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  • Atmospheric CO2 Level Tops 400 ppm
    During the week of May 13th, the CO2 level at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii topped 400 ppm rep...Read more

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    Atmospheric CO2 Level Tops 400 ppm

    During the week of May 13th, the CO2 level at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii topped 400 ppm repeatedly. Daily levels of CO2 can vary due to weather, and there are seasonal trends as well. The level of atmospheric greenhouse gases continues to increase, now over 120 ppm since the Industrial Revolution began. For more on the Keeling Curve, see http://keelingcurve.ucsd.edu/. Find out more about greenhouse gases and warming.
  • Massive Tornado Outbreak on Tornado Alley
    The week of May 19 brings dozens of tornadoes to Tornado Alley in the states of Oklahoma, Kansas, Io...Read more

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    Massive Tornado Outbreak on Tornado Alley

    The week of May 19 brings dozens of tornadoes to Tornado Alley in the states of Oklahoma, Kansas, Iowa, Illinois and Missouri. On May 20th, a massive tornado struck Moore, Oklahoma, devastating communities - destroying over 100 homes and hitting two elementary schools and a hospital - with many casualties and deaths. Our thoughts are with our friends and colleagues suffering from these storms. For more on the May 20th storms, see the NOAA Storm Prediction Center Storm Report.
  • Kansas Legislator Proposes Bill to Outlaw Sustainability Education
    A bill has been introduced in the Kansas legislature this week that would prohibit the promotion of ...Read more

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    Kansas Legislator Proposes Bill to Outlaw Sustainability Education

    A bill has been introduced in the Kansas legislature this week that would prohibit the promotion of sustainability. Here is a link to the one-page bill: http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2013_14/measures/documents/hb2366_00_0000.pdf. See report on Bloomberg News.

   Image courtesy of Jean Pennycook

From: Jean Pennycook
Cape Royds, January 10, 2007

The Penguin Chicks Are Four Weeks Old

This is a 4-week-old Adelie penguin chick. As you can see, his wing has developed greatly in the last week, now his body will have to grow into that wing. He is eating about 650 grams of food a day and probably weighs about 2.5 kilograms. His parents are no longer guarding him; they are out at sea looking for food for themselves and for this growing chick.

Skuas will still attack a chick of this size, but not often and these chicks can defend themselves a bit. Don't worry about the chick in the lower right picture. This chick is not dead, just exhausted from all the eating. The chicks spend much of their time sleeping. They still have their dense downy plumage (upper right picture) which is effective against the wind, but not against the icy water. They are a long way from being able to swim.

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Postcards from the Field: Antarctica

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