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Author |
Published |
Section |
We've Got to Do Something About That, Stat!
NASA declares 2007 second-warmest year on record, NOAA says it's fifth-warmest |
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17 Jan 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 10:37 AM on 17 Jan 2008 NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies has declared 2007 the second-warmest year on record, tying with 1998 for the title. 2005 remains the hottest, according to the agency. Researchers said, to no one's surprise, that the greatest warming occurred in the Arctic. "As we predicted last year, 2007 was warmer than 2006, continuing the ... |
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| Topics: climate, climate science, news, scientific research (all these topics) |
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A smarter, thriftier grid
Field test documents big consumer savings |
Patrick Mazza |
15 Jan 2008 |
Gristmill |
| A Northwest field test of smart-grid technologies has documented tremendous potential to run a grid that delivers power far more economically by controlling peak demand. The Pacific Northwest GridWise Demonstration Project has just announced the results of their year-long test, which included two pieces: On the Olympic Peninsula of Washington, 112 homes, three onsite generation units and municipal water pumps were equipped with automated systems tha ... |
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| Topics: electricity grid, energy, scientific research (all these topics) |
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It's a Bird! It's a Plane! It's Supercarrot!
Scientists unveil genetically modified calcium-boosting supercarrot |
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15 Jan 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 9:29 AM on 15 Jan 2008 U.S. scientists have unveiled a new "supercarrot" genetically modified to provide extra calcium, which they hope could ultimately help ward off osteoporosis. Say what you will about genetic modification, but you can't deny that picturing a carrot flying across the sky in a cape is funny. sources: BBC News, The Telegraph < Previous | Next ... |
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| Topics: food, GMOs, news, scientific research (all these topics) |
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Antarctic'ed Off
Antarctica ice melt more widespread and faster than thought, says study |
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14 Jan 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 3:48 PM on 14 Jan 2008 Antarctica holds about 90 percent of the Earth's ice, so it's a bit problematic that the continent seems to be melting faster than expected. Not only is large-scale ice loss more widespread than thought, but the rate of meltiness has accelerated over the last decade, says a study in the journal Nature Geoscience. The West Antarctic ice sheet lost about 132 billion tons of ic ... |
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| Topics: Antarctica, climate, climate change impacts, news, scientific research (all these topics) |
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Get Smart
Use of |
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10 Jan 2008 |
News |
| "smart grid" technology could save U.S. $120 billion, study says Posted at 6:21 AM on 10 Jan 2008 A yearlong study by the Department of Energy has concluded that when consumers are given the means to closely track and adjust their energy usage, power use declines by an average of 10 percent. In addition, the study found that households' electricity usage during peak times fell by up to 15 percent. The study estimated that "smart grid" technology, if used nat ... |
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| Topics: electricity grid, news, scientific research, United States (all these topics) |
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Where's the Reef?
Coral reefs suffer from proximity to humans, says study |
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09 Jan 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 4:26 PM on 09 Jan 2008 The main factor contributing to declines in coral-reef health is proximity to human populations, says new research in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B. A study of 322 reef sites in the Caribbean found that many suffered significant damage from overfishing and agricultural runoff. Author Camilo Mora estimates that reefs in the region provide some $4 billion in econom ... |
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| Topics: habitat loss, news, oceans, population, scientific research (all these topics) |
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So Cellulose, Yet So Far
Study touts environmental benefits of switchgrass-derived biofuel |
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08 Jan 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 4:11 PM on 08 Jan 2008 Fast-growing switchgrass makes for a super-duper biofuel, says new research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The five-year study of 10 Midwest farms concluded that switchgrass-derived biofuel can produce more than five times the energy consumed in manufacturing it, and emits 94 percent less greenhouse-gas emissions than gasoline. "This ... |
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| Topics: biofuels, cellulosic ethanol, energy, news, scientific research (all these topics) |
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Now Where Did We Put That Respirator?
For every 1 degree Celsius globe warms, some 21,000 people could die, says study |
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04 Jan 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 3:06 PM on 04 Jan 2008 For every 1 degree Celsius of anthropogenic global warming, some 21,000 people worldwide could die, including more than 1,000 in the U.S., says a new study in Geophysical Research Letters. According to computer modeling by researcher Mark Jacobson, increased air pollution due to rising carbon-dioxide levels will lead to more fatalities. "Th ... |
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| Topics: air pollution, California, climate, climate change impacts, health, news, scientific research (all these topics) |
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Don't tell Canis!
