Earth

News four September 2017

Asteroid Florence gyrates Earth in closest fly-by since 1890

A Four.4-kilometre-wide space rock whizzed past Earth on its closest orbit in over a century. This asteroid won’t get this close again until after 2500

Taking Earth’s pulse: How to predict eruptions from space

Our planet’s internal stirrings manifest as moving bulges on the surface. Now an eye in the sky is watching them to help predict disasters and save lives

News one September 2017

The cities in the firing line for the next Hurricane Harvey

Of five cities set to see the worst losses from flooding by 2050, three are in the US. Yet the country is unprepared for worsening weather brought by climate switch

India floods: Apartment building collapses in Mumbai

A five-storey building has collapsed in the Indian city of Mumbai, following torrential monsoon rains that have also caused widespread floods

Explosions heard at flooded Texas chemical plant after hurricane

Two explosions and black smoke have been reported at the flooded Arkema plant in Crosby, Texas, which has lost power and backup generators it needs to keep volatile chemicals refrigerated

‘Mother’ coral reefs are breathing life into their neighbours

Strong currents in the Crimson Sea are sweeping massive masses of larvae-rich sea water from one reef to the next

Brazil rejects bid to drill for oil near unique Amazon reef

Total has had its drilling licence turned down, with Brazil’s environment agency telling the French oil giant has failed to address the environmental risk of oil spills

The brothers who went missing on a glacier for almost ninety years

In March 1926, three brothers and a friend climbed up to a hut overlooking the Aletsch glacier in Switzerland. They were never seen again – until their bones were found in two thousand twelve

Texas may be just as vulnerable when next big hurricane hits

Houston is battling unprecedented floods from Hurricane Harvey – and yet Texas’s plans to protect itself from floods remain stalled

Large non-native species like donkeys can boost biodiversity

Many large animals are now living far outside of their native ranges, and that may actually be helping conservation

Secret lifestyle of the dodo exposed for the very first time

A explore of dodo bones has exposed how the legendary birds matured, bred and moulted, and explains discrepancies in sailors’ descriptions of them

We truly can run the world on renewable energy – here’s how

Can the planet switch over to one hundred per cent clean and renewable energy rapid enough to avoid extreme climate impacts? Yes it can, says Mark Jacobson

Wiping out a population of animals might help the species

Mass deaths might not be all bad, because local die-offs could help to ensure the survival of the species as a entire

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