Smithsonian.com

Emperor penguins - © Samuel Blanc / www.sblanc.com

Can cuteness save the Emperor penguin? These adorable birds received plenty of attention when the documentary March of the Penguins was released in 2005, but this week came a study in PNAS that predicts the population could be near extinction by the end of the century. The cause is a familiar one—climate change. Their numbers are predicted to decline from about 6,000 breeding pairs to only 400 by 2100. The researchers write:

To avoid extinction, Emperor penguins will have to adapt, migrate or change the timing of their growth stages. However, given the future projected increases in [greenhouse gases] and its effect on Antarctic climate, evolution or migration seem unlikely for such a long lived species at the remote southern end of the Earth.

And this was only one of many depressing climate change studies released in the past week or so:

• Antarctica is warming at a faster rate than had been previously thought.
• The rate of tree death in the western U.S. has doubled in the past few decades, and scientists blame warming temperatures.
• Climate change could lead to a massive expansion of ocean dead zones.
• Scientists now say climate change is unstoppable.
• Want to keep reading? Find more of the sad stuff at A Few Things Ill Considered.