or threatened mostly due to the clearing of the island's forests according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) a global environmental organization.
Deforestation has sped up in the second half of the 20th century and in the last 60 years half of the island's remaining forests have been cleared according to a 2007 study in the journal Biology Letters.
as a result of human activities said Stacy Small-Lorenz a conservation scientist at the Environmental Defense Fund an environmental group whose mission is to protect the natural environment.
Human-induced climate change on top of other anthropogenic stressors like habitat destruction pollution and invasive species is likely to accelerate those extinctions Small-Lorenz told Livescience.
and replacing them with big swathes of palm tree monocultures threatening the future existence of orangutans said Lee Hannah a senior fellow in climate change biology at Conservation International a global group devoted to saving endangered
and about 1000 are being killed each year primarily from habitat destruction according to the Orangutan Project an environmental group
According to the American environmental group Wildaid consumption of the soup is down 50 to 70 percent in the last two years.
 One of the best ways to protect areas is to support local groups that have a stake in their native environment Jenkins said.
Examples include Brazil's Institute for Ecological Research which has narrowed wisely its focus on protecting a few key areas in the country's Atlantic forests he said.
100 Most Threatened Species Georgia Tech ecologist Marc Weissburg suggests that much of the problem arises in cities.
One solution would be to design cities to function more like miniature ecosystems. Examples of this would include more urban farming producing food in the same area that is consumed
Rather food security relies upon a number of intertwining factors including population size climate change food production food utilization (for things like animal feed
The world's facing a great balancing act said Craig Hanson director of the People & Ecosystems Program at WRI.
And we've got to reduce agriculture's impact on the environment. There's no easy way to meet all of those demands Hanson added.
One obstacle to increasing food production will be climate change which is predicted to reduce crop yields in certain parts of the world.
A 2009 study published in the journal Science found that in 2100 regions in the tropics
and subtropics are very likely to experience unprecedentedly warm temperatures during the growing season reducing crop yields in the tropics by 20 to 40 percent.
About 3 billion people or nearly half the world's population live in the tropics and subtropics and the population in these regions is growing faster than anywhere else the researchers said.
Extreme weather events such as heavy rains and flooding as well as drastic changes in weather in a short period will also pose challenges for crop production said Walter Falcon deputy director of the Center on Food security and the Environment
at Stanford university. Falcon pointed out that while U s. agriculture was affected by drought in 2012 the most extensive drought
since the 1950s farmers had to contend with the opposite heavy rains this year. Rains can prevent farmers from planting their crops at the optimal time
or prevent them from planting altogether in certain areas that are flooded said Falcon who owns a farm in Iowa that was hit by the drought.
when crop production is reduced by extreme weather events or when countries designate a portion of food crops to be turned into fuel like the United states does with 40 percent of its non-exported corn crop can push up food prices
Improving trade cooperation To continue to feed a growing population in light of the food shortages that are likely to occur with climate change global crop production in the future will have to be much more coordinated than it is said today Jason Clay an expert in natural resources management at the World
In a world of lots of climate variation there is a lot of work to be done in getting trade flows straightened out Falcon said.
either through genetic engineering or traditional crop-breeding techniques may also help protect against crop losses in the future due to extreme weather conditions said Tim Thomas an economist at the Washington D c.-based International Food Policy
You could picture developing varieties that are resilient to more than one shock Thomas said referring to varying weather
and climate conditions such as rains flooding and heat. Such a strategy would be similar to the one employed in the green revolution in
Many climate-change models predict that some regions such as the Southwest may face more frequent droughts.
At one of the first commercial vertical farms a Singapore-based company called Sky Greens grows about a half-ton of bok choy and cabbage in three-story greenhouse towers.
Politicians conservation groups and grassroots organizations have proposed several ideas from farfetched schemes such as moving cellophane-wrapped icebergs to the coasts
and ancient environments from evidence in piled up layers of rock. Â When my colleague Rick Potts organized a core-drilling project in one of my favorite field areas in southern Kenya Olorgesailie (a local Maasai name pronounced O-lorg-eh-sigh
and show many periods with volcanic eruptions alternating with quiet lake phases and dry periods when the water receded
 We can analyze volcanic ash brought into the lake by wind using the technique of radiometric dating so it will be possible to measure how long ago each ash layer was deposited.
since ash from volcanic eruptions tends to settle over wide areas. Â Â The section of the core shown here (see the enlargement in the lower right of the image) also revealed where banded lake deposits have a well-defined contact on top of an ancient clay-rich soil.
