Global warming’s effect on rainfall distribution so far has been limited by an unexpected source: airborne pollutants, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Hawaii’s International Pacific Research Center and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. But as greenhouse gases increase, they will overwhelm the influence of aerosols — that is, airborne dust, soot and other pollutants, the researchers say. Their paper was published online Sunday in the journal Nature Geoscience.

The U.S. Navy is moving ahead with plans to increase training between California and the Hawaiian Islands, rejecting concerns from environmental groups in both states about the impact of sonar and underwater detonations on marine animals.

Via NextDraft: "This comic from The Oatmeal gets at an interesting aspect of the debate on Syria. In some ways, it seems like a government can freely kill tens of thousands people as long as the method they use doesn't cross a red line."

David Remnick on the difficulty of escaping the Syrian crisis.

Concerns include a protracted war, the weakening of US position if Syria uses chemical weapons again, and retaliatory attacks by Hezbollah.