A three-year field program now underway is measuring carbon distributions and primary productivity in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean to help scientists worldwide determine the impacts of a changing climate on ocean biology and biogeochemistry.
More maize ethanol may boost greenhouse gas emissions
Mandated increases in the production of maize-derived ethanol will lead to land-use changes that boost carbon dioxide emissions enough to make the fuel a worse environmental option than burning gasoline, according to a new analysis.
Aquatic 'dead zones' contributing to climate change
The increased frequency and intensity of oxygen-deprived "dead zones" along the world's coasts can negatively impact environmental conditions in far more than local waters. Scientists explain that the increased amount of nitrous oxide produced in hypoxic waters can elevate concentrations in the atmosphere, further exacerbating the impacts of global warming and contributing to ozone "holes" that increase our exposure to harmful UV radiation.
Predicting future climate: Networking initiative to support interdisciplinary research
Specialists from various Earth system science disciplines recently gathered to address a major question: what will our environment look like in the future? Of course, possible answers to this question raise even more questions. For instance, if changing climatic conditions were to alter local vegetation, how would this new landscape react to future climatic trends? Answering these questions with certainty would allow us to manage better our natural resources by defining appropriate planning and mitigation actions.
Ever-changing Earth: How the atmosphere can affect planet's shape, rotation, gravitational field
Researchers in Austria are investigating the effects of the Earth's atmosphere on our planet's shape, its rotation and its gravitational field. The researchers' aim is to develop a better understanding of the Earth's system and to support the development of the Global Geodetic Observing System (GGOS).
Learning from nature: Scientists break down carbon dioxide into carbon monoxide using visible light
A recent discovery in understanding how to chemically break down the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide into a useful form opens the doors for scientists to wonder what organism is out there -- or could be created -- to accomplish the task. Scientists have figured out a way to efficiently turn carbon dioxide into carbon monoxide using visible light, like sunlight.
Prehistoric response to global warming informs human planning today
Since 2004, University at Buffalo anthropologist Ezra Zubrow has worked intensively with teams of scientists in the Arctic regions of St. James Bay, Quebec, northern Finland and Kamchatka to understand how humans living 4,000 to 6,000 years ago reacted to climate changes.
Increased solar radiation requires additional CO2 reduction of 50 million tonnes, analysis finds
The recently observed reduction in air pollution implies that more solar radiation reaches Earth’s surface. This could lead to a far more rapid increase in Earth’s temperature in the coming decades than has previously been expected. In order to successfully combat global warming, it is crucial that scientists incorporate increases in CO2 emissions reductions as well as reductions in air pollution in the calculations, according to a new analysis based on unique solar radiation data collected from weather stations between 1959 and 2002.
Carbon emissions 'outsourced' to developing countries
Scientists report that over a third of carbon dioxide emissions associated with consumption of goods and services in many developed countries are actually emitted outside their borders. The study finds that, per person, about 2.5 tons of carbon dioxide are consumed in the US but produced somewhere else. For Europeans, the figure can exceed four tons per person. Most of these emissions are outsourced to developing countries, especially China.
Climate fluctuations 115,000 years ago: Were short warm periods typical for transitions to glacial epochs?
At the end of the last interglacial epoch, around 115,000 years ago, there were significant climate fluctuations. In Central and Eastern Europe, the slow transition from the Eemian Interglacial to the Weichselian Glacial was marked by a growing instability in vegetation trends with possibly at least two warming events. This is the finding of German and Russian climate researchers who have evaluated geochemical and pollen analyses of lake sediments in Saxony-Anhalt, Brandenburg and Russia.
Snowball Earth: New evidence hints at global glaciation 716.5 million years ago
Geologists have found evidence that sea ice extended to the equator 716.5 million years ago, bringing new precision to a "snowball Earth" event long suspected to have taken place around that time. The new findings -- based on an analysis of ancient tropical rocks that are now found in remote northwestern Canada -- bolster the theory that our planet has, at times in the past, been ice-covered at all latitudes.
Methane releases from Arctic shelf may be much larger and faster than anticipated
A section of the Arctic Ocean seafloor that holds vast stores of frozen methane is showing signs of instability and widespread venting of the powerful greenhouse gas, according to new research.
