Naomi Oreskes urges scientists to take a stand against attempts to ‘silence facts’
By Janice Cantieri Harvard historian Naomi Oreskes urged hundreds of scientists to step beyond the objectivity of their data and embrace the riskier role as “sentinels” for scientific facts. “We do need to speak for the facts because the facts don’t speak for themselves,” Oreskes said to an overflowing auditorium at the Boston conference of […]
Climate extremes can ignite violence and more intolerant societies
By Janice Cantieri Rising extremes of droughts, floods or food shortages can reduce a country’s political stability and cultural tolerance, warned scientists at the American Association for the Advancements of Science conference in Boston this weekend. As global temperatures continue to rise, these and other environmental threats are expected to increase. “What you have here […]
Climate scientists gather to tackle urgent challenges for the planet
By Janice Cantieri “You can’t open a McDonald’s ketchup packet without the little notch. Try it, okay?” noted climatologist Richard Alley. Without the little notches, plastic ketchup packets are almost impossible to open no matter how much you pull or tear. Cracks in the world’s ice sheets are like those little notches, Alley said. Once […]
Puerto Rico: a “canary in the coal mine” for climate change
By Janice Cantieri In Alexi Correa’s coastal town of Loiza, Puerto Rico, families are raising their furniture on milk crates and building second floors onto their concrete homes to adapt to frequent flooding caused by sea level rise. They are witnessing a major impact of climate change right at their doorsteps. “Our community is quite […]
Climate scientists emphasize high stakes of the 2016 election
By Janice Cantieri “If you want to name things that could really bring down civilization, nuclear bombs are one, but I think CO2 has all the seeds of that,” said pioneering climate scientist Wallace Broecker of Columbia University. “You’re going to see enormous problems with that, I mean political problems, every kind of problem you […]
Artificial trees could offset carbon dioxide emissions
By Janice Cantieri Physicist and engineer Klaus Lackner makes artificial trees – but not the kind that decorate living rooms and lobbies. His artificial trees can capture carbon dioxide directly out of the air—and they’re 1,000 times more efficient than nature’s trees in doing so. Millions of the trees could eventually generate “negative carbon emissions,” […]
Chicago’s homeless fight a continuing war on rats
By Janice Cantieri / Photography by Lloyd DeGrane Jimmie Korosa awakened in the middle of the night with a foot-long rat clawing at his back. Korosa battles the rats every day. Like many people experiencing homelessness in Chicago, he camps in a tent in a vacant lot and faces constant exposure to the disease-carrying rodents. […]
