Entries by Codi Kozacek

What Happens in the Arctic Doesn’t Stay in the Arctic

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Carbon dioxide released here can drive climate change elsewhere. Photo Codi Kozacek / Circle of Blue The sun, seen here at 1:00 in the morning on the summer solstice, never dips below the horizon during the Arctic summer. At Toolik Field Station in Alaska, the solstice is celebrated with a bonfire and revelry.Click image to […]

Tundra Trekking: A Tale of Rivers and Ravenous Thermokarst

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On the tundra, climate change is just one careless step away. Photo Codi Kozacek / Circle of Blue The Kuparuk River, near Toolik Field Station on Alaska’s North Slope, is one of several sites monitored for long-term water quality.Click image to enlarge. I awoke staring up at the stretched plastic ceiling and wooden skeleton of […]

Where the Sun Never Sleeps (And Neither Do The Scientists)

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COB reporter Codi Kozacek travels above the Arctic Circle. In late June, more than 250 kilometers above the Arctic Circle, the sun refuses to set. Through the thick fog, it casts the landscape in perpetual twilight and informs my internal clock that it is not, in fact, time to sleep. Even after 10 hours of […]

The Stream, June 19: One Quarter of India’s Land Becoming Desert

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Desertification Approximately 105 million hectares, or 32 percent of India’s land, is degraded and one quarter is facing desertification, according to India’s environment minister, Reuters reported. The trend is thought to be caused by overuse of land for grazing livestock and shifting rainfall patterns. India is not alone. Globally, 2 billion hectares a year are […]

The Stream, June 17: Floods Cost Nepal More Than $230 Million Each Year

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Floods Flooding in Nepal costs the country approximately $US 232 million each year when taking into account damages to both infrastructure and health, according to a new study by Nepal’s government and the Climate Development Knowledge Network, the Guardian reported. There is evidence that the intensity and frequency of floods in Nepal are increasing, with […]

The Stream, June 16: Discovery of Huge Amounts of Water in Earth’s Mantle

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Water Supply There are likely huge amounts of water—as much as three times the amount in the oceans—contained in a layer of minerals within the Earth’s mantle, nearly 400 miles underground, according to a new study published in the journal Science, NPR reported. The water is in a mineral form called ringwoodite, and could tell […]

The Stream, June 11: U.S. Corn Crops Increasingly Threatened by Climate Change, Report Shows

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Extreme Weather The United States corn crop, worth $US 65 billion last year, is increasingly at risk from heatwaves and droughts, according to a new report released by Ceres, the Guardian reported. The report highlights that 87 percent of irrigated corn acres in the U.S. are suffering water shortages. There is now a 90 percent […]

The Stream, June 9: Heat Wave Hits Delhi’s Power and Water

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India New Delhi is experiencing its hottest temperatures in 62 years, according to Reuters. The heatwave has created blackouts, mandatory power cuts, and water shortages, prompting several members of Congress to hold the city’s chief secretary in his office until he agrees to address the problems in a meaningful way, the Times of India reported. […]

A Crash Course in Urban Watersheds

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Cities are ecosystems too. Image by Codi Kozacek/ Circle of Blue Not far from Chesapeake Bay, Gwynns Falls runs through urban Baltimore. The river carries pollutants from sewage, pharmaceuticals, and fertilizers.Click image to enlarge. This past Tuesday, I arrived in Baltimore as part of the Logan Science Journalism program’s environmental course—a 2-week fellowship based at […]

The Stream, May 23: 100 Injured in Mexico City Water Conflict

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Tensions over the expansion of a water system came to a head this week when 100 police were injured in a conflict with residents of a community on the outskirts of Mexico City, the Associated Press reported. The city is attempting to link the community—and its natural spring—to the municipal water supply system, but residents […]

The Stream, May 22: Sea Level Rise from Antarctic Ice Collapse Brings New Risks to Global Crops

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Climate Change Large areas of Southeast Asia used for rice production, including crop regions in Bangladesh and Vietnam, could disappear as global sea levels rise, according to a new study that takes into account the melting of the Western Antarctica ice sheet, the Guardian reported. Studies recently found that the ice sheet has been destabilized […]