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To the Our-Environment.Org website. We believe the best way to help solve the environmental problems we all face today is through building public awareness and increasing understanding of the environmental issues we all face. 

Though the voice to preserve and maintain our environment is getting louder with more and more people starting to pay attention, we cannot rest on our laurels; we still need to keep working towards raising the global consciousness about our environment even further and eventually high enough for the tide to turn on the destructive practises we

see around us every day. 

Our Problem

It has taken generations of human progress for us to see our environment getting to the stage were nature can no longer cope with the escalating production of the toxins that drive human advancement, pollutants and green house gases like carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone are being produced faster than they can be naturally absorbed. 

The majority of greenhouse gases come mostly from natural sources though our contribution (i.e. human activity and progress) has started to tip the balance. Production of “Greenhouse Gases” has increased to the stage that the planet can no longer sustain itself and the Earth is in real terms losing the fight. Millions of years ago the Earth was dominated by these gases, though over the eons these compounds have been sequestered into substances like oil, natural gas and coal.

The human race over the past hundred plus years has become expert at re-releasing these compounds back into the atmosphere through industry and feeding our swelling hunger for energy and we are now seeing the alarming consequences of this activity. 

Of course we cannot go back to some pre-industrial stage of our history to find the answer, technology is the double edged blade that has catapulted us into this situation and technology will provide the way to meet and (hopefully) eventually overcome this challenge. 

This does not mean however we as individuals do not have to do our bit. We must all look at the consequences of what we do every day; turn off the lights when we are not in the room, power down our computers when we are not sitting on front of them, turn off the TV rather than sit mesmerised in front of it for hours on end and walk to the store instead of cranking up the car. It is the some total of all the little things we do every day that can have the biggest impact on the problem facing us and our environment.

This remedy will not happen overnight, it may well take a generation to undo the damage already caused. The important things is build momentum, we have to help wake peoples awareness to what we can all do together to help, and even more importantly what we can do as individuals right now.

Thanks for Stopping By...

TheTeam@Our-Environment.org

New maize could prepare farmers for climate change
Maize productivity could soar with new drought-tolerant maize varieties as adverse climatic changes loom. (Source: SciDev.Net)
Recent Public Policy Reports Online at www.aibs.org/public-policy-reports
Public Policy Report for 6 July 2010 AIBS President-elect shares thoughts on future of biology with House subcommittee. On 29 June, James P. Collins, AIBS president-elect and Virginia M. Ullman Professor of Natural History and the Environment at Arizona State University, testified before a House research and science education subcommittee hearing examining the future of the biological sciences. The hearing was spurred, in part, by the National Research Council's recent publication, A New Biology for the 21st Century: Ensuring the United States Leads the Coming Biology Revolution. Funded by the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, and the Department of Energy, the report makes recommendations for a "new biology" that can advance basic research and solve world p...
Researchers Analyze "The Environmentalist's Paradox"
Global degradation of ecosystems is widely believed to threaten human welfare, yet accepted measures of well-being show that it is on average improving globally, both in poor countries and rich ones. A team of authors writing in the September issue of BioScience dissects explanations for this "environmentalist's paradox." Noting that understanding the paradox is "critical to guiding future management of ecosystem services," Ciara Raudsepp-Hearne and her colleagues confirm that improvements in aggregate well-being are real, despite convincing evidence of ecosystem decline. Three likely reasons they identify—past increases in food production, technological innovations that decouple people from ecosystems, and time lags before well-being is affected—provide few grounds for complac...
2 September 2010
2 September: This week, ancient cratons, climate change in China and guilt-free seafood. Plus, the best of the rest from Nature. (Source: Nature Podcast)
The impacts of climate change on water resources and agriculture in China
Authors: Shilong Piao, Philippe Ciais, Yao Huang, Zehao Shen, Shushi Peng, Junsheng Li, Liping Zhou, Hongyan Liu, Yuecun Ma, Yihui Ding, Pierre Friedlingstein, Chunzhen Liu, Kun Tan, Yongqiang Yu, Tianyi Zhang & Jingyun Fang China is the world’s most populous country and a major emitter of greenhouse gases. Consequently, much research has focused on China’s influence on climate change but somewhat less has been written about the impact of climate change on China. China experienced explosive economic growth in recent decades, but with only 7% of the world’s arable land available to feed 22% of the world’s population, China's economy may be vulnerable to climate change itself. We find, however, that notwithstanding the clear warming that has occurred in China in r...
Vector-Borne Diseases Growing as Threats to U.S. Public Health: Climate Change, Travel Linked to Illness
Last fall, an old resident returned to the beaches of Florida, though it certainly was not welcome and officials are determined to see its visit cut short. The unwanted visitor is mosquito-borne dengue, which made headlines this summer after public health officials found that 5 percent of Key West residents showed recent exposure to the virus. (Source: RWJF News Digest - Public Health)<div id="medworm"><p><b><i>MedWorm Message:</i></b> Register for <b><a href="http://www.medmatcha.com" target ="_self">MedMatcha, MedWorm's medical advertising network</a></b>, and receive $5 free advertising.</p></div>
Letters: Still wary of Bjørn Lomborg's pronouncements on climate change
Bjørn Lomborg's change of mind on climate change is welcome, and some of his suggestions good, but your glowing review of his new book failed to examine deeply his shift in position (Top climate sceptic calls for $100bn fund to fight warming, 31 August).Dr Lomborg last year began to call for an investment of $100bn per year on research and development for low-carbon technologies, instead of the $25bn he was advocating 18 months ago. He now proposes that this should be raised through a carbon tax of $7 per tonne of carbon dioxide, rather than the $2 per tonne for which he previously argued.However, his strategy is alarmingly risky ? invest heavily in R&D and hope that this alone will keep atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases low enough to avoid the risk of serious and damaging ...
