The Elephant

The climate change and environmental emergency: a comprehensive resource for journalists, politicians, policy makers, activists and citizens

Topic: Science


Featured Articles:

The Uncharted Territory: Mass Deaths? How bad is it going to get? | February 2024 | Just Stop Oil

  2024-08-29 (or before) in YouTube

Time is up, we have reached uncharted territory. Our governments are continuing to commit to new fossil fuel, and refuse to charge the real criminal responsi...

  Tagged under: Activism | Science | Collapse | Fossil Fuels


‘We should have better answers by now’: climate scientists baffled by unexpected pace of heating

  2024-08-15 in The Guardian

The leap in temperatures over the past 13 months has exceeded the global heating forecasts – is this just a blip or a systemic shift?

  Tagged under: Global Warming | Science


Continuous sterane and phytane δ13C record reveals a substantial pCO2 decline since the mid-Miocene - Nature Communications

  2024-06-18 in Nature

Molecular fossils from marine phytoplankton reveal a substantial decline in CO2 values over the past 15 million years and may support higher climate sensitivity than previously reported.

  Tagged under: Science | Global Warming | CO2


Opinion: I’m a climate scientist. If you knew what I know, you’d be terrified too | CNN

  2024-03-07 in CNN International

Climate scientist Bill McGuire writes on his conundrum: what’s happening to our planet scares the hell out of him—but if he shouts the unvarnished truth from the rooftops, will that inspire you to act or to give up?

  Tagged under: Climate Change | Climate Anxiety and Grief | Climate Change Impacts | Activism | Science


Earth on verge of five catastrophic climate tipping points, scientists warn

  2023-12-06 in The Guardian

Humanity faces ‘devastating domino effects’ including mass displacement and financial ruin as planet warms

  Tagged under: Science | Climate Change Impacts | Climate Change | Tipping Points | El Niño | Antarctic


The 2023 state of the climate report: Entering uncharted territory

  2023-10-25 (or before) in Oxford Academic

Life on planet Earth is under siege. We are now in an uncharted territory. For several decades, scientists have consistently warned of a future marked by extrem

  Tagged under: Climate Change Impacts | Climate Data | Climate Change | Science


Earth’s ‘vital signs’ worse than at any time in human history, scientists warn

  2023-10-24 in The Guardian

Life on planet is in peril, say climate experts, as they call for a rapid and just transition to a sustainable future

  Tagged under: Wildlife | Wildfires | Science


Related Articles (41)

The Uncharted Territory: Mass Deaths? How bad is it going to get? | February 2024 | Just Stop Oil

  2024-08-29 (or before) in YouTube

Time is up, we have reached uncharted territory. Our governments are continuing to commit to new fossil fuel, and refuse to charge the real criminal responsi...

  Tagged under: Activism | Science | Collapse | Fossil Fuels


How Global Capital Killed Climate Science

  2024-08-29 in Tsakralides

As the planet slips further into “uncharted territory”, a phrase which now almost every meteorologist uses, it is time for climate science to stop pretending: to admit, publicly, that climate scien…

  Tagged under: Capitalism | Science


‘We should have better answers by now’: climate scientists baffled by unexpected pace of heating

  2024-08-15 in The Guardian

The leap in temperatures over the past 13 months has exceeded the global heating forecasts – is this just a blip or a systemic shift?

  Tagged under: Global Warming | Science


Actions speak louder than words: the case for responsible scientific activism in an era of planetary emergency | Royal Society Open Science

  2024-08-02 (or before) in Royal Society Publishing

The world's understanding of the climate and ecological crises rests on science. However, scientists' conventional methods of engagement, such as producing ever more data and findings, writing papers and giving advice to governments, have not been ...

  Tagged under: Science | Activism


Frontiers | From Publications to Public Actions: The Role of Universities in Facilitating Academic Advocacy and Activism in the Climate and Ecological Emergency

  2024-08-02 (or before) in Frontiers

Thousands of universities have made climate emergency declarations; however the higher education sector is not rising to the collective challenge with the ur...

  Tagged under: Climate Emergency Declarations | Science | Education | Activism


Much Ado About Accelerating Warming with Climate Scientist Gavin Schmidt

  2024-07-19 (or before) in YouTube

In this Climate Chat episode, we interview Dr. Gavin Schmidt about the recent acceleration in global temperatures and the debate in the climate science commu...

