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tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:/xml/weather1 weather news from mongabay.com 2015-05-12T19:39:12Z tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/14791 2015-05-12T19:38:00Z 2015-05-12T19:39:12Z Satellite data shows how deforestation is impacting our weather and our food

The conversion of forests to cropland can drive local temperatures up or down by as much as a few degrees, according to a new report. Ironically, the authors write that these temperature fluctuations can lead to less productivity from the very same agricultural operations the forests were cleared to make way for. Morgan Erickson-Davis -11.427806 -54.511761 tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/13828 2014-09-24T18:30:00Z 2014-09-24T18:37:04Z Towards the poles: tropical cyclones on the move

If you thought your relatively northerly or southerly location sheltered you from Mother Nature's worst storms, think again. For years we have known that the tropics are expanding towards the poles. However, there is something decidedly destructive accompanying that shifting warm weather: tropical cyclones. Tiffany Roufs tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/13489 2014-07-03T16:52:00Z 2014-07-06T16:19:33Z Next big idea in forest conservation? The 'double-edged sword' of democracy

Dr. Douglas Sheil considers himself an ecologist, but his research includes both conservation and management of tropical forests. Currently teaching at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU) Sheil has authored and co-authored over 200 publications including scholarly articles, books, and popular articles on the subject. Jeremy Hance -0.987945 29.672290 tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/13276 2014-05-23T12:57:00Z 2014-05-23T13:04:59Z Extreme cold and drought in U.S. linked to climate change

The U.S. Midwest and Northeast experienced one of the coldest, snowiest winters on record this past season. This might seem contrary to warming trends forecast by climate scientists, but a new analysis released today in Science points out that climate change caused by greenhouse gas emissions may actually have contributed to the well-below average temperatures seen in parts of the U.S. Morgan Erickson-Davis 6.966817 163.493459 tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/12537 2013-12-18T14:11:00Z 2013-12-18T14:31:07Z World suffers warmest November on record

Last month was the warmest November on record, according to new analysis from the NOAA. Temperatures were 0.78 degrees Celsius (1.40 degrees Fahrenheit) above the average November in the 20th Century. Global temperatures are on the rise due to climate change caused primarily by burning fossil fuels, but also by deforestation and land-use change. Jeremy Hance tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/12342 2013-11-08T20:34:00Z 2013-11-10T03:17:34Z Amazon deforestation could cause droughts in California

Complete deforestation of the Amazon rainforest could reduce rainfall in the Pacific Northwest by up to 20 percent and snowpack in the Sierra Nevada by up to 50 percent, suggests new research published in the Journal of Climate. The study is based on high resolution computer modeling that stripped the Amazon of its forest cover and assessed the potential impact on wind and precipitation patterns. While the scenario is implausible, it reveals the global nature of the ecological services afforded by the world's largest rainforest. Rhett Butler tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/12314 2013-11-04T22:13:00Z 2013-11-04T22:31:50Z Deforestation may hurt U.S. agriculture, affect monsoon cycle

Unchecked deforestation will have far-reaching impacts on temperature, rainfall, and monsoon cycles in regions well outside the tropics, affecting agriculture and water availability, warns a new report published by Greenpeace International. The report is a synthesis of dozens of recent scientific papers that assess the effects of forest cover loss on weather patterns, local climate, and agricultural productivity. Rhett Butler tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/12188 2013-10-11T16:28:00Z 2013-10-11T16:36:51Z Sea and storm: coastal habitats offer strongest defense

Surging storms and rising seas threaten millions of U.S. residents and billions of dollars in property along coastlines. The nation's strongest defense, according to a new study by scientists with the Natural Capital Project at the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment, comes from natural coastal habitats. Tiffany Roufs tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/12126 2013-09-25T16:27:00Z 2013-09-25T16:34:20Z Climate change to hurt children most Children will bear the brunt of the impact of climate change because of their increased risk of health problems, malnutrition and migration, according to a new study published on Monday. And food prices are likely to soar as a result of warming, undoing the progress made in combating world hunger. Jeremy Hance tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/11445 2013-05-16T17:17:00Z 2013-05-16T17:39:50Z Scientists have reached an overwhelming consensus on human-caused climate change

Despite outsized media and political attention to climate change deniers, climate scientists long ago reached a consensus that not only is climate change occurring, but it's largely due to human actions. A new study in Environmental Research Letters further strengthens this consensus: looking at 4,000 peer-reviewed papers researchers found that 97 percent of them supported anthropogenic (i.e. human caused) global warming. Climate change denialists, many of them linked to fossil fuel industries, have tried for years—and often successfully—to undercut action on mitigating climate change through carefully crafted misinformation campaigns. Jeremy Hance tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/11391 2013-05-08T15:48:00Z 2013-05-08T19:11:13Z Featured video: How climate change is messing with the jetstream Weather patterns around the globe are getting weirder and weirder: heat waves and record snow storms in Spring, blasts of Arctic air followed by sudden summer, record deluges and then drought. Jeremy Hance 80.118564 -172.324226 tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/11373 2013-05-06T13:58:00Z 2014-07-06T22:13:46Z 'Suffering...without witnesses': over a quarter of a million people perished in Somali famine

A new report estimates that 258,000 people died in 2011 during a famine in Somalia, the worst of such events in 25 years and a number at least double the highest estimations during the crisis. Over half of the victims, around 133,000, were children five and under. The report, by the UN Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), argues that the international community reacted too late and too little to stem the mass starvation brought on by government instability, conflict, high food prices, and failed rains, the last of which has been linked to climate change by some scientists. Jeremy Hance 2.569939 45.194091 tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/11331 2013-05-01T17:59:00Z 2013-05-06T13:21:00Z Sugarcane production impacting local climate in Brazil

Intensification of Brazil's sugarcane industry in response to rising demand for sugar-based ethanol could have impacts on the regional climate reports a new study by researchers from Arizona State University, Stanford University and the Carnegie Institution for Science. Following the conversion of cerrado grasslands into sugarcane in Brazil, a recent study in Geophysical Research Letters found local cooling that approached 1 degree Celsius during the growing season and maximum local warming near 1 degree Celsius post-harvest. Jeremy Hance -23.574057 -46.522522 tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/11206 2013-04-10T16:46:00Z 2015-02-09T22:50:08Z Hate flying? climate change will make it even rougher

Climate change will lead to bumpier flights caused by increased mid-air turbulence, according to an analysis by scientists of the impact of global warming on weather systems over the next four decades. The increasing air turbulence results from the impact of climate change on the jet streams, the fast, mile-wide winds that whistle round the planet at the same altitude as airliners. The shifting of the jet stream over Europe has also been blamed for the UK's wash-out summer in 2012 and frozen spring this year. Jeremy Hance tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/11150 2013-04-02T16:37:00Z 2014-02-28T10:06:52Z Proposed coal plant threatens Critically Endangered Philippine cockatoo

One kilometer off the Philippine island of Palawan lies the Rasa Island Wildlife Sanctuary; here forest grows unimpeded from a coral island surrounded by mangroves and coral reefs. Although tiny, over a hundred bird species have been recorded on the island along with a major population of large flying foxes, while in the waters below swim at least 130 species of coral fish, three types of marine turtles, and that curious-looking marine mammal, dugongs. Most importantly, perhaps, the island is home to the world's largest population of Philippine cockatoos (Cacatua haematuropygia), currently listed as Critically Endangered. But, although uninhabited by people, Rasa Island may soon be altered irrevocably by human impacts. Jeremy Hance 9.22276 118.443933 tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/10789 2013-01-30T17:19:00Z 2015-02-09T22:27:38Z Controversial research outlines physics behind how forests may bring rain

It took over two-and-a-half-years for the journal Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics to finally accept a paper outlining a new meteorological hypothesis in which condensation, not temperature, drives winds. If proven correct, the hypothesis could have massive ramifications on global policy—not to mention meteorology—as essentially the hypothesis means that the world's forest play a major role in driving precipitation from the coast into a continent's interior. The theory, known as the biotic pump, was first developed in 2006 by two Russian scientists, Victor Gorshkov and Anastassia Makarieva of the St. Petersburg Nuclear Physics, but the two have faced major pushback and delays in their attempt to put the theory before the greater scientific community. Jeremy Hance tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/10686 2013-01-14T17:35:00Z 2013-01-14T17:52:21Z Climate change already pummeling U.S. according to government report Climate change is on the march across the U.S. according to a new draft report written by U.S. government scientists with input from 240 experts. It documents increasing and worsening extreme weather, rising sea levels, and ocean acidification among other impacts. Released Friday for public review, the report will be officially launched later this year or early in 2014. Jeremy Hance tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/10657 2013-01-08T23:44:00Z 2013-01-09T01:51:43Z 2012 was America's warmest year on record 2012 was the warmest year on record for the contiguous U.S. according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Rhett Butler tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/10604 2012-12-21T17:55:00Z 2012-12-21T19:24:40Z Lessons From Sandy: extreme weather will be the new normal In a recent forum held at the Harvard School of Public Health four expert panelists discussed the most important lessons learned from Hurricane Sandy. Rhett Butler tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/10591 2012-12-18T20:20:00Z 2014-12-28T19:55:44Z Top 10 Environmental Stories of 2012

