000 picocuries per liter, far below Safe Drinking Water Act standards, or below 20,000 picocuries per liter,” the statement said. “Any presence of tritium in

July 21, 2023
Low levels of radioactive tritium may be near the Mississippi River after an energy company's leak
Science

Scientists: Florida Keys coral reefs are already bleaching as water temperatures hit record highs

Some Florida Keys coral reefs are losing their color weeks earlier than normal this summer because of record-high water temperatures, meaning they are under stress and their health is potentially endangered, federal scientists said. The corals should be vibrant and colorful this time of year, but are swiftly going white, said Katey Lesneski, research and monitoring coordinator for Mission: Iconic Reefs, which the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration launched to protect Florida coral reefs. “The corals are pale, it looks like the color’s draining out,” said Lesneski, who has spent several days on the reefs

July 21, 2023
Scientists: Florida Keys coral reefs are already bleaching as water temperatures hit record highs
Science

No children's remains found in Nebraska dig near former Native American boarding school

An archeological dig for a lost children’s cemetery near the Nebraska site of a former Native American boarding school has ended after two weeks — and no remains were found. Dave Williams, the state’s archeologist, said the team searching near the former Genoa Indian Industrial School plans to meet on Zoom with representatives of 40 tribes across the U.S. next week to determine next steps. “I would have preferred that we found the children,” said Judi gaiashkibos, a member of the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska and the executive director of the Nebraska Commission on Indian Affairs. “But we have to

July 21, 2023
No children's remains found in Nebraska dig near former Native American boarding school
Science

Sick of hearing about record heat? Scientists say those numbers paint the story of a warming world

The summer of 2023 is behaving like a broken record about broken records. Nearly every major climate-tracking organization proclaimed June the hottest June ever. Then July 4 became the globe’s hottest day, albeit unofficially, according to the University of Maine’s Climate Reanalyzer. It was quickly overtaken by July 5 and July 6. Next came the hottest week, a tad more official, stamped into the books by the World Meteorological Organization and the Japanese Meteorological Agency. With a summer of extreme weather records dominating the news, meteorologists and scientists say records like these give a glimpse of the big picture: a

July 22, 2023
Sick of hearing about record heat? Scientists say those numbers paint the story of a warming world
Science

CLIMATE GLIMPSE: Here's what you need to see and know today

As Greece swelters in another heat wave, children are finding some cool respite — and fun — in a fountain near a cultural center in Athens. Things are set to worsen in the Greek capital over the weekend, with temperatures approaching 111 degrees Fahrenheit (44 degrees Celsius) in yet another, and hopefully final, July heat wave in the country, meteorologists said. The blistering temperatures just keep on coming during the northern hemisphere summer, with records toppling around the world and global averages reaching uncharted hot territory. Others are seeing deadly summer storms and flash floods — scientists say human-caused climate

July 22, 2023
CLIMATE GLIMPSE: Here's what you need to see and know today
Science

Fukushima plant water release within weeks raises worries about setbacks to businesses, livelihoods

Beach season has started across Japan, which means seafood for holiday makers and good times for business owners. But in Fukushima, that may end soon. Within weeks, the tsunami-hit Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant is expected to start releasing treated radioactive wastewater into the sea, a highly contested plan still facing fierce protests in and outside Japan. The residents worry that the water discharge 12 years after the nuclear disaster could deal another setback to Fukushima’s image and hurt their businesses and livelihoods. “Without a healthy ocean, I cannot make a living.” said Yukinaga Suzuki, a

July 24, 2023
Fukushima plant water release within weeks raises worries about setbacks to businesses, livelihoods
Science

US Forest Service burn started wildfire that nearly reached Los Alamos, New Mexico, agency says

