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Mongolia’s Capital Banned Coal To Fix Its Pollution Problem. Will It Work? : NPR
Welcome to the coldest capital city on earth — Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia — where the temperature can drop to minus 20 degrees Fahrenheit at night. The city’s population has nearly tripled since 1989. Without infrastructure to service all 1.4 million people, residents off the electric grid are burning raw coal to stay warm. The …
Why 536 was ‘the worst year to be alive’ | Science | AAAS
Ask medieval historian Michael McCormick what year was the worst to be alive, and he’s got an answer: “536.” Not 1349, when the Black Death wiped out half of Europe. Not 1918, when the flu killed 50 million to 100 million people, mostly young adults. But 536. In Europe, “It …
4 Sinking Asian cities that could be drowned by climate change
WE hear a lot about rising sea levels associated with climate change and the dangers this can pose to coastal areas and island nations such as the Maldives. But we hear less about the dangers posed by some of the world’s biggest cities actually sinking at the same time, many …
This May Be the Most Overlooked Threat of Climate Change | The New Republic
How a new generation of authoritarian leaders are using climate change to seize power National crises make governments vulnerable to autocracy—a rather obvious assessment, perhaps, but one rarely seen in debates about climate change. Take the Maldives, an atoll nation in the Indian Ocean. Rising seawater is projected to consume most, if …
Water shortages parch Moroccan towns, prompt protests
In photo taken Thursday Oct.19, 2017 Moroccan women fill up containers with water from a hose, in Zagora, southeastern Morocco. MARRAKECH, Morocco (AP) — Taps are running dry in southern Morocco, and the government is searching for solutions after people took to parched streets in anger. Experts blame poor crop …
250 years after Washington drained it, feds soak a swamp
In this Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2017 photo, burned-out stumps of white cypress trees are reflected in the waters of the Great Dismal Swamp in Corapeake, N.C. SUFFOLK, Va. (AP) — This is a story about a future president who tried to drain a swamp, and government workers who are …
Urban flooding on the rise, as countryside dries up – UPI.com
“People are increasingly migrating to cities, where flooding is getting worse,” said researcher Conrad Wasko. Aug. 14 (UPI) — New analysis of flow rates and precipitation totals suggest flooding in urban areas is intensifying while rural areas dry up. In an effort to identify links between rising global temperatures and river …
2016 weather report: Extreme and anything but normal
WASHINGTON (AP) — Last year’s global weather was far more extreme or record-breaking than anything approaching normal, according to a new report. The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on Thursday released its annual checkup of the Earth, highlighting numerous records including hottest year, highest sea level, and lowest sea …
Climate change raises new risk: Are inland bridges too low?
In this April 18, 2017, photo, the Red Bridge pedestrian bridge is seen over the Des Moines River in Des Moines, Iowa. A little more than a decade after it was restored, crews went back to the site with a crane to hoist the span more than 4 feet higher, …
Wasted green power tests China’s energy leadership
FILE – In this Oct. 9, 2015 file photo, solar panels are seen near the power grid in northwestern China’s Ningxia Hui autonomous region. BEIJING (AP) — Its efforts to cut pollution have made China the world leader in renewable energy development, yet that green power has been wasted as …
Go west, young pine: US forests shifting with climate change
In this photo provided by Songlin Fei, Purdue University, taken May 16, 2017, an Eastern white pine tree. Eastern white pine trees in the U.S. have moved more than 80 miles west since the early 1980s, according to a new study. by Songlin Fei of Purdue University. A warmer, wetter …