Below is a quick review of some of the biggest environmental stories of 2012. The 'top stories' are listed in no particular order. Climate change, overpopulation, consumption, and ecological destruction is pushing planet Earth toward a tipping point according to a major study in Nature released over the summer. This could result in a new 'planetary state' that would be far harsher and bleaker than the current one (beginning around 12,000 years ago), which saw the rise and success of human society. Rhett Butler tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/10405 2012-11-14T21:02:00Z 2012-11-14T21:29:01Z Obama breaks climate silence at press conference At a news conference today, a question by New York Times reporter Mark Landler pushed President Obama to speak at some length about climate change. In his answer, Obama re-iterated his acceptance of climate science and discussed how progress on tackling climate change might proceed in his second term, though he also noted that he wouldn't put action on the climate ahead of the economy. President Obama made a small reference to climate change in his victory speech following his historic re-election last Tuesday, but his answer today was the most the president has talked about the issue at any length since at least Hurricane Sandy. Jeremy Hance tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/10351 2012-11-01T15:15:00Z 2012-11-02T16:16:49Z From 'fertilizer to fork': food accounts for a quarter of the world's greenhouse gas emissions Growing, transporting, refrigerating, and wasting food accounts for somewhere between 19-29 percent of the world's greenhouse gas emissions in 2008, according to a new analysis by the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS). In hard numbers that's between 9.8 and 16.9 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide, more than double the fossil fuel emissions of China in the same year. Over 80 percent of food emissions came from production (i.e. agriculture) which includes deforestation and land use change. Jeremy Hance tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/10322 2012-10-29T17:59:00Z 2012-10-30T12:31:19Z How climate change may be worsening Hurricane Sandy

While scientists are still debating some fundamental questions regarding hurricanes and climate change (such as: will climate change cause more or less hurricanes?), there's no debating that a monster hurricane is now imperiling the U.S. East Coast. A few connections between a warmer world and Hurricane Sandy can certainly be made, however: rising sea levels are likely to worsen storm surges; warmer waters bring more rain to increase flooding; and hotter temperatures may allow the hurricane to push both seasonal and geographic boundaries. Jeremy Hance tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/10253 2012-10-10T15:31:00Z 2012-10-10T15:51:57Z Over 70 percent of Americans: climate change worsening extreme weather According to a new poll, 74 percent of Americans agree that climate change is impacting weather in the U.S., including 73 percent who agreed, strongly or somewhat, that climate change had exacerbated record high temperatures over the summer. The findings mean that a large majority of Americans agree with climatologists who in recent years have found increasingly strong evidence that climate change has both increased and worsened extreme weather events. Jeremy Hance 38.897596 -77.036437 tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/10179 2012-09-19T23:01:00Z 2012-09-20T13:53:29Z Arctic sea ice is 'toast' as old record shattered Some twenty days after breaking the record for the lowest sea ice extent, the Arctic sea ice has hit a new rock bottom and finally begun its seasonal recovery. In the end, the Arctic sea ice extent fell to just 3.4 million square kilometers (1.32 million square miles) when only a few months ago scientists were wondering if it would break the 4 million square kilometers. The speed of the sea ice decline due to climate change has outpaced all the computer models, overrun all expert predictions, and shocked even the gloomiest scientists. Jeremy Hance 84.267172 -13.066413 tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/10121 2012-09-12T14:09:00Z 2012-09-12T19:26:40Z NASA image shows why San Francisco is foggy The short answer to why San Francisco, California is foggy? The Pacific Ocean's marine layer. A new image by NASA's Earth Observing-1 satellite shows the marine layer—cool, heavy air produced by a colder ocean surface meeting warmer air—encroaching on the metropolis. Western winds push the marine layer over the city, which brings dense cloud cover over the city, and often engulfs buildings, bridges, and people in fog. Jeremy Hance 37.784554 -122.424831 tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/10100 2012-09-06T00:13:00Z 2012-09-06T00:51:33Z Amazon deforestation could trigger drop in rainfall across South America

Deforestation could cause rainfall across the Amazon rainforest to drop precipitously, warns a new study published in the journal Nature. Using a computer model that accounts for forest cover and rainfall patterns, Dominick Spracklen of the University of Leeds and colleagues estimate that large-scale deforestation in the Amazon could reduce basin-wide rainfall 12 percent during the wet season and 21 percent in the dry season by 2050. Localized swings would be greater. Rhett Butler -3.946461 -53.718567 tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/10085 2012-09-04T17:31:00Z 2012-09-04T17:32:20Z Rainforest fungi, plants fuel rainfall Salt compounds released by fungi and plants in the Amazon rainforest have an important role in the formation of rain clouds, reports research published in the journal Science. Rhett Butler tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/10069 2012-08-28T16:45:00Z 2015-02-08T23:19:33Z Private reserve safeguards newly discovered frogs in Ecuadorian cloud forest

Although it covers only 430 hectares (1,063 acres) of the little-known Chocó forest in Ecuador, the private reserve las Gralarias in Ecuador is home to an incredible explosion of life. Long known as a birder's paradise, the Reserva las Gralarias is now making a name for itself as a hotspot for new and endangered amphibians, as well as hundreds of stunning species of butterfly and moth. This is because the reserve is set in the perfect place for evolution to run wild: cloud forest spanning vast elevational shifts. "The pacific slope cloud forests [...] are among the most endangered habitats in the world," explains Reserva las Gralarias' founder, Jane Lyons, in a recent interview with mongabay.com. Jeremy Hance 0.00412 -78.788681 tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/10065 2012-08-27T18:33:00Z 2012-10-31T15:54:56Z Sea ice falls to record low with over two weeks of melting left One of the most visible impacts of climate change—melting summer sea ice in the Arctic—just hit a new milestone. Scientists with the U.S. National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) have declared that this year's Arctic sea ice extent dipped below the previous record set in 2007 as of yesterday. The record is even more notable, however, as it occurred more than a fortnight before the Arctic's usual ice melt season ends, meaning the old record will likely not just be supplanted, but shattered. Jeremy Hance 84.267172 -13.066413 tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/10050 2012-08-22T14:50:00Z 2012-08-22T15:45:50Z Arctic sea ice approaches another record melt Sea ice extent in the Arctic is very near to beating the previous record low set in 2007, according to the U.S. National Snow and Ice Data Center. Researchers told Reuters that they expect the record to be beaten by the end of month, well over a week before the melt season ends in the frozen north. Jeremy Hance 84.267172 -13.066413 tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/9978 2012-08-08T18:35:00Z 2012-08-08T19:02:17Z July 2012: hottest month in U.S. history

Last month was not only the hottest July in U.S. weather history, but the hottest month ever recorded in the contiguous U.S, besting a record struck in July 1936 during the Dust Bowl, according to new data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The average temperature last month over the contiguous U.S. was 77.6 degrees Fahrenheit, or 3.3 degrees Fahrenheit above the 20th Century average. Making matters worse, crippling drought continued to spread over 63 percent of the lower 48 states. Jeremy Hance tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/9962 2012-08-05T17:53:00Z 2012-12-02T22:37:55Z Extreme heatwaves 50 to 100 times more likely due to climate change

A recent rise in deadly, debilitating, and expensive heatwaves was caused by climate change, argues a new statistical analysis published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). Climatologists found that extreme heatwaves have increased by at least 50 times during the last 30 years. The researchers, including James Hansen of NASA, conclude that climate change is the only explanation for such a statistical jump. Jeremy Hance tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/9896 2012-07-24T16:06:00Z 2012-07-24T16:06:14Z Featured video: climate change bringing on the extremes Focusing on extreme weather events in the U.S. this summer, a new compilation video highlights the connection between climate change and increasing and worsening extremes, such as heatwaves, droughts, and floods. Jeremy Hance tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/9832 2012-07-12T20:55:00Z 2012-07-12T21:28:04Z Deja vu: U.S. undergoes hottest 12 months on record...again and again According to new data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)'s National Climatic Data Center, the last twelve months have been the warmest on record for the contiguous United States. This record, set between July 2011 through June 2012, beat the last consecutive twelve month record set only a month earlier between June 2011 and May 2012, which in turn beat the previous record holder, you guessed it: May 2011 through April 2012. Jeremy Hance tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/9813 2012-07-11T18:58:00Z 2012-07-11T19:20:24Z Climate change increased the probability of Texas drought, African famine, and other extreme weather

Climate change is here and its increasing the chances for crazy weather, according to scientists. A prestigious group of climatologists have released a landmark report that makes the dramatic point that climate change is impacting our weather systems—and in turn our food crops, our economies, and even our lives—here-and-now. The new report in the American Meteorological Society is first of what is intended to be an annual offering that will attempt to tease out the connections between climate change and individual extreme weather events, such as heatwaves, droughts and floods. Jeremy Hance tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/9806 2012-07-10T17:38:00Z 2012-07-10T17:56:56Z As U.S. sees record heat, extreme weather pummels 4 continents

It's not only the U.S. that has experienced record-breaking extreme weather events recently, in the last couple months extreme weather has struck around the world with startling ferocity. In addition to the much-covered heatwaves, wildfires, and droughts in the U.S., killer floods struck India, the worst drought yet recorded plagued South Korea, and massive forest fires swept through Siberia to name just a few. Jeremy Hance tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/9763 2012-07-02T14:09:00Z 2012-07-07T10:29:31Z Scientist: 'no doubt' that climate change is playing a role in U.S. fires

