Shuttering fossil fuel power plants may cost less than expected – study

WNM | Dec 7, 2020 at 10:52 AM

Decarbonizing US electricity production will require both construction of renewable energy sources and retirement of power plants now operated by fossil fuels. A model suggests that most fossil fuel power plants could complete normal lifespans and still close by 2035 because so many facilities are nearing the end of their operational lives.

Greenland ice sheet faces irreversible melting

WNM | Dec 3, 2020 at 10:29 AM

Scientists predict Greenland ice sheet will pass a threshold beyond which it will never fully regrow and sea levels will be permanently higher in as little as 600 years under current climate change projections.

Shark (Andrea Bohl from Pixabay)

Sharks almost gone from many reefs

WNM | Nov 30, 2020 at 8:40 AM

A massive global study of the world’s reefs has found sharks are ‘functionally extinct’ on nearly one in five of the reefs surveyed.

Crossbill (PublicDomainImages from Pixabay)

Bird diversity in the Alps in decline

WNM | Nov 26, 2020 at 7:19 AM

An analysis has revealed a loss of functional and compositional diversity in Alpine bird communities. This trend is likely connected to rising temperatures and changes in land use.