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The British-Canadian computer scientist often touted as a “godfather” of artificial intelligence has shortened the odds of AI wiping out humanity over the next three decades, warning the pace of change in the technology is “much faster” than expected. Prof Geoffrey Hinton, who this year was awarded the Nobel prize in physics for his work in AI, said there was a “10% to 20%” chance that AI would lead to human extinction within the next three decades.

In the icy waters of the Southern Ocean, whales and other marine mammals rely on krill to survive. But as the market for human dietary supplements and animal feeds booms, and climate change reduces krill populations, scientists worry there may not be enough to go around.

Halting and reversing the global decline in biodiversity is now urgent to avoid destabilizing Earth's vital systems that support human well-being. That's the stark message of a new paper published today in Frontiers in Science. The authors warn that without protecting remaining intact biomes and ecosystems, climate and development goals will be impossible to achieve.

A five-year study found that warming oceans are causing Maine’s underwater kelp forests to disappear and be replaced by turf algae.

Neonicotinoid insecticides are a major driver of pollinator decline. Due to their persistence and mobility in soil, they can contaminate non-target vegetation through runoff or dust, reaching pollinator resources. However, predicting soil contamination is challenging, especially where pesticide use data is lacking. This study assessed the potential of using proxies such as cropping history and landscape structure to predict neonicotinoid content in soils. We analyzed seven neonicotinoids in 86 sites in agricultural landscapes of Belgium.

The Global Environment Outlook, Seventh Edition: A Future We Choose, the product of 287 multi-disciplinary scientists from 82 countries, is the most comprehensive scientific assessment of the global environment ever carried out.

The decline in the health of nature around the world poses a threat to the UK's security and prosperity, an intelligence committee has concluded in a long-awaited report. The document warns of "cascading risks" from the degradation of some of the planet's most important ecosystems, including conflict, migration and increased competition for resources.

Report by joint intelligence committee delayed, with concerns expressed that it may not be published

Global biodiversity loss, ecosystem collapse and national security - A national security assessment

Ecosystem destruction will increase food shortages, disorder and mass migration, with effects already being felt

Around 56 million years ago, Earth suddenly got much hotter. Over about 5,000 years, the amount of carbon in the atmosphere drastically increased and global temperatures shot up by some 6°C.

We make meaningful climate action faster and easier by mobilizing the global tech community to track greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions with unprecedented detail.

Our modelling of European fish species shows a patchwork of winners and losers as sea temperatures rise.

Climate.gov, which went dark this summer, to be revived by volunteers as climate.us with expanded missionEarlier this summer, access to climate.gov – one of the most widely used portals of climate information on the internet – was thwarted by the Trump administration, and its production team was fired in the process.

Purpose Animal emissions account for nearly 60% of total greenhouse gas emissions from the livestock sector. To estimate these emissions, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) developed a dedicated module within the Global Livestock Environmental Assessment Model (GLEAM). Although previous studies have explored selected inputs for specific animals and emission types, a comprehensive analysis of all 92 inputs (parameters and emission factors) had not been conducted. This study aimed to identify the most influential inputs affecting ruminant emissions in GLEAM.

The long read: Churning quantities of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere at the rate we are going could lead the planet to another Great Dying

Almost 100 countries reject draft treaty as ‘unambitious’ and ‘inadequate’

New research indicates that more than a fifth of the global ocean has darkened over the past two decades, with the depths that sunlight can penetrate significantly retreating. This "reduces the amount of ocean available for animals that rely on the Sun and the Moon for their survival and reproduction," said study author Thomas Davies, associate professor of marine conservation at the University of Plymouth, in a statement about the work.

blue whale vocalizations dropped by almost 40 percent, according to the study, with populations of krill and anchovy collapsing. "When you really break it down, it’s like trying to sing while you're starving," Ryan explained. "They were spending all their time just trying to find food."

Exclusive: Study claims sites previously ranked first can lose 79% of traffic if results appear below Google Overview