'Bomb Cyclone' Forecast to Hit East Coast. (US & Canada)

LIVESCI=NCE

Just when you thought the weather couldn't get worse, the Washington Post hits us with "bomb cyclone." That's right, forecasters suggest this "bomb" will make the U.S. East Coast unbearable for many. Story here.

Scientists Can Now Blame Individual Natural Disasters on Climate Change

SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN

Hurricane Sandy - a Pexels photo.

Extreme event attribution is one of the most rapidly expanding areas of climate science. STORY HERE.

A Dreadful Year-- Farewell 2017!

WORLD

RESOURCES

INSTITUTE

The year we are leaving has been disastrous … Literally ...

STORY HERE.

Surprising revelations about Canada's ice age past. What do they tell us about the present?

SCIENCE MAGAZINE

Western Canada shed its icy cover a thousand years earlier than previously thought, and the circumstances of the ancient glacial retreat can help understand present-day climate patterns.

A new study provides the new glacial retreat timeline based on an analysis of moraine samples. Researchers collected samples of deposits that formed after the Cordilleran Ice Sheet, which covered large portions of western Canada, retreated. Using beryllium isotopes to date the samples, the authors found that the CIS may have in fact been largely melted by 14,000 years ago, while newer, smaller alpine glaciers sprung up in pockets between the newly-bared mountain peaks. 

Researchers also used simulations to show how warm temperatures during the late Pleistocene era contributed to CIS's early retreat, which had, in turn, contributed to a significant rise in sea level at the time. According to the authors, CIS response to abrupt climate change could be a model for the behavior of the Greenland Ice Sheet, which is comparable in size to CIS. 
Lastly, the authors suggest that their data does not support the migration of people down the west coast, because much of the lower elevations across the area remained covered in ice until about 11,000 years ago.

The research was done by a team of scientists, headed by Brian Menounos of the University of Northern British Columbia in Prince George.

Ice Loss and the Polar Vortex: How a Warming Arctic Fuels Cold Snaps

 inside

climate

 news

The loss of sea ice may be weakening the polar vortex, allowing cold blasts to dip south from the Arctic, across North America, Europe and Russia, a new study says. Story here.

A country road in Manitoba. PinP photo.

Alarming link between fungicides and bee declines revealed

the guardian

Fungicides are found to be the strongest factor linked to steep bumblebee declines, surprising scientists and adding to the threats to vital pollinators. Story here.

Bumble bees forage on chives in 

an organic garden in Manitoba, CA.

PinP photo.

RELATED: Tainted honey spells more trouble for bees. Are we losing the battle to save them?

Friends of the Earth Fights for Bees. PLEASE DONATE!.

Friends of the Earth 

Donald Trump’s EPA could soon allow bee-killing neonicotinoid pesticides to be sprayed on 165 million acres of farmland.

A honeybee hive in Manitoba, Canada. PinP photo.  

Chemical giant Syngenta requested permission to douse our crops with these toxic chemicals. If the EPA grants Syngenta’s wish, the impact on bees and other pollinators could be devastating.

From your backyard to garden retailers to supermarkets, we’re cutting off the demand for bee-killing pesticides. And we’re pushing states and the federal government to ban them. But we need your help to keep this important work going in 2018.

Bees are dying at alarming rates. Monarch butterflies are declining. And a new study found that 75 percent of insects in German nature preserves have disappeared over the past three decades.

Scientists say this indicates that we are in the midst of an “Insect Apocalypse.” One of the key culprits is the massive increase in the use of pesticides.

And science continues to mount that these same pesticides are harming children’s brains, disrupting our hormones, contributing to cancers and more. That’s why we need a rapid shift to organic agriculture -- which is better for people and pollinators.

These pesticides are harming our health and our food system. But they’re generating millions in profits for Syngenta, Bayer, Monsanto, Dow and other pesticide companies. They spend millions every year on lobbying -- in part to block the EPA, state agencies and lawmakers from taking action on their bee-killing products!

We need your help to stop the pesticide industry: Will you give $27 -- or more -- to Friends of the Earth?