The U.S. Forest Service’s own prescribed burn started a sprawling 2022 wildfire that nearly reached Los Alamos, New Mexico, the agency acknowledged Monday in a report published after a lengthy investigation. The Cerro Pelado fire burned in dry, windy conditions across more than 60 square miles (155 square kilometers) and crept within a few miles of the city of Los Alamos and its companion U.S. national security lab. As the fire approached, schools closed and evacuation bags were packed before the flames tapered off. Investigators traced the wildfire to a burn of piles of forest

July 24, 2023
US Forest Service burn started wildfire that nearly reached Los Alamos, New Mexico, agency says
Science

Maine lawmakers endorse proposal that would jumpstart offshore wind projects

Maine is poised to launch an offshore wind program that would meet clean energy goals and produce enough power for about 900,000 homes from floating wind turbines in the Gulf of Maine. The legislation, which was endorsed by lawmakers Tuesday, calls for requests for proposals to be issued for 3,000 megawatts of electricity from offshore wind turbines by 2040. That’s enough electricity to power about half of Maine’s electricity load. “This bill means jobs. It means lower, more stable energy prices, while at the same time addressing climate change. We need to pass this bill now,”

July 25, 2023
Maine lawmakers endorse proposal that would jumpstart offshore wind projects
Science

Study finds climate change fingerprints on July heat waves in Europe, China and America

The fingerprints of climate change are all over the intense heat waves gripping the globe this month, a new study finds. Researchers say the deadly hot spells in the American Southwest and Southern Europe could not have happened without the continuing buildup of warming gases in the air. These unusually strong heat waves are becoming more common, Tuesday’s study said. The same research found the increase in heat-trapping gases, largely from the burning of coal, oil and natural gas has made another heat wave — the one in China — 50 times more likely with the potential to occur every

July 25, 2023
Study finds climate change fingerprints on July heat waves in Europe, China and America
Science

NASA power outage temporarily halts contact with space station

A NASA power outage disrupted communication between Mission Control and the International Space Station on Tuesday. Mission Control couldn’t send commands to the station and talk with the seven astronauts in orbit. The power outage hit as upgrade work was underway in the building at Houston’s Johnson Space Center. Space station program manager Joel Montelbano said neither the astronauts nor station were ever in any danger and that backup control systems took over within 90 minutes. The crew was notified of the problem through Russian communication systems, within 20 minutes of the outage. It’s the

July 25, 2023
NASA power outage temporarily halts contact with space station
Science

Water at tip of Florida hits hot tub level, may have set world record for warmest seawater

The water temperature on the tip of Florida hit hot tub levels, exceeding 100 degrees (37.8 degrees Celsius) two days in a row. And meteorologists say that could potentially be the hottest seawater ever measured, although there are some issues with the reading. Just 26 miles (40 kilometers) away, scientists saw devastating effects from prolonged hot water surrounding Florida — devastating coral bleaching and even some death in what had been one of the Florida Keys’ most resilient reefs. Climate change has been setting temperature records across the globe this month. Weather records for sea water temperature are unofficial, and

July 26, 2023
Water at tip of Florida hits hot tub level, may have set world record for warmest seawater
Science

Japan records steepest population decline while number of foreign residents hits new high

Japan’s population declined in all of its 47 prefectures for the first time in a record drop, while its number of foreign residents hit a new high, reaching almost 3 million people, according to government data released Wednesday, highlighting the increasing role that non-Japanese people play in the shrinking and aging country. The population of Japanese nationals fell by about 800,000 people, or 0.65%, to 122.4 million in 2022 from the previous year, falling for a 14th straight year, according to data from the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry based on residency registrations as of Jan. 1

July 26, 2023
Japan records steepest population decline while number of foreign residents hits new high
Science

Ruins of ancient Nero's Theater discovered under garden of future Four Seasons near Vatican

