Climate

Climate change was once again one of the top stories. It has gone from being "inconvenient" to being recognized as one of the most important issues of this decade. High temperatures shattered weather records all over the globe in 2007. Of particular concern, however, was the unprecedented pace of ice melt in the Arctic.

2007 A Top Ten Warm Year For U.S. And Globe ScienceDaily, Dec. 31)
No denying the cold, hard facts (Independent UK, Dec. 28) Arctic sea ices melts to a new record low.
Greenland Ice Sheet Melting at Record Rate (PlanetArk, Dec. 12)

Bee colony collapse

photo by Maria StenzelA mysterious phenomenon, colony collapse disorder, has taken a huge toll on bee populations. Farmers depend on honeybees to pollinate many crops, so there is much research being done to pinpoint possible causes. Right now, scientists, beekeepers are putting their heads together at the first National Beekeeping Conference.

Bees: Steep population loss hits agriculture hard(Sacramento Bee, Jan. 10, 2008) U.S. Bee Collapse May Be Due to Alien Virus(National Geographic News, Sept. 6, 2007)

California wildfires

photo by NASA Numerous wildfires raged throughout Southern California in October and November, burning thousands of acres. At their peak, at least 18 separate fires were burning.

For California, 2007 was a year of fire (San Jose Mercury/AP, Dec. 20)



Tut revealed

As the treasures of King Tutankhamun were touring the world, the mummy of the boy king was put on public display for the first time in Egypt. In order to preserve the mummy, it was transferred to a high-tech display case. Visitors can now see the world’s most famous mummy, King Tut, face-to-face. Eight-five years after Howard Carter discovered the stairs leading to Tut’s tomb, Dr. Zahi Hawass directed workers to remove the lid from the golden coffin and uncover the mummy. Now the boy-king rests in a clear climate–controlled enclosure.

King Tut's Mummy to Be Displayed for 1st Time(National Geographic News, Oct. 9)

Dinosaurs

In China’s Inner Mongolia, paleontologists unearthed an enormous dinosaur with a beak and other bird-like features. Although not fully grown, the creature called Gigantoraptor erlianensis would have weighed over 3,000 pounds, stood 16 feet tall, and stretched to a length of 26 feet.

Huge Bird-Like Dinosaur Discovered(LiveScience, June 13, 2007)

Mummified skin and tissue of a dinosaur was discovered in a fossilized hadrosaur named Dakota. This find will enable scientists to "flesh out" the dinosaur's skeleton.

"Dinosaur Mummy" Found; Has Intact Skin, Tissue (National Geographic News, Dec. 3, 2007)

Stem cells

The controversial world of stem cell research welcomed new breakthroughs in 2007 as various scientific efforts advanced without the use of viable human embryos. Much work is still to be done, but doctors hope that eventually the new techniques will be refined and ready for use in patients with degenerative diseases or injuries resulting in neurological damage.

Stem cells – the great breakthrough (Independent UK, Dec. 28) 2007 stem cell breakthrough is like turning lead into gold (YahooNews/AFP, Dec. 28) Skin transformed into stem cells (BBC News, Nov. 20)

Ethanol

Cars fueled by ethanol produce much less pollution, but what is ethanol’s overall impact on the environment? Corn-based ethanol requires farmers to use fertilizers that pollute waterways. Ethanol derived from palm oil grown on plantations may mean the destruction of tropical rainforests. So far, the risks of first-generation biofuels outweigh the benefits for many environmentalists.

Are biofuels a sustainable solution to climate change? (Jakarta Post, Dec. 14, 2007)

China's Pollution Problem

With toy recalls, stories of tainted water, food and medicine, plus the upcoming Olympics scheduled for smog-choked Beijing, the world has been casting a wary eye on China's environmental situation.

Air Pollution Grows in Tandem with China's Economy (NPR, May 22) As China rises, pollution soars (Int'l. Herald Tribune, Aug. 25) Chinese Air Pollution Deadliest in World, Report Says(National Geographic News, July 9)