  Tagged under: Science | Climate Change


The Effect of Physically Based Ice Radiative Processes on Greenland Ice Sheet Albedo and Surface Mass Balance in E3SM

  2024-07-16 (or before) in Advancing Earth and Space Sciences Journal

The Energy Exascale Earth System Model version 2 bare ice albedo scheme overestimates the exposed bare ice albedo on the Greenland Ice Sheet by an average of 5% Satellite observations can infer t...

  Tagged under: Earth Energy Imbalance | Greenland | Science | Albedo


Congress should follow science and reject Bayer push to block lawsuits

  2024-07-11 by in thenewlede.org

By Nathan Donley Millions of American users of glyphosate-based Roundup have likely assumed the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) would never have approved the pesticide unless it was safe. But the science-based truth has never been as cut and dried as the EPA and Bayer, which bought Roundup maker Monsanto in 2018, have made it sound. In a series of trials across the country, juries – and the public – have learned that despite the safety claims by Bayer and the EPA, hundreds of studies by independent scientists link glyphosate herbicides to serious health harms, including cancer. Even though Bayer maintains th...

  Tagged under: Health | Pesticides | Litigation | Legislation | Farming | US Politics | Science


Continuous sterane and phytane δ13C record reveals a substantial pCO2 decline since the mid-Miocene - Nature Communications

  2024-06-18 in Nature

Molecular fossils from marine phytoplankton reveal a substantial decline in CO2 values over the past 15 million years and may support higher climate sensitivity than previously reported.

  Tagged under: Science | Global Warming | CO2


European summer weather linked to North Atlantic freshwater anomalies in preceding years

  2024-03-14 (or before) in wcd.copernicus.org

Abstract. Amplified Arctic ice loss in recent decades has been linked to the increased occurrence of extreme mid-latitude weather. The underlying mechanisms remain elusive, however. One potential link occurs through the ocean as the loss of sea ice and glacial ice leads to increased freshwater fluxes into the ocean. Thus, in this study, we examine the link between North Atlantic freshwater anomalies and European summer weather. Combining a comprehensive set of observational products, we show that stronger freshwater anomalies are associated with a sharper sea surface temperature front between the subpolar and the subtropical Nor...

  Tagged under: Climate Data | Europe | Science | Arctic | Oceans


Melt rate of Greenland ice sheet can predict summer weather in Europe, scientist says

  2024-03-14 in The Guardian

Location, extent and strength of recent freshwater events suggest an unusually warm and dry summer over southern Europe this year

  Tagged under: Europe | Science | Climate Data | Greenland | Ice Melting


Earth Is on the Cusp of the Sixth Mass Extinction. Here’s What Paleontologists Want You to Know

  2024-03-10 (or before) in discovermagazine.com

Discover satisfies everyday curiosity with relevant and approachable science news, feature articles, photos and more.

  Tagged under: Science | Extinction | Collapse


The impact factor of engaged research: Metrics for conservation outcomes

  2024-03-09 (or before) in ScienceDirect.com

Will this paper lead to any measurable impact on biodiversity conservation? In this essay, we examine the relevance of scientific publications for con…

  Tagged under: Conservation | Science


From Publications to Public Actions: The Role of Universities in Facilitating Academic Advocacy and Activism in the Climate and Ecological Emergency

  2024-03-09 (or before) in Frontiers

Thousands of universities have made climate emergency declarations; however the higher education sector is not rising to the collective challenge with the urgency commensurate with scientific warnings. Universities are promoting an increased focus on sustainability through their research, teaching and their own institutional footprints. However, we suggest that such initiatives will be insufficient to catalyse the required transformations in our societies and economies because of i) the time lags inherent in education and research pathways to impact, and ii) their failure to address either real-world political processes or the f...

  Tagged under: Climate Justice | Science | Activism | Sustainability


Mainstream Climate Science: The New Denialism? - Jonathon Porritt

  2024-03-07 by in jonathonporritt.com

This is a bit of a long one! So here’s my “Executive Summary” so you can decide whether to commit the time to the rest of it: mainstream climate scientists run the risk of becoming the new climate deniers.

