Scientists have announced that a river in northern Canada has been dramatically re-routed due to the effects of global warming. Meltwater from the Yukon territory’s Kaskawulsh glacier, formerly flowing north into the Yukon River via the Slims River, now flows south into the Alsek River, emptying into the Pacific Ocean. The event underscores how rapidly potential changes can happen when systems that are affected by climate change reach their tipping points.
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On March 28, President Donald Trump signed a new executive order ordering the rollback of a large number of environmental policies put into place by the Obama administration. Rules regulating emissions for power plants, methane leaks, the moratorium on federal coal leasing, and consumer-level carbon emissions, are part of the de-regulation called for in the order. But despite this setback to addressing the issue of greenhouse gas emissions, a coalition of 75 U.S. mayors have told Trump that they plan to defy his regressive policies.
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The continued thawing of Arctic permafrost is causing the accelerated release of previously-trapped methane deposits, as evidenced by both satellite imagery and findings made by field researchers in Siberia. Accumulated after having been produced by biological activity, these methane deposits have been frozen in the permafrost for millennia and are being released as the Arctic steadily warms due to climate change.
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This April, the hunt is on for researchers looking to confirm the continued existence of the presumed-extinct thylacine, better known as the Tasmanian tiger, following recent reports of sightings of the creature. The last known specimen died in captivity in 1936, at the Hobart Zoo in Tasmania. Countless sightings have been reported since, but to date none have been verified.
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