A noted climate scientist says there is 'no doubt' that climate change is 'playing a role' in this year's series of record fires in the western U.S. A massive wildfire in Colorado has forced the evacuation of 36,000 people, destroyed over 300 homes, and killed two people. The devastation wrought by the Waldo Canyon Fire even prompted a visit form U.S. President Barack Obama. But this is not the only epic fire in the U.S. this year: less than a month before the Colorado disaster, New Mexico experienced its largest fire on record in Gila Nation Forest; the conflagration burned up 247,000 acres (100,000 hectares). Other major wildfires have occurred in Utah and Wyoming, as well as other parts of New Mexico and Colorado. Jeremy Hance tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/9662 2012-06-12T20:33:00Z 2012-06-12T21:00:37Z U.S. undergoes warmest spring on record Spring in the U.S. was the warmest on record, beating the past record-year (1910), by a stunning two degrees Fahrenheit, according to new data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The data also shows that the past 12 months--from June 2011 through May 2012--was the warmest on record in the contiguous U.S. as well. Jeremy Hance tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/9492 2012-05-10T14:21:00Z 2012-05-10T14:42:22Z U.S. undergoes warmest 12 months yet Americans would not be remiss in asking, "is it getting hot in here?" According to new data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)'s National Climatic Data Center, the last twelve months (from May 2011 through April 2012) were the warmest on record for the lower 48 U.S. states since record keeping began in the late 19th Century. Jeremy Hance tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/9484 2012-05-07T13:08:00Z 2012-05-07T13:33:10Z Pictures of the day: activists highlight personal impacts of climate change worldwide On Saturday, people around the world gathered to highlight the varied impacts of climate change on their lives. Organized by 350.org, the global day of action was a call to "connect the dots" between a warming Earth and extreme weather events, such as droughts, floods, and fires among other impacts. Nearly 1,000 events were held worldwide. Jeremy Hance tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/9474 2012-05-03T14:44:00Z 2012-05-03T15:18:04Z Thousands worldwide to "connect the dots" between climate change and extreme weather this weekend

On Saturday, May 5th vulnerable populations from the United States to Bangladesh will "connect the dots" between devastating extreme weather and climate change in a global day of action organized by 350.org. The nearly 1,000 events occurring in over half of the world's nations are meant to highlight to governments, media, and the public that climate change is impacting lives through an increase in number and intensity of devastating weather events, such as droughts, heatwaves, and floods. Jeremy Hance tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/9386 2012-04-11T14:11:00Z 2012-04-11T14:22:12Z U.S. suffers warmest March, breaking over 15,000 record temperatures March was the warmest ever recorded in the U.S. with record-keeping going back to 1895, according to new data by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). But the month wasn't just a record-breaker, it was shockingly aberrant: an extreme heatwave throughout much of the eastern and central U.S. shattered 15,272 day and nighttime records across the U.S. In all March 2012 was 0.5 degrees Fahrenheit above the previous warmest March in 1910, and an astounding 8.6 degrees Fahrenheit above the 20th Century average for March in the U.S. Jeremy Hance tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/9296 2012-03-22T13:57:00Z 2012-03-22T14:09:29Z NASA image: records shattered across U.S. as summer arrives before spring

Central U.S. and parts of Canada have seen over a thousand record temperatures shattered over the past week and a half, as an abnormally-long and bizarrely-hot warm spell moves across portions of North America. The direct cause of the weird weather is a blocked high pressure system, but as the U.S. experiences what may be the warmest March on record, meteorologists say climate change may be playing a role in the severity of the heatwave. Jeremy Hance tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/9207 2012-03-06T16:31:00Z 2012-03-06T16:41:58Z Tornado season likely to expand due to climate change Last Friday, around a hundred tornadoes left a wake of destruction in the U.S., killing 39 people to date and destroying entire towns. The tragedy hit hardest in Kentucky and Indiana and experts predict the weather-disaster will cost over $1 billion. But isn't this early for tornado season? Yes, say experts, and climatologists add that while research on tornadoes and climate change is currently in its infancy, it's possible, probably even likely, that climate change is expanding tornado season in the U.S. due to the earlier arrival of spring. Jeremy Hance tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/9088 2012-02-13T15:49:00Z 2012-02-13T16:09:17Z Arctic warms to highest level yet as researchers fear tipping points

Last year the Arctic, which is warming faster than anywhere else on Earth due to global climate change, experienced its warmest twelve months yet. According to recent data by NASA, average Arctic temperatures in 2011 were 2.28 degrees Celsius (4.1 degrees Fahrenheit) above those recorded from 1951-1980. As the Arctic warms, imperiling its biodiversity and indigenous people, researchers are increasingly concerned that the region will hit climatic tipping points that could severely impact the rest of the world. A recent commentary in Nature Climate Change highlighted a number of tipping points that keep scientists awake at night. Jeremy Hance tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/9038 2012-02-01T17:36:00Z 2015-01-29T00:41:46Z New meteorological theory argues that the world's forests are rainmakers

New, radical theories in science often take time to be accepted, especially those that directly challenge longstanding ideas, contemporary policy or cultural norms. The fact that the Earth revolves around the sun, and not vice-versa, took centuries to gain widespread scientific and public acceptance. While Darwin's theory of evolution was quickly grasped by biologists, portions of the public today, especially in places like the U.S., still disbelieve. Currently, the near total consensus by climatologists that human activities are warming the Earth continues to be challenged by outsiders. Whether or not the biotic pump theory will one day fall into this grouping remains to be seen. First published in 2007 by two Russian physicists, Victor Gorshkov and Anastassia Makarieva, the still little-known biotic pump theory postulates that forests are the driving force behind precipitation over land masses. Jeremy Hance tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/8990 2012-01-23T12:30:00Z 2012-01-23T20:52:43Z NASA: 2011 ninth warmest year yet

Despite being a strong La Niña year, which tends to be cooler than the average year, 2011 was the ninth warmest year on record and the warmest La Niña yet, according to a global temperature analysis by NASA. To date, nine of the world's ten warmest years have occurred since 2000 according to data going back to 1880. Jeremy Hance tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/8889 2011-12-22T16:31:00Z 2014-12-28T19:54:01Z Top 10 Environmental Stories of 2011

Many of 2011's most dramatic stories on environmental issues came from people taking to the streets. With governments and corporations slow to tackle massive environmental problems, people have begun to assert themselves. Victories were seen on four continents: in Bolivia a draconian response to protestors embarrassed the government, causing them to drop plans to build a road through Tipnis, an indigenous Amazonian reserve; in Myanmar, a nation not known for bowing to public demands, large protests pushed the government to cancel a massive Chinese hydroelectric project; in Borneo a three-year struggle to stop the construction of a coal plant on the coast of the Coral Triangle ended in victory for activists; in Britain plans to privatize forests created such a public outcry that the government not only pulled back but also apologized; and in the U.S. civil disobedience and massive marches pressured the Obama Administration to delay a decision on the controversial Keystone XL pipeline, which would bring tar sands from Canada to a global market. Jeremy Hance tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/8884 2011-12-21T19:02:00Z 2011-12-21T20:16:55Z Earth systems disruption: Does 2011 indicate the "new normal" of climate chaos and conflict?

The year 2011 has presented the world with a shocking increase in irregular weather and disasters linked to climate change. Just as the 2007 "big melt" of summer arctic sea ice sent scientists and environmentalists scrambling to re-evaluate the severity of climate change, so have recent events forced major revisions and updates in climate science. Jeremy Hance tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/8883 2011-12-21T17:35:00Z 2011-12-21T17:35:18Z Texas loses half a billion trees to epic drought A punishing drought in Texas has not only damaged crops, killed cattle, and led to widespread fires, but has also killed off a significant portion of the state's trees: between 100 and 500 million trees have perished to drought stress according to preliminary analysis. The estimate does not include tree mortality caused by fires. The drought has been linked to La Niña conditions, which causes drying in the Southern U.S., and has likely been exacerbated by global climate change. Jeremy Hance tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/8873 2011-12-20T17:43:00Z 2011-12-20T17:46:32Z Philippines disaster may have been worsened by climate change, deforestation

As the Philippines begins to bury more than a 1,000 disaster victims in mass graves, Philippine President Benigno Aquino has ordered an investigation into last weekend's flash flood and landslide, including looking at the role of illegal logging. Officials have pointed to both climate change and vast deforestation as likely exacerbating the disaster. Jeremy Hance tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/8819 2011-12-08T17:32:00Z 2015-01-29T00:19:06Z Evidence mounts that Maya did themselves in through deforestation

Researchers have garnered further evidence for a smoking gun behind the fall of the great Maya civilization: deforestation. At the American Geophysical Union (AGU) conference, climatologist Ben Cook presented recent research showing how the destruction of rainforests by the Mayan ultimately led to declines in precipitation and possibly civilization-rocking droughts. While the idea that the Maya may have committed ecological-suicide through deforestation has been widely discussed, including in Jared Diamond's popular book Collapse, Cook's findings add greater weight to the theory. Jeremy Hance tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/8633 2011-11-02T16:41:00Z 2011-11-02T16:42:07Z Climate change already worsening weird, deadly, and expensive weather Unprecedented flooding in Thailand, torrential rains pummeling El Salvador, long-term and beyond-extreme drought in Texas, killer snowstorm in the eastern US—and that's just the last month or so. Extreme weather worldwide appears to be both increasing in frequency and intensity, and a new report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) connects the dots between wilder weather patterns and global climate change. Jeremy Hance tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/8321 2011-08-24T17:02:00Z 2015-01-28T23:54:56Z Climate change may fuel increase in warfare, finds study

Civil war is twice as likely in tropical countries during particularly hot and dry years, according to a new study in Nature. The researchers found that El Niño conditions, which generally cuts rainfall and raises temperatures in the tropics, may have played a factor in one-fifth of the world's total conflicts during the past 50 years. El Niño conditions occur every 3-7 years. While the study did not examine global climate change in conjunction with conflict, the study links a warmer world to a more conflict-prone one, as least in the tropics. Jeremy Hance tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/8319 2011-08-23T23:32:00Z 2011-09-06T13:21:24Z Reducing Disaster Risks: Progress and Challenges in the Caribbean Region Disaster management is a global policy problem with a critical land-use change component related to settlement patterns, deforestation, and agriculture development. This is further exacerbated by climate change. Jeremy Hance tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/8234 2011-08-01T18:37:00Z 2011-08-16T20:12:36Z Chart: US suffers record drought An exceptional drought is still scorching major parts of Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Louisiana. A new report from the National Drought Mitigation Center finds that over July, nearly 12 percent of the US saw exceptional drought conditions, the highest record since monitoring began a dozen years. Exceptional drought is the worst possible on a 5-scale drought scale. Jeremy Hance tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/8213 2011-07-28T14:04:00Z 2015-01-28T23:46:20Z Adaptation, justice and morality in a warming world

