In this Nov. 4, 2015 photo, endangered echinocactus grusonii cacti, also known as Biznaga, are seen growing inside the botanical gardens of the National Autonomous University of Mexico in Mexico City. About a third of the world's cactus species are threatened with extinction, the International Union for Conservation of Nature warns in a new report. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell) Nearly a third of the world’s cactus species are on the brink of extinction, according to a new report by the International...

Policemen detain an activist during a protest ahead of the 2015 Paris Climate Conference, in Paris, France, on Nov. 29, 2015. This time, it's a hotter, waterier, wilder Earth that world leaders are trying to save. The last time that the nations of the world struck a binding agreement to fight global warming was 1997, in Kyoto, Japan. As leaders gather for a conference in Paris to try to do more, it's clear things have changed dramatically over the past...

Some two-thirds of Americans believe the U.S. should join an international climate change agreement, if one is brokered at the COP21 summit on global climate change in Paris. These results come from a jointNew York Times/CBS News poll, in which participants were asked a variety of questions on the actions they would most like to see taken, as well as when and how they believe climate change will impact the environment. The responses show deep divisions along party lines, the...

Global warming has caused a slew of ominous weather-related disasters, scientists say, from intensifying droughts to epic flooding and likely contribute to powerful storms. A new study has revealed another possible consequence: a lack of oxygen on Earth. Conducted by scientists from Britain’s University of Leicester, the study found that an increase of about 10.8˚ F (6˚ C) in the temperature of the world’s oceans could by disrupting photosynthesis, reports NDTV. “It would mean oxygen depletion not only in the...

Bill Patzert has a message for Californians: get your kayaks ready. It might seem bizarre to make a statement like that to a state that's seen in recent years, but with El Niño expected to peak in the coming months, anything is possible, the NASA scientist said. At a Tuesday gathering in Pasadena to discuss the possible effects of El Niño, Patzert told CBS Los Angeles that although the full wrath of this pattern has yet to be felt, ....

This image from space shows widespread smog in eastern China on Nov. 30, 2015. (NASA's Earth Observatory) For millions of Chinese residents, a cold front brought exactly what they'd been waiting for: a chance to see the sky again. Thick, choking, dangerous smog blanketed the city for days, forcing people to stay inside. Pollution levels were off-the-charts awful in China's second-largest city, and officials raised the alert level to a code orange– the second-highest level– for several days. What caused...

NASA has released more visual proof that Greenland's largeZachariæ Isstrøm glacier isthe latest to experience rapid change due to the warming world. Not only are the changes to the glacier visible from space, but the results of this break will be felt for decades to come. According to NASA, in the fall of 2012 and has begun an accelerated retreat.Images from space show the differences between the glacier in August of 1999 and 2015. The more recent photo shows how...

Higher radiation levels from Japan's 2011 Fukushima disaster have been detected off the coast of North American shores though scientists stress that the doses weren't high enough to pose any health risks. (Robyn Beck/Getty Images) Heightened measurements of radiation from the Fukushima nuclear disaster have been detected off the shores of North America, according to a by theWoods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Multiple sites near the coast showed contamination from the nuclear accident in March 2011, indicating that that there was...

The air pollution has reached a critical level in Beijing, forcing the city to invoke its first-ever red alert, closing schools and factories and imposing restrictions to keep half the city's vehicles off the roads. The alert in effect through Thursday — the most serious warning on a four-tier system adopted in 2013 — means authorities have forecast three consecutive days of severe smog. Despite some improvement in Beijing's air over the past year, readings of dangerous particles Tuesday were...

This image from space shows widespread smog in eastern China on Nov. 30, 2015. (NASA's Earth Observatory) China has a really gross problem, and it's only getting worse. Smog levels have gone far beyond what's considered safe in Beijing and other parts of eastern China, which has led officials to take unprecedented measures. In Beijing, the first ever "code red" was issued because of what is being called the "," Live Science reported. The code red pollution alert has ordered...

Florida has a problem. Piles of dead fish have been spotted in some of Pinellas County’s bays and bayous after they were contaminated with red tide. The same algae bloom has been fouling the waters in Manatee and Sarasota counties. , the Florida red tide is a higher-than-usual concentration of the naturally occurring, microscopic algae, Karenia brevis. This type of algae produces potent and powerful brevetoxins, which have the ability to kill marine animals and harm humans. Sometimes humans can...

Governments have adopted a global agreement that for the first time asks all countries to reduce or rein in their greenhouse gas emissions. Almost 200 countries had been negotiating the pact for four years after earlier attempts to reach such a deal failed. The 31-pagesets a global goal of peaking global greenhouse gas emissions "as soon as possible." It also calls for achieving a balance between man-made emissions and the Earth's ability to absorb them by the second half of...

Pacific crab fishing season has been stymied by toxins caused by algal blooms. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) The Pacific Northwest's commercial crab fishing season remains at a standstill from the toxic crab crisis where the crustaceans are still testing high withdomoic acid, a known neurotoxin. California, Oregon and Washington have all delayed their crab fishing seasons this year to avoid a consumer health scare. The domoic acid in the crabs is a result of a massive toxic bloom known as pseudo-nitzschia,...