Axios

A new study shows that tree populations in the eastern United States are unexpectedly moving west, per The Atlantic.

• What's expected: As the effects of climate change hit the East Coast, scientists expected to see the centers of populations for trees in that part of the country shift northward to compensate for rising temperatures.
• What's happening: Some of the 86 species studied are indeed moving northward (about 55%), but about 65% are shifting westward as well.
• The explanation: Climate change has caused far higher-than-normal precipitation in the Great Plains, so the trees are following the moisture west. But the scientists behind the study said that only explains 20 percent of the movement. Other possible causes: changes in land use, wildfires, new pests, and conservation efforts.

If you visit Venice any time before Nov. 26 you'll get a lesson in climate change. No, the city won't be submerged under water, as some have feared, but you will see what one artist views as the cause of global warming: hands.

Artist Lorenzo Quinn's "Support" installation is a PSA against the dangers of what he views as man-made climate change and its effects on Venice. Quinn "wants to speak to the people in a clear, simple and direct way through the innocent hands of a child," he writes on his Instagram.

Why it matters: Venice is a UNESCO World Heritage site and the city, which spreads across 118 small islands, has suffered from consistently rising sea levels over the past few decades. In the 1950s, the city's historic St. Marks Square flooded 20 times per year, but now it floods around 60 times a year. And climate scientists have found that global ocean levels could increase 0.6 feet to 1.1 feet if the earth's temperature rises just two degrees celsius.