“The year 2024 saw contrasting wildfire activity across the globe. North and South America were the most affected continents according to the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS*) data, going back to 2003. Bolivia recorded its highest wildfire carbon emissions in CAMS Global Fire Assimilation System (GFAS) dataset by a huge margin, and Venezuela also saw the… Continue Reading
Accurate, Focused Research on Law, Technology and Knowledge Discovery Since 2002
Category Archives: Climate Change
Water Conflict Chronology
Citation: Pacific Institute (2024) Water Conflict Chronology. Pacific Institute, Oakland, CA. https://www.worldwater.org/water-conflict/ – “In an ongoing effort to understand the connections between water resources, water systems, and international security and conflict, the Pacific Institute initiated a project in the late 1980s to track and categorize events related to water and conflict, which has been continuously… Continue Reading
New AI tool generates realistic satellite images of future flooding
MIT News: “Visualizing the potential impacts of a hurricane on people’s homes before it hits can help residents prepare and decide whether to evacuate. MIT scientists have developed a method that generates satellite imagery from the future to depict how a region would look after a potential flooding event. The method combines a generative artificial… Continue Reading
NASA satellites reveal abrupt drop in global freshwater levels
PHYS.org: “An international team of scientists using observations from NASA-German satellites found evidence that Earth’s total amount of freshwater dropped abruptly starting in May 2014 and has remained low ever since. Reporting in Surveys in Geophysics, the researchers suggested the shift could indicate Earth’s continents have entered a persistently drier phase. From 2015 through 2023,… Continue Reading
Curious People Lead the Way in Catching New Invasive Species
Entomology Today [h/t Barclay Walsh]: “Early detection is critical to the eradication and management of invasive species, and curious members of the public play a key role by sharing observations on platforms such as iNaturalist. Integrating these sightings from a bug-curious public into ongoing biosecurity surveillance is an increasingly valuable approach for invasive species management.… Continue Reading
Behold a Digital Restoration of 655 Plates of Roses & Lilies by Pierre-Joseph Redouté
Open Culture – The Greatest Botanical Illustrator of All Time: “Pierre-Joseph Redouté made his name by painting flowers, an achievement impossible without a meticulousness that exceeds all bounds of normality. He published his three-volume collection Les Roses and his eight-volume collection Les Liliacées between 1802 and 1824, and a glance at their pages today vividly suggests the… Continue Reading
Our World in Data
“Poverty, disease, hunger, climate change, war, existential risks, and inequality: The world faces many great and terrifying problems. It is these large problems that our work at Our World in Data focuses on. Thanks to the work of thousands of researchers around the world who dedicate their lives to it, we often have a good… Continue Reading
Google Maps just got 5 big upgrades in time for the holidays
Tom’s Guide – “Today, Google announced the arrival of several new features meant to help with your holiday plans. The features cover everything from traveling on public transit to planning trips with your electric vehicle or a trailer. Most of the features are built around making travel easier and to help you get around without… Continue Reading
The Mushroom Color Atlas
Because this is beautiful – “The Mushroom Color Atlas is a resource and reference for everyone curious about mushrooms and the beautiful and subtle colors derived from dyeing with mushrooms. But it is also the start of a journey and a point of departure, introducing you to the kaleidoscopic fungi kingdom and our connection to… Continue Reading
A mysterious, rare bog is full of surprises on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula
YouTube: “A mysterious landscape known as Crowberry Bog on the Olympic Peninsula is like no other place in Washington. It’s a bog that sits like an inflated bladder, rising higher than the surrounding forest. To walk here is like walking on a waterbed chock full of rare and surprising life.”…Ecology is Amazing! Continue Reading
The Powerful Density of Hypertextual Writing
Kottke: “The NY Times has had a difficult time covering the 2024 election in a clear, responsible manner. But I wanted to highlight this short opinion piece from the paper’s editorial board, which I’m reproducing here in its entirety: You already know Donald Trump. He is unfit to lead. Watch him. Listen to those who… Continue Reading
Lancet Countdown on health and climate change
Climate change is the greatest global health threat facing the world in the 21st century, but it is also the greatest opportunity to redefine the social and environmental determinants of health. In 2015, countries committed to limit global warming to “well below 2°C” as part of the landmark Paris Agreement. The annual Countdown report provides… Continue Reading
