Greenhouse Gases
Methane danger in undersea permafrost .
We have covered the methane from cows and biodegradable materials, but the methane from our past could even have had an effect on the demise of the dinosaurs. Could it finally create an even greater global warming effect?
Lima Call for Climate Change !
Climate change and carbon dioxide emissions are the simple link. The science tells us about all the other greenhouse gases and the links to rainfall in Europe, Asia and South America, drought in Australia, North America and Africa plus the rise in sea levels. That should make the problem seem more urgent, but has it had the required effect on those chosen to perform the actions we all need?
Sawdust to gasoline, in just 2 steps
How can we make plastics if no more fossil fuels are unearthed, in efforts to combat greenhouse gas production? The answer has long been thought to be in complex lignins or, in this case, the much simpler cellulose .
If you can't stand the heat..
How well are we doing at restraining the natural forces that threaten us following the effects of anthropogenic global warming? The answer no politician wants is we're not adapting to the blindingly obvious. Cool it, the planet that is. Otherwise we'll emit so much carbon dioxide and methane that the weather will provide the punishment we deserve.
Particle and nitrous oxide pollution in your car
Who is aware of their citys invisible pollution problems and how can the health of urbanites be improved? Too often, we are too late in saving the health of our workers and children. Those who know the truth have probably moved out already.
Soil carbon is lost with global warming
The worlds soils have been tested, in a thermal gradient from the Arctic through to the tropical rainforest. Despite claims to the contrary, the loss of carbon as global warming increases is going to increase markedly. We have to prepare ourselves to investigate how soils can be somehow prevented from contributing so much of the greenhouse gases that we have to reduce.
Old King Coal has a Texan hole?
We have ideas and giant international conferences coming up, on how to combat global warming and specifically what we can do with greenhouse gases. It could be, though, that some of the jokers in the pack are simply sequestering while Rome burns. After all, their employment depends on maintaining the coal, oil, gas and even fracking industries. Maybe replacing these industries with renewable energy technologies would use different engineers and spoil the party for many profitable companies?
Carbon dioxide's rise and rise
Mauna Loa gives us the most useful data from relatively unpolluted air at 11,000 feet. However we regard greenhouse gases, its far too late to ignore the obvious warming effect. We need action to stop using fossil fuels-completely.
New ozone threat:small but deadly
We have enough pollutants already, but 4 newly-discovered ozone-destroyers could be the most dangerous yet, if we cant find where they come from.
Cool the planet, or suffer!
Who can stop the terrible accumulation of greenhouse gases? Well it seems some politicians are still intent on increasing them! And the reason? Simply making lots of profit.
It's a gas! (or coal or oil)
Many of the larger nations are producing much more greenhouse gas than they should. The surprise is that the smaller developing nations are being careful about their fossil fuel use.
Blue Carbon estimates up!
Coastal land-use conversion and degradation creates a new carbon source called 'blue carbon', adding to the amount of GHGs in the atmosphere.
First US greenhouse heat and power project with CO2 fertilisation
First greenhouse Combined Heat and Power (CHP) project with Carbon Dioxide fertilisation is unveiled in America.
Carbon emissions soaked up by carbon sinks
Earth and nature help us out by continuing to soak up carbon emissions. Carbon sinks, such as oceans and forests are still soaking up half of the greenhouse gases produced by human activity.
Mixed data in latest UK Environmental Accounts
The UK Environmental Accounts for 2012 have just been published. The latest UK environment data shows a mixed picture, with greenhouse gas and energy consumption rising and use of renewable energy and spending on environmental protection rising.
Bridging the greenhouse-gas emissions gap at Rio+20
Proposals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Ecofys have published a new paper in the journal 'Nature Climate Change' outlining 21 initiatives to greenhouse gas emissions by 2020.
Will Europe cut greenhouse gases by 30% by 2020?
Event run by the leading pro-environment business gathering the Aldersgate Group shows the way.
Eco forestry rewards scheme 'hits problems'
Most nations that signed up to the REDD+ scheme to cut greenhouse gas emissions and deforestation are struggling to meet monitoring and measurement requirements, says a new report.