Barbara Boxer and Carly Fiorina battle hard in first Senate debate
Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer and her Republican opponent Carly Fiorina met in a contentious first debate Wednesday that seethed with disputes over their records and covered a broad range of issues from the economy to climate change to abortion rights.... (Source: OrlandoSentinel: Medical Research)
[Treatment of primary hepatocellular carcinoma.]
Authors: Dank M Primary hepatocellular cancer is the fifth most common solid tumor worldwide. Its incidence is the highest in the Third World, however, a risen incidence has been observed recently also in developed countries, due to increasing migration. In Asia and Africa the main etiological factor for HCC is chronic HBV infection, whereas in the Western world HCV etiology predominates. Additional increase in HCC incidence is expected as a consequence of climate change, since risk of aflatoxin contamination in agricultural products increases with hot and dry growing conditions. Aflatoxins are the most potent hepatocarcinogens in nature; therefore minimization of aflatoxin exposition will be a main task of food security in the future. The majority of HCC patients are diagnosed in adva...
Climate scientists should not write their own software, says researcher
Computer scientist urges software developers to help climate scientists produce better modelling tools. From BusinessGreen, part of the Guardian Environment NetworkA study by a computer scientist at the University of Toronto suggests that the computer models used to predict climate change may be undermined due to a lack of programming expertise.Steve Easterbrook at the University's Department of Computer Science, has had his paper, Climate Change: A Grand Software Challenge, accepted by the 2010 FSE/SDP Workshop on the Future of Software Engineering Research. In the paper, he suggests that because many climate prediction software modelling tools are built by climate scientists rather than software engineers some of the resulting software has room for improvement.Climate scientists commonly...
In the AIBS Webstore
&#8220;Communicating Science: A Primer for Working with the Media&#8221; Evolution, climate change, stem cell research &#8212; Scientists are frequently called upon to provide expert information on hot button issues that pervade the daily news headlines, yet most find themselves woefully unprepared for the bright lights of the television studio or leading questions from a newspaper journalist. A publication from AIBS, &#8220;Communicating Science: A Primer for Working with the Media,&#8221; will prepare scientists for successful and effective media interviews. Whether you are new to media outreach or just in a need of a media refresher, &#8220;Communicating Science&#8221; offers advice, case studies, and training exercises to prepare scientists for print, radio, and television interviews...<div id="medworm"><p><b><i>MedWorm Message:</i></b> Register for <b><a href="http://www.medmatcha.com" target ="_self">MedMatcha, MedWorm's medical advertising network</a></b>, and receive $5 free advertising.</p></div>
Become an Advocate for Science: Join the AIBS Legislative Action Center
Quick, free, easy, effective, impactful! Join the AIBS Legislative Action Center today! The AIBS Legislative Action Center is an online resource that allows biologists and science educators to quickly and effectively influence policy and public opinion. Each day lawmakers must make tough decisions about science policy. For example, what investments to make in federal research programs, how to conserve biodiversity, how to mitigate climate change, or under what circumstances to permit stem cell research. Scientists now have the opportunity to help elected officials understand these issues. This exciting new advocacy tool allows individuals to quickly and easily communicate with members of Congress, executive branch officials, and selected media outlets. This new tool is made possible thro...
Climate change implicated in decline of horseshoe crabs
A distinct decline in horseshoe crab numbers has occurred that parallels climate change associated with the end of the last Ice Age, according to a study that used genomics to assess historical trends in population sizes. (Source: ScienceDaily Headlines)
L.A. mayor, Latino activists take on oil companies over Proposition 23
They say the ballot initiative to suspend the state's climate change law would hurt low-income communities already suffering the most from pollution.Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa on Tuesday rebuked Valero Energy Corp. and Tesoro Corp., which operate refineries in Wilmington, for bankrolling a measure that would effectively scuttle the state's efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions. (Source: Los Angeles Times - Science)
Extensive relict coral reef found in southern Pacific
Coral reefs are sensitive to climate change and track sea level. New observations show that an extensive coral reef existed in the southern Pacific Ocean thousands of years ago. Researchers used multi-beam sonar, coring, and dating to examine a relict reef discovered in water about 20-25 meters (65-82 feet) deep around Lord Howe Island in the southern Pacific Ocean. (Source: ScienceDaily Headlines)
Soil map digs under the tundra
Nature 467, 30 (2010). doi:10.1038/467030a Author: Philippe Ciais An ambitious atlas that charts the composition of frozen northern soils highlights their contribution to climate change, finds Philippe Ciais. (Source: Nature)<div id="medworm"><p><b><i>MedWorm Message:</i></b> Register for <b><a href="http://www.medmatcha.com" target ="_self">MedMatcha, MedWorm's medical advertising network</a></b>, and receive $5 free advertising.</p></div>
Climate Change Cynic Changes His Mind In New Book
photo via Guardian One of the most high-profile climate change skeptics in the world has decided that he was wrong. Bjørn Lomborg, a Danish scientist who has been compared to Hitler by the United Nation&#8217;s climate chief, has a book coming out next month recommending that tens of billions of dollars be spent every year to fight climate change. This is a man who, in the past, would aggressively challenge climate change activists, scientists, and advocates. We&#8217;re wondering what made him do such an about-face. Of course, this could&#8217;ve been his plan the whole time ? to vehemently argue against the significance of global warming, only to later admit he was wrong in a potential best-seller. Is this just a ploy to make money, or did Bjørn really do a genuine 180º? via The ...
