Future Migrations as Earth Warms ( Animated Map, part 2)

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Several years have passed since studies conclusively demonstrated hat global warming is altering where and when many animals feed and breed.

In 2003, two benchmark reports showed that more than 100 species have shifted their ranges toward the poles at an average of 4 miles a decade and that thousands of others were emerging, migrating or breeding days to weeks earlier than they did a century ago... Read more [...]

Future Migrations as Earth Warms ( Animated Map, part 1)

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Ecosystems, where will 
animals move to survive? As climate change alters habitats and disrupts and will human development prevent them from getting there. The natural world is under siege by climate change.

Rising temperatures are pushing plants and animals outside their current range. To keep pace with climate change species will need a path to follow northward or up in elevation, minimally interrupted by human development. Warming temperatures, changing precipitation patterns, and extreme weather and climate events are likely to increase at a rate and magnitude not seen in more than 65 million years, according to a new study published in the journal Science. Read more [...]

NASA May Have Just Accidentally Discovered Faster than Light Travel.

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Long home to science fiction, traveling faster than the speed of light is quite commonplace as heroes and villains alike zip around their galaxy in an effort to engage each other.

It has become so popular, in fact, that you would be hard pressed to find anyone on Earth that didn't know about the concept.  Now it seems that scientists could have accidentally brought the notion of faster than light travel out of the realm of science fiction and into real science. The idea of traveling to other planets at speeds much faster than light has seemed impossible for a long time.  If only it were possible, planet to planet exploration would be almost instantaneous and open the galaxy up for man to explore.

However, much of the scientific community has long believed that traveling at speeds faster than light is physically impossible, no matter the material, and accelerating something to those types of speeds simply can't happen...

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WILD, WILD WEATHER…..WHAT IS THE ANSWER? And WHY?


Psychological scientists are very interested in this particular brand of irrational thinking — especially the link between conspiratorial thinking and anti-science world views. These plots and conspiracies may seem laughable at first glance, but they are not inconsequential. At the very least, conspiracy theorists waste a lot of time and at worst, they pose real dangers to society. Just think of how many parents, alarmed by the bogus link between vaccines and autism, have left their children unprotected against serious disease.

More than 90 percent of climate scientists agree that the global climate is shifting, largely as a result of human activity. Scientifically, this is essentially a closed case. Yet conspiracy theorists continue to spin wild tales of government agents surreptitiously destroying thermometers and burying contradictory evidence. What are the motives of these climate deniers...

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SHARKS: feared or revered, but rarely understood.


The creators of "Jaws" had it backwards. People prey on sharks far more than sharks prey on people.

For some, sharks are the stuff of nightmares. Others rely on them for a living – and humankind has driven many species into decline. Perhaps it is time to think again about how we treat these beautiful creatures.

Shark fins have no taste and no nutritional value, but they're nonetheless a hot commodity in Asia. People consider shark fin soup a high-status, luxury dish, and their demand for the soup fuels the decline of shark populations around the world.

To feed that craving, fishing fleets capture millions of sharks each year, cut off their fins, and in many cases, toss the dying animals back out to sea to make more cargo space on board for the fins. Slow to mature, sharks are often killed before they have a chance to reproduce...

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Endangered: Elephants.


The elephant is a regal, powerful creature that has been intrinsically linked to the earth’s economy and environment since it first came to be. The elephants’ role in history as important, having served as beasts of burden; in some civilizations, elephants even have been regarded as gods and served as symbols of royalty.

Their tusks are prized for their ivory and their intelligence has been used in a variety of ways; in popular culture, they have entertained millions in circuses worldwide.

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Why Are Tigers Endangered?


Habitat loss and fragmentation is another important reason why tigers disappearing. Without a safe and healthy home for tigers and their prey, neither can survive in the wild. Humans are rapidly encroaching into wilderness areas that were once ruled exclusively by the tiger. In India, which is home to over one third of the world's wild tigers, the human population has exceeded one billion inhabitants.

As tigers compete with humans for land, they find less and less to eat. Local people hunt the same prey as tigers do, pressing tigers to resort to domestic animals and, on rarer occasions, even humans....

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Rising temperatures. Upsetting a delicate balance?

 
A team of British scientists contends that, within 200 years, Earth's temperatures may become hot enough to kill off half of all existing plant and animal species. From: Nick Wadhams for National Geographic News. The researchers from the Universities of York and Leeds in Britain base that dire possibility on a new analysis of the 520-million-year-old fossil record, which links past mass extinctions with cycles of high temperatures. "We could be in the temperature zone in which mass extinctions have occurred by the end of this century, or more likely in the next century," said Peter Mayhew... Read more [...]