Greenhouse gases 'warmed Earth billions of years ago'
Greenhouse gases raised temperatures on Earth three billion years ago, scientist believe after investigating fossilised raindrop impressions.
Concentrate on cutting methane and soot to curb global warming
Instead of reducing carbon dioxide levels to reduce global warming, we should concentrate on cutting methane and soot, according to a group of international scientists.
Milk and wine is good news for dairy lovers and the planet
Feeding cattle on a byproduct of the wine industry has produced startling reductions in methane emissions from cows as well as health benefits for milk drinkers.
Kyoto protocol and negative protocol by different countries
The major agenda at Durban is the fate of the Kyoto Protocol, the only legal instrument in place to limit global greenhouse gas emissions, whose first commitment period is about to expire in 2012.
Arctic inter-relationships with some chilly revelations
The US's NOAA duties include regular reports and the latest prepares uis for another of those winters that we just don't understand. For example, the strangely low [ozone] in March this year led to high ultra-violet levels in both Arctic and sub Arctic regions. Most scientists believed this due to the very cold stratosphere, resulting in slow ozone formation.
Bleak news from WMO on greenhouse gas levels
The WMO have released a report showing the increase in radiative forcing over the last 20 years. The article covers the World Meteorological Organization report relating to greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
Ninth largest hole in ozone layer
Ninth largest hole in ozone layer: NASA. This year's Antarctic ozone layer hole was the ninth largest on record, say leading scientists.
Air pollution linked to premature births
Air pollution exposure has been linked to a 30-percent increase in the risk of premature low-weight births among women living in Los Angeles, California. Air quality information was derived from three separate sources, and included data regarding concentrations of carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, ozone, and fine particulate matter.
Venus has ozone layer too
The European Space Agency's Venus Express spacecraft has detected an ozone layer in Venus' atmosphere, much as on Earth. Unlike Earth, however, the ozone is not the result of biological activity.
NASA discovers an alarming anomaly in ozone depletion
Ozone depletion over the Arctic has been considerably greater this year due to an extended cold period. The ozone layer is an essential component of a life-supporting planet Earth, protecting life from potentially harmful UV radiation and its adverse effects.
CO2 emissions rising sharply despite cutbacks among industrialised nations
Greenhouse gases continue to climb despite Kyoto Protocol. Scientific evidence demonstrates that carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from burning fossil fuels, the primary driver of climate change, have continued to rise dramatically, according to a comprehensive report.
In the ocean depths: scientists track global warming's 'missing heat'
As global emissions of greenhouse gases have risen, the rise in temperatures has not followed exactly in their path, but scientists using new computer models believe they have found the 'missing heat' of global warming in the depths of the oceans.
How green is your airport?
Aviation has long been the 'enfant terrible' of the environmental movement with the increasing number of fights blamed for dramatically forcing up greenhouse gas emissions. One of the main concerns for green campaigners is the size of the airports needed to handle all the world's extra traffic.
Tackling the electric car doubters
Electric cars are being hailed as a major breakthrough in the battle against greenhouse gas emissions - but reservations remain. One of the major criticism of electric cars is their range between refuelling stops, that they cannot go much more than 100 miles without grinding to a halt.
Ploughing into the effect of crop tillage on greenhouse gas emissions
A new study finds that crop tillage could play a significant role in measuring greenhouse gas emissions. A team from the USDA-ARS in partnership with the University of Minnesota has found that the tillage of crops can affect levels of greenhouse gas emissions over a specified area of land.
Companies misleading over greenhouse super gases says report
One of the most powerful greenhouse gases is being released into the atmosphere in far higher quantities than European governments are reporting says a new report. HFC-23 is a so-called super greenhouse gas which has a global warming potential some 14,800 times higher than CO2.
Managed forests can soak up more carbon
Researchers discover that forests with younger, more diverse, species of trees are more effective at soaking up carbon than their older trees. Forests act as CO2 sponges, soaking up to 2.4 billion tonnes of greenhouse gases annually - almost a third of all CO2 released through the burning of fossil fuels each year.