 There are missing parts of the geological record in the strata north of the core site becauseâ geologic faulting   in the basin caused uplift and erosion there.
This means that information about ancient climate cycles that is missing in the north may be preserved in the south and that is
  The ultimate goal is to piece together a relatively complete record of environmental change (e g. wet
versus dry periods) so that we can better understand how early humans adapted to changing climate.
Behind the struggle to address global warming and climate change lies the increase in greenhouse gases in our atmosphere.
By increasing the heat in the atmosphere greenhouse gases are responsible for the greenhouse effect which ultimately leads to global warming.
About 30 percent of the radiation striking the Earth is reflected back out to space by clouds ice and other reflective surfaces.
The balance between incoming and outgoing radiation keeps Earth's overall average temperature at about 59 F 15 C). This exchange of incoming and outgoing radiation that warms Earth is referred often to as the greenhouse effect because a greenhouse works in much
because they are largely responsible for the greenhouse effect. The greenhouse effect in turn is one of the leading causes of global warming.
The most significant greenhouse gases are water vapor (H2o) carbon dioxide (CO2) methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2o) according to the Environmental protection agency (EPA.
Fluorinated gases including hydrofluorocarbons perfluorocarbons and sulfur hexafluoride are created during industrial processes and are considered also greenhouse gases.
In 2011 CO2 composed 84 percent of U s. greenhouse emissions according to the EPA. Additionally CO2 stays in the atmosphere for thousands of years.
According to the EPA the production of electricity is the source of 33 percent of U s. greenhouse gas emissions.
and other land-use practices offset some of these greenhouse gas emissions according to the EPA. Because trees and other plants absorb CO2 from the atmosphere they reduce our overall greenhouse gas emissions by roughly 14 percent.
and a growing number of citizens fear that the worst effects of global warming extreme weather rising sea levels plant
and animal extinctions ocean acidification major shifts in climate and unprecedented social upheaval will be inevitable.
In 150000 years of climate change in southeastern Australia lots of changes in the vegetation took place
and a mango and might be growing in your neighborhood right now? If you're not sure you probably don't know about the paw paw.
and environmental friendliness since it makes use of reclaimed or recycled materials. Furniture office supplies
Scholars theorize the plant spread on ocean currents to India and East Africa. The Polynesians introduced various forms of the coconut to the Pacific Islands as they settled there 4500 years ago.
Global warming the gradual heating of Earth's surface oceans and atmosphere has emerged as one of the most vexing environmental issues of our time.
The Earth's average temperature has risen by 1. 4 degrees Fahrenheit (0. 8 degrees Celsius) over the past century the Environmental protection agency (EPA) reports.
That consensus was made clear in a major climate report released Sept. 27 2013 by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC;
in it climate scientists indicated they are more certain than ever of the link between human activities and global warming.
Global warming begins with the greenhouse effect which is caused by the interaction between Earth's atmosphere
This atmospheric warming is known as the greenhouse effect because the same process keeps a greenhouse warm during cold weather:
Solar radiation is trapped by the glass walls of a greenhouse heating the greenhouse and keeping its plants warm throughout the winter.
The atmospheric gases primarily responsible for the greenhouse effect are known as greenhouse gases and include water vapor carbon dioxide (CO2) methane and nitrous oxide.
methane for example has roughly 21 times the heat-trapping ability of carbon dioxide according to the EPA.
In May 2013 scientists reported measuring carbon dioxide levels as high as 400 ppm a symbolic benchmark that nonetheless has concerned climate scientists:
In Montana's Glacier national park where about 150 glaciers were once found only 25 glaciers larger than 25 acres remain according to the U s. Geological Survey.
The Reality of Climate Change: 10 Myths Busted The rise in average global temperatures serious as it is is just one aspect of global warming.