Warming coastal water, thinning marine populations: Tracking of 2010 El Niño reveals marine life reductions
The ongoing El Niño of 2010 is affecting north Pacific Ocean ecosystems in ways that could affect the West Coast fishing industry, according to scientists. Researchers report a stronger than normal northward movement of warm water up the Southern California coast, a high sea-level event in January and low abundances of plankton and pelagic fish -- all conditions consistent with El Niño.
Mass loss from Alaskan glaciers overestimated? Previous melt contributed a third less to sea-level rise than estimated
The melting of glaciers is well documented, but when looking at the rate at which they have been retreating, a team of international researchers steps back and says not so fast. Previous studies have largely overestimated mass loss from Alaskan glaciers over the past 40-plus years, according to a new study that recalculates glacier melt in Alaska.
Chemicals that eased one environmental problem may worsen another
Chemicals that helped solve a global environmental crisis in the 1990s -- the hole in Earth's protective ozone layer -- may be making another problem -- acid rain -- worse, scientists are reporting. A new study analyzes the effect of chemicals that replaced the ozone-destroying chlorofluorocarbons once used in aerosol spray cans, air conditioners, refrigerators, and other products.
El Niño and a pathogen, not global warming, killed Costa Rican toad
Scientists broadly agree that global warming may threaten the survival of many plant and animal species; but global warming did not kill the Monteverde golden toad, an often cited example of climate-triggered extinction, says a new study.
Antifreeze proteins can stop ice melt, new study finds
The same antifreeze proteins that keep organisms from freezing in cold environments also can prevent ice from melting at warmer temperatures, according to a new study.
Fossil corals, up to half a million years old, are providing fresh hope that coral reefs may be able to withstand the huge stresses imposed on them by today's human activity. Reef ecosystems were able to persist through massive environmental changes imposed by sharply falling sea levels during previous ice ages, an international scientific team has found. This provides new hope for their capacity to endure the increasing human impacts forecast for the 21st century.
Ancient DNA from rare fossil reveals that polar bears evolved recently and adapted quickly
DNA from a rare, ancient polar bear fossil is yielding information about the response of the species to the devastation wrought by past climate changes. Analyses of the fossil's DNA reveals key pieces of the evolutionary history of both polar bears and brown bears. The fossil's DNA is, by far, the oldest mammal mitochondrial genome to be sequenced -- about twice the age of the oldest genome sequence from a woolly mammoth.
The disinformers are winning, but mostly with the GOP - New Gallup poll shows sharp partisan divide in understanding of climate change
The partisan divide on climate science has been growing for a while, as I discussed in a 2008 review of the Gallup polling. No surprise, really, since the anti-science disinformation campaign uses “experts” that are more credible to conservatives, and that disinformation is repeated to death on conservative media outlets.
Now Gallup has updated its polling [...]
Wattergate: Tamino debunks “just plain wrong” Anthony Watts
The leading anti-science blogger in the country, Anthony Watts, owes NOAA scientists an apology. So far, he’s passing the buck.
The former TV weatherman coauthored a “report” with Joe D’Aleo, “Surface Temperature Record: Policy Driven Deception?” accusing top U.S. scientists of various kinds of misfeasance and malfeasance in the global temperature record. I’m not linking to [...]
Energy and Global Warming News for March 11: Rural utility loan bill designed to spur efficiency; Poverty and tyranny central to immoral practice of mountaintop destruction, water and air poisoning — RFK, Jr.
Members introduce rural utility loan bill designed to spur energy efficiency efforts
A bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced a bill today to provide homeowners and businesses with low-interest loans to make energy efficiency improvements to cut their energy use.
The measure would grant $4.9 billion in loan authority to the Rural Utilities Services, which finances rural electric [...]
Rep. Inslee: “This is a moment for scientists to channel their inner Rambo.” - Tells Senators to "put away your fear" and unleash clean energy jobs
One of the Congress’s true leaders on clean energy and climate, Rep. Jay Inslee (D-WA), was speaking at the Center for American Progress last week. Both Brad Johnson and I had a chance to interview him.
The above video was actually the second half of my (F)lip-camera interview. Here’s where Inslee explains the science and the [...]
So The Economist is running an online debate about green jobs with online voting. And they have used a poorly worded debate “motion” — some might call it a set up — “This house believes that creating green jobs is a sensible aspiration for governments.”
Online voting is problemmatic to start with, but when you have [...]
Big Oil uses fake “Americans” to attack fake “energy taxes.”
