Friday, 25 May, 2012

Sometimes, scientists feel the need to leave the lab and warn the public about onrushing hazards. Rowland warned about ozone, but others are warning about warming. Does scientific culture encourage or hinder going public? Does the helpful response to ozone depletion suggest we’ll succeed in confronting global warming?

As Asian carp approach the Great Lakes, ecologists seek to forestall a devastating invasion. Electric fish barriers on Chicago’s canals — built to dump wastewater into the Mississippi — are blocking carp from reaching Lake Michigan. Many scientists prefer closing the canals, but the shipping industry objects. Who’s right?

The globe warms, and the Arctic starts to burn. If warming causes fires that release carbon dioxide, the primary greenhouse gas, will this accelerate further warming? A new study measures carbon releases from the largest tundra fire in North America.

New instruments are giving a better view of how those astonishingly strong lightning bolts form inside clouds – and we are also getting a better picture of the many ways that lightning can harm us.

Humans and cats have enjoyed each other’s company for millennia, but scientists have discovered some troubling secrets of free-roaming felines that have wildlife and health experts worried. A new study reveals what free-roaming cats do all day, and The Why Files investigates some implications of their outdoor habits.

With three nuclear reactors and three pools of spent fuel teetering on the edge of meltdown, Japanese technicians struggled to throttle the nuclear demons after the gigantic tsunami. Is Fukushima closer to Chernobyl or Three Mile Island? How will the disaster affect plans for a renaissance of nuclear power?

Are extreme heat, wicked cyclones and record rainfalls signs of climate change, or just more changes in the weather? Will warming eliminate record cold days? Will hurricanes get bigger?

It’s as sure as sunrise. Drink too much, and you’ll pay next morning: lassitude, nausea, headache, dizziness, and more specialized agonies will be cause for regret. Hangovers: If you can’t avoid them, will they cause you to drink less? Do fruitflies get hung over?

When chemicals in the water trigger the endocrine system, male fish can start looking and acting female. What happens once chemicals from plastics, drugs and our own endocrine system are flushed down the toilet? Can we prevent them from entering our streams and harming wildlife?

The gray wolf has made a dramatic recovery in the northern Rockies and upper Midwest. Is the wolf still endangered, or has it recovered? Should we start hunting and killing the dog wild relatives?