Scientists are concerned also that global warming will cause climate patterns to change worldwide. Climate change resulting from warming temperatures will likely include major changes in wind patterns annual precipitation and seasonal temperatures variations.
These changes are expected to last for several decades or longer according to the EPA. In the northeastern United states for example climate change is likely to bring increased annual rainfall.
In the Pacific Northwest however summer rainfall is expected to decrease while winter precipitation is more likely to fall as rain instead of snow.
This will reduce the amount of water available as snowmelt during the summer months. A growing number of business leaders government officials and private citizens are concerned increasingly about global warming
and its implications and are proposing steps to reverse the trend. Reducing greenhouse gas emissions is perhaps the most fundamental way to address global warming
and decreasing the rate at which fossil fuels are burned is critical to that effort. Development of clean energy including solar wind
but most climate researchers also stress the immediate need for large-scale international policies to address the complex causes and effects of global warming.
For the latest information on the global warming and the greenhouse effect visit e
#What Is Gluten? Gluten refers to the proteins found in wheat endosperm (a type of tissue produced in seeds that's ground to make flour.
Rain can provide some initial relief by reducing tree pollen counts but it also can spur the growth of grass
In many parts of the country this spring saw a perfect storm of allergy conditions.
A dry and cold winter followed by recent heavy rains has resulted in a slightly delayed onset of spring tree pollens said Paul Ratner M d. Medical Director of Sylvana Research in San antonio Texas
There has been prolonged a snow cover on the ground from Mid-november through Mid-march said ACAAI President-Elect Richard G. Gower M d. Marycliff Allergy Specialists in Spokane Wash.
Melting snow has revealed an abundance of outdoor mold growth and the use of indoor humidifiers has contributed to increased indoor mold counts.
Unlike pollen which appears only in the warm weather months mold can lurk in your house year-round. 5. Dust Mites are small (hundreds can live in a single gram of dust) eight-legged creatures
Varieties of kale are grown all around the world in a number of different climates and the plant is able to grow well into the cooler winter months.
As a key ingredient in the distillation of rum molasses (and the cultivation of sugarcane) played a crucial part in the slave trade that brought an estimated 12 million Africans to The americas to work as slave laborers many in the tropics
In 1919 a tank holding 2. 5 million gallons of molasses in Boston's North End suddenly burst flooding the neighborhood with an estimated 2. 3 million gallons (8. 7 million liters
#What Is the Greenhouse effect? While other planets in Earth's solar system are either scorching hot
And to understand global warming it's first necessary to become familiar with the greenhouse effect. There's a delicate balancing act occurring every day all across the Earth involving the radiation the planet receives from space
About 30 percent of the radiation striking Earth's atmosphere is reflected immediately back out to space by clouds ice snow sand and other reflective surfaces according to NASA.
the average temperature on Venus is about 864 degrees F (462 degrees C). The exchange of incoming and outgoing radiation that warms the Earth is referred often to as the greenhouse effect because a greenhouse works in much the same way.
because they're largely responsible for the greenhouse effect. These greenhouse gases include water vapor carbon dioxide (CO2) methane nitrous oxide (N2o) and other gases according to the Environmental protection agency (EPA.
Since the dawn of the Industrial revolution in the early 1800s the burning of fossil fuels like coal oil and gasoline have increased greatly the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere especially CO2 according to NASA.
The greenhouse effect combined with increasing levels of greenhouse gases and the resulting global warming is expected to have profound implications according to the near-universal consensus of scientists.
If global warming continues unchecked it will cause significant climate change a rise in sea levels increasing ocean acidification extreme weather events and other severe natural and societal impacts according to NASA the EPA
+Original article on Livescience. com. For the latest information on the greenhouse effect visit s
#What Is the Oldest Tree in the World? Until 2013 the oldest individual tree in the world was Methuselah a 4845-year-old Great Basin bristlecone pine (Pinus longaeva) in the White Mountains of California.
Marlene Zuk a professor of ecology and evolution at the University of Minnesota and author of the book Paleofantasy:
A wind had begun to blow and the top of Hyperion swayed back and forth wrote Richard Preston.
The National park service says the redwoods'great height is due in part to the favorable climatic conditions found in California including mild year-round temperatures and heavy annual rainfall.