The American Petroleum Institute is using fake “Americans” to defend billions in tax subsidies, as WonkRoom’s Brad Johnson explains in this repost. API is running full-page ads in Politico and Roll Call that attack Congress for “new energy taxes” — using stock photos:
Congress will likely consider new taxes on America’s oil and natural gas industry. [...]
Vote for Climate Progress in TreeHugger’s Best of Green Awards
Why should you vote for ClimateProgress in TreeHugger’s Best of Green Awards 2010 Readers Choice in the category of Best Political Website (click here to vote)?
Sure, you like the insider’s view of climate science, solution, and politics delivered every day to you for free. But the other nominees are pretty darn good, too.
Well, set aside [...]
Nature editorial: “Scientists must now emphasize the science, while acknowledging that they are in a street fight.” - Nature News: "Attack sparks memories of McCarthy witch-hunt."
Nature, the highly respected British scientific journal, has an excellent editorial and news story tomorrow on the recent assault on climate science (excerpted below).
Taking Nature’s advice, I urge the administration to send science advisor Holdren and NOAA Administrator Lubchenco and Energy Secretary Chu on a media blitz and national tour to explain and emphasize the [...]
A must-see video, but it only works if you have a Facebook account (click here).
Be sure to watch until the very end. The last joke is just laugh out loud funny, especially if you have a young daughter.
Related Posts:
Beck escalates feud with Lindsey Graham: “I’m going to stick with the angry people”; Pence, chair of [...]
ConocoPhillips chair mocks clean energy advocates as “hydrocarbon deniers” - CEO of Saudi Aramco worries about "a bottleneck" in oil production. Seriously!
Oil prices and profits are on the rise again. The anti-science disinformation campaign funded in large part by Big Oil is having unimaginable success. And the powerful minority of do-nothing ideologues appear to have the upper hand in the Senate.
And that means a modern day Mr. Potter oil company executive can speak his mind and [...]
The UK scientist at the center of a controversy surrounding e-mails leaked from a leading UK climate research unit has admitted the strain of the affair led him to consider suicide.
The Copenhagen climate talks went nowhere. The Senate's attempt to pass a global warming bill appears stuck. But that's doesn't mean greenhouse gas laws aren't coming.
The U.N.'s leading panel on climate change has apologized for misleading data published in a 2007 report that warned Himalayan glaciers could melt by 2035.
What a difference a decade makes. Since the turn of the millennium environmental issues have come to the forefront with a marked shift toward all things green in politics, technology and perhaps most importantly, society.
A new proposal to curb global warming could jump start stalled Senate greenhouse gas discussions and put an average of $1,100 a year back into the pockets of American consumers.
Even if world leaders haven't finished the job with the global accord produced at the Copenhagen climate talks, the summit was not a total bust. That's because negotiators there outlined a landmark deal aimed at making money grow on trees.
Polar bears have been featured in Coca-Cola's holiday advertising for nearly a century. Last month, Muhtar Kent, the company's CEO, traveled to the Arctic to see the furry creatures up close.
The World Health Organization (WHO) held a "side event" for public health officials in Copenhagen, Thursday, in an effort to put public health at the center of the climate-change debate.
Battle over climate science spreads to US schoolrooms
In three states, alternatives to the scientific consensus on global warming must be taught – and there seem to be links to efforts to teach creationism
Protecting Taxpayers from a Financial Meltdown - Calculating the Credit Subsidy Fee on a Loan Guarantee for a New Nuclear Reactor
A few weeks ago, Obama tripled the budget for the nuclear loan guarantee program, though there hasn t been a single promising application in two years. CAP Policy Analyst Richard W. Caperton explains what that risky move means for American taxpayers in this repost.
President Obama has made two major announcements in recent weeks regarding loan guarantees for nuclear power. Loan guarantees commit the government to repaying a loan if the original borrower can t pay back the loan. His proposed fiscal year 2011 budget would triple nuclear loan guarantees to $54.5 billion. And on February 16, the Department of Energy issued an $8 billion guarantee for two proposed Southern Company nuclear reactors in Georgia.
Colorado isn t waiting for Washington to move aggressively on clean energy, as CAP Senior Fellow Tom Kenworthy explains here.
On March 5, the state Senate approved a measure to increase Colorado's renewable energy standard (RES) to 30% by 2020, and on March 8th, the House finalized the bill, sending it to Gov. Bill Ritter for his signature.
