Home

On:

A few weeks ago, Unknown Country reported that NASA were investing millions of dollars into a new laser-based instrument, located on the International Space Station,  which is intended to provide a unique 3-D view of Earth’s forests. The focus of its mission is to provide definitive information about the role of forests in the carbon cycle, and as such, in global warming.

The laser, known as the Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation (GEDI) lidar, the instrument will be the first to systematically probe the depths of the forests from space, and assess how they affect our weather systems and other ecosystems.
read more

On:

As already predicted in Unknown Country’s Climate Watch, it appears that westerly winds sweeping across the Pacific ocean could produce the first El Niño weather system since 2009-2010. Forecasters warn that it could be one of the most dramatic on record.

The predicted El Niño is attracting attention from experts around the globe, who are monitoring its progress with increasing interest:
“Basically it is primed for a strong El Niño, but it needs the final push,” commented Axel Timmermann, Professor of Oceanography at the International Pacific Research Centre, University of Hawaii. “This is perhaps the most-watched El Niño of all time.”
read more

On:

An important new report released this week has revealed that the United States is being severely affected by human-induced climate change across the whole of the nation.

The report, entitled the National Climate Assessment, was compiled by a large panel of experts who were selected to represent a fair cross section of the American population, including scientists and oil company delegates. Two similar reports have been composed over the past fourteen years, but this latest version is the most earnest in its warnings of impending climatic catastrophe.
read more

On:

Yet more adverse side effects of fracking have been identified, as new research indicates that it could threaten water supplies in drought-prone areas.

Fracking is a controversial method of extracting gas reserves from underground seams, using high pressure water jets which are injected into the ground to fracture shale rocks and release the natural gas inside.
read more