Temperatures and cyclones strongly associated with economic production in the Caribbean and Central America [Sustainability_Science-SS]
Understanding the economic impact of surface temperatures is an important question for both economic development and climate change policy. This... (Source: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences)
Green groups cautiously welcome Bjørn Lomborg's call for $100bn climate fund
'Sceptical environmentalist' previously argued that countering climate change should be a low priority for governments? Bjørn Lomborg calls for global climate fund? Climate change voice who changed his tuneSelf-styled "sceptical environmentalist" Bjørn Lomborg's call for a $100bn a year global fund for research into climate change solutions was today given a cautious welcome by some leading green groups and thinktanks, but was dismissed by others as politically naive.A Greenpeace spokesperson welcomed the conversion but said it had come two decades too late for Lomborg to be taken seriously. "At least it confirms the happy maxim that nobody's wrong all the time, apart from Melanie Phillips at the Daily Mail," the spokesperson added."It appears that the self-styled sceptical environme...
Climate change: The facts of life | Editorial
Political action seems again improbable, but it remains more urgent than everClimate change now reveals itself on a weekly basis. Scientists this month identified a colony of the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which carries both yellow fever and the dengue virus, in the Netherlands. This African insect had not been seen in Europe for more than 50 years. A few days later US researchers reported that on the evidence of satellite data, global plant productivity ? which had increased by 6% in two decades, in response to the extra carbon dioxide in the atmosphere ? has begun to decline in the 21st century: a response to higher temperatures and changing rainfall patterns. A week later students in the high Arctic reported that a glacier in Svalbard that had been retreating at an average annual rate ...
Adaptation to climate change in NHS organisations: what you need to know
This guidance summarises the current knowledge on adapting to climate change in NHS organisations. It describes what climate change adaptation is, why it is a priority for the NHS and how organisations can include adaptation in their Sustainable Development Management Plans. (NHS Sustainable Development Unit - publications) (Source: Health Management Specialist Library)<div id="medworm"><p><b><i>MedWorm Message:</i></b> Register for <b><a href="http://www.medmatcha.com" target ="_self">MedMatcha, MedWorm's medical advertising network</a></b>, and receive $5 free advertising.</p></div>
Bjørn Lomborg: the dissenting climate change voice who changed his tune
With his new book, Danish scientist Bjørn Lomborg has become an unlikely advocate for huge investment in fighting global warming. But his answers are unlikely to satisfy all climate change campaignersFew statisticians can have inspired more passion than Bjørn Lomborg, the Danish academic who became famous as the author of the controversial (some would say contrarian) Skeptical Environmentalist, which set him up as perhaps the world's best-known critic of the dominant scientific view of global warming and the ensuing climate change.Lomborg's prolific output has been almost matched by books rubbishing his work: critics have described him as selective, unprofessional and confused. Rajendra Pachauri, chairman of the UN's climate change panel, has compared him to Adolf Hitler ? for the stat...
Bjørn Lomborg's missing questions | Howard Friel
The Danish economist 'solutions' to climate change still don't address the real issue of CO2 warming the planetFor the last 40 years the American scholar and war critic Noam Chomsky has argued that there is a question missing in the perennial debates about whether the US should go to war against its apparently innumerable mortal adversaries. Hawks present claims about the threat of communism and terrorism that must be stopped, militarily, in far-flung lands, while the doves, who go along or not with a given war action in the beginning, ultimately argue on cost-benefit grounds that the (inevitable) escalation is too expensive fiscally or politically to continue. Few ask at the outset, as Chomsky observes, by what moral or legal right does the US bomb, invade or occupy another country, and s...
CBI to host climate change 'clash of the titans' debate
Former government chief scientist Sir David King, in the green corner, to take on arch-sceptic Lord Lawson in public showdownThe most prominent climate sceptic and the most vocal advocate of the cause in the UK are to take part in their first public debate on the subject.The "clash of the titans" will be between Lord Lawson of Blaby, the former Conservative chancellor and chairman of the sceptical Global Warming Policy Foundation, and Sir David King, a former government chief scientist who once warned that climate change was "more serious even than the threat of terrorism".The CBI will host the event at its annual climate change conference in November, and it is likely to inject renewed vigour into a deadlocked debate between two camps that seldom meet face to face and appear to be increas...
Science Academies Recommend Changes For Climate Panel
Climate Change: Review focuses on panel's procedures, calls for regular leadership changes. (Source: Chemical and Engineering News)
Panel Calls for 'Fundamental Reform' of IPCC
A new review of the procedures of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)... (Source: ScienceNOW)<div id="medworm"><p><b><i>MedWorm Message:</i></b> Register for <b><a href="http://www.medmatcha.com" target ="_self">MedMatcha, MedWorm's medical advertising network</a></b>, and receive $5 free advertising.</p></div>
Bjørn Lomborg: $100bn a year needed to fight climate change
This article was amended on 31st August 2010 to remove an accidental duplication of the quote from Rajendra Pachauri.Climate change scepticismClimate changeCarbon emissionsClimate changeJuliette Jowitguardian.co.uk &copy; Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds (Source: Guardian Unlimited Science)
Bjørn Lomborg: in his own words
Conclusion to Smart Solutions to Climate Change, 2010What the IPCC chairman says about him:"What is the difference between Lomborg's view of humanity and Hitler's? You cannot treat people like cattle. You must respect the diversity of cultures on earth. Lomborg thinks of people like numbers ? if you were to accept Lomborg's way of thinking, then maybe what Hitler did was the right thing." Rajendra Pachauri, chairman of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, interview, April 2004"This book provides not only a reservoir of information on the reality of human-induced climate change, but raises vital questions and examines viable options on what can be done to meet the challenge." Rajendra Pachauri, endorsement for Smart Solutions to Climate Change, 2010Climate changeClimate chang...