Rome’s next luxury hotel has some very good bones: Archaeologists said Wednesday that the ruins of Nero’s Theater, an imperial theater referred to in ancient Roman texts but never found, have been discovered under the garden of a future Four Seasons Hotel steps from the Vatican. Archaeologists have excavated deep under the walled garden of the Palazzo della Rovere since 2020 as part of planned renovations on the frescoed Renaissance building. The palazzo, which takes up a city block along the broad Via della Conciliazione leading to St. Peter’s Square, is home to an ancient Vatican chivalric

July 26, 2023
Ruins of ancient Nero's Theater discovered under garden of future Four Seasons near Vatican
Science

Clean energy push in New Jersey, elsewhere met with warnings the government is coming for your stove

New Jersey is pushing an ambitious agenda to move its more than 9 million residents away from natural gas and gasoline to heat their homes and power their cars, in favor of electricity to do the job of both. But like many other places in the country, the moves, designed to lessen the harmful impact of burning fossil fuels on the planet’s climate, are garnering significant opposition from foes who warn that the government is coming to take away your stove and your car. New Jersey utility regulators are to vote Wednesday on a series of

July 26, 2023
Clean energy push in New Jersey, elsewhere met with warnings the government is coming for your stove
Science

6 days after fuel spill reported, most in Tennessee city still can't drink the tap water

It’s been six days since residents of a Tennessee city were told that diesel fuel spilled into a local reservoir, and most of them still can’t drink their tap water. Many of the 40,000 people who live and work in the Memphis suburb of Germantown remained under an order Wednesday to avoid using water for everything except flushing toilets. They can’t drink or boil tap water, or use it for showering or bathing. Officials advised using bottled water for personal use and the city has been distributing bottled water since Friday. It was not immediately clear

July 26, 2023
6 days after fuel spill reported, most in Tennessee city still can't drink the tap water
Science

A new millipede species is crawling under LA. It's blind, glassy and has 486 legs

The City of Angels, a metropolis of freeways and traffic, has a newly discovered species named in its honor: The Los Angeles Thread Millipede. The tiny arthropod was found just underground by naturalists at a Southern California hiking area — near a freeway, a Starbucks and an Oakley sunglasses store. About the length of a paperclip but skinny as pencil lead, it’s translucent and sinuous like a jellyfish tentacle. The creature burrows four inches below ground, secretes unusual chemicals and is blind, relying on hornlike antennas protruding from its head to find its way. Under a

July 26, 2023
A new millipede species is crawling under LA. It's blind, glassy and has 486 legs
Science

Ocean currents vital for distributing heat could collapse by mid-century, study says

A system of ocean currents that transports heat northward across the North Atlantic could collapse by mid-century, according to a new study, and scientists have said before that such a collapse could cause catastrophic sea-level rise and extreme weather across the globe. In recent decades, researchers have both raised and downplayed the specter of Atlantic current collapse. It even prompted a movie that strayed far from the science. Two years ago the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change said any such catastrophe is unlikely this century. But the new study published in Nature Communications suggests it might not be

July 26, 2023
Ocean currents vital for distributing heat could collapse by mid-century, study says
Science

22 attorneys general oppose 3M settlement over water systems contamination with 'forever chemicals'

Twenty-two attorneys general urged a federal court Wednesday to reject a proposed $10.3 billion settlement over contamination of U.S. public drinking water systems with potentially dangerous chemicals, saying it lets manufacturer 3M Co. off too easily. The deal announced in June doesn’t give individual water suppliers enough time to determine how much money they would get and whether it would cover their costs of removing the compounds known collectively as PFAS, said the officials with 19 states, Washington, D.C., and two territories. In some cases the agreement could shift liability from the company to providers,

July 26, 2023
22 attorneys general oppose 3M settlement over water systems contamination with 'forever chemicals'
Science

Biden decides to keep Space Command in Colorado, rejecting move to Alabama

President Joe Biden has decided to keep U.S. Space Command headquarters in Colorado, overturning a last-ditch decision by the Trump administration to move it to Alabama. The choice ended months of thorny deliberations, but an Alabama lawmaker vowed to fight on. U.S. officials told The Associated Press on Monday that Biden was convinced by the head of Space Command, Gen. James Dickinson, who argued that moving his headquarters now would jeopardize military readiness. Dickinson’s view, however, was in contrast to Air Force leadership, who studied the issue at length and determined that relocating to Huntsville, Alabama, was