If last year was the first in which climate change impacts became apparent worldwide—unprecedented drought and fires in Russia, megaflood in Pakistan, record drought in the Amazon, deadly floods in South America, plus record highs all over the place—this may be the year in which the American public sees climate change as no longer distant and abstract, but happening at home. With burning across the southwest, record drought in Texas, majors flooding in the Midwest, heatwaves everywhere, its becoming harder and harder to ignore the obvious. Climate change consultant and blogger, Brian Thomas, says these patterns are pushing 'prominent scientists' to state 'more explicitly that the pattern we're seeing today shows a definite climate change link,' but that it may not yet change the public perception in the US. Jeremy Hance tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/8185 2011-07-20T13:29:00Z 2011-07-20T13:31:51Z NASA image shows it snowing in driest place on earth A snowstorm engulfed parts of the driest place on earth this month: the Atacama desert in South America. Images captured by NASA's Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on Terra Satellite show parts of the landscape covered in white. Jeremy Hance tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/8090 2011-06-30T16:47:00Z 2011-06-30T16:48:47Z Worst drought in 60 years brings starvation fears to East Africa A prolonged drought in East Africa is bringing many of the region's impoverished to their knees: the World Food Program (WFP) is warning that 10 million people in the region are facing severe shortages. While not dubbed a famine yet, experts say it could become one. Meanwhile, a recent study by FEWS NET/USGS has revealed that the current drought is the worst in 11 of 15 East African regions since 1950-51. Worsening droughts are one of the predictions for the region as the world grows warmer. Jeremy Hance tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/7894 2011-05-20T04:23:00Z 2011-05-20T16:23:33Z Climate change and deforestation pose risk to Amazon rainforest

Deforestation and climate change will likely decimate much of the Amazon rainforest, says a new study by Brazil's National Institute for Space Research (INPE) and the UK's Met Office Hadley Centre. Climate change and widespread deforestation is expected to cause warmer and drier conditions overall, reducing the resistance of the rainforest ecosystem to natural and human-caused stressors while increasing the frequency of extreme rainfall events and droughts by the end of this century. While climate models show that higher temperatures resulting from global climate change will threaten the resilience of the Amazon, current deforestation is an immediate concern to the rainforest ecosystem and is likely driving regional changes in climate. Rhett Butler tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/7855 2011-05-12T15:32:00Z 2011-06-13T16:39:09Z Burning up: warmer world means the rise of megafires Megafires are likely both worsened by and contributing to global climate change, according to a new United Nations report. In the tropics, deforestation is playing a major role in creating giant, unprecedented fires. Jeremy Hance tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/7800 2011-04-28T19:07:00Z 2011-04-28T19:26:57Z Are US floods, fires linked to climate change?

The short answer to the question of whether or not on-going floods in the US Midwest and fires in Texas are linked to a warming Earth is: maybe. The long answer, however, is that while it is difficult—some argue impossible—for scientists to link a single extreme weather event to climate change, climate models have long shown that extreme weather events will both intensify and become more frequent as the world continues to heat up. In other words, the probability of such extreme events increases along with global average temperature. Jeremy Hance tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/7666 2011-03-30T20:22:00Z 2015-01-26T22:56:10Z 'Huge reduction' of water from plants due to higher carbon levels As if ocean acidification and a warming world weren't enough, researchers have outlined another way in which carbon emissions are impacting the planet. A new study shows that higher carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere have taken a toll on how much water vapor plants release, potentially impacting the rainfall and groundwater sources. A study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) has found that carbon dioxide levels over the past 150 years has reduced plants' spores, called stomata, by over one third (34%). This is important because stomata take in oxygen and carbon dioxide and release water vapor in a process dubbed 'transpiration'. Less stomata means less water driven into the atmosphere. Jeremy Hance tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/7652 2011-03-28T20:44:00Z 2011-03-28T20:46:55Z What's behind the 85% decline of mammals in West Africa's parks? A recent, well-covered study found that African mammals populations are in steep decline in the continent's protected areas. Large mammal populations over forty years have dropped by 59% on average in Africa [read an interview on the study here] and by 85% in west and central Africa, according to the study headed by Ian Craigie, which links the decline to continuing habitat degradation as well as hunting and human-wildlife conflict. However, a new opinion piece in mongabay.com's open access journal Tropical Conservation Science argues that this study missed an important factor in central and west Africa where the decline in mammals was the worst: rainfall. Jeremy Hance tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/7613 2011-03-21T00:41:00Z 2015-01-26T22:53:39Z Want water? save forests The UN-backed Collaborative Partnership on Forests (CPF) is urging nations to conserve their forests in a bid to mitigate rising water scarcity problem. Jeremy Hance tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/7139 2010-12-02T20:16:00Z 2010-12-02T20:19:06Z 'These are the facts': 2010 to be among top three hottest years Despite La Nina arriving at the end of the year—which bring cooler than average conditions—and bitter cold showing up recently in the Northern Hemisphere due to the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), 2010 was smoldering enough worldwide that it will very likely be among the top three hottest years since record-keeping began 160 years ago, reports the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) today. Jeremy Hance tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/7125 2010-11-30T20:52:00Z 2010-11-30T20:54:05Z Climate change linked to 21,000 deaths in nine months Extreme weather events linked to climate change has caused the deaths of 21,000 people worldwide in the first nine months of 2010, according to Oxfam. This is already twice the casualties of 2009. In a new report More than ever: climate talks that work for those that need them most, the organization outlines the casualties of such weather-related disasters, for example devastating floods in Pakistan which killed 2,000 people and affected more than 20 million. Jeremy Hance tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/6860 2010-10-04T15:50:00Z 2010-10-07T20:30:49Z Obama science adviser wields evidence to undercut climate change denier US President Barack Obama's science adviser, John Holdren, took on climate change deniers in a comprehensive, data-heavy speech last month at the Kavli Science Forum in Oslo, Norway. Proclaiming that "the earth is getting hotter", Holden went on to enumerate on the causes of climate change (human impacts) and its overall effect (not good), discussing at length the science that underpins the theory of climate change. For environmentalists and international officials frustrated with the US's slow pace on combating climate change—which is decades behind Europe's and many other nations'—Holdren touted that the Obama Administration had made progress on the issue and stated that the administration plans to pursue legislation again after a new congress is elected. However, given current predictions that Republicans will pick up seats in November, comprehensive climate and energy legislation seems unlikely since historically the majority of the GOP has been against tackling climate change. Jeremy Hance tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/6787 2010-09-21T17:29:00Z 2015-01-26T21:12:21Z An undamaged Amazon produces its own clouds and rain Researchers recently traveled to the remote Brazilian Amazon to investigate how clouds are formed and rain falls in an atmosphere unburdened by human-caused pollution. Studying the atmospheric aerosol particles, which impact cloud formation and particles, above a pristine forests, researchers discovered that when left alone the Amazon acts as its own 'bioreactor': clouds and precipitation are produced by the abundance of plant materials. Jeremy Hance tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/6684 2010-08-31T00:57:00Z 2010-09-19T17:41:06Z Cold snap may have killed millions of fish in Bolivia, poisoning rivers Although the last few months have been some of the warmest worldwide on record, including 17 countries reaching or breaking all-time highs, temperatures have not been above average everywhere. Cold air from Antarctica has brought chilling temperatures to parts of South America, including Bolivia where millions of fish and thousands of caimans, turtles, and river dolphins have perished according to Nature Communications. Jeremy Hance tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/6646 2010-08-19T21:17:00Z 2010-08-19T21:18:32Z Satellites show mangrove forest loss even worse than estimated

New satellite data shows that human actions are wiping out mangrove forests even faster than previous bleak estimates. Conducted by the US Geological Survey and NASA, the researchers found that mangroves comprise 12.3 percent less area than previously estimated. In total, satellites reveal that mangrove forests cover approximately 53,290 square miles (137,760 square kilometers). "Our assessment shows, for the first time, the exact extent and distribution of mangrove forests of the world at 30 meters spatial resolution, the highest resolution ever," said Dr Chandra Giri from USGS. Jeremy Hance tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/6645 2010-08-19T20:14:00Z 2010-08-19T20:24:23Z NASA image captures one of the warmest Julys on record The NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) has found that the global average temperature of July 2010 was nearly 1 degree Fahrenheit (0.55 degrees Celsius) higher than average temperatures from July1951-1980. In fact, this July was tied for the warmest on record with July 2005 and 1998. Jeremy Hance tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/6598 2010-08-11T16:14:00Z 2010-08-11T16:45:44Z New NASA images reveal devastating impact of Russian fires