Is wind energy what we want?
As Chris Huhne addressed Vestas this week, Jessica Allan discusses whether public opinion will prevent the large scale implementation of wind energy in the UK. Wind energy does seem a very attractive option - it can be produced in the UK, which could massively increase energy security, lower greenhouse emissions and act as a buffer against global energy price fluctuations.
Aviation increases prompts environmental concern
Global air traffic is expected to grow by 5.3 per cent this year, according to officials at the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO). According to the ICAO, the increases indicate a strengthening global economy but environmental campaigners are concerned that it will increase greenhouse gas emissions.
Did icy-methane bring on the age of the dinosaur?
The mass extinction 200 million years ago, that paved the way for the rise of the dinosaurs, could have been caused by a massive belch of methane, say scientists in a paper just published online on ScienceExpress. Plant remains show that the atmosphere was rapidly filled with carbon, which could have come from CO2-driven warming, releasing the methane stored in the cold sub-sea sediments.
Bacteria transform landfill methane
Biofilters can convert around a fifth of the wasted methane from old landfill sites into less harmful gases says new research. Methane has a much greater impact on global warming per amount of gas than carbon dioxide and landfills account for 12% of global anthropogenic methane emissions.
Wildlife charity hits out a Conservative MEPs over CO2 target vote
British Conservative MEPs were instrumental in throwing out an EU report that goes against the wishes of their party's national government says WWF-UK. The European Parliament voted not to follow the recommendations of an EU report that called for a 30% reduction from 1990 levels in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020.
China's double-edged climate weapon
A paper published yesterday, in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, suggests that the same coal-powered stations helping to bump up greenhouse gas emissions may be helping to hold temperatures back too. The cooling-sulfates from China's coal-fueled economic boom are being removed to stop local pollution - but could that give global warming an alarming kick upwards?
Ozone likely to threaten European forests as climate warms
Researchers from Sweden say that damage from ozone is likely to badly affect European forests and agriculture by the end of this century, reducing yields. Ozone is very important to life on Earth as any green veterans will remember. In the higher atmosphere - the ozone layer helps keep out harmful ultraviolet solar radiation.
How wallabies from 'down-under' can help in climate-change fight
Wallabies have been shown to make use of helpful green bacteria, as part of their solution to turning grass and leaves into energy, says a new study. They produce 80% less methane than cows or sheep. The latest research from down-under, published in the new Science, may lead to better ways to control livestock emissions, which is the third-largest source of climate-altering methane in the US.
Cities Change Wind Patterns, Raising Pollution
Warm nighttime temperatures change wind patterns, trapping pollutants in cities. Amongst U.S. cities, Houston has some of the highest levels of pollutants like ozone at the ground level. In Houston, urban development inhibits winds from sweeping pollutants out to the ocean at night.
Warmer summers on way with disastrous consequences
Global warming will start to have an effect within the next two decades say researchers from Stanford University who have used historical climate models to make their predictions. The research is published in the new edition of the journal Climate Change and says warmer summers are on the way unless greenhouse gas concentrations stop increasing.
CO2 release may be too fast for environment to cope say geologists
An historical period of high CO2 concentration produced the greenhouse gas at only one tenth of current release rates and the speed of change may be too much for environments to adapt to say geologists.
''Biodegradable'' label may be bad news for global warming
Biodegradable products may be a double-edged sword environmentally according to new research which shows the speed at which these products decay could be releasing the greenhouse gas methane in to the atmosphere.
Scientists cast doubt on claims microbes consumed much of the Deepwater Horizon methane plume
Doubts raised by scientists that microbes consumed much of the Deepwater Horizon methane plume. All organic life on earth utilises carbon as a nutrient. Some bacteria are able to ingest methane, the simplest hydrocarbon, to satisfy this need, in part at least.
EU vote firms up moves to a 30% emissions cut
The prospects of a 30% greenhouse gas reduction, by 2020, looks higher after the EU's Environment Committee voted strongly in favor of lifting the target, from its current 20% level. The measure will now go onto the EU's Parliament, where it will be voted on in June. The vote also makes the UK more likely to stick by its own 50% cut by 2027, agreed 10 days ago.