Rajendra Pachauri, head of UN climate change body, under pressure to resign
Review of IPCC calls for tighter term limits on top bosses and recommends changes to ensure science panel's credibility? Lomborg: $100bn needed for climate fight? Pachauri innocent of financial misdealingsRajendra Pachauri, who leads the UN's science panel on climate change, is coming under pressure to step aside as chair of the organisation after an independent review of the panel's work called for tighter term limits for its senior executives.Pachauri has come under heavy fire in recent weeks amid the swirl of allegations concerning the scientific basis of climate change, including accusations of conflict of interest and charges of inaccuracy in the assessments of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) which he has chaired since 2002.The most serious error, which slippe...
InterAcademy Council Releases Review of IPCC
A new report from the InterAcademy Council, an organization of the world?s science academies, including the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, says that the process used by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change to produce its periodic assessment reports has been a success overall, but that IPCC needs to reform its management structure, strengthen its procedures, and become more transparent to handle increasingly complex climate assessments and greater public scrutiny. The report was released today at the United Nations. (Source: News from the National Academies)
Let's have a scientific Olympiad as well as one devoted to the arts | Henry Porter
The widespread ignorance of science reflects badly on a nation with a such a questing and inventive historyThe prospect of the Cultural Olympiad accompanying the London Olympics in two years' time fills me with an unreasonable sense of dread. The official website says it will be "a 12-week cultural celebration across the whole of the UK. At the heart of the festival will be a programme of commissions by some of the finest artists in the world in events ranging from pop to film, from visual arts and fashion to theatre, from circus to carnival, from opera to digital innovation".There's nothing wrong with any of that, yet at the back of my mind is the global embarrassment of the dome and the utter emptiness of its endeavour, together with the mild resentment ? no doubt a hangover from schoo...<div id="medworm"><p><b><i>MedWorm Message:</i></b> Register for <b><a href="http://www.medmatcha.com" target ="_self">MedMatcha, MedWorm's medical advertising network</a></b>, and receive $5 free advertising.</p></div>
Let's have a scientific Olympiad
The widespread ignorance of science reflects badly on a nation with a such a questing and inventive historyThe prospect of the Cultural Olympiad accompanying the London Olympics in two years' time fills me with an unreasonable sense of dread. The official website says it will be "a 12-week cultural celebration across the whole of the UK. At the heart of the festival will be a programme of commissions by some of the finest artists in the world in events ranging from pop to film, from visual arts and fashion to theatre, from circus to carnival, from opera to digital innovation".There's nothing wrong with any of that, yet at the back of my mind is the global embarrassment of the dome and the utter emptiness of its endeavour, together with the mild resentment ? no doubt a hangover from schoo...
Determining Genetic Structure Of First Animal To Show Evolutionary Response To Climate Change
Scientists at the University of Oregon have determined the fine-scale genetic structure of the first animal to show an evolutionary response to rapid climate change. They used a high-throughput sequencing technique called Restriction-site Associated DNA (RAD) tagging to make the discovery. Their results, which focus on the pitcher plant mosquito, Wyeomyia smithii, are published this week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS)... (Source: Health News from Medical News Today)
Uganda: Climate Change Will Kill More Than Malaria, Aids, Church Warned
The continent of Africa is facing a future in which climate change will kill more people than traditional causes such as malaria and HIV, according to a Ugandan environmental expert. (Source: AllAfrica News: Malaria)
Like Coffee? Stop Driving Your Car
photo: Thinkstock If you&#8217;re one of millions who can&#8217;t fully function without a cup of coffee in the morning, you might want to rethink your driving habits. The coffee berry borer beetle thrives in warm weather, which the world is seeing a lot more of lately. When the temperatures in South America climb, the beetle is able to spread to more locations, destroying coffee crops along the way. Farmers haven&#8217;t yet found a way to kill the pest, so for now, coffee drinkers should do their best to work against climate change and global warming. Would you make your life a little greener to save your much-loved cup of Joe? via Treehugger Post from: BlissTree Like Coffee? Stop Driving Your Car (Source: Breastfeeding 1-2-3)
You Know You're Unwell If...You Spend 10 Days In a Traffic Jam
like hundreds and hundreds of bummed-out people recently did on China&#8217;s National Highway 110 outside Beijing. Nothing was moving for more than 60 miles. Drivers were playing board games in the middle of the highway. And all involved were lucky, because the tie-up was actually supposed to last for more than a month. Blame road construction and freight traffic for this vehicular madness. Oh, and the fact that there are a lot of people in China. But somehow, the whole mess just magically cleared up this week. All righty then: So no one else on earth is allowed to complain about their work commute for a good long while. via The Economist video via CNN Post from: BlissTree You Know You're Unwell If...You Spend 10 Days In a Traffic Jam (Source: Breastfeeding 1-2-3)<div id="medworm"><p><b><i>MedWorm Message:</i></b> Register for <b><a href="http://www.medmatcha.com" target ="_self">MedMatcha, MedWorm's medical advertising network</a></b>, and receive $5 free advertising.</p></div>
Gaia by James Lovelock
We have learned so much about our home planet in the three decades since James Lovelock wrote Gaia: A New Look at Life on Earth (Oxford, 1979). Has the book stood the test of time?Once in a generation, perhaps, you get to read a book that will change the way we see the world. But it might take a whole generation to realise by how much.My copy of Gaia is a first edition from 1979: hardback price £4.95 (and there were no discounts in those days). To re-read the original text is to be reminded, in all sorts of unexpected ways, how far we have come. Its author has since morphed from J E, an "independent scientist", to James Lovelock, the world-famous author and speaker. The once-tentative Gaia hypothesis has become part of scientific orthodoxy and has been formally enshrined as the Gaia Theor...