A new series of images released by NASA show the extent of smoke hovering over Moscow and Central European Russia, while another image measures the amount of carbon monoxide in the area, a gas which can produce a number of health problems. Russia is in the midst of a full-scale disaster as hundreds of forest and peatland fires are covering part of the world's largest nation in a thick cloud of smoke. Temperatures in Moscow and elsewhere have broken past heat records several times in the last month while a long drought combined with fires have led to the loss of 20 percent of Russia's grain crop, causing Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to ban grain exports. Russian officials say that it;s likely some 15,000 people to date have died from the disaster. Jeremy Hance tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/6594 2010-08-09T19:55:00Z 2010-08-09T21:07:21Z Summer from hell: seventeen nations hit all-time heat records The summer isn't over yet, but already seventeen nations have matched or beaten their all-time heat records. According to Jeff Masters' WunderBlog, Belarus, the Ukraine, Cyprus, Russia, Finland, Qatar, the Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Niger, Chad, Kuwait, Iraq, Pakistan, Colombia, Myanmar, Ascension Island, and the Solomon Islands have all equaled or broken their top temperature records this year. In addition, the hottest temperature ever recorded in Asia was taken in Pakistan at 128 degrees Fahrenheit (53 degrees Celsius); this incredible temperature still has to be reviewed by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). Jeremy Hance tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/6590 2010-08-08T20:14:00Z 2015-01-23T17:48:54Z Officials point to Russian drought and Asian deluge as consistent with climate change Government officials are pointing to the drought and wildfires in Russia, and the floods across Central and East Asia as consistent with climate change predictions. While climatologists say that a single weather event cannot be linked directly to a warming planet, patterns of worsening storms, severer droughts, and disasters brought on by extreme weather are expected as the planet warms. Jeremy Hance tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/6548 2010-07-27T17:43:00Z 2010-07-27T17:50:39Z Record highs, forest fires, and ash-fog engulf Moscow Moscow and parts of Russia have been hit by record high temperatures and forest fires. Ashen fog from peat forests burning near Moscow has prompted officials to warn elderly and those with heart or bronchial problems to stay inside. Workers should be allowed a siesta to rest in the afternoon, as well, said the Russia's chief health official. Jeremy Hance tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/6322 2010-06-23T15:18:00Z 2010-06-23T15:22:25Z 2010 the second hottest year on record through May The first five months of 2010 have been the second warmest on record, according to data released by the University of Alabama Huntsville. Rhett Butler tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/6168 2010-06-02T00:38:00Z 2010-06-02T10:14:27Z NASA satellite image reveals record low snow for the United States According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, snow cover retreated to its lowest extent ever recorded in North America by the end of this April. Snow cover was 2.2 million square kilometers below average. With records of snow extent beginning in 1967, this is the lowest in 43 years and the largest negative anomaly in the past 521 months. Jeremy Hance tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/5859 2010-03-22T21:42:00Z 2010-03-22T22:24:32Z El Niño in Venezuela: Hugo Chávez's "Katrina" Moment?

 Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez has been in power for more than ten years, during which time he has deflected numerous electoral challenges, a recall effort, a coup d'etat and even an oil lock out. A politically adroit statesman, he has demonstrated enormous staying power throughout all these political crises. Yet, Chávez's luck may have finally run out: a devastating El Niño-linked drought has recently ravaged Venezuela and the government has been forced to undertake conservation measures for water and electricity. Hardly amused, some are holding Chávez responsible for the energy crunch and the drought could exact a heavy toll on the Venezuelan president in September's legislative elections. Jeremy Hance tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/5779 2010-03-03T19:26:00Z 2015-01-21T00:16:06Z Healthy coral reefs produce clouds and precipitation

Twenty years of research has led Dr. Graham Jones of Australia's Southern Cross University to discover a startling connection between coral reefs and coastal precipitation. According to Jones, a substance produced by thriving coral reefs seed clouds leading to precipitation in a long-standing natural process that is coming under threat due to climate change. Jeremy Hance tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/5771 2010-03-02T23:58:00Z 2010-03-03T01:37:14Z W Australia has hottest and driest summer on record Western Australia endured its hottest summer on record, according to the state weather bureau. Rhett Butler tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/5415 2010-01-05T17:30:00Z 2013-07-07T23:24:37Z Chinese official links extreme snowstorm to global warming Bitter cold and snow have shut down Beijing after it received 4-8 inches (10-20 centimeters) of snow on Sunday, the largest snowfall since 1951, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. Guo Hu, the head of the Beijing Meteorological Bureau linked the storm to global climate change. Jeremy Hance tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/5365 2009-12-26T17:48:00Z 2009-12-26T18:03:26Z Record-breaking snow across the US and climate change Over the past few weeks the United States has been pounded by a number of big snow storms. A week ago Washington DC received 18 inches of snow, setting a number of records. Over Christmas, the middle of the country, from Texas to Minnesota was also hit by record amounts of snow. While snow fall over the East Coast and middle of the country in the United States in December is hardly unusual, a number of record amounts of precipitation may point to a larger shift in the climate. Scientists say that higher temperatures causes more water evaporation, which increases the chances of heavy precipitation events, such as floods and snowstorms. Jeremy Hance tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/5248 2009-12-09T00:05:00Z 2009-12-09T00:41:28Z Bangladesh tops list of most vulnerable countries to climate change According to the Global Climate Risk Index, Bangladesh is the most vulnerable nation to extreme weather events, which many scientists say are being exacerbated by climate change. From 1990 to 2008, Bangladesh has lost 8,241 lives on average every year due to natural disasters. In addition, rising sea levels also threaten millions of Bangladeshis. Jeremy Hance tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/4923 2009-09-01T23:59:00Z 2009-09-04T13:19:55Z Photos of 10 strongest storms of the 2000s NASA has released a collection of satellite images showing the strongest storms of each year over the past decade. Rhett Butler tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/4771 2009-07-28T23:45:00Z 2009-07-29T14:41:57Z Is El Niño back? Ocean temperatures in the central and eastern Pacific have shifted into El Niño conditions, increasing the likelihood of anomalously dry conditions in Southeast Asia and other unusual weather patterns, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Climate Prediction Center. Rhett Butler tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/4471 2009-04-15T16:00:00Z 2009-04-15T16:36:22Z Mangroves save lives by softening cyclone's blow

In 1999 a super cyclone struck the eastern coast of India, leaving 10,000 people dead. At the time the Orissa cyclone, named after the Indian state which it battered, was the deadliest storm in India in over a quarter century. However, according to a new study published in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences the death toll would have been significantly higher if the mangrove forests buffeting the Indian villagers from the sea had not softened the cyclone's blow. Jeremy Hance tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/4377 2009-03-16T23:36:00Z 2009-03-16T23:42:46Z Experts forecast probability of global warming tipping points The probability of Earth's climate passing a "tipping point" that could result in large impacts within the next two centuries is greater than 50 percent, according to research published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Rhett Butler tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/3560 2008-12-17T21:09:00Z 2008-12-18T00:58:11Z Arctic sea ice fell to the lowest volume on record in 2008 Arctic sea ice fell to the lowest volume — and second lowest extent — on record, according to the annual World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Statement on the Status of the Global Climate. Rhett Butler tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/3352 2008-09-03T14:30:39Z 2008-12-16T10:15:26Z Powerful hurricanes may be getting stronger due to warmer seas Warming climate is causing the strongest hurricanes to strengthen and more moderate storms to stay the same, claims a new study published in Nature. However the data on which research is based is already facing fierce criticism. Rhett Butler tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/3354 2008-09-02T14:30:39Z 2008-12-16T10:15:26Z Scientist forecast 4 Atlantic hurricanes in September Prominent hurricane researchers are forecasting five tropical storms in the Atlantic for September, including four hurricanes. Two of these are expected to be "major" — category 3 or greater. Retired Colorado State University climatologist William Gray and Philip J. Klotzbach, who has taken over Gray's role as lead hurricane forecaster, estimate that Atlantic storms in September will be twice as active as normal. Rhett Butler tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/3251 2008-08-07T14:30:39Z 2008-12-16T10:15:02Z Global warming increases "extreme" rain storms Global warming is increasing the incidence of heavy rainfall at a rate greater than predicted by current climate models have predicted, reports a new study published in the journal Science. The findings suggest that storm damage from precipitation could worsen as greenhouse gas concentrations continue to rise. Rhett Butler tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/3041 2008-06-14T14:30:39Z 2008-12-16T10:14:20Z Geology, climate links make Guiana Shield region particularly sensitive to change Soil and climate patterns in the Guiana Shield make the region particularly sensitive to environmental change, said a scientist speaking at a biology conference in Paramaribo, Suriname. Rhett Butler tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/2803 2008-03-21T14:30:39Z 2008-12-29T06:48:22Z U.S. flooding to continue well into spring Flooding in the American Midwest is likely to continue, said the U.S. National Weather Service. Rhett Butler tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/2696 2008-02-25T14:30:00Z 2009-11-14T15:41:34Z Amazon rainfall linked to Atlantic Ocean temperature Climate models increasingly forecast a dire future for the Amazon rainforest. These projections are partly based on recent research that has linked drought in the Amazon to sea surface temperatures in the tropical Atlantic. As the tropical Atlantic warms, the southern Amazon -- the agricultural heartland of Brazil -- may see higher temperatures and less rainfall. Rhett Butler tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/2760 2008-02-11T14:30:39Z 2008-12-16T10:13:29Z 10% of China's forests destroyed in recent storms Winter snow storms in China have destroyed 10 percent of the country's forest resources according to Chinese state media. Rhett Butler tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/2780 2008-02-04T14:30:39Z 2008-12-16T10:13:31Z NASA: Rain falls more often during the week than weekends Storms in the southeastern United States generate more rainfall during the work week than on weekends, report NASA scientists. The pattern can be attributed to lower atmospheric pollution from humans on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Atmospheric particulates have been linked to rainfall. Rhett Butler tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/2327 2007-09-11T14:30:39Z 2008-12-29T06:46:42Z Flooding in India Leaves 3.5 million Homeless The Indian military has been evacuating thousands of people from Assam, a state in northeastern India, after Monsoon rains flooded rivers. So far, 3.5 million people have been directly affected by the floods, in a state of 27 million. A total of 2,000 villages have been completely submerged by the floods, in some of the worst flooding in years. Rhett Butler tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/2338 2007-09-07T14:30:39Z 2008-12-29T06:46:45Z Felix Death Toll Washes Up on Coastline Nicaraguan and Honduran officials have announced that upwards of 100 people are confirmed dead, and another 120 still unaccounted for after Hurricane Felix made landfall earlier this week. Rhett Butler