Alternative Methods of Transportation
New transportation options can help to cut back on greenhouse gasses and reduce air pollution in the environment.
UK commits to halving emissions in fourth 'carbon budget'
The UK committed itself to a legally-binding target on greenhouse gas emissions - promising to slash them by 50% by 2027. But the argument within the coalition government over the plan has watered down on some important points - leaving some green groups worried about the UK's fourth 'carbon budget'.
Bringing soot and methane on board, post-Kyoto
Soot and methane are climate-change causing pollutants that need bringing into any new international agreement on slowing global warming. So says a Policy Forum article in today's Science. With Kyoto due to expire in 2012, a replacement mechanism for regulating greenhouse gases is needed fast - and tackling soot and methane could speed up the payback of such an agreement.
China and U.S. announce fisheries and climate change deals
The world's two largest economies have announced cooperation on fisheries and greenhouse gases. They hope to stop unregulated fish stocks from going on sale, monitor the management of threatened species and to reduce the toll of protected marine animals like sea turtles.
Why fickle wind power wins out over nuclear
Whilst yesterday's Renewable Energy Review pushed the UK's nuclear button firmly - as a solution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions - it's in fact a time to hit the pause button. Nuclear power will be a costly dangerous diversion from the real solution - making truly renewable energy sources into a reliable foundation for our future energy needs.
Methane-contaminated drinking water confirmed near fracking wells
The drinking water of homes close to wells that use hydraulic fracturing - to help get gas from buried shales - has up to 17 times the level of methane of those further away, says new research published in today's online edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Scientists from Duke University have pinned the methane in tap water to the gas wells themselves, adding to an already long list of environmental concerns with shale gas 'fracking'.
World's Largest Fleet of Electric Taxis Celebrates One Year of Operation
Chinese city of Shenzhen has success with zero-emission public transport. China is making great strides to reduce its position as the world's number one greenhouse gas emitter. It has the largest fleet of electric taxis in the world, operating in the southern city of Shenzhen, near Hong Kong. Fifty of these five-seat taxis have been taking passengers since April 29th 2010 and have clocked up over 1,730,000 all-electric miles.
UN Clean Development Mechanism Hits 3,000 Projects
Scheme to help developing countries reduce emissions reaches important milestone. The UN's Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) which is designed to help reduce greenhouse gases from developing countries has reached 3000 projects: a wind farm in Inner Mongolia, which is a province of China.
US air cleaner but 50% of Americans breathe dirty air still
The American Lung Association's State of the Air 2011 report released April 27 says that ''the majority of American cities most-polluted by ozone (smog) or year-round particle pollution (soot) have improved,'' during 2007-2009. The report covers three measures: ozone, short term particle (solid and liquid) levels and year-round particle levels.
Breakthrough Tool used in California to Measure Greenhouse Gas Emissions
A number of California cities and counties have received a powerful new web-based tool that is designed to help measure greenhouse gas emissions and address issues related to climate change. Developed by ICLEI, this breakthrough new Online Inventory Tool was created for California's Statewide Energy Efficiency Collaborative (SEEC) to help meet the increasing demands of combatting climate change by saving communities both energy and money.
Ozone Hole Over the Arctic is of Record Proportions
The phenomenon of a ''hole'' in the ozone blanket that covers the earth at polar latitudes was first discovered in 1985 by scientists from the British Antarctic Survey. The ''hole'' was a cylinder of the atmosphere, forming over polar regions, where the level of ozone in the atmospheric column was depleted.
Sea cow teeth point to a wetter Eocene and a 'greenhouse earth'
Sea cow teeth from 50 million years ago are helping scientists to flesh out the climate of the earth during the Eocene, a time when greenhouse conditions reined supreme. Their paper, published today in Science, confirms that very wet conditions extended right down to the tropics, where rainfall rates were much greater than that seen today.
