Futurity.org » fossil fuels

Nitrogen ‘double whammy’ could alter lakes

Sandra Hines-UW — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 18:48:46 +0000

U. WASHINGTON (US) — Nitrogen derived from human activities has polluted lakes for more than a century. The fingerprint is evident even in remote lakes thousands of miles from the nearest city.

The findings are based on historical changes in the chemical composition of bottom deposits in 36 lakes using an approach similar to aquatic archeology.

Tune E. coli to churn out biodiesel

Louis Bergeron-Stanford — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 17:19:50 +0000

STANFORD (US) — E. coli bacteria have what it takes to produce high volumes of biofuel cheaply and efficiently. All that’s needed, scientists say, is a tweak to kick E. coli into high gear.

Biodiesel can be made from plant oil or animal fat. Used cooking oil from restaurants is common, but for biodiesel to contribute significantly to reducing fossil fuel use, there needs to be a way to mass produce it from plant-derived raw materials. The problem is that synthesizing biodiesel is complicated. That’s where E. coli comes in.

Methane likely fueled Earth’s big warm-up

Mike Williams-Rice — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 19:46:00 +0000

RICE (US) — New calculations suggest the release of massive amounts of carbon from methane hydrate frozen under the seafloor 56 million years ago likely led to a major climate shift on Earth.

Nobody knows for sure what started the incident, but there’s no doubt Earth’s temperature rose by as much as 6 degrees Celsius. That affected the planet for up to 150,000 years, until excess carbon in the oceans and atmosphere was reabsorbed into sediment.

Keep grasses to avoid carbon debt

Layne Cameron-Michigan State — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 14:37:57 +0000

MICHIGAN STATE (US) — Converting natural cover to corn or soybeans for the production of biofuels will come at a high carbon cost—even when care is taken to protect soil by using no-till cultivation.

A new study, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, focuses on the federal Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) and its influence on carbon debt.

Trees’ footprints smaller than steel’s

Sandra Hines-UW — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 16:06:30 +0000

U. WASHINGTON (US) — By regularly harvesting trees and using wood in place of steel and concrete, the amount of carbon dioxide taken out of the atmosphere by a forest could be quadrupled in 100 years.

“Every time you see a wood building, it’s a storehouse of carbon from the forest. When you see steel or concrete, you’re seeing the emissions of carbon dioxide that had to go into the atmosphere for those structures to go up,” says Bruce Lippke, professor of forest resources at the University of Washington.

Nixing nuclear plants will strain system

Shilo Raube-Carnegie Mellon — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 13:10:08 +0000

CARNEGIE MELLON (US) — Curtailing nuclear power will put undue stress on the supply and cost of electricity, while increasing air pollution, carbon emissions, and the reliance on fossil fuels
.

In response to the March earthquake and tsunami that destroyed nuclear power plants in Fukushima, Japan, Germany has decided to shutdown all nine of its nuclear power plants by 2022, and Switzerland will shutdown all five of its plants by 2032.

Is future of fuel in photosynthesis?

A'ndrea Elyse Messer-Penn State — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 20:15:16 +0000

PENN STATE (US) — Inexpensive hydrogen for automotive or jet fuel may be possible by mimicking photosynthesis, but the process needs to overcome several hurdles first.

“We are focused on the hardest way to make fuel,” says Thomas Mallouk, professor of materials chemistry and physics at Penn State.

Ocean’s acidity jolts marine microbes

Michelle Salzman-USC — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 16:24:09 +0000

USC (US) — Increases in carbon dioxide emissions—exacerbated by the burning of fossil fuels and other human activities—are making sea water more acidic and will ultimately have significant impact on marine life.

“There is growing concern about this issue because human activities are modifying ocean pH so rapidly,” says Michael Beman, marine biologist at University of California, Merced.

Soot hits Arctic ice with double whammy

Louis Bergeron-Stanford — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 16:54:43 +0000

STANFORD (US)—The quickest and best way to slow the rapid melting of Arctic sea ice is to reduce soot emissions from the burning of fossil fuel, wood, and dung, according to a new study.

Eliminating soot could reduce warming above parts of the Arctic Circle in the next 15 years by up to 1.7 degrees Celsius.

Why black carbon’s in the climate hotseat

Gary Galluzzo-Iowa — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 15:26:11 +0000

U. IOWA (US)—Increasing the ratio of black carbon to sulphate in the atmosphere increases climate warming, finds a new study published in the journal Nature Geoscience.

Black carbons—arising from such sources as diesel engine exhaust and cooking fires—are widely considered a factor in global warming and are an important component of air pollution around the world, according to Greg Carmichael, a professor of chemical and biochemical engineering at the University of Iowa.