  Tagged under: The Paris Agreement | IPCC | Climate Change Denial and Disinformation | Science | Activism | Disinformation and Misinformation


Opinion: I’m a climate scientist. If you knew what I know, you’d be terrified too | CNN

  2024-03-07 in CNN International

Climate scientist Bill McGuire writes on his conundrum: what’s happening to our planet scares the hell out of him—but if he shouts the unvarnished truth from the rooftops, will that inspire you to act or to give up?

  Tagged under: Climate Change | Climate Anxiety and Grief | Climate Change Impacts | Activism | Science


Exponential Growth Arithmetic, Population and Energy, Dr. Albert A. Bartlett

  2024-03-06 (or before) in YouTube

Dr. Albert A. BartlettProfessor EmeritusDepartment of PhysicsUniversity of Colorado, Boulder

  Tagged under: Energy | Science


NOAA Global Monitoring Laboratory

  2024-03-06 (or before) in NOAA ESRL Global Monitoring Laboratory

The Global Monitoring Laboratory conducts research on greenhouse gas and carbon cycle feedbacks, changes in clouds, aerosols, and surface radiation, and recovery of stratospheric ozone.

  Tagged under: USA | Science | Climate Data | Oceans


Geologists reject the Anthropocene as Earth’s new epoch — after 15 years of debate

  2024-03-06 in Nature

But some are now challenging the vote, saying there were ‘procedural irregularities’. But some are now challenging the vote, saying there were ‘procedural irregularities’.

  Tagged under: Science


Living Planet Index

  2024-03-03 (or before) in livingplanetindex.org

  Tagged under: Data | Science | Wildlife


The Alliance of World Scientists

  2024-03-03 (or before) in Conservation Biology Institute

The Alliance is an international assembly of scientists, independent of governmental organizations. As stewards of human knowledge and champions of evidence-based decision making, the goal of the Alliance is to […]

  Tagged under: Activism | Science


Opinion | Does High-Profile Climate Science Tell the Full Story?

  2024-02-27 in The Chronicle of Higher Education

Social feedbacks and career incentives cause scientists to leave out a lot.

  Tagged under: Communication | Science | Climate Change Denial and Disinformation | Disinformation and Misinformation


Climate change: university researchers feel powerless to take action – survey

  2024-01-30 by in The Conversation

Some study the crisis, but all are worried – and frustrated.

  Tagged under: Climate Change | Science | Activism


More than 10,000 research papers were retracted in 2023 — a new record

  2023-12-12 in Nature

The number of articles being retracted rose sharply this year. Integrity experts say that this is only the tip of the iceberg. The number of articles being retracted rose sharply this year. Integrity experts say that this is only the tip of the iceberg.

  Tagged under: Science


Earth on verge of five catastrophic climate tipping points, scientists warn

  2023-12-06 in The Guardian

Humanity faces ‘devastating domino effects’ including mass displacement and financial ruin as planet warms

  Tagged under: Science | Climate Change Impacts | Climate Change | Tipping Points | El Niño | Antarctic


The 2023 state of the climate report: Entering uncharted territory

  2023-10-25 (or before) in Oxford Academic

Life on planet Earth is under siege. We are now in an uncharted territory. For several decades, scientists have consistently warned of a future marked by extrem

  Tagged under: Climate Change Impacts | Climate Data | Climate Change | Science


Earth’s ‘vital signs’ worse than at any time in human history, scientists warn

  2023-10-24 in The Guardian

Life on planet is in peril, say climate experts, as they call for a rapid and just transition to a sustainable future

  Tagged under: Wildlife | Wildfires | Science


Earth's energy budget - Wikipedia

  2023-10-06 (or before) in Wikipedia

  Tagged under: Science | Earth Energy Imbalance


First Calibrated Methane Bubble Wintertime Observations in the Siberian Arctic Seas: Selected Results from the Fast Ice

  2023-07-28 in MDPI - Publisher of Open Access Journals

This paper presents the results of an acoustic survey carried out from the fast ice in the shallow waters of the East Siberian Arctic Shelf (ESAS) using a single beam echosounder. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate an improved approach to study seafloor seepages in the Arctic coastal zone with an echosounder calibrated on site. During wintertime field observations of natural rising gas bubbles, we recorded three periods of their increased activity with a total of 63 short-term ejections of bubbles from the seabed. This study presents quantitative estimates of the methane (CH4) flux obtained in wintertime at two levels of th...