New Rules Of Engagement For Older People And Climate Change
A new study by researchers at the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) at the University of York calls for better engagement of older people on climate change issues. The report, prepared in partnership with the Community Service Volunteers' Retired and Senior Volunteer Programme (RSVP), urges the scrapping of stereotypes which suggest that older people are incapable of engagement, passive or disinterested in climate change... (Source: Health News from Medical News Today)
El Niños are growing stronger, NASA/NOAA study finds
A relatively new type of El Niño, which has its warmest waters in the central-equatorial Pacific Ocean, rather than in the eastern-equatorial Pacific, is becoming more common and progressively stronger, according to a new study by NASA and NOAA. The research may improve our understanding of the relationship between El Niños and climate change, and has potentially significant implications for long-term weather forecasting. (Source: ScienceDaily Headlines)
Protection sought for San Bernardino flying squirrel
Environmentalists want the nocturnal glider native to Southern California mountains to be listed as an endangered species threatened by climate change.Environmentalists have petitioned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to list the San Bernardino flying squirrel, a nocturnal glider native to Southern California mountains, as an endangered species threatened by climate change . (Source: Los Angeles Times - Science)
Policy reform to stop discrimination against farm trees could help poor farmers out of poverty
(World Agroforestry Centre) Millions of dollars worth of income could be unlocked for poor farmers in developing countries by changing existing policies that reduce investment in agroforestry. An Agroforestry Policy Initiative, involving a wide range of partners, would make agroforestry a key contributor to ensuring food security, reducing poverty and combating climate change. (Source: EurekAlert! - Social and Behavioral Science)<div id="medworm"><p><b><i>MedWorm Message:</i></b> Register for <b><a href="http://www.medmatcha.com" target ="_self">MedMatcha, MedWorm's medical advertising network</a></b>, and receive $5 free advertising.</p></div>
Monitoring and managing responses to climate change at the retreating range edge of forest trees
Alistair S. Jump, Liam Cavin, Peter D. Hunter (Perspective from J. Environ. Monit.) Alistair S. Jump, J. Environ. Monit., 2010, DOI: 10.1039/b923773a To cite this article before page numbers are assigned, use the DOI form of citation above. The content of this RSS Feed (c) The Royal Society of Chemistry (Source: RSC - J. Environ. Monit. latest articles)
Paleoclimate and bubonic plague: a forewarning of future risk?
Pandemics of bubonic plague have occurred in Eurasia since the sixth century ad. Climatic variations in Central Asia affect the population size and activity of the plague bacterium's reservoir rodent species, influencing the probability of human infection. Using innovative time-series analysis of surrogate climate records spanning 1,500 years, a study in BMC Biology concludes that climatic fluctuations may have influenced these pandemics. This has potential implications for health risks from future climate change.See research article http://www.biomedcentral.com/1741-7007/8/112 (Source: BMC Biology - Latest articles)
John Cleese Makes Climate Change Funny, Tortoise Makes It Cute
Sick of all the depressing photos of the effects of climate change? Then you&#8217;ll be glad to watch this adorable video courtesy of the Monterey Bay Aquarium (and John Cleese). Personally, we don&#8217;t think a dose of cutesiness will kick most people into high gear as far as taking better care of the planet ? but even we can&#8217;t resist that little tortoise.via The Huffington PostPost from: BlissTreeJohn Cleese Makes Climate Change Funny, Tortoise Makes It Cute (Source: Breastfeeding 1-2-3)
Sciencebase science news links for August 23rd through August 26th
These are the latest science news links and snippets from Sciencebase: Chemical news &#8211; Two years on, a simple color change test emerges from China for melamine in milk, The Alchemist learns. Also, with a Chinese connection, new insights into the mode of action of a former herbal remedy for fever could improve the outlook for malaria drugs. Materials news sees a thin film being stretched to double up its functionality, while applying pressure to another makes it a superconductor. Meanwhile, edible chemistry looks set to open up new applications for the pharma and food industries. Finally, a new way to chemicalize the world-wide web makes its debut online. Questions&nbsp;for&nbsp;enquiring&nbsp;minds &#8211; Sample questions from a 18+ exam paper from the year 2110. E.g. &quot;By mean...
