More carbon dioxide in oceans could harm carbon-eating microbes, speed climate change

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By Robert F. Service, Science. 

Excerpt: The carbon dioxide (CO2) spewing from human activities is not only changing Earth’s atmosphere, it’s also rapidly acidifying the planet’s oceans. In 50 years, that acidification could reduce the oceans’ ability to absorb CO2 by 10% as it takes a toll on phytoplankton, microscopic single-cell organisms that feed on the gas through the process of photosynthesis, a new study suggests. Reported this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the effect could in turn cause atmospheric CO2 to build up faster and accelerate warming of the global climate.... 

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2024 was the hottest year on record, breaching a critical climate goal and capping 10 years of unprecedented heat

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By Laura Paddison , CNN.  Excerpt: It’s official: 2024 was the hottest year on record, breaking the  previous record  set in 2023 and pushing the world over a critical climate threshold, according to new data from Europe’s climate monitoring agency Copernicus [ https://climate.copernicus.eu/copernicus-2024-first-year-exceed-15degc-above-pre-industrial-level ]. Last year was 1.6 degrees hotter than the period before humans began burning large amounts of fossil fuels, Copernicus found. It makes 2024 the first calendar year to breach  the 1.5-degree limit  countries agreed to avoid under the Paris climate agreement in 2015. Scientists are much more concerned about breaches over decades, rather than single years — as above that threshold humans and ecosystems may struggle to adapt — but 2024’s   record   “does mean we’re getting dangerously close,” said Joeri Rogelj, a climate professor at Imperial College London....  Full article at https://www.cnn.c...
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Where Glaciers Melt, the Rivers Run Red

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Warmer, more crowded cities bring out the rats

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By Elizabeth Pennisi , Science.  Excerpt: Climate change  emerged as a driving factor behind urban rat swarms , the researchers report today in  Science Advances . As temperatures rise, they conclude, and people flock to urban areas and convert formerly “green” spaces into neighborhoods and shopping centers, they created a perfect storm for rat populations to explode. And the city that’s fared the worst over the past decade? Washington, D.C.....  Full article at https://www.science.org/content/article/warmer-more-crowded-cities-bring-out-rats . 
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