  Tagged under: Science | Data | Methane | Arctic | Russia


The Greenhouse Gas Demo

  2023-06-09 (or before) in YouTube

This discusses a short, but very effective and dramatic demo to show the effect on temperature of increased levels of carbon dioxide.

  Tagged under: CO2 | Science


The Science of the Climate Emergency with Dr Aaron Thierry | Part 1: The Science | 16 March 2023

  2023-05-21 (or before) in YouTube

Dr. Aaron Thierry (@ThierryAaron) received his PhD in Ecology from the University of Sheffield. He subsequently researched the impacts of global warming on t...

  Tagged under: Activism | Science | Fossil Fuels | Global Warming | Climate Change Impacts


Climate simulations: recognize the ‘hot model’ problem

  2022-05-04 in Nature

The sixth and latest IPCC assessment weights climate models according to how well they reproduce other evidence. Now the rest of the community should do the same. The sixth and latest IPCC assessment weights climate models according to how well they reproduce other evidence. Now the rest of the community should do the same.

  Tagged under: Science | IPCC


Greenland's ice sheet melting seven times faster than in 1990s

  2019-12-10 by Fiona Harvey in The Guardian

Scale and speed of loss much higher than predicted, threatening inundation for hundreds of millions of people

  Tagged under: Oceans | Predictions | Science | Glaciers | Global Warming | Ice Melting | Greenland | Climate Change | Sea Level


Welcome to Carbon Atlas | Global Carbon Atlas

  2019-12-05 (or before) in Global Carbon Atlas

  Tagged under: Science | Global Warming | CO2


Empirical evidence that humans are causing global warming

  2019-10-25 (or before) in Global Warming and Climate Change skepticism examined

Direct observations find that CO2 is rising sharply due to human activity. Satellite and surface measurements find less energy is escaping to space at CO2 absorption wavelengths. Ocean and surface temperature measurements find the planet continues to accumulate heat. This gives a line of empirical evidence that human CO2 emissions are causing global warming.

  Tagged under: Oceans | Global Warming | Science | CO2 | Climate Change


Climate change: Impacts 'accelerating' as leaders gather for UN talks - BBC News

  2019-09-22 (or before) in The BBC

A snapshot of the latest science, published as politicians gather in New York, says climate change is speeding up.

  Tagged under: Science | Climate Change | Climate Change Impacts


NASA Studies How Arctic Wildfires Change the World – Climate Change: Vital Signs of the Planet

  2019-08-17 (or before) by in Climate Change: Vital Signs of the Planet

NASA is studying why boreal forest and tundra fires have become more frequent and powerful and what that means for climate forecasting, ecosystems and human health.

  Tagged under: Global Warming | Wildfires | Science | Arctic | Climate Change | Forest Fires | Health | Trees


What is climate change?

  2019-07-24 (or before) in Met Office UK

Climate change refers to a large-scale, long-term shift in the planet's weather patterns and average temperatures.

  Tagged under: Science | Climate Change


Climate change: 12 years to save the planet? Make that 18 months - BBC News

  2019-07-24 (or before) in BBC

There's a growing consensus that the next year-and-a-half are key in the battle against rising temperatures.

  Tagged under: Science | Global Warming | Climate Change


Hockey stick graph - Wikipedia

  2019-03-03 (or before) in Wikipedia

  Tagged under: Global Warming | Predictions | Science


What the 2018 climate assessments say about the Gulf Stream System slowdown

  2019-01-28 in RealClimate

Last year, twenty thousand peer reviewed studies on ‘climate change’ were published. No single person can keep track of all those – you’d have to read 55 papers every single day. (And, by the way, that huge mass of publications is why climate deniers will always find something to cherry-pick that suits their agenda.) That is why climate assessments are so important, where a lot of scientists pool their expertise and discuss and assess and ...

  Tagged under: Gulf Stream (AMOC) | Science | Climate Change


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