Ozone hole's long reach brings climate change to the tropics
The ozone hole over Antarctica could be causing the tropics to have wetter summers, increasing flooding and landslide risks, according to recent research published today in Science. A team from Columbia University has found that the ozone hole is helping to shift the jet streams south, making parts of the tropics much rainier than they were before. The results imply it is not just greenhouse gases that can change the climate.
Charging electric cars at night eases ozone haze
Ozone levels could be cut if the charging of electric cars is timed just right - so says a paper in Environmental Research Letters published online tomorrow. The authors looked at the effect on pollution from power-plants - which still feed much of the electricity for electric cars - and found night was best for reducing ozone hazes. This reinforces to the need to plan electricity tariffs to encourage the best charging behavior from the growing electric car-using population.
Shifting from pasture to sugarcane cools Brazilian cerrado
Sugarcane in Brazil's cerrado can have a cooling double whammy. It helps to power private transport, with cane ethanol that has fewer greenhouse gas emissions - and now it has been shown to potentially help cool the local climes too. A paper to be published in Nature Climate Change, has measured the effects of switching from other crops and cattle to sugarcane - and the dense thickets of cane are better at reflecting sunlight, and cooling through water loss.
EPA emissions powers avoid becoming US budget casualty
After a game of legislative ping-pong, that saw Congress and Senate on different sides of the role of the EPA in controlling greenhouse gases, the budget agreement on Friday laid to rest - for the moment - the danger that the EPA could lose its powers to help reduce emissions. The agreement on the federal budget avoided both a US governmental and a climate-change action shutdown - but the divisions remain.
US House pushes back with 'empty gesture' EPA attack
The legislative see-saw swung against the EPA yesterday, as the House voted in a bill to curtail the EPA's powers to regulate greenhouse gases. But the bill will most likely serve as nothing more than an empty gesture, whilst Senate opinion, and the Presidential veto, stand firmly behind the EPA holding onto those powers.
Senate vote stymies attempt to kill EPA's climate action powers
The Senate voted down yesterday the McConnell measure to coral the EPA, and prevent it from tackling US-sourced greenhouse gas pollution. The vote, split evenly at 50-50, was ten short of the 60 majority needed. That left the EPA free to continue its attempts to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases from major emitters such as power plants and refineries.
Arctic ozone hole moving south
Unusual atmospheric conditions during the last Arctic winter have opened a massive hole in the ozone layer and that hole is extending into the more densely populated latitudes of northern Europe. Ozone depleted air masses are moving south from the Arctic and have reached Finland. They are expected to move as far east as the Russian-Chinese border and perhaps as far south as the Mediterranean.
UN Climate talks begin in Bangkok
Issues surrounding the 1997 Kyoto Protocol remain key to moving ahead with climate change agreements in 2012 and beyond. Aimed at reducing the greenhouse gas emissions that are responsible for global warming, since 1997 the Kyoto Protocol has held most developed nations to a set of legally binding commitments that are due to expire in late 2012.
UK Government blames home users as greenhouse gases figures rise
Greenhouse gas emissions rise in the UK. While the figures from the transport sector were stable, the government was quick to highlight that the bulk of the increase came from the residential sector, despite the fact that just 17% of all CO2 emissions comes from the nation's homes.
Recession pulled US greenhouse gases down in 2009
A 6% fall in CO2 equivalent emissions is the eye-grabbing figure from the EIA report for 2009 - a record-breaking drop. But that number is muddied by the contrasting effects of the recession, which pulled production, and so emissions, down sharply. But the reported continued decrease in carbon intensity offers a glimmer of hope for 2010.
谢谢 ('Thank you'); how the Chinese may have 'fixed' that tricky little global energy problem
Agricultural news; energy-efficient greenhouse helps boost year-round crop yield in China. an academic research team based at the China Agricultural University (College of Agronomy and Biotechnology) has been making international headlines. The researchers have been monitoring the use of solar-powered greenhouse facilities as an innovative means of achieving agricultural targets
Washington D.C. and Brookeville, Md. Currently Leading EPA's Green Power Community Challenge
36 communities nationwide are currently participating in the EPA's first-ever annual Green Power Community Challenge, as part of efforts to demonstrate how renewable energy can be used to produce fewer greenhouse gas emissions and improve the health of the community and the environment.
