Luisa Cristini, PhD, University of Hawaii at Manoa [Note from the editor: This is the sixth in a series of blog entries that will focus on introductory topics in climate dynamics and modeling, and will be a great insight into the current understanding of the science.] One of Earth’s unique and finite resources is water. […]
Environmental News
Should Methane Be Our First Line of Attack to Slow Global Heating?
April 9, 2012
By Penny Paugh Scientist Peter Cox, speaking at the University of Exeter (United Kingdom), recently suggests that the way to win the battle with greenhouse gases is to lower methane emissions. In fact, curbing methane may be the best way to stem dangerous warming. Methane is released in many ways: landfills, livestock, rice paddies, coal […]
New Englanders Adapt to Winter Climate Change
March 1, 2012
Many politicians in the nation’s capital are still in denial that human activity is contributing significantly to global climate change. Meanwhile, climate will continue to change regardless of the current state of the debate, and New Englanders are finding ways of adapting to later autumns, earlier springs, and milder winters. Dr. Alan Betts, one of […]
Breakthrough in Scrubbing Carbon Dioxide from the Air
February 9, 2012
By Pennell Paugh CO2 scrubbers have been developed but so far, all have been prohibitively expensive. The Journal of the American Chemical Society reports that researchers at the University of Southern California’s Loker Hydrocarbon Research Institute have developed an extraction method that has achieved some of the highest rates ever reported for removing carbon dioxide […]
Worms Can Help Farmers Adapt to Climate Change
January 18, 2012
by Pennell Paugh A study performed by the Game and Wildlife Conservation Society concluded that worms can play a key role to help farmers adapt to extreme weather. Worms improve soil structure, reduce water use in the garden, act as natural fertilizers, reduce greenhouse gases and save on the costs of waste removal. Dr Chris […]
Climate Change Solutions: CO2 Capture
December 11, 2011
By Deborah Resnick Ideas on how to slow climate change are abundant and wildly varied. They range from giant solar sails to seeding the atmosphere with sulphur to reflect sunlight away from the Earth. They are radical solutions to a radical problem. Estimates on the monetary cost of climate change for the US alone could […]
Largest Carbon Dioxide Spike in History Reported for 2010
November 7, 2011
The amount of global warming gases sent into the atmosphere made an unprecedented jump in 2010, according to the US Department of Energy’s latest world data on carbon dioxide emissions. The 512 million metric ton increase amounted to a near six percent rise between 2009 and 2010, going from 8.6 billion metric tons to 9.1 […]
Cyanobacteria Absorbs CO2 and Could Be a Used to Ward off Global Warming
November 2, 2011
Cyanobacteria, commonly known as blue green algae or bacteria, are unlike most bacteria. It photosynthesizes like algae and plants, making its own food using water and energy from light, with a by-product of oxygen. They are one of the earliest life forms to evolve on earth. Most likely they are responsible for creating the oxygen […]
HIPPO Studies Black Carbon and Other Atmospheric Pollutants
October 21, 2011
Black carbon made by emissions from coal plants, forest fires, and diesel engines, and other greenhouse gases and atmospheric pollutants are being studied in the upper atmosphere. The HIAPER Pole-to-Pole Observation (HIPPO) is studying the earth’s atmosphere, pole to pole, vertically and across latitudes. Supported by the National Science Foundation, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric […]
Climate Change and the Spread of Disease
September 16, 2011
by Dale Elizabeth Carey Countries and states are preparing for anticipated problems caused by climate change. Nine states across the United States have action plans for impacts brought about by greenhouse gas emissions, including “extreme heat, air pollution, disease, drought, and flooding caused by storms and rising sea levels.” (Zimmerman, 2011) In California, climate change […]