The legislation confirms Colorado's leadership in nurturing the development of clean, renewable energy just six years after voters approved the state's first RES " 10% by 2015. In 2006 the state legislature doubled the RES to 20% by 2020, and with enactment of the latest measure only California will have a set a more ambitious state requirement than Colorado, 33% by 2020.
A popular idea at the moment to address climate change is biochar - essentially taking organic materials, charring them, and burying them in the soil...Now, the biofuel story has given me a bit of a horror of ideas that sound cool to environmentalists, are fine on a small scale, but are a disaster when scaled up by industrial society. So I wanted to do a few quick back-of-the-envelope calculations of the limits of this approach.
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Women's Rights, Population and Climate Change: The Debate Continues
Should climate activists and feminists support campaigns to slow population growth? Laurie Mazur says that alliance will strengthen the movement. Ian Angus strongly disagrees
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-A March Round-up of What's Happening out in the World of Transition-Transition on One Planet on BBC World Service-Transition Sunshine Coast delivers EDAP- Genuine resilience results from expanding the human footprint . Discuss
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Monbiot vs. Leggett duking it out over solar panels and feed-in tariffs - Mar 9
-Are we really going to let ourselves be duped into this solar panel rip-off?-Solar panels are not fashion accessories-There is no 'green treachery' in questioning this solar panel rip-offI accept George Monbiot's £100 solar PV bet
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B.C. braces for a dry summer - Victoria Times Colonist
British Columbians should brace for possible drought in many areas of the province this summer, following two months of unusually warm and dry weather, B.C. Environment Minister Barry Penner said yesterday.
What's Better? Climate Change OR Climate Disruption - Energy Collective - blog
Book of OddsWhat's Better? Climate Change OR Climate DisruptionEnergy Collective (blog)I've laid out my arguments and why I now use the word 'climate disruption' when talking about 'climate change' or 'global warming'. ...Climate changeWorcester TelegramPlaying the climate change oddsBook of Oddsall 6
How to calm the climate science confidence crisis - Washington Post - blog
Washington Post (blog)How to calm the climate science confidence crisisWashington Post (blog)CNN now has panels on global warming with more skeptics than warmists. So CNN has come a long way and we have nothing but the recession to thank for that. ...and more
EU climate chief wants Europe to "lead by example"
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Europe's new climate chief sought to reinvigorate international climate talks on Tuesday, laying out a strategy for the EU to lead the world by example.
Scientists Develop New Plastics That Can Be Recycled Continuously
Researchers at IBM and Stanford University say they have found a way to produce plastics that can be recycled continuously or used as higher-value products such as for the pharmaceutical industry. By using organic catalysts in the production of plastic polymers, rather than metal catalysts, the scientists say it is possible to produce a new class of plastics that will not degrade as quickly when recycled, according to a paper published in the journal Macromolecules. If you use organic reactants, you can make certain types of new polymers that are quite different and have other properties plastics don t have, said Chandrasekhar Narayan, who leads the IBM science and technology team in San Jose, Calif.
US greenhouse gas emissions fell 2.9 per cent in 2008 - EARTHtimes.org
Washington - US greenhouse gas emissions fell 2.9 per cent in 2008 amid a recession and record high petrol prices, according to a preliminary estimate Tuesday from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Lower demand for electricity and petrol ...
South Korea unveils ‘recharging road’ for eco-friendly buses
by Agence France-Presse Online electric vehicleCredit: Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology
SEOUL"South Korean researchers on Tuesday launched an environmentally friendly public transport system using a recharging road "with a vehicle sucking power magnetically from buried electric strips.
The Online Electric Vehicle (OLEV), towing three buses, went into service at an amusement park in southern Seoul. If the prototype proves successful, there are plans to try it out on a bus route in the capital.
The Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), which developed the system, says OLEV needs a battery only one-fifth the size of conventional electric vehicles and eliminates the need for major recharging.
Dear Vinod Khosla & Tom Friedman: No amount of sequestration will make coal “clean”
by David Roberts Tom Friedman had a column over the weekend lauding a couple of American clean-energy innovators and entrepreneurs. Like almost all his green-focused columns, it's good stuff. However! In the course of accomplishing his worthwhile objective, Friedman and one of his subjects both say something I just can t let pass without comment. I hate to make a big kvetch out of what is otherwise a good column, but this particular error really needs to be called out.