Extension Issued by EPA for Greenhouse Gas Reporting Deadline
In order to more effectively utilize reporting tools and maximize understanding, the EPA has announced it will extend the Greenhouse Gas Reporting deadline until September 30, 2011. The current deadline extension follows a number of in depth conversations with industry leaders and experts, and will allow the EPA to conduct additional testing on the system that facilities will be required to use for reporting the data.
Familiar refrain of 'jobs threat' doesn't cut it in EPA attack
Congress passed, Tuesday, a measure to stop the EPA from acting on climate-change causing greenhouse gases. As the McConnell Amendment moves to the Senate, sections of industry have added their support to it, worrying over the effect on jobs of the EPA powers. But with the world moving to a low-carbon economy, real jobs will come from speeding up the transition in the US - not slowing it down.
Molasses proves a match for ozone-depleting chemical
Using molasses to encourage beneficial microbes could help to replace a chemical which damages the ozone layer. The USDA's Agricultural Research Service (ARS) are seeing if a system that uses the treacle to stimulate beneficial bacteria in the soil and so does away with the need for Methyl Bromide.
A worrying rate of ozone depletion is found above the Arctic
New data illustrates the rapid rate of ozone loss above the Arctic. The ozone is destroyed when products from chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) are converted into aggressive substances, this happens when they come into contact with extremely cold conditions and there has long been a link between climate change and the loss of the ozone. Filed in environmental issues: ozone/climate change.
China Plans for Green Growth
Latest Five Year Plan sets ambitious targets to decarbonise China's huge economy. China is not just the world's second biggest economy, it is now the world's biggest climate change gases emitter - according to the World Resources Institute it produced 7,232.8 megatonnes of greenhouse gases in 2007 (the last year we have comparable figures for), surpassing the USA's 6,914.2 megatonnes. Filed in environmental issues: emissions/growth/energy.
Climate turns nasty on the hill as Republicans prepare to block green agenda
Republicans and Democrats battle over the science of climate change. Obama's green agenda could receive a fatal blow today (Thursday) with Republicans wielding the axe on the hill. Republicans look set to remain true to their word when they head to Congress vote on a bill designed to curb the Environment Protection Agency's power to tackle greenhouse gas emissions. Filed under environmental issues: Climate Change/Politics.
Solar power installations that float on water
A joint Israeli-French project investigates the floating of solar panels on water. Solar power is considered to be a clean and efficient source of electricity and is regarded as a major player in the worldwide effort to reduce greenhouse gases. The problem is that most of the solar energy systems on the market today have two major weaknesses. The first is that they require vast land areas in order to be built and the second is the very high costs related to the construction and maintenance of the solar cells.
US Congress to take control of greenhouse gases
The battle between business and environmental interests rages on. It would appear that big business has won again, as responsibility for regulation of greenhouse gas emissions is transferred to from the US Environmental Protection Agency to Congress. Since the Obama administration took charge, the EPA has made unprecedented changes to the Clean Air Act and industry groups have lobbied senators, concerned that the result will be job losses and increases in electricity prices.
No hiding for cattle methane culprits
Tracking cattle methane directly has taken a step forwards, with new research using GPS and laser technology. With scientists able to point fingers at each methane emission in a herd, there is now potential for measuring the best ways to reduce such emissions. Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas, and reducing releases from cattle is important for knocking back risks from climate change.
Biggest carbon footprint for Brazilian beef
Beef from the Brazilian Amazon could carry the highest carbon footprint of any beef in the world, suggest findings from a new study by Swedish scientists. Researchers from SIK (the Swedish Institute of Food and Biotechnology) and Chalmers University of Technology have revealed that Brazilian beef production emits more greenhouse gases than previously thought, because earlier studies did not account for land changes like deforestation.
