Man vs. South African Penguins; Scientists Don't Like Jersey Shore's Fake Beaches
Reuters on African penguins, The New York Times on fake beaches, NPR on Norfolk, VA and rising sea levels, The Washington Post on geoengineering, and The Daily Climate on women in climate science.
Serena Dai
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Reuters on South Africa's roaming army of penguins Penguins may be cute, but at Boulder's Beach, South Africa, residents are not happy about the number of endangered African penguins that have been roaming around town in "an unwitting land grab," as one resident calls it. From allergies and noise problems to property damage, they want authorities to fence the penguins in. It shouldn't be like this, a bird conservationist said: "There should be a co-existence between the penguins and the people."
The New York Times on the debate over fake beaches New Jersey's sandy beaches have always come from imported offshore sand. When Hurricane Sandy hit, much of the sand washed away. As the towns look to replenish the shores, "scientists are warning that rising seas will make maintaining artificial beaches prohibitively expensive or simply impossible." Critics say people should move away from the water; supporters say beaches have economic benefit.
NPR on how a Virginia city is dealing with rising waters Norfolk is particularly vulnerable flooding, and research shows the area will experience more sea level rising than further south on the Eastern Seaboard. Right now, a concrete sea wall keeps water out of downtown Norfolk. With Hurricane Irene last year, water rose to the top of the wall. The new plan: More sea walls, floodgates, and pumping station. But with continued rises and flood risks, some people may just have to give up their homes.
The Washington Post on geoengineering our way out of climate change Dozens of schemes to cool the planet have been tossed around, from making roofs whiter to reflect sunlight to making crops paler. How well would these things actually work? Er, not that well, according to various studies. Each one would contribute a little to cooling the planet, but each one also has caveats such as a lack of efficient technology. Unfortunately, there is no one "magic button" to keep things in control.
The Daily Climate on women's struggle to find a voice in climate sciences Women in climate and physical sciences are abandoning academics in surprising numbers. The reasons vary from family pressures to preferring non-academic platforms, but the fact is that climate sciences lack diversity of voice. Gender bias still exists in the sciences, as demonstrated by many studies. "It's not that women look at the data and see some big feminine question that's not being asked or that men don't ask good questions. ...Men 'just donk't ask all the questions'."