Posts Tagged ‘greenhouse gas’
Earth & Environment - Apr 22, 2010 5:49 - 2 Comments
What would nature do (with all this CO2)?
U. MICHIGAN (US)—Is there an organism out there—or could one be created—that chemically breaks down the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide into a useful form? A recent discovery has a team of scientists asking that question. (more…)
Earth & Environment - Apr 21, 2010 19:57 - 1 Comment
Buried shells are no ecological treasure
RICE (US)—Fan-Wei Zeng saw seashells, but not by the seashore. In fact, they were quite far away, and they were skewing the Rice University graduate student’s study of the environmental impact of Houston’s rivers. (more…)
Earth & Environment - Mar 25, 2010 17:09 - 7 Comments
Greenland melt spreads to both coasts
U. COLORADO (US)—Ice loss from the Greenland ice sheet, which has been increasing during the past decade over its southern region, is now making an upward climb on its northwest coast as well. (more…)
Science & Technology - Mar 25, 2010 12:35 - 1 Comment
Climate mayhem let dinosaurs dominate
BROWN (US)—Widespread volcanic eruptions and a spike in atmospheric carbon dioxide wiped out dinosaurs’ biggest competitors, according to a new climate analysis, allowing dinosaurs to rule the Earth more than 200 million years ago. (more…)
Earth & Environment - Mar 18, 2010 13:32 - 0 Comments
‘Livestock revolution’ taking a toll
STANFORD (US)—The growing worldwide demand for meat is likely to have a significant impact on human health, the environment, and the global economy in the next 50 years, according to a new report by an international research team. (more…)
Earth & Environment - Mar 17, 2010 15:32 - 2 Comments
Inland air spiked with chlorine
U. WASHINGTON / U. COLORADO (US)—A new study suggests that chlorine, a chemical usually kicked into the atmosphere by sea spray, is more abundant than expected in air far from any coastline, and looks to be interacting with man-made pollution at night in ways that might affect air quality and climate. (more…)
Earth & Environment - Jan 13, 2010 16:19 - 0 Comments
Future Forests: Beyond 2200
U. ILLINOIS—The composition of some U.S. forests might be quite different 200 to 400 years from today, a new study suggests. (more…)
Earth & Environment - Jan 8, 2010 15:21 - 0 Comments
Warmer temps stifle trees’ carbon uptake
U. COLORADO—As the climate warms and growing seasons lengthen, subalpine forests are likely to soak up less carbon dioxide. The result will be more greenhouse gas left to concentrate in the atmosphere, new research shows. (more…)
Earth & Environment - Dec 17, 2009 15:41 - 10 Comments
Little global warming goes a long way
PRINCETON (US)—The planet’s polar ice sheets are vulnerable to large-scale melting even under moderate global warming scenarios. Such melting would lead to a large and relatively rapid rise in global sea level, submerging many coastal areas. (more…)
Earth & Environment - Dec 14, 2009 17:29 - 7 Comments
Don’t blame cows for climate change
UC DAVIS (US)—Consuming less meat and dairy products will not help stop climate change, says Frank Mitloehner, despite claims by sources ranging from the United Nations to music star Paul McCartney. (more…)
Earth & Environment - Oct 26, 2009 16:29 - 0 Comments
CO2 not the only gorilla in the room
UC BERKELEY (US)—When world leaders meet in Copenhagen in December to hash out a treaty limiting carbon dioxide emissions, they should begin planning a future summit to address other pollutants—from soot to ozone—that don’t remain in the atmosphere as long as carbon dioxide, but nevertheless are major contributors to global warming. (more…)
Earth & Environment - Oct 23, 2009 15:33 - 2 Comments
‘Fixable’ error undercuts climate laws
PRINCETON (US)—A group of scientists has issued a report identifying a critical—but correctable—accounting error affecting climate legislation that could undermine efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by encouraging deforestation. (more…)
Earth & Environment - Oct 20, 2009 11:32 - 0 Comments
Arctic cores signal ‘unique’ climate shift
U. COLORADO (US)—An analysis of sediment cores indicates that biological and chemical changes occurring at a remote Arctic lake are unprecedented over the past 200,000 years and likely are the result of human-caused climate change. (more…)
Earth & Environment - Oct 7, 2009 10:52 - 5 Comments
Arctic sea ice’s downward trend continues
U. COLORADO (US)—Despite a slight recovery in 2009—from record-setting low years in 2007 and 2008—the summer Arctic sea ice extent remains significantly below previous years, continuing a trend toward ice-free Arctic summers. (more…)
Earth & Environment - Sep 1, 2009 6:00 - 0 Comments
Icy mile leads to climate future
The international North Greenland Eemian Ice Drilling, or NEEM, project begun in 2009 to retrieve deep ice cores from the Earth’s Eemian warm period 120,000 years ago. Atmospheric gases trapped in the ancient ice are expected to help scientists better assess the risks of abrupt climate change as Earth warms in the future. (Courtesy: NEEM Ice Core Drilling Project)
Earth & Environment - Aug 6, 2009 4:00 - 0 Comments
Drilling deep to take Earth’s temperature
“We now also know that, although the beginning of ice ages (in the Northern Hemisphere) is linked to greenhouse gases, the change in intensity is related to how ice sheets grow and decay,” says Sindia Sosdian (left in helmet), seen above working with core samples on an earlier expedition.
Earth & Environment - Jul 2, 2009 13:42 - 0 Comments
Traveling rain band could leave billions dry
The band of heavy precipitation indicates the intertropical convergence zone. The new findings by University of Washington researchers are based on sediment cores from Pacific islands near the equator.
Earth & Environment - Apr 17, 2009 9:08 - 1 Comment
A way to save trees? Knock on (fake) wood!
STANFORD (US)—Researchers have developed a synthetic wood substitute that may one day save trees, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and shrink landfills. The faux lumber is made from a new biodegradable plastic that could be used in a variety of building materials and perhaps replace the petrochemical plastics now used in billions of disposable water bottles. (more…)