Chemweb, A-levels, vuvuzelas again
These are the latest science news links and snippets from Sciencebase: Chemical news &#8211; Two years on, a simple color change test emerges from China for melamine in milk, The Alchemist learns. Also, with a Chinese connection, new insights into the mode of action of a former herbal remedy for fever could improve the outlook for malaria drugs. Materials news sees a thin film being stretched to double up its functionality, while applying pressure to another makes it a superconductor. Meanwhile, edible chemistry looks set to open up new applications for the pharma and food industries. Finally, a new way to chemicalize the world-wide web makes its debut online. Questions&nbsp;for&nbsp;enquiring&nbsp;minds &#8211; Sample questions from a 18+ exam paper from the year 2110. E.g. &quot;By mean...<div id="medworm"><p><b><i>MedWorm Message:</i></b> Register for <b><a href="http://www.medmatcha.com" target ="_self">MedMatcha, MedWorm's medical advertising network</a></b>, and receive $5 free advertising.</p></div>
Forest Changes in Alaska Reveal Changing Climate
CAMBRIDGE, Md. -- Evidence is mounting that climate change is transforming Alaska's boreal forest, an expert said yesterday.&quot;A biome shift is now occurring,&quot; University of Alaska, Fairbanks, forest ecologist Glenn Juday said. &quot;You don't have to wait for the effects. They're happening.&quot; [More] (Source: Scientific American - Official RSS Feed)
Why would a solar physicist embrace the non-rationality of religion?
John Cook, who runs skepticalscience.com, says his faith drives him. But what does religion give him that science doesn't?? Skeptical Science blogger on how the climate sceptic iPhone app came aboutWriting about climate change can be dispiriting, to say the least. Even George Monbiot admits to occasional bouts of despair: "There is no point in denying it: we're losing ..." he opined in a Guardian article at the end of last year.What can one man achieve in a world dominated by governments whose contradictory policies are often the product of their venal self-interest, by vast media empires sporting a host of vicious and deceitful pundits, and contrarians stuffing endless blogs with their bilious disaffection?But isn't self pity this the way we disenfranchise ourselves? For an alternative,...
True causes for extinction of cave bear revealed: More human expansion than climate change
The cave bear started to become extinct in Europe 24,000 years ago, but until now the cause was unknown. An international team of scientists has analyzed mitochondrial DNA sequences from 17 new fossil samples, and compared these with the modern brown bear. The results show that the decline of the cave bear started 50,000 years ago, and was caused more by human expansion than by climate change. (Source: ScienceDaily Headlines)
Study predicts massive impact of drought tolerant maize in Africa
(Burness Communications) As climate change intensifies drought conditions in Africa and sparks fears of a new cycle of crippling food shortages, a study released today finds widespread adoption of recently developed drought-tolerant varieties of maize could boost harvests in 13 African countries by 10 to 34 percent and generate up to $1.5 billion in benefits for producers and consumers. (Source: EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health)
Disasters widen the rich?poor gap
Disasters widen the rich&#8211;poor gap Nature 466, 1042 (2010). doi:10.1038/4661042a Author: John Mutter New Orleans's recovery five years on from Katrina is a harbinger of how climate change will drive a thicker wedge between the haves and the have-nots, says John Mutter. (Source: Nature)<div id="medworm"><p><b><i>MedWorm Message:</i></b> Register for <b><a href="http://www.medmatcha.com" target ="_self">MedMatcha, MedWorm's medical advertising network</a></b>, and receive $5 free advertising.</p></div>
Ins and Outs
Digital Devices Deprive Brain of Needed Downtime ... [NYT] Artificial Ape Man: How Technology Created Humans ... [Gizmodo] Court Blocks New Federal Funding for Embryonic Stem Cell Research ... [Fox News] Physician smartphone popularity shifts health IT focus to mobile use ... [amednews] New Hope in Fatigue Fight ... [WSJ] PNAS Paper on Virus-Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Link Has Its Own Story ... [WSJ] Sialo obtains FDA approval for root canal endoscope ... [Globes] Brainsway to test TMS device against cocaine addition ... [Globes] J&J to Revamp Manufacturing ... [WSJ] FDA Warns J&J Unit On Joint-Replacement Products ... [WSJ] Intelligent Mobile's mhealth platform for healthcare sales reps ... [MassDevice] New test to predict success of IVF treatment ... [Stanford] No Call for Routine ...
Deluges after the deluge
Catastrophic floods in Pakistan are likely to recur as global warming combines with El NiñoThe Pakistani crisis is already one of the very first order. Some 20 million people have been left homeless, along a path of destruction of more than 600 miles. Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani has even compared the challenges the country now faces to those during the 1947 partition of the subcontinent in which around half a million people were killed in mass violence.It is small wonder that Pakistani president Asif Ali Zadari has said that it will take at least three years for the country to recover from the disaster, and that he is thinking ahead to "prepare the capabilities and capacity" for the "next monsoon". Zadari's comments highlight the fact that one of the key questions arising from the c...
Quantifying uncertainty in climate change science through empirical information theory [Applied_Mathematics]
Quantifying the uncertainty for the present climate and the predictions of climate change in the suite of imperfect Atmosphere Ocean... (Source: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences)
Laying Odds on the Apocalypse: Experts Assess Doomsday (preview)
With all due respect to T. S. Eliot, maybe the world really does end with a bang, not a whimper. Whether of our own creation (nuclear holocaust) or of nature&rsquo;s (asteroid impact), plenty of cataclysms could doom civilization--perhaps even putting the survival of the species in jeopardy. We assessed the likelihood of several doomsday scenarios, from oft-discussed threats such as climate change to more fanciful ideas such as quantum fluctuations that would destroy our universe. The probabilities listed here are not scientific fact--an impossible goal when estimating the possibility of unprecedented events--but informed conjecture based on researchers&rsquo; expert opinions. We also relied on those opinions to approximate how catastrophic each event would be, ranging from 1 (localized ch...
