Doomsday Clock stuck near midnight due to climate change and nuclear war

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The Doomsday Clock, the symbolic countdown to humanity’s end, remained stuck on the brink of the apocalypse for a second year on Tuesday, because of the continued existential threats posed by nuclear war and climate change.

“By 2030, Renewables Will Be The World’s Primary Power Source”

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In November, the International Energy Agency quietly dropped this bombshell projection: “Driven by continued policy support, renewables account for half of additional global generation, overtaking coal around 2030 to become the largest power source.”

“The Last Time Earth Was This Hot Hippos Lived In Britain That’s 130,000 Years Ago”

http://econintersect.com/pages/contributors/contributor.php?post=201601252203

To reach a point when the Earth was significantly warmer than today we’d need to go back 130,000 years, to a time known as the Eemian.

For about 1.8m years the planet had fluctuated between a series of ice ages and warmer periods known as “interglacials”. The Eemian, which lasted around 15,000 years, was the most recent of these interglacials (before the one we’re currently in).

“Countries Hit With Zika Virus Are Telling Women Not to Get Pregnant”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-01-25/countries-hit-with-zika-virus-are-telling-women-not-to-get-pregnant

The risks from Zika virus sweeping through the Americas are serious enough that some countries are telling their citizens to put off getting pregnant for months or even years.

“A Genetic Approach To Mosquitoes Can Stop Them Spreading Infections”

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A British biotech company, Oxitec, has altered the DNA of male mosquitoes to ensure that offspring die as larvae or pupae. Some other laboratories have taken another approach where only male mosquitoes are produced, leading to the collapse of the entire population.

2015 Was the Hottest Year on Record, by a Stunning Margin

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2016-01-20/2015-was-the-hottest-year-on-record-by-a-stunning-margin?cmpid=BBD012016_BIZ

To say that 2015 was hot is an understatement. The average recorded temperature across the surface of the planet was so far above normal that it set a record for setting records.

“China’s craze for ‘aquatic cocaine’ is pushing two species into oblivion”

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/radical-conservation/2016/jan/11/china-aquatic-cocaine-vaquita-totoaba-mexico-endangered-extinct?utm_source=esp&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=Green+Light+main+150116&utm_term=151233&subid=9826999&CMP=EMCENVEML1631

Affluent Chinese are putting two Mexican species at risk due to demand for dried swim bladders. But will this year’s Cites meeting on the wildlife trade force a crackdown?

 

“Footage of elephants in Cambodia raises hopes for Asian species in the wild”

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/jan/15/footage-of-elephants-in-cambodia-raises-hopes-for-asian-species-in-the-wild#img-1

Rare footage of an elephant herd roaming through Cambodia’s biggest forest sanctuary has signalled the success of a 14-year conservation programme and raised hopes for the endangered species’ survival.

“Shock figures to reveal deadly toll of global air pollution”

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The World Health Organisation has issued a stark new warning about deadly levels of pollution in many of the world’s biggest cities, claiming poor air quality is killing millions and threatening to overwhelm health services across the globe.

“UK’s last resident killer whales ‘doomed to extinction'”

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The UK’s last pod of killer whales is doomed to extinction, with new research revealing western European waters as a global hotspot for the lingering legacy of toxic PCB pollution.