global-warming

The uses of science and its policy implications have always been filtered through American politics, but survey research has noted what some call an increasing “crisis of trust” in the core findings of science itself.

July 2016 was the hottest month on Earth since people began keeping records, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). It beat a record set in July 2015. Land temperatures were 1.8°F above average. July 2016 was also the 379th consecutive month with temperatures above the 20th century average.

Human activity has negatively affected animal populations on land for tens of thousands of years, with numerous instances where unsustainable hunting practices or deliberate, widespread acts of eradication have led to what scientists call “defaunation” — the human-caused global extinction of a species.