Observations from the Little Bunker
A systematic observation of climate change, extreme weather events, and their cascading effects on society
🌍 Latest Environmental Observations
Typology of U.S. transit systems reveals energy data gap and potential for diesel-based emissions reductions
We present a typology of 2205 U.S. transit systems, derived from 167 operational indicators in the National Transit Database, to reveal distinct patterns. Using kernel...
Trading away forests: embodied deforestation in agriculture and livestock through a gravity model
Global trade in agricultural and livestock commodities plays a significant role in driving deforestation, as land-use changes in producer countries often supply consumption in distant...
Who owns the desert basins of the American West? A typology for moving beyond the public–private binary in conservation and development
Desert lakes worldwide are being lost to human water diversions and land use change, creating ‘sacrifice zones’ that benefit distant interests. In the American West,...
Decrease in the spatial inhomogeneity of tropical cyclone rainfall in China
The increasing impact of tropical cyclone (TC) rainfall underscores the need to understand regional variations in its spatial distribution. Using high-resolution satellite precipitation data from...
Climate at Davos: Energy security in the geopolitical driving seat
The annual World Economic Forum got underway on Tuesday in the Swiss ski resort of Davos, providing a snowy stage for government and business leaders...
Global evidence for co-variability of tidal constituents
Understanding how tides respond to short-term climate variability and long-term climatic trends is central to projecting future coastal hazards. While past research has focused on...
Future changes in the influence of the Southern Annular Mode on South Pacific chlorophyll-a in the CESM2 large ensemble
The Southern Annular Mode (SAM) is the leading mode of atmospheric variability in the Southern Hemisphere, exerting a significant influence on ocean circulation and marine...
Huge amounts of extra land needed for RFK Jr’s meat-heavy diet guidelines
Even 25% increase in meat and dairy consumption would require 100m more acres of agricultural land, analysis saysThe Trump administration’s new dietary guidelines urging Americans...
As Greenland loses ice, global sea levels will rise—and its own will fall
The island is rebounding from ice melt so fast that scientists are rethinking how Earth’s interior works
Looking for Miracle: why have so many dugongs gone missing from Thailand’s shores?
The Andaman coast was one of very few places in the world with a viable population but then dead dugongs began washing up. Now half...
A California Climate Expert Is Working to Restore Climate Risk Scores Deleted by Zillow
The real estate website scrubbed the data under pressure from California’s real estate brokers and agents who were concerned about its impact on home prices....
In Bangladesh, thousands of volunteers are battling climate-fueled disease at its source
It is a cloudy, humid September morning near the end of monsoon season in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh and one of the world’s most...
Trump is keeping coal on life support. How long can it last?
Heading into President Donald Trump’s second term, coal looked like an industry nearing the end of its life. Utilities planned to retire more than half...
Antarctic penguins have radically shifted their breeding season – seemingly in response to climate change
Changing temperatures may be behind change in behaviour, which experts fear threatens three species’ survivalPenguins in Antarctica have radically shifted their breeding season, apparently as...
No bull: This Austrian cow has learned to use tools
First evidence for tool use in cattle includes a skill previously seen only in humans and chimpanzees
Subseasonal Forecasts of TC Activity in the Western North Pacific in Navy's Earth System Prediction Capability
Abstract We evaluate the ability of Navy’s Earth System Prediction Capability (Navy ESPC) to forecast tropical cyclone (TC) activity in the Western North Pacific basin...
Event‐Level Linkages Between Atmospheric Circulation and Anomalous Precipitation Types in a Typical East Asian Monsoon Basin
Abstract Anomalous precipitation, with unexpected intensity and/or spatiotemporal structures, makes flood risk management in the East Asian monsoon regions challenging, where interacting circulation systems generate...
Plasma Conditions Govern the Reversible Transition Between STEVE and Picket Fence Emissions
Abstract On 6 May 2018, a remarkable subauroral optical event exhibiting three phases of evolution (Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement [STEVE] → Picket Fence →...
Power play: Can a defensive Europe stick with decarbonisation in Davos?
Tsvetelina Kuzmanova is EU sustainable finance lead for the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL), based in Brussels. Europe is set to arrive...
From Trump’s rejected treaties to our daily lives, we’re building walls around ourselves | Anand Pandian
Martin Luther King Jr knew that ‘whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly’. But we Americans are denying that realityThe United States seems determined to...
Scientists warn of ‘regime shift’ as seaweed blooms expand worldwide
Study links rapid growth of ocean macroalgae to global heating and nutrient pollutionScientists have warned of a potential “regime shift” in the oceans, as the...
A Record Wildfire Season Inspires Wyoming to Prepare for an Increasingly Fiery Future
As the Cowboy State faces larger and costlier blazes, scientists warn that the flames could make many of its iconic landscapes unrecognizable within decades.By Jake...
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