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JMG |
20 Dec 2007 |
Gristmill |
| This is one of those stories where you don't know whether to be hopeful or depressed after reading it. Like drug addicts who will try snorting every powder in the house, we seem to be willing to subject any substance on the planet to the real acid test of our age: Will it help us keep carburbia going? |
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| Topics: innovation, scientific research, biofuels, energy (all these topics) |
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O Me! O Life! Of the Questions of These Recurring
Synthetic DNA could soon yield entirely new life forms |
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17 Dec 2007 |
News |
| Posted at 7:02 AM on 17 Dec 2007 For opponents of genetically modified crops, the possibility that scientists could soon create entirely new life forms out of synthetic DNA may provoke similar worries and safety concerns. Recent improvements in technology have made the lab creation of complex DNA strands possible, and some researchers intend to use them to manufacture new life forms -- in on ... |
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| Topics: business, GMOs, news, scientific research (all these topics) |
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Coral Feckless
Wild salmon and coral both in trouble, say studies |
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13 Dec 2007 |
News |
| Posted at 4:37 PM on 13 Dec 2007 Infestations of sea lice (ew) in salmon farms off the west coast of Canada are threatening local wild salmon populations -- to the extent that the wild fish could be extinct within four years, says a new study published in Science. While the researchers focused on fish populations off the coast of British Columbia, they believe their findings could be applicable anywhere there's a high density of ... |
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| Topics: agriculture, aquaculture, fishing, news, oceans, scientific research (all these topics) |
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It's All About the Ice
Sights and sounds from an Arctic research vessel |
Elizabeth Grossman |
13 Dec 2007 |
Grist Feature |
| In late November, I began a three-week stay on the CCGS Amundsen, a Canadian Coast Guard ice-breaker and scientific research vessel that is spending 15 months in the Arctic. This expedition will be the first ever to spend the winter moving through sea ice north of the Arctic Circle -- and at present, I am the only reporter on board. The logistics of such an expedition are extremely difficul ... |
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| Topics: Arctic, climate, oceans, scientific research (all these topics) |
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On science vs. economics
Cato's Jerry Taylor responds to Michael Tobis |
Guest author |
12 Dec 2007 |
Gristmill |
| The following post is by Jerry Taylor, a senior fellow at the libertarian Cato Institute. It is a reply to a post by Michael Tobis entitled 'Should economics rule?'----- "Should Economics Rule?" Well, I take it that Michael means to suggest that someone out there -- in this case, me -- would contend that economic analysis should dictate climate policy. I do not hold that opinion. For a brief defense of my position, see my post on the matter at the Ca ... |
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| Topics: climate, economy, scientific research (all these topics) |
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Bird by bird
A third of avian species on land could disappear this century as a result of climate change |
Katy Balatero |
10 Dec 2007 |
Gristmill |
| In more depressing bird news, researchers at my alma mater estimate that up to 30 percent of all land-dwelling bird species could be extinct by 2100 as a result of global climate change. The study, published this week in the journal Conservation Biology ($ub. req'd), modeled bird population responses to changes in vegetation for over 8,000 species and 60 scenarios, and is one of the first analyses of extinction rates to incorporate information from the recent IPCC rep ... |
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| Topics: biodiversity, climate, climate change impacts, habitat loss, scientific research, wildlife (all these topics) |
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Rats in space!
NASA has bold plans to ... send rodents into orbit |
Andrew Dessler |
06 Dec 2007 |
Gristmill |
| A while back I blogged on the folly of NASA's Moon-Mars program, and how it's killing real science the agency could be doing. Yesterday I received an email from NASA alerting me to a new funding opportunity: This National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Research Announcement (NRA) solicits research proposals to conduct studies utilizing rodents flown onboard the Russian Bion-M1 spacecraft. The Bion-M1 mission will launch an unmanned automated spacecraft ... |
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| Topics: scientific research (all these topics) |
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What Part of
Severe precipitation in U.S. significantly increased over past half-century, says report |
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05 Dec 2007 |
News |
| "Go Away" Don't You Understand? Severe precipitation in U.S. significantly increased over past half-century, says report Posted at 5:50 PM on 05 Dec 2007 The number of severe rainfalls and snowstorms across the U.S. has increased by around 24 percent in the last 50 years, says a new report from green group Environment America. In five states -- Louisiana, Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont -- instances of heavy precipitation have jumped by more than 50 per ... |
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| Topics: climate, climate change impacts, news, scientific research, severe weather (all these topics) |
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In Efficiency
U.S. could slash emissions at little cost through boosted efficiency, says report |
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30 Nov 2007 |
News |
| Posted at 10:16 AM on 30 Nov 2007 The U.S. could significantly slash its greenhouse-gas emissions "at manageable costs to the economy," says a new study from consulting firm McKinsey & Company. Assuming no significant change in consumer lifestyle, researchers did an in-depth cost-benefit analysis of various options for reducing GHG emissions. Their conclusions: "clean coal" is ... |