July 31, 2023
Biden decides to keep Space Command in Colorado, rejecting move to Alabama
Science

NASA listens for Voyager 2 spacecraft after wrong command cuts contact

NASA is listening for any peep from Voyager 2 after losing contact with the spacecraft billions of miles away. Hurtling ever deeper into interstellar space, Voyager 2 has been out of touch ever since flight controllers accidentally sent a wrong command more than a week ago that tilted its antenna away from Earth. The spacecraft’s antenna shifted a mere 2%, but it was enough to cut communications. Although it’s considered a long shot, NASA said Monday that its huge dish antenna in Canberra, Australia, is on the lookout for any stray signals from Voyager 2,

July 31, 2023
NASA listens for Voyager 2 spacecraft after wrong command cuts contact
Science

Australia welcomes lifting of UNESCO threat to list Great Barrier Reef as World Heritage in danger

The Australian government on Tuesday welcomed a draft UNESCO decision to a lift a threat of downgrading the Great Barrier Reef to an endangered World Heritage site. The U.N. cultural agency and the International Union for Conservation of Nature recommended in November of last year that the world’s largest coral reef system be added to the List of World Heritage in Danger due to threats including rising ocean temperatures. But UNESCO issued an updated a report in Paris on Monday that said it would be appropriate to re-evaluate whether the famed tourist attraction off Australia’s northeast

August 01, 2023
Australia welcomes lifting of UNESCO threat to list Great Barrier Reef as World Heritage in danger
Science

Gunmen open fire on police officers during anti-polio drive in southwest Pakistan, killing 2

Gunmen on motorcycles opened fire on Pakistani police escorting a team of polio workers on Tuesday during a door-to-door vaccination campaign in the southwest, killing two police officers before fleeing, police said. The polio workers were unharmed in the attack on the outskirts of Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan province, local police chief Asif Marwat said. No one has claimed responsibility, but Pakistan’s anti-polio campaigns are regularly marked by violence. Islamic militants often target polio teams and police assigned to protect them, falsely claiming that the vaccination campaigns are a Western conspiracy to sterilize children. Since

August 01, 2023
Gunmen open fire on police officers during anti-polio drive in southwest Pakistan, killing 2
Science

Hong Kong official vows to mull legal changes after discovery of whale carcass sparked anger

A Hong Kong government official vowed Tuesday to mull legal changes and set up protocols to better protect whales after the discovery of a carcass sparked anger on social media and speculation that sightseers had contributed to the animal’s death. Secretary for Environment and Ecology Tse Chin-wan said it was unclear whether wounds on the whale had caused its death. But he suggested whale-watching activities could have disturbed or hurt the whale after it was first spotted in the city in mid-July. “The incident shows we might have treated wildlife in an inappropriate way,” Tse said

August 01, 2023
Hong Kong official vows to mull legal changes after discovery of whale carcass sparked anger
Science

Once nearing extinction, Brazil's golden monkeys have rebounded from yellow fever, scientists say

There are now more golden lion tamarins bounding between branches in the Brazilian rainforest than at any time since efforts to save the species started in the 1970s, a new survey reveals. Once on the brink of extinction, with only about 200 animals in the wild, the population has rebounded to around 4,800, according to a study released Tuesday by the Brazilian science and conservation nonprofit Golden Lion Tamarin Association. “We are celebrating, but always keeping one eye on other threats, because life’s not easy,” said the nonprofit’s president, Luís Paulo Ferraz. Golden lion tamarins are small monkeys with long

August 01, 2023
Once nearing extinction, Brazil's golden monkeys have rebounded from yellow fever, scientists say

Follow