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Nintendo is 'worst' company on conflict mineralsmongabay.com
August 16, 2012
Conflict minerals in DRC. Courtesy of the Enough Project
Nintendo received a score of zero on the group's ranking system, meaning it is doing nothing to ensure that its electronics are not linked to resource conflict.
"Nintendo is, I believe, the only company that has basically refused to acknowledge the issue or demonstrate they are making any sort of effort on it," Sasha Lezhnev, co-author of the report and senior policy analyst at the Enough Project, told CNN. "And this is despite a good two years of trying to get in contact with them."
Canon, Nikon, Sharp and HTC also scored low on the rankings. Intel, HP, Motorola Solutions, AMD, RIM, Phillips, Apple, and Microsoft scored well.
"HP and Intel have gone above and beyond the call of duty on conflict minerals," said Lezhnev in a press release.
Electronics companies ranked by progress on conflict minerals. Courtesy of the Enough Project
The report was released ahead of a vote by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on rules for the conflict minerals law. The law targets countries like DRC where conflict over minerals like tin, tantalum, tungsten, and gold have played a critical role in fueling a long-running war that has claimed 5.4 million lives. Armed groups fund operations through minerals trafficking.
"The SEC should ensure that retailers and all firms that use the minerals are covered by the rules and that there is not a long phase-in period," said Lezhnev. "Otherwise, the Intels and HPs will be left unfairly holding the bag for a problem that belongs to thousands of companies that have been turning a blind eye to this problem for years."
The report finds that consumer electronics companies are generally making progress on tracing the origin of the materials they use. Progress has been slow in sectors, notably jewelry, automative, and industrial machinery, according to the report.
Walikale, a key hub for DRC's minerals trade. Courtesy of Google Maps.
Taking Conflict Out of Consumer Gadgets | Company Rankings on Conflict Minerals 2012 Sasha Lezhnev and Alexandra Hellmuth (August 2012)
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subset: commoncrawl


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starring Keisha Castle-Hughes, Rawiri Paratene, Vicky Haughton, Cliff Curtis
screenplay by Niki Caro, based on the novel by Witi Ihimaera
directed by Niki Caro
directed by Thomas Riedelsheimer
by Walter Chaw The images in Niki Caro's second film, Whale Rider, are so heartbreakingly beautiful that at times the narrative diminishes its mythic gravity. It resembles John Sayles's brilliant The Secret of Roan Inish not only in subject, but also in the understanding that film has the potential to be the most cogent extrapolation of the oral storytelling tradition. When the picture's young protagonist sings an ancient Maori song to a dark ocean, there is an indescribable power to the film that springs from firelight--what we've lost in modernity as orphans to our collective past.
Continue reading "Whale Rider (2003) + Rivers and Tides (2002)" »


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Tales from a Child of the Enemy : A German woman recalls her childhood in the rubble of Hitler's Germany--and the shattering revelation, years later, of the Holocaust in this haunting sequence of prose poems. Interwoven with these are the wrenching stories of the Holocaust survivors and their children who were her neighbors in an Eastern neighborhood in Brooklyn in the mid-sixties. Duba's confrontation with his heritage is unflinching and the stories hard to forget.
|American - Various


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Robotic FUE Hair Transplants
Bernstein Medical is a Center of Clinical Excellence for ARTAS Robotic Procedures
Bernstein Medical's Robotic Hair Transplant CenterSM of New York is a leader in advanced hair restoration robotic technology. We are among the first facilities in the world to utilize the ARTAS® Robotic System to perform Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE), a procedure pioneered by Dr. Bernstein. The advantages of FUE over traditional hair transplant methods are having no linear scar in the donor area and having no post-operative limitations on physical activity. Robotic technology enables FUE to be performed with unparalleled precision.
Our practice is a beta-test site for this innovative hair transplant technology developed by Restoration Robotics, Inc. Dr. Bernstein is a medical adviser to this company. In addition to enhancing the core technology, we have introduced new applications of the robotic system including recipient site creation, follicular unit graft selection, and computerized imaging (ARTAS Hair Studio™). Every FUE procedure at Bernstein Medical is performed using the ARTAS Robotic System.
Overview of Robotic FUE Hair Transplant Procedures
Robotic hair transplant surgery is a logical advance in the technology of Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE), a procedure first described and popularized by Drs. Rassman and Bernstein in 2002.1 The potential advantages of Robotic FUE (R-FUE) over traditional FUE procedures include:
- Increased accuracy of harvesting grafts to minimize damage to follicles
- Ability to use FUE in a wider variety of patients
- Reduced harvesting time
- Increased graft survival
Follicular Unit Extraction is a harvesting procedure where hair is removed directly from the donor region of the scalp as individual, naturally-occurring groups of 1-4 hairs. The technique consists of two main steps: 1) Separation of the follicular units from the surrounding skin, and 2) Extraction (removal) of the follicular units from the scalp.
Robotic FUE Hair Transplants
Step one, the separation of the follicular units from the surrounding donor tissue, is a highly repetitive and labor intensive process that requires great precision. This step requires the centering of the punch over the follicular unit and the alignment of the dissecting instrument with the follicles to prevent damage. This step, which must be repeated manually hundreds to thousands of times in a typical FUE procedure, subjects the patient to significant human variability and error.2
The problem associated with the initial step of separating follicular units from the surrounding tissue has been a major challenge for FUE practitioners.1 A significant advance towards minimizing trauma to follicular units in this first step was to divide it into two parts; sharp, followed by blunt dissection. This additional step reduces the chance of injury to the lower part of the follicles during dissection.3,4,5 The current robotic system is based on this concept.
Video Animation of a Robotic 2-Step Follicular Unit Dissection
Robotic 2-Step Follicular Unit Dissection
Robotic Hair Transplants at Bernstein Medical
The FUE robot used at Bernstein Medical, called the ARTAS Robotic System, was developed by Restoration Robotics, Inc. for specific use in Follicular Unit Extraction. Bernstein Medical is the first hair restoration center on the East Coast and one of the first worldwide to use this new technology in clinical practice. Bernstein Medical – Center for Hair Restoration serves as a beta-site to study new product features and enhancements in the ARTAS hair transplant system. Dr. Bernstein is a medical consultant to Restoration Robotics, is involved in the research and development of the ARTAS system, and has a financial interest in the company.
Dr. Bernstein's contributions and expertise have made the ARTAS FUE robot more user friendly, improved the harvesting technique and made it a more compelling procedure for patients. We are the first to offer our patients smaller customized punch sizes and computerized follicular unit graft selection. These techniques enhance FUE hair transplants based on the hair characteristics of each individual patient.
As a beta-site for this new technology, we have participated in developing many of the nuanced modifications that continually improve the technique. The initial version of the robot required many intra-operative adjustments, such as changes to depth, angulation, and the speed of punch rotation. The current system needs less human intervention and is simpler to operate, but significant experience is still critical to achieving the best results.
The FUE robot is more versatile in its ability to harvest grafts from patients with different hair characteristics and from different parts of the scalp compared to hand-held systems. Although there is still variability in the ease of extraction among patients of different racial backgrounds, in our experience, the differences are less when compared to a manual device. Also, with the ARTAS system it seems easier to extract grafts from the sides of the scalp where the hair lies flatter on the skin.
Bernstein Medical offers patients the option of different punch sizes. We have found that a 0.9mm punch (the standard is 1.0mm) shortens healing time, decreases donor scarring and increases the number of follicular units that can safely be harvested in a specific area. It also creates grafts that require less trimming. Some patients, especially African-Americans, have less transection with the larger punch, so it is important to be able to customize the technique to the particular person.
The ARTAS Robot at Bernstein Medical is programmed to skip over 1-hair follicular units. The advantage of this should be obvious. By avoiding the 1's the robot is able to harvest more hair with fewer incisions and thus less donor scarring. Because the Bernstein Medical team is expert at stereo-microscopic dissection, we can generate the 1-hair grafts needed for the hairline by dissecting some of the larger follicular units.
Another important modification of the FUE technique introduced at Bernstein Medical is pre-making recipient sites.6,7 This is done either prior to extraction in a one-day procedure or at the beginning of the first day in a two-day procedure. With this change, as soon as the grafts are harvested, they can be placed immediately into the recipient scalp. Not only does this minimize the time that grafts are outside the body, but; by allowing the healing process to begin in the recipient area; it minimizes popping, increases visibility when placing (due to less bleeding), and may create a better environment in which the newly transplanted grafts can grow.
The ARTAS Robotic System for FUE
The ARTAS FUE robot is an image-guided system composed of a robotic arm, dual-needle punch mechanism, video imaging system, and a user interface. Its extraction technique consists of a double-punch arrangement with an inner (sharp) punch and outer (dull) punch. The inner punch has cutting capabilities to score the upper most part of the skin and the outer punch has a blunt edge used for dissection of the follicular units from the surrounding tissue that minimizes injury to the grafts. The image-guided system allows this step to be accomplished with great precision. The patient lies on a specially designed operating table that allows access of the robotic arm to the donor area of the scalp.
Animation Overview of the ARTAS Robotic System
Overview: The ARTAS Robotic System
New Developments in Robotic Technology
Bernstein Medical is beta testing the ARTAS System for use in recipient site creation. Dr. Bernstein introduced this new technology at the Restoration Robotics user meeting in California on February 8, 2014. The capability should be available for general use by the fall of 2014.
For this application, the doctor draws the hairline and makes other markings directly on patient's scalp to delineate the surgical plan. Next, multiple photos are taken and fed into computer which converts the images into a 3-D model of the actual patient that can be manipulated and saved. During the Robotic Follicular Unit Extraction procedure, the physician specifies the angle, direction, density, and randomness of the recipient site incisions. When the robot creates the recipient sites, according to the parameter set by the doctor, it is able to avoid pre-existing hairs. The robot can make up to 1,500 recipient sites per hour.
A main benefit of the robot creating recipient sites is that it is a necessary step for the automated implantation of grafts. It is anticipated that this final phase of the robotic hair transplant procedure, the robotic insertion of follicular unit grafts into recipient sites, is about two years away.
Robotic hair transplant procedures at the 2012 ISHRS "Coffee with the Experts"
Dr. Bernstein answers questions on Robotic FUE Hair Transplants
Video: Dr. Bernstein With "First Of Its Kind" Robotic Hair Transplant System
- Rassman WR, Bernstein RM, McClellan R, Jones R, et al. Follicular Unit Extraction: Minimally invasive surgery for hair transplantation. Dermatol Surg 2002; 28(8): 720-7. [↩]
- Bernstein RM, Rassman WR. Anderson KW. Follicular Unit Extraction Megasessions: Evolution of a technique. Hair Transplant Forum International 2004; 14(3): 97-99. [↩]
- Harris JA. The SAFE System: New Instrumentation and Methodology to Improve Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE). Hair Transplant Forum Intl. 2004; 14(5): 157, 163-4. [↩]
- Rassman WR, Harris J, Bernstein RM. Follicular Unit Extraction. In: Haber RS, Stough DB, editors: Hair Transplantation, Chapter 17. Elsevier Saunders, 2006: 133-137. [↩]
- Bernstein RM, Rassman WR. New Instrumentation for Three-Step Follicular Unit Extraction. Hair Transplant Forum International 2006; 16(1): 229, 237-9. [↩]
- Bernstein RM, Rassman WR. Pre-making recipient sites to increase graft survival in manual and robot FUE procedures. Hair Transplant Forum Intl. 2012; 22(4): 128-130. [↩]
- Bernstein RM. Integrating Robotic FUE into a Hair Transplant Practice. Hair Transplant Forum Intl. 2012; 22(6): 228-229. [↩]