Free radicals are produced in response to a number of environmental sources from cigarette smoke to pollution.
Bamboos thrive in temperate environments and can't handle excessive heat which is why they are found on mountains in warm areas.
precipitation sunlight temperatures and disease and insect infestations volcanic eruptions and fire. Near the core of a tree rings will be tighter and darker
We think of tree rings as ecological artifacts. We know how to date the rings and create a chronology
Tree rings have been used to understand everything from ancient droughts to hurricane activity before records were kept.
The region which is now entering summer also experienced hundreds of fires this January during a catastrophic heat wave.
The region has received about 4 inches (100 millimeters) less rain than normal. At the same time temperatures during the winter months averaged 5 degrees Fahrenheit (3 degrees Celsius) hotter than normal across much of NSW.
Difficult weather There are four big fires and 53 smaller ones burning in NSW. Thousands of homes in the Blue Mountains outside Sydney are close to natural areas
A weak cold front is expected to move through which should alleviate the heat in the long term but
The wind will likely increase in front of the front Lane said and gusts can send flames spreading in surprising directions.
Mountain wind is often stronger gustier and less predictable Lane said. Eucalyptus forests may also be feeding the flames.
The flames are also creating their own weather as they are expected to fuel huge pyrocumulus clouds over the area
A changing climate Australia is no stranger to major fires. In 1983 the Ash wednesday fires killed 75 people.
In 2009 a heat wave fueled the Black Saturday fires which raged across the province of Victoria.
whether they're coming harder and faster as the climate warms Lane said. But researchers do expect Australia to see more fires thanks to climate change.
Canada Russia the United states and the Mediterranean will likely see more fires as well. Gallery: California Wildfires Fuels are drier
when temperatures go up said Peter Fulã a fire ecologist at Northern Arizona University. You have basically more evaporation
Over time though the effect of climate change on forest fires becomes more complex Fulã told Livescience.
In some regions the climate will become more arid resulting in less vegetation in forests with the end result being less fuel.
Adding to the complexity is the fact that fires are a natural part of many forest ecosystems.
And then the way that climate change affects it is also important. Follow Stephanie Pappas on Twitter and Google+.
#Why Autumn Leaves May be dulled by Climate Change Every year New england and other northern regions reliably burst into a blaze of fall color.
But this natural phenomenon will likely become less reliable as climate change disrupts the planet experts say.
Though climate effects are complicated warmer weather will generally mean duller fall vistas in the United states said Howie Neufeld a professor of plant physiology at Appalachian State university in North carolina.
Climate change could dampen fall foliage by delaying the season bleaching out red tones and ushering in invasive species Neufeld told Livescience.
 $25-billion leaves Though pretty red leaves might seem minor compared with the more dire predictions of climate change fall color represents a significant economic and cultural resource.
The Rich Colors of Fall Foliage And the shrinking of a seasonal tradition could stand as another climate warning a (dull-colored) canary in the coal mine Neufeld said.
and studies like O'Keefe's fail to account for the ways climate change might rob New england of its red leaves Neufeld said.
For one thing climate change will likely alter the suitable habitat for many of the trees that bring fall color particularly New england's prized sugar maples one of the most important contributors to fall foliage O'Keefe said.
Simulations show that climate change will push sugar maples from New england into Canada reducing the suitable habitat for these trees in the United states by 40 to 60 percent by 2100 said Louis Iverson a landscape ecologist with the U s. Forest
Service whose Climate Change Tree Atlas forecasted the shift. Though trees that currently populate more Southern states might move in to fill that space few
even if the climate is said right he. Fewer reds Because it actually takes energy and nutrients to produce the red colors of fall several other climate-related changes could dim autumn forests Neufeld said.
Yellow colors are always present in the leaves and simply become visible when the masking green of photosynthesis disappears.
But if climate change pairs hotter nights with those shorter days trees may instead burn off their sugar
See Where Fall Leaves Are Turning Other factors like increased cloud cover and precipitation could also dim red colors by reducing photosynthesis Neufeld said.
The adelgid is clearly a climate change-related pest limited by temperature he said. As climate change continues to alter habitats sending insects
and fungi into new regions invasive species could have even more dramatic effects on fall trees Neufeld said.