Laying Odds on the Apocalypse: Experts Assess Doomsday (preview)
With all due respect to T. S. Eliot, maybe the world really does end with a bang, not a whimper. Whether of our own creation (nuclear holocaust) or of nature&rsquo;s (asteroid impact), plenty of cataclysms could doom civilization--perhaps even putting the survival of the species in jeopardy. We assessed the likelihood of several doomsday scenarios, from oft-discussed threats such as climate change to more fanciful ideas such as quantum fluctuations that would destroy our universe. The probabilities listed here are not scientific fact--an impossible goal when estimating the possibility of unprecedented events--but informed conjecture based on researchers&rsquo; expert opinions. We also relied on those opinions to approximate how catastrophic each event would be, ranging from 1 (localized ch...<div id="medworm"><p><b><i>MedWorm Message:</i></b> Register for <b><a href="http://www.medmatcha.com" target ="_self">MedMatcha, MedWorm's medical advertising network</a></b>, and receive $5 free advertising.</p></div>
Reefs at risk: Roundup at the not-so-OK coral corral
Coral, the reef-building organisms responsible for some of the oceans' most vital ecosystems, are in trouble around the world because of climate change, ocean acidification and human interference. But lots of people are also trying to save coral reefs before it's too late. Here's a roundup of some of the latest research into this important class of organism.Some of the worst news comes out of Indonesia, where the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) found that rising surface water temperatures have created a large-scale bleaching event in the local coral. Bleaching occurs when environmental factors stress the living organisms residing within coral reefs,&nbsp;causing them to either leave their reef structures or die. As a result, reefs turn white. WCS marine biologists found that at least...
Historic buildings may be better protected from climate change with new forecast method
Some of the nation's most historic buildings and monuments may be better protected from decay in future, following a development by engineers. Researchers have devised a method of forecasting damage caused by the weather to stone buildings -- including statues, monuments and other historic sites, as well as modern masonry buildings. (Source: ScienceDaily Headlines)
Genetic structure of first animal to show evolutionary response to climate change determined
(National Science Foundation) Scientists at the University of Oregon have determined the fine-scale genetic structure of the first animal to show an evolutionary response to rapid climate change. (Source: EurekAlert! - Biology)
True causes for extinction of cave bear revealed
(FECYT - Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology) The cave bear started to become extinct in Europe 24,000 years ago, but until now the cause was unknown. An international team of scientists has analyzed mitochondrial DNA sequences from 17 new fossil samples, and compared these with the modern brown bear. The results show that the decline of the cave bear started 50,000 years ago, and was caused more by human expansion than by climate change. (Source: EurekAlert! - Biology)
Humans Drove Cave Bear To Extinction?
I'm thinking Darryl Hannah's slingshot skills were passed down to her descendants and they carried out the extinction. That clan she hooked up with were already living in a cave and so were cave bears out onto the street (or mountain trail). The human cave-dwellers caused a homeless cave bear crisis. "The decline in the genetic diversity of the cave bear (Ursus spelaeus) began around 50,000 years ago, much earlier than previously suggested, at a time when no major climate change was taking place, but which does coincide with the start of human expansion", Aurora Grandal-D'Anglade, co-author of the study and a researcher at the University Institute of Geology of the University of Coruña, tells SINC. According to the research... (Source: FuturePundit)<div id="medworm"><p><b><i>MedWorm Message:</i></b> Register for <b><a href="http://www.medmatcha.com" target ="_self">MedMatcha, MedWorm's medical advertising network</a></b>, and receive $5 free advertising.</p></div>
How Will Climate Change Impact Bread? Part 2
[More] (Source: Scientific American - Official RSS Feed)
How Will Climate Change Impact Bread?, Part 2
[More] (Source: Scientific American - Official RSS Feed)
For deniers, politics beats the science. Handouts beat both | George Monbiot
From Australia to the US, the rightwingers who claim climate change is a leftwing conspiracy will grab green subsidiesIt was Australia's second climate change election. Climate change deposed the former leaders of both main parties: Kevin Rudd (Labor) because his position was too weak, Malcolm Turnbull (Liberal) because his was too strong. When Julia Gillard, the new Labor leader, also flunked the issue, many of her supporters defected to the Greens.Labor's collapse began when the senate rejected Rudd's emissions trading scheme. Faced with a choice of dissolving parliament and calling an election or dropping the scheme, he chickened out and lost the confidence of the party. Gillard's support began to slide when she proposed to defer climate change policy to a citizen's assembly. Nearly 70%...
If a Country Sinks Beneath the Sea, Is It Still a Country?
Rising ocean levels brought about by climate change have created a flood of unprecedented legal questions for small island nations and their neighbors.Among them: If a country disappears, is it still a country? Does it keep its seat at the United Nations? Who controls its offshore mineral rights? Its shipping lanes? Its fish? [More] (Source: Scientific American - Official RSS Feed)
Roosters, hawks and dawgs: Toward an inclusive, embodied eco/feminist psychology
The gendered exploitation of roosters used in cockfighting is a case example of the social construction of gender via animals &mdash; a psychosocial process that injures both people and animals. Similar processes of social construction by way of animals occur in relation to race and sexual orientation, with similarly mutually hurtful results. The rehabilitation of roosters used in cockfighting illustrates the utility of an expanded and amended conception of Herman&rsquo;s principles of trauma recovery enacted within the emerging insights of trans-species psychology. Those insights lead us toward a truly inclusive eco/feminist psychology centered on acceptance of situated human animality and an understanding of traumatic alienation as a factor in both personal and communal problems in livin...<div id="medworm"><p><b><i>MedWorm Message:</i></b> Register for <b><a href="http://www.medmatcha.com" target ="_self">MedMatcha, MedWorm's medical advertising network</a></b>, and receive $5 free advertising.</p></div>
Climate change and mortality in Vienna-a human biometeorological analysis based on regional climate modeling. - Muthers S, Matzarakis A, Koch E.
