Mice Can 'Foretell Earthquakes'
June 30, 2003Japanese researchers have observed mice behaving strangely after being exposed to electric and magnetic fields similar to those sometimes detected before earthquakes. (BBC News)
Chewing up the Forest: Bark-Eating Beetles Provide Timber for Forest Fires
June 30, 2003Droughts in California allow bark beetles to lay eggs into sapless trees, which result in offspring that feed on the bark, kill trees and create the potential for deadly fires. (ABCnews.com)
British Scientist Invents Way to Control the Clouds
June 30, 2003The British government has provided Stephen Salter with a grant to explore the potential of his Spray Turbine - an instrument, much like an eggbeater, that would be used to create rainfall. (Newsweek International)
Tropical Storm Bill Shows How Tracking Storms Has Improved
June 30, 2003Based on where it started and where it has gone so far, forecasters are able to predict Tropical Storm Bill?s path well in advance. (ABCnews)
Climate-Related "Greening" is Not Enough to Meet Population Demands
June 29, 2003According to a study by Boston University, the increase in rainfall, sunlight and better growing temperatures in recent decades falls short of the food, shelter, and heating demands of the global population. (Earth Vision)
Fuel Cells Poised To Make Commercial Inroads
June 26, 2003A surge in research and development has brought fuel cells to the threshold of commercial markets, reports the June 2003 issue of Mechanical Engineering magazine. (Spacedaily.com)
Earthquake Effects on Water Can Travel 6,000 miles
June 26, 2003People as far away as Pennsylvania saw water tables drop as much as 6 inches and had muddy tap water after last November's magnitude 7.9 Alaskan earthquake. (Scripps Howard)
Some Lightning Jets Shoot up High into Atmosphere
June 25, 2003Scientists have found lightning that shoots up as high as 60 miles from the top of thunderclouds, with important roles in the Earth's electrical circuits and atmospheric chemistry. (Scripps Howard, AP)
Too Much Carbon Dioxide? Just Pump it Underground
June 24, 2003Researchers are trying a new method of CO2 storage to combat global warming: pumping the chemical from fuel plants through pipes to oil fields where it is forced underground. (CNN.com, Christian Science Monitor)
Ecologists Seek to Turn Tide on Colorado River
June 23, 2003Scientists and environmental groups are battling on several fronts to try to revive the Colorado River delta, a once-vibrant ecosystem in the Mexican desert. (Nature)
South America Shines In Latest Space Radar Map Release
June 22, 2003Straddling the equator at the border of great tectonic plates, South America is home to some of the world's most scenic landscapes, but frequent tropical cloud cover often hides it from traditional satellite imagery. (Spacedaily.com)
Scientists vs. Mosquitoes with West Nile Virus
June 20, 2003Scientists are working to gain a technological edge by using satellites and computer climate models to predict when and where mosquitoes will emerge since they may be carrying West Nile virus. (Scripps Howard, CBC.ca)
Monsoon Rains Displace 400,000 People in India
June 17, 2003Monsoon rains have dislodges some 400,000 people in the northeastern Indian state of Assam, causing them to flee their homes along rivers that are flowing above the danger level. (Environment News Service)
Under the Weather: A Very Rainy Spring on the East Coast Means Unexpected Consequences
June 16, 2003Storm tracks have converged in the East, causing an unusually rainy spring for the East Coast as some states have already seen twice the amount of rainfall as the prior year (ABCNEWS.com)
Hydrogen Fuels May Widen Ozone Hole, Model Suggests
June 14, 2003Hydrogen fuel cells are hailed as a pollution-free energy source but their widespread use could lead to greater destruction of the Earth?s protective ozone layer, researchers say. (CBC News, MSNBC, Nature)
Cow Breath, Burps Blamed for Greenhouse Gas
June 13, 2003If you think you have bad breath, just be thankful you're not a cow -- with breath that allegedly harms Earth's ozone layer and contributes to global warming; the collective breathing of cows accounts for nearly 20 percent of the methane gas released into the atmosphere. (CNN.com, San Jose Mercury News)