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It employs 175 full-time faculty members and has a student body of approximately 1,980 full-time students.
In 2008, F&M was ranked as 40th on U.S. News & World Report's annual list of America's 215 liberal arts colleges. It was also ranked #1 in the nation for "Faculty accessibility" by The Princeton Review. The college is a member of the Centennial Conference. For the Class of 2011 Admissions Cycle, the acceptance rate dropped to 37%, making it F&M's most selective class yet.
The school's first courses were taught on July 16, 1787, with instruction taking place in both English and German making it the first bilingual college in the United States.
Franklin College was also America's first coeducational institution, with its first class of students composed of 78 men and 36 women. Among the latter was Rebecca Gratz, the first Jewish female college student in the United States. However, the coed policy was soon abandoned and it would take 182 years before women were again permitted to enroll in the school.
In July 1789, Franklin College ran into financial difficulty as its annual tuition of four pounds was not enough to cover operating costs. Enrollment began to dwindle to just a few students and eventually the college existed as nothing more than an annual meeting of the Board of Trustees. In an effort to help the ailing school, an academy was established in 1807. For the next three decades, Franklin College and Franklin Academy managed to limp along financially, with instructors supplementing their income with private tutoring.
In 1835, the school's Debating Society was renamed Diagnothian Literary Society at the suggestion of seminary student Samuel Reed Fisher. In June of that year, Diagnothian was divided into two friendly rivals to encourage debate. Diagnothian retained its original name, while the new society was named Goethean, in honor of German philosopher and poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. The two organizations sponsored orations and debated politics, philosophy and literature. They merged together in 1955, but became separate entities again in 1989. The Diagnothian Society is the oldest student organization on campus.
During its first year, 18 students were taught by Frederick Augustus Rauch and his assistant, Samuel A. Budd. Rauch, an acclaimed young scholar and theologian from Germany who authored the first American textbook in psychology, also served as the College's president.
The school's small, but brilliant faculty grew in both size and status with the addition of John Williamson Nevin and another German scholar, church historian Philip Schaff. Nevin became the college's president upon Rauch's sudden death in 1841.
Life at Marshall College was well-regimented. Students were required to attend morning prayers—sometimes as early as 5 a.m.—and were expected to study in their rooms for six hours a day. In addition, they were forbidden to associate with people of questionable moral character.
Marshall College quickly gained national recognition and attracted students from a large geographical area, with some coming as far away as the West Indies. However, despite being initially well-funded, Marshall College began to experience financial difficulties of its own. By the late 1840s, financial support and enthusiasm among the local community had virtually disappeared and the school was in danger of closing its doors for good.
The college's first two presidents, Emanuel Vogel Gerhart, a Marshall College graduate, and Nevin struggled to keep the young school afloat with an inadequate endowment. But the hope of creating a reputable liberal arts institution fueled their efforts to push on. "No second- or third-rate school will do," said Nevin at the formal dedication of the united college. "We must either have no college at all or else have one that may be in all respects worthy of the name."
On May 16, 1856, Franklin and Marshall College dedicated its main building, "Recitation Hall." The distinctive, tall-towered structure, designed in the Gothic Revival style, was constructed on "Gallows Hill," the former site of Lancaster's public executions and the highest point of ground in the city. At the laying of the building's cornerstone in 1853, Henry Harbaugh, a Marshall College graduate and pastor of the Reformed Church of Lancaster noted that the city's lowest point was the location of the Lancaster County Prison. Harbaugh stated: "Thank God! The College stands higher than the jail. Education should be lifted up and let crime sink to the lowest depths!" Recitation Hall came to be known as Old Main and the ground as College Hill.
Franklin and Marshall College took as its motto the Latin phrase "Lux et Lex", which translates in English to "Light and Law". This was the reverse of the Marshall College motto "Lex et Lux". While legend has it that the switch was the result of an error by an engraver, it was more likely a deliberate decision to pair the words with its founders Benjamin Franklin ("light") and John Marshall ("law").
The college seal depicts the profiles of Franklin and Marshall, both looking to the left. It has been often suggested that this represented the two leaders looking westward towards the (then) future expansion of the United States. Despite the fact that his name comes second, John Marshall is shown on the left of the seal and Benjamin Franklin is on the right. But Franklin's full head is shown, while Marshall's profile is cut off and far in the background. Some say that this shows the college's unspoken tendency to favor Franklin's legacy over Marshall's. Recently this preference became more than simply unspoken, as the school actively promoted recognition of Benjamin Franklin's 300th birthday while ignoring John Marshall's 250th birthday, both of which occurred during the spring semester of 2006. The school only recognized Marshall's milestone birthday after a petition was circulated by then senior Ryan Corbalis and signed by a significant portion of the students and faculty of the college.
College Days, the first student newspaper, began publication in 1873. Later student newspapers included The College Student (1881–1914), The F&M Weekly (1891–1915), The Student Weekly (1915–1964), The Blue and The White (1990–1992) and The College Reporter (1964-present).
Oriflamme, the Franklin and Marshall College yearbook, was established in 1883.
In 1887, the centennial celebration of Franklin College was held at the school. By then, over 100 students were enrolled at F&M.
1899 saw the formation of the college's first theatre group, the Franklin & Marshall Dramatic Association. The next year, it was renamed The Green Room Club. The club performed plays at Lancaster's Fulton Opera House. Because the college admitted only men, the female roles were played by local actresses. In 1937, the Green Room Theatre opened on campus. F&M alumni who have performed on the Green Room stage include Oscar-winning film director Franklin J. Schaffner and actors Roy Scheider and Treat Williams.
The college began a rapid period of growth after World War I. Enrollment rose from around 300 students in 1920, to over 750 students by the year 1930. In 1924, the architectural firm of Klauder and Day presented a master campus plan in the Colonial Revival style. Dietz-Santee dormitory, Meyran-Franklin dormitory, the Mayser Physical Education Center, and Hensel Hall were all completed within three years. Two additional dormitories were planned at that time, but never constructed.
The sesquicentennial celebration of Franklin College was held in mid-October 1937. Student enrollment at that time was 800. A commemorative plaque celebrating the sesquicentennial of Franklin College and the signing of the United States Constitution was presented to the college by the Lancaster County Historical Society.
In 1939, the school began an aviation program in the new Keiper Liberal Arts Building. The Aeronautical Laboratory eventually became a government-sponsored flight school with 40 faculty members. Two airplanes were disassembled, moved into the building and reassembled on the third floor where they were used as flight simulators.
By 1945, with the majority of young men fighting in World War II, the college population dwindled to just under 500 students and 28 faculty members. But the end of the war brought many new students who decided to pursue their education under the G.I. Bill. By 1946, enrollment had swelled to over 1,200 students (including four females permitted to study in the pre-med program) and there was a sudden critical shortage of faculty members.
The fifties and sixties brought more college expansion and construction to the campus including: North Museum (1953), Marshall-Buchanan Residence Hall (1956), Appel Infirmary (1959), Schnader Residence Hall (1959), Mayser Physical Education Center (1962), Benjamin Franklin Residence Halls (1964), Pfeiffer Science Complex (now Hackman Physical Science Laboratory) (1967), Grundy Observatory (1967), Whitely Psychology Laboratory (1968) and Thomas Residence Hall (1968).
Like other academic institutions in the sixties, Franklin and Marshall experienced a series of student protests during the decade that were based on important social issues, such as the American Civil Rights Movement and the Vietnam War. In April 1961, students rioted in front of the President's house and Hensel Hall, burning effigies and college property in protest of administration policies.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. visited the campus on December 12, 1963. He spoke about civil rights before a capacity audience of 3,300 in Mayser Center, the school's gymnasium.
In 1965, visiting English instructor Robert Mezey was suspended after being accused of urging students to burn their draft cards. He was later reinstated. This became known as the "Mezey Affair."
In the spring of 1969, black students protested the final examination of the history course "The Black Experience in America." Demanding an apology from the faculty for exploitation and an "A" in the course, the students argued that no white man can test them on their "blackness." The day before the exam, the professors agreed to the apology, but still insisted that the students take the final exam. On May 22, the day of the exam, forty black students—many of whom were not enrolled in the course—blocked the entrance to the exam room in Old Main. The professors attempted to hand out the exam to the other students in the class, but the protesters confiscated them. Retreating to Goethean Hall next door, the professors and staff met to evaluate the situation. The protesters followed them to the building, blocked all doors and exits and held them hostage. They declared that they would not release the faculty members until they received an apology and immunity from punishment. The standoff lasted until midnight, when the professors agreed to allow the students to grade themselves. The students relented and released the hostages. However the college's Professional Standards Committee later overturned the decision, declaring that the professors would, in fact, have to grade the students after all.