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| Topics: energy, energy efficiency, greenhouse-gas emissions, news, scientific research, United States (all these topics) |
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The Destitution Will Not Be Televised ... But There Is This Report
World's poor to be shafted most by climate change, U.N. report says |
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27 Nov 2007 |
News |
| Posted at 6:59 AM on 27 Nov 2007 It's official: The world's poorest people will be the most screwed over by climate change and its ill effects, including drought, agricultural failures, water shortages, disease, flooding, and all the rest, according to a new report from the United Nations Development Program. "For millions of people, these are events that ... |
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| Topics: climate, news, scientific research, United Nations (all these topics) |
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POGO Shtick
Scientists urge investment in deeper understanding of the deep |
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26 Nov 2007 |
News |
| Posted at 4:08 PM on 26 Nov 2007 Things we know about the world's oceans: They're big. They're watery. They're in bad shape. And that's about it. To that end, the Partnership for Observation of the Global Oceans is urging the 72-nation Group on Earth Observations, which meets this week, to invest $2 billion to $3 billion over the next decade in a comprehensive marine monitoring system. Scientists say that such a system c ... |
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| Topics: news, oceans, scientific research (all these topics) |
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Dream of hydrogen car goes down in flames
Full-cell company bought by Daimler and Ford |
Joseph Romm |
21 Nov 2007 |
Gristmill |
| Ballard -- the Canadian fuel-cell company that once hoped to be the 'Intel Inside of the hydrogen car revolution -- has sold off its automotive fuel-cell business to Daimler and Ford. You can listen to a good CBC radio story on it, which includes an interview of me (click on 'Listen to the Current,' Part 2). You can read Toronto Star columnist Tyler Hamilton on the story here. A Financial Post post piece headlines the story bluntly: 'Hydrogen highway hits dead end: B ... |
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| Topics: business, cars, energy, hydrogen, scientific research, tech (all these topics) |
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OPEC joins Bush, Gingrich, and Lomborg in climate technology strategy
Research vs. cap-and-trade |
Joseph Romm |
20 Nov 2007 |
Gristmill |
| Yes, OPEC is now 'pledging $750 million for research into climate change technology' (while opposing a cap-and-trade system). [Note to President Bush, Newt Gingrich, and Bjørn Lomborg -- it ain't a good sign when your climate strategy is the same as OPEC's.] OPEC, however, seems a tad confused on just what a technology-based strategy could do for oil: OPEC is worried that a new international accord could cramp fast-growing Middle East economies, where oil use ... |
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| Topics: climate change mitigation, scientific research, international politics, carbon trading, politics, energy, climate (all these topics) |
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The Bali's in Your Court
Latest IPCC climate report comes out strong, lays groundwork for Bali talks |
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19 Nov 2007 |
News |
| Posted at 8:11 AM on 19 Nov 2007 "Warming of the climate system is unequivocal," warned the Nobel Prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in its hardest-hitting report yet, released on Saturday. Delegates from more than 140 countries came to agreement on the document, which summarizes three previous reports and warns of the grave dangers posed by climate change. The ne ... |
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| Topics: Bali 07, climate, news, scientific research, United Nations (all these topics) |
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No Forest for the Weary
Gulf State forests ravaged by Hurricane Katrina, says study |
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16 Nov 2007 |
News |
| Posted at 12:04 PM on 16 Nov 2007 The impact of Hurricane Katrina on the people of the Gulf States is well known (if occasionally ignored), but the storm also brutalized the region's forests. A new study published in Science reports that Katrina destroyed some 320 million trees in Mississippi and Louisiana, leading to a laundry list of problems. Federal funding for replanting has been slow in coming, and many pri ... |
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| Topics: deforestation, Louisiana, Mississippi, news, scientific research, severe weather (all these topics) |
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Original Syn
IPCC Synthesis Report coming out Saturday |
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16 Nov 2007 |
News |
| Posted at 8:57 AM on 16 Nov 2007 Policymakers of the world, get ready. Tomorrow, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change releases its Synthesis Report that will attempt to summarize the world's climate-y plight in a language governments can understand. Saturday's report will be the official abbreviated version of the 2,500 pages of scientific reports the IPCC churned out earlier this year. The summary aims to walk the fine line betwee ... |
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| Topics: climate, news, scientific research, United Nations (all these topics) |
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Priorities
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David Roberts |
12 Nov 2007 |
Gristmill |
| Here's a nice little graph showing U.S. R&D spending in various types of energy compared to spending in Iraq for 2007 (click on the image for background): This is what we, collectively, deem important. |
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| Topics: scientific research, Iraq, energy (all these topics) |
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