Caltech Researchers Fear Use of Hydrogen as Fuel Will Deplete Ozone Layer
June 13, 2003Widespread use of the hydrogen fuel cells that President Bush has made a centerpiece of his energy plan might not be as environmentally friendly as many believe. (AP, MSNBC.com)
Military Radar Useful for Tracking Tornadoes
June 10, 2003The Navy's phased array radar, normally used to track and target enemy aircraft or missiles, can be used to scan the sky faster than conventional Doppler radar in hopes of providing earlier warning for tornadoes and other storms. (ABC)
Salt Levels in Rain Provide Clues to Hurricane Formation
June 10, 2003University of Houston scientists are testing the waters ? literally ? with a new salt-detection device specially designed to collect data from rain and water vapor in tropical cyclones, all in an effort to better understand how tropical storms form and intensify into hurricanes. (Brightsurf.com)
Satellites' Accuracy Challenged
June 10, 2003A new analysis of satellite data of upper atmosphere temperatures questions its accuracy, casting doubt on a decade-old argument that the data, which contradict computer models, prove global warming isn't happening. (Contra Costa Times)
Study Suggests Ancient Oceans Had Low Levels of Oxygen
June 10, 2003Ancient oceans may have been split for nearly 2 billion years into two distinct layers that resemble conditions in the modern Black Sea, able to support life near the surface but almost devoid of life in deep water, a new study suggests. (AP)
Tablets that May Reveal El Niño Secrets Are Feared Lost in Iraq
June 9, 2003The secrets of El Niño, one of the most mysterious and destructive weather systems, could be unlocked by hundreds of thousands of ancient clay tablets now feared lost or damaged in the chaos of Iraq. (The Independent ? London)
USDA Teaming with Farmers to Fight Global Warming
June 9, 2003The U. S. Department of Agriculture is setting up incentives for farmers to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the battle against global warming, U. S. Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman said. (Reuters, AP, Philadelphia Inquirer)
Monsoon Arrival Welcome Relief for Scorched India
June 9, 2003The southwest monsoon arrived in India on Thursday a few days behind schedule but bringing welcome relief for the country broiling in a heat wave that has killed more than 1,200 people. (Reuters)
World's Water Supplies Threatened
June 9, 2003Many of the world's natural underground reservoirs are diminishing rapidly, threatening the drinking water of millions of people and compounding the ravaging effects of drought and famine, the United Nations warned. (CBSNews.com)
Climate Changes Making Planet Greener
June 5, 2003The Earth has become significantly greener over the past two decades, the result of climate changes that have furnished plants with more heat, light, water and carbon dioxide, according to a new Science magazine report. (CNN, Bloomberg News)
Report Oceans in Bad Shape
June 4, 2003Declaring that "America's oceans are in crisis," a national commission Wednesday called for far-reaching changes in the way coastal waters are managed, including major new restrictions on commercial fishing and fish farming. (Scripps Howard News Service)
Global Warming's Sooty Smokescreen Revealed
June 4, 2003Experts say that as cloud cover diminishes in coming decades, we are in for a dramatic escalation of warming that could be two or even three times as great as official best guesses. (News Scientist)
Study Finds Space Shuttle Exhaust Creates Night-Shining Clouds
June 4, 2003Exhaust from the main engines of NASA's space shuttle, which is about 97 percent water vapor, can travel to the Arctic in the Earth's thermosphere where it forms ice to create some of the Earth's highest clouds that literally shine at night, according to a new study led by the Naval Research Laboratory and jointly funded by NASA and the Office of Naval Research. (SpaceDaily)
Hurricanes Predicted to Double
June 1, 2003As the 2003 Atlantic Hurricane season began Sunday, forecaster William Gray predicted 14 named storms and eight hurricanes, (CNN)