In 1969, Franklin and Marshall College ended its formal affiliation with the United Church of Christ, becoming a secular school.
Since its inception, Franklin and Marshall was an all-male institution, although Franklin College had enrolled female students and women were permitted to attend summer school classes at F&M beginning in 1942. Continuing a trend in single-sex schools across the country, the Board of Trustees announced on January 17, 1969 that it had voted to admit women to F&M, a decision that was unanimously and enthusiastically supported by male students. In the fall of 1969, 82 freshman women and 34 female transfer students were enrolled in F&M's first coeducational class.
In 1970, F&M students protested the administration's failure to rehire popular sociology instructor Anthony Lazroe and history instructor Henry Mayer. The protest, known as the "Lazroe-Mayer incident," culminated in the East Hall sit-in on April 30, where students took over the building for several hours.
In 1976, the Steinman College Center was constructed. The building—designed by Minoru Yamasaki, architect of New York's World Trade Center—originally housed the campus bookstore and post office. Today it houses the College Reporter, the Oriflamme Yearbook, the College Entertainment Committee, the Phillips Museum of Art, Pandini's (a popular restaurant) and the campus radio station WFNM.
On April 29, 1976, the Green Room Theatre staged the world premiere of the John Updike play Buchanan Dying, about former President James Buchanan, a Lancaster resident and former President of the Board of Trustees. The production was directed by Edward S. Brubaker and starred Peter Vogt, an F&M alumnus. After the premiere, a reception was held at Wheatland, Buchanan's Lancaster residence.
On March 28, 1979, the Three Mile Island nuclear reactor in nearby Harrisburg, Pennsylvania experienced a partial meltdown, forcing the college to close for a short time.
The eighties were a prosperous time for the college. Construction projects initiated during the decade included Hartman Green (1982), French House (1984), Murray Arts House (1984), Ice Rink (1984), Spaulding Plaza (1985), the Other Room Theatre (1985), major renovations and expansions of Fackenthal Library (1983, renamed Shadek-Fackenthal Library) and Stahr Hall (1985, renamed Stager Hall, 1988) and the Black Cultural Center (1986).
On June 6, 1987 Franklin and Marshall College celebrated its bicentennial.
The nineties brought a major expansion to the north side of campus with the construction of College Square in (1991). The multi-use complex housed a new bookstore, laudromat, video store, restaurants and a food court. Other buildings from the decade include Weis Residence Hall (1990), International House (1990), Martin Library of the Sciences (1990) and the Alumni Sports and Fitness Center (1995).
In 2000, Bill Cosby was chosen as commencement speaker for the graduating class. He also donated $100,000 to start a scholarship in honor of his deceased son Ennis. The scholarship is awarded to students who pursue their graduate studies in education at Columbia University Teachers College, Ennis' alma mater.
On January 19, 2006, the college celebrated the tricentennial of Benjamin Franklin's birth. Among other activities, noted Franklin scholar Walter Issacson gave a lecture, and a full-page ad praising Franklin and advertising the college was purchased in the New York Times.
Following the installment of President John A. Fry, Franklin & Marshall enacted their new master plan with large scale construction projects, including the Writers House, Distler Bookstore and Coffee House, Barshinger Life and Physical Science Building, and the Harrisburg Ave. Mixed Use Project. These projects have received support from the F&M community, although the introduction of a new, four-year live-on-campus requirement initially angered a large portion of the student body. Although the new projects promise aesthetic and educational enhancement for Franklin and Marshall, their full effect and potential has yet to be realized. President Fry's master plan is ten years ahead of schedule.
In 1866, the student-run Alpha Club sponsored the college's first baseball game.
In 1887, the first football team was organized by Seminary student Miles O. Noll. Franklin and Marshall College was defeated 9–0 by the York YMCA.
Distler House, the school's first gymnasium, was constructed in 1891. It contained a bowling alley, indoor running track, and gymnastic equipment.
Sponaugle-Williamson Field was constructed in 1895 with the assistance of $1,500 from Henry S. Williamson. It was later renamed "Williamson Field." A concrete grandstand was added in 1922 at a cost of $10,000.
In 1900 the first basketball game was played. The opposing team was Millersville Normal School.
F&M's football team finally defeated the University of Pennsylvania in 1915. The score was 10–0.
Professor Charles W. Mayser founded the F&M wrestling team in 1923, and early 1924 saw the college's first wrestling match as the Blue & White defeated Western Maryland College, 24–5. The Diplomat grapplers finished their maiden season with a 4–1 record. F&M wrestling competes in the EIWA, the oldest collegiate wrestling conference in the United States.
Mayser Physical Education Center, the college's second gymnasium, was opened in 1927.
In 1992, F&M became a charter member of the Centennial Conference, an athletic conference of 11 mid-Atlantic institutions that compete in 22 sports in the NCAA's Division III. The other founding members of the conference are Bryn Mawr College, Dickinson College, Gettysburg College, Haverford College, Johns Hopkins University, Muhlenberg College, Swarthmore College, Ursinus College, Western Maryland College, (renamed McDaniel College) and Washington College.
In 1995, the Alumni Sports and Fitness Center, the school's third gymnasium opened on the site of the college's former ice rink.
Currently, F&M's best athletic teams are Men's Soccer, Men's Swimming, Baseball, Men's Squash, Women's Swimming, and Women's Lacrosse. They all traditionally compete for Conference Championships and are ranked high nationally. In 2007, the Women's Lacrosse Team won the National Championship after an undefeated season. Also in 2007, the Men's Swimming Team won the Centennial Conference Championships and the Women's Swimming Team placed 2nd. Four swimmers went on to the national competition. In the 2008 national championships, rising superstar Thomas Anthony Grabiak Jr. set two national records in the 100 and 200 yd breaststroke events. Men's Squash consistently maintains a top 16 Division I national ranking, having finished #16, #12 and #14 the past three seasons, respectively.
In 1978, the school's first sorority, Sigma Sigma Sigma, was chartered. In 2005, the chapter became inactive.
In April 1988, the College's Board of Trustees voted no longer to officially recognize the school's fraternities and sororities. This was known as "derecognition." At the time, three of the school's fraternities had recently lost their national charters due to various offenses. In an effort to repair the system, the college administration proposed eight specific reforms to the Greek Council, which were ultimately rejected by all of the organizations. The result was derecognition. Derecognition was highly unpopular with the student body, but it served to remove the college from any liability associated with hazing and underage alcohol abuse, issues that were in the national public eye at that time. The experiment met with mixed results. Despite the decree, the Greek System continued—albeit unofficially—and the college kept a watchful eye on how it developed without financial or administrative support. No Greek chapters were closed during this time and membership was generally not affected. But after several years unsupervised, a small number of fraternities struggled with health code violations, fires and one unfortunate accidental alcohol-related death of a Chi Phi member in 1993. Owing to several factors, including dwindling financial support from fraternity and sorority alumni and legitimate concerns about student academics, health and safety, the college announced on May 19, 2004 that it would reinstate a new, revised Greek System beginning on September 1, 2004 after a 16 year absence.
As part of the new agreement between the school's Greek organizations and the administration, Fraternity and Sorority houses are required to submit to weekly "life safety" inspections by school officials, and inspections by the local Fire Department, Police Department, and Office of Public Health conducted once per semester.
There are still disputes between the Greek System and the school's administration centering on the fact that Greek organizations are held to a much more stringent set of standards than any other campus organizations. There are also tensions between the Greek system and Lancaster City, arising chiefly from incidents of crime.
Marshall College:
Franklin and Marshall College:
In 1999, after seeing an official Franklin & Marshall sweatshirt, a company based in Verona, Italy began producing clothing in a vintage 1950's collegiate-style with the words "Franklin and Marshall" on them. F&M alumni began to report seeing F&M merchandise for sale in Europe, which puzzled the college.
In 2001, Tim McGraw posed for publicity photos wearing a "Franklin Marshall Wrestling" t-shirt, one of which was included in the CD booklet for his album Set This Circus Down. When the college became flooded with inquires about its (nonexistent) connection to the singer, they began to investigate further and discovered that the Franklin Marshall Clothing company was using its name without permission.
In 2003, after lengthy discussions, the college decided not to sue and instead agreed to accept a licensing fee from the company so that they could continue to produce their products, which had begun to gain popularity with youth, especially in the United Kingdom.
Today, the line is sold in upscale stores, such as Bloomingdales and, as part of the agreement with the college, at the Franklin and Marshall College bookstore. However, many of the designs omit Franklin & Marshall's ampersand and instead reads simply "Franklin Marshall."


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