Discussing Khosla's big new investment, in a company that can trap carbon into concrete and other useful products, Friedman says ...
U.S. "cap and trade" rebranded "pollution reduction"
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Like a savvy Madison Avenue advertising team, senators pushing climate-control legislation have decided to scrap the name "cap and trade" and rebrand their product as "pollution reduction targets."
Obama wants climate bill passed this year: Senator
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama still wants Congress to pass a climate bill this year, Republican Senator Susan Collins told reporters on Tuesday after meeting with the president.
Is "More Jobs" Sustainable or Necessary in the Post-Peak Oil World?
What was required for a growing economy, that was supposed to uplift all of modern humanity, is at root a false notion for the manipulated public: the overwhelming majority must work for others to enrich the few so that all of society benefits through unlimited expansion. This problematic profit-scheme is failing to hold up, what with general economic uncertainty on the rise (apart from "Hope") and the advanced depletion of easily extracted, cheap oil.
The world's biggest scientific guns are being called in to mop up after a trickle of unsettling errors in the authoritative reports written by a global warming panel.
The head of the International Monetary Fund on Monday proposed a plan for the world's governments to pool together to raise money needed to adapt to climate change, a rare step for an organization that normally does not develop environmental policies.
World weather agencies have agreed to collect more precise temperature data to improve climate change science, officials said Wednesday, as U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged environment ministers to reject efforts by skeptics to derail a global climate deal.
Top researchers now agree that the world is likely to get stronger but fewer hurricanes in the future because of global warming, seeming to settle a scientific debate on the subject.
Gov. Rick Perry and other top Texas officials are challenging the EPA's finding that greenhouse gases are dangerous to people, claiming the ruling is based on flawed science
Federal officials decide not to provide endangered species protections to the American pika, a tiny, mountain-dwelling animal thought to be struggling because of climate change.
The European Commission said Thursday that hackers used a spoof European Union Web site to try and steal information that would allow them to profit from the EU's cap-and-trade program.
Penn St. proceeding with scientist e-mail scrutiny
A Penn State University internal inquiry dismissed three allegations of research improprieties against a leading climate scientist but recommended further investigation into one allegation regarding leaked e-mails about global warming.
Canada is hosting this week's Group of 7 economic meeting in a small town in the Arctic, in part to emphasize its claims to areas being warmed up and opened up.
Hoping to earn support from coal and farm states for an energy and climate bill, President Obama creates a task force to push for cleaner coal and unveils a plan to help finance biofuels.
Colorado's $2 billion winter sports industry and millions of acres of forests are threatened by warming temperatures in the state, business and conservation leaders say.
NASA's new proposed budget will in part shift the space agency's focus from landing people on the moon back to Earth, with more money slated to go to projects that will help us understand our planet's climate and even plans to re-launch the carbon observatory that failed to launch last year.
For the world's largest population of sea turtles, beach sand made hotter by climate change poses the greatest threat to their breeding success, a study finds.
UN says nations' greenhouse gas pledges too little
Goals on reducing greenhouse gases announced by major industrialized nations are a step forward but not enough to forestall the disastrous effects of climate change by midcentury, U.N. officials said Monday.
President Barack Obama is endorsing nuclear energy like never before, trying to win over Republicans and moderate Democrats on climate and energy legislation.
A 56,000-year-old stalactite found in a New Mexican cave suggests global warming will likely lead to dramatic poleward shifts of Earth's wettest storm-laden weather patterns.
The review aims to help the U.N. climate change panel avoid the kinds of errors that have brought its work into question in recent months, officials said Wednesday.
The head of the International Monetary Fund proposed a plan for the world’s governments to pool together to raise money needed to adapt to climate change.
Critics of evolution are gaining ground by linking the issue to climate change, arguing that dissenting views on both should be taught in public schools.
Extreme weather possibly linked to climate change, as well as construction on less stable ground, have provoked unprecedented foundation failures in houses nationwide.
Study Says Undersea Release of Methane Is Under Way
But a scientist who led the study said it was too soon to say whether the findings suggest the potential for a dangerous release of methane — a greenhouse gas far more potent than carbon dioxide.
Yvo de Boer’s resignation as chief of the United Nations’ climate change negotiations reminds us that countries must pursue parallel tracks to reduce emissions.