Arizona

Researchers worldwide expect oceans and ecosystems on land could be the two major places to absorb gases driving climate change, like carbon dioxide. But those so-called carbon sinks on land might not function as well as once expected.

A 1-meter increase in sea level doesn't sound like much. But the 3.3-foot rise would be enough to flood 90 percent of New Orleans, 33 percent of Virginia Beach, Va., and 18 percent of Miami, according to scientists.

Warming of the ocean's subsurface layers will melt underwater portions of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets faster than previously thought, according to new University of Arizona-led research.

There's some interesting news out of Paris for those concerned about pollution from jet engines. Honeywell, which bases its aerospace division in Phoenix, said it completed the first-ever trans-Atlantic flight of a business jet using biofuel.

Forest fires have direct as well as lingering effects on the global carbon balance, and scientists are concerned that forests are not regenerating after wildfires.

Car emissions laws in Arizona may become less stringent if the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality decides to change the standard at a public hearing Tuesday.

When a University of Arizona climate scientist displayed a chart Saturday showing an exponential increase in greenhouse gas concentrations in the Earth's atmosphere over the past 150 years, his Prescott audience emitted a collective gasp.

Nearly all of Arizona and New Mexico fell into an abnormally dry or more severe drought category in the May 17, 2011 U.S. Drought Monitor.

State utility regulators are being asked to treat burning trash as a renewable-energy source, and it has drawn the ire of environmentalists who prefer wind farms or solar panels to trash incinerators.

Maricopa County's ozone season starts today with a fresh burst of heat and sunlight, two key ingredients needed for unhealthful levels of the smog to form.