More frequent and more intense droughts predicted by climate change models will convince trees to simply drop their leaves before they have a chance to change hues he said.
Some of the effects of climate change on fall color may take awhile to become apparent.
However if and when catastrophes such as fires hurricanes or invasive species wipe out large sections of trees the new warmer conditions will prevent their replacement Iverson said.
and their families migrated out of Central europe with domesticated crops that weren't suited for the new environment.
During that time a space capsule wouldn't completely insulate life from bombardment with cosmic radiation zero air pressure and cold temperatures.
But pollinators for instance could be confused by the zero pressure or weightless environment of space. And fruits and vegetables may not have the same life cycle in space Halberg said.
#Why Elk Are Robbing Birds Sonya Auer of the Department of Environmental Conservation at the University of Massachusetts Amherst recently won the Elton Prize from The british Ecological Society for her research and writing.
Plants and animals in a given area form an ecological system of interacting species. Impacts on one
and precipitation and subsequently relocate to more suitable climates or reschedule their seasonal activities. One of the most challenging tasks facing ecologists today is determining how species are responding to rapid changes in climate and the consequences.
In the high-elevation canyons along the southern edge of the Colorado Plateau in central Arizona I worked with my colleague Thomas Martin of the U s. Geological Survey to study how more than two decades of changing winter temperatures
 This harm results not just from changing temperature but stem indirectly from climate impacts on elk small predators and even the forest the birds inhabit.
As winter temperatures on the plateau increase more precipitation is falling as rain rather than snow.
Less snow means it s easier for big animals like elk to hang around and find food
    What then do these effects of winter temperatures on snowfall and elk and plants mean for bird species like the Red-faced Warbler?
which climate change can have compounding effects on natural systems. Â Understanding those complexities and the population consequences of climate change are critical for trying to come up with means to minimize the impacts on our natural world.
Warmer Spring Brings Troubling Consequences: Op-Ed The views expressed are those of the author
Ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday 41 leading scientists sent a letter to the U s. Environmental protection agency (EPA) calling on the agency to protect U s. forests from the growing sucking sound created by biomass power plants.
In 2011 the EPA took on this issue. The agency issued to biomass-burning plants a three-year exemption from permitting requirements under the Clean Air Act (basically a requirement that each new and modified industrial source gets a construction permit before starting to build showing that it will use the best available control
and the climate and the EPA must follow through on the science-driven process for creating those regulations that it put in place more than two years ago.
and could result in regulations that distort the marketplace towards greater use of unsustainable sources of biomass with significant risks to our climate forests
and the valuable ecosystem services they provide and we rely on. The scientists also shared their serious reservations about the accounting methodology that EPA proposed in its draft framework
and underscored three key conclusions of the SAB's final report: Power plants account for 40 percent of the U s. carbon footprint.
That makes EPA's effort to reduce carbon pollution from power plants a key part of the climate fighting initiatives of the administration of President Barack Obama
and heat in the applications that most effectively reduce carbon emissions is for EPA to follow the science.
It's critical that EPA heeds the science community's call and follows through on the standard it set for itself in issuing rules for the bioenergy industry.
This Op-Ed was adapted from 41 Leading Scientists Call on EPA to Protect Our Forests and Climate on the NRDC blog Switchboard.
and poverty in Africa has created a perfect storm with elephants at the center. What the rich person demands the poor poacher provides Bergin said in a statement.
How Criminology Can Fight Poaching Newark N. J. With no shortage of human-on-human misdeeds criminologists haven't typically concerned themselves with crimes against wildlife and the environment.
what's going on in the environment Todd Clear dean of Rutgers University's School of Criminal Justice said here at a symposium Tuesday (May 14) on wildlife crime.
First he advocated building more fences around large reserves a suggestion that was met with some resistance by at least one ecologist at the conference who questioned Leakey after his talk about the fence's ability to stop elephants.
Fenced reserves have helped South africa prevent more poaching than many of its neighbors Leakey added (athough even in South africa rhino poaching is at a record high.
But the snakes have wreaked havoc on the ecosystem of Guam decimating the island's native bird population.
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