Latest News
Melting Antarctic ice sheet could raise global sea levels three feet by 2100 -
New research says the West Antarctic ice sheet may disappear much faster than previously expected. Combined with melting from elsewhere, the study says, water levels could rise five or six feet by the end of the century—more than double the United Nations' estimated worst-case scenario. New York Times
More states are investigating Exxon's climate lies -
Back in November New York attorney general Eric Schneiderman began looking into whether ExxonMobil lied to the public about the risks of climate change. Now he has company. More than a dozen state attorneys general met in New York Tuesday to announce a coalition committed to defending climate progress. The attorneys general from Massachusetts and the Virgin Islands said they had each opened their own investigations into the oil company's wrongdoing. Washington Post
Warm water is fueling the worst mass bleaching event in history on the Great Barrier Reef -
Australia's National Coral Bleaching Task Force completed an aerial survey of more than 500 individual reefs from Cairns to Papua New Guinea and found high levels of bleaching throughout. The scientists say up to 50 percent of the bleached coral may die. NPR
China's air quality data is trustworthy, but pollution is still above safe limits -
Researchers assessed three years of air quality data for the cities of Guangzhou, Shanghai, Beijing, Chengdu, and Shenyang. Their report found that the information was accurate and that PM 2.5 levels had declined in all five cities. The pollution readings, however, were still higher than the World Health Organization's upper safety limit. New York Times
Arctic sea ice hits a new low for wintertime -
And less ice during the winter gives the melt season a head start. Scientists suspect that in about 20 years, the Arctic Ocean will be ice-free during the height of summer. The Guardian
Concerned about carbon pollution? Don't forget about food waste. -
Food that never gets eaten is a waste of all the energy it takes to grow and transport it—accounting for an estimated 7 percent of global carbon emissions in 2007. Finally, some countries and states are doing something about it. Washington Post