A warming beer! Scientists look for biofuels in brew waste
Microbes in brewery waste already saves brewers millions by producing methane and now scientists want to put these miniature workers to work on other useful tasks. Cornell scientists have been working with Anheuser-Busch Inbev, which brews Budweiser, to see if microbes which currently produce methane as they break down brewery waste can be put to other uses.
Something old, something blue - how cyanobacteria are helping forests grow
Exciting research into the rain forests of British Columbia show that the blue bacteria living on mosses on the oldest trees have a big impact on the nutrient cycle of these forests. The more old trees there are, the more nitrogen is fixed, so helping forests grow. This helps our understanding of the forest nitrogen cycle, but raises new questions about the impact of forest age on greenhouse gases.
New farming methods to reduce greenhouse gases and improve yields
By drilling a field in foot wide strips, nine inches deep, and planting maize and adding nitrate fertiliser at the same time, this increases yields and reduces the amount of nitrate escaping into the atmosphere as nitrous oxide. Although carbon dioxide (CO2) is widely held to be the major contributor to global warming, scientists believe that the contribution of nitrous oxide (N2O) is about 300 times more than CO2.
China, worlds biggest greenhouse gas emitter introduces more pollution controls
China overtook the United States as the world's biggest greenhouse gas emitter in November and is beginning to introduce controls to limit the environmental degradation that accompanies its rapid industrialisation. Already the planet's largest energy consumer and polluter, China has long taken the position that it is the industrialised nations who should be taking up the biggest burden of emissions cuts.
Lunch with a crunch - eco-friendly edible insects
Scrap the beef, pork, and chicken from your diet if you want to improve your carbon footprint. Edible insects like mealworms, locusts and crickets produce a fraction of the greenhouse gases per kilo of protein than more conventional meals.
Burping cows depleting ozone layer, Irish study finds
Burps, not farts, cause for methane production among cattle. Every cow, on average, produces 80kg to 100kg (CH4) of methane per year, a gas that has the nasty habit of depleting the ozone layer. The reason for this is enteric - in other words, it's related to digestion, but not in the way you might imagine.
Japan is Leading the Emissions Reduction Race
Japan reports impressive gains in reduction of greenhouse gas emissions at the GLOBE International legislators group meeting in Mexico City midway through the Cancun climate summit though officially they dont want to be a part of the extension of the Kyoto Protocol after the first phase expires in 2012.
America Recycles Day - Tackling a growing mountain of waste
'I Recycle, Do You?' is this year's theme for America Recycles Day, held on 15 November: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reports that America currently recycles around 32 percent of its waste, which is equivalent to saving the greenhouse gas emitted by 39.6 million cars.
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The mechanisms of shelf-sea fronts are poorly understood. As a front passes, how do plankton and their consumers contribute to the ecology of sea and land nearby? Many species of predator specialise in visiting these fronts, whether transient or fixed, and using the warmer temperatures, the varying productivity and the food supply that gannets find a valuable diet during the breeding season.
Wave power or tidal power? The answer probably depends on where you are. If you have the frightening power that has always inspired names like Cape Wrath, then those tides should produce the most power in Europe. On the other hand, the regular movement of waves could well be capable of inspiring a design to accumulate energy over a lengthy period, albeit with less energy production per unit.
Were afraid that we have neglected the food security side of our responsibilities. Articles on Politics and Health have been published at the expense of this vital area, as the effects of consolidating food reserves are not only to alleviate criminal use of bushmeat, theft and extortion. We must also preserve areas for wildlife where otherwise people have been forced to cut down their forest to grow more crops/sell timber/build mines, roads or various infrastructure. GODAN are gathering in New York to spread expertise on agriculture and nutrition that will feed the parts of the world that are starving.
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Need to save money after the spending boom to end them all? Here are 2 sets of opinions on how to pull out the plugs at night at least.
When dolphins are 'rescued' in various countries, the car given seems to be ill-considered. We are simply looking at the success rate which is reported to be low, in most places. They could even end up in commercial aquarium shows, but they certainly rarely make it back to the sea.
What is killing bees? Chelsea has the answer here.
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