The potential development of heat-related mortality in the 21th century for Vienna (Austria) was assessed by the use of two regional climate models based on the IPCC emissions scenarios A1B and B1. Heat stress was described with the human-biometeorological... (Source: SafetyLit: All (Unduplicated))
Study offers historic buildings protection from climate change
(University of Edinburgh) Some of the nation's most historic buildings and monuments may be better protected from decay in future, following a development by engineers. (Source: EurekAlert! - Social and Behavioral Science)
Australia's electorate sends climate-change message
Swing towards Greens in federal election puts global warming back in the spotlight. (Source: news@nature.com)
[Media Watch] Books: Health law, human rights, and public health
As shown in this two-volume set of previously published articles, public health is a vast field, encompassing most areas of human activity. Public health covers poverty and warfare to genetics and climate change through governmental actions taken to prevent disease and improve people's quality of life. When discussion turns to public health ethics, bioethicists and health lawyers are often called upon to give comment?the editor, Michael Freeman, Professor of English Law at University College London, UK, has done just that to compile this book. (Source: The Lancet Infectious Diseases)<div id="medworm"><p><b><i>MedWorm Message:</i></b> Register for <b><a href="http://www.medmatcha.com" target ="_self">MedMatcha, MedWorm's medical advertising network</a></b>, and receive $5 free advertising.</p></div>
A Regional Perspective on the Diversity and Conservation of Tropical Andean Fishes.
Authors: Anderson EP, Maldonado-Ocampo JA The tropical Andes harbor an extraordinarily varied concentration of species in a landscape under increasing pressure from human activities. Conservation of the region's native plants and animals has received considerable international attention, but the focus has been on terrestrial biota. The conservation of freshwater fauna, particularly the conservation of fishes, has not been emphasized. Tropical Andean fishes are among the most understudied vertebrates in the world. We estimate that between 400 and 600 fish species inhabit the diverse aquatic environments in the region. Nearly 40% of these species are endemic. Tropical Andean fishes are vulnerable to ongoing environmental changes related to deforestation, water withdrawals, water pollutio...
We've gone into the ecological red
On 21 August our environmental resource budget ran out. Now we're living beyond the planet's means to support usAt the weekend, Saturday 21 August to be precise, the world as a whole went into "ecological debt".That means in effect that from now until the end of the year, humanity will be consuming more natural resources and producing more waste than the forests, fields and fisheries of the world can replace and absorb. By doing so, the life -support systems that we all depend on are worn ever thinner. Farms become less productive, fish populations crash and climate regulating forests decline. All become less resilient in the face of extreme weather events.The date is arrived at by comparing our annual environmental resource budget with our ecological footprint ? the rate at which we spe...
Peak oil alarm revealed by secret official talks
Behind government dismissals of 'alarmist' fears there is growing concern over critical future energy suppliesSpeculation that government ministers are far more concerned about a future supply crunch than they have admitted has been fuelled by the revelation that they are canvassing views from industry and the scientific community about "peak oil".The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) is also refusing to hand over policy documents about "peak oil" ? the point at which oil production reaches its maximum and then declines ? under the Freedom of Information (FoI) Act, despite releasing others in which it admits "secrecy around the topic is probably not good".Experts say they have received a letter from David Mackay, chief scientific adviser to the DECC, asking for information...
Resource wars: the global crisis behind BHP Billiton's bid for Potash Corp
The battle for the fertiliser giant points to a near future in which world food supplies may need to rise by 70%BHP Billiton's £28bn hostile bid for Canada's Potash Corporation sets the scene for one of mining's biggest takeover battles. But this is more than a clash between multinationals intent on self-aggrandisement.Certainly, the usual arguments are wheeled out by the predator about diversification, synergies and the prospect of fatter profits, while the target company complains about the offer price being pitched too low.But behind the rhetoric is a bidding war that lays bare the global struggle for resources on a planet struggling with water and food shortages, overpopulation and pollution. And it highlights a question that overshadows the 21st century: how to provide enough food fo...
Study: Climate change identified as extinction threat in nearly 60 percent of species recovery plans
Fifty-nine percent of the endangered species recovery plans issued by the U.S. government between 2005 and 2008 mention climate change as one of the major threats facing the species, according to a study published in Conservation Biology .The study, which examined 1,209 species recovery plans published between 1975 and 2008, was authored by Tony Povilitis, president of Life Net Nature, and Kier&aacute;n Suckling, executive director of the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD). [More] (Source: Scientific American - Official RSS Feed)<div id="medworm"><p><b><i>MedWorm Message:</i></b> Register for <b><a href="http://www.medmatcha.com" target ="_self">MedMatcha, MedWorm's medical advertising network</a></b>, and receive $5 free advertising.</p></div>
AAAS Arctic Division Meets in Anchorage, Alaska
AAAS Arctic Division Meeting Highlights Need for More Climate Monitoring The 2010 Annual Meeting of the AAAS Arctic Division convenes 13-15 September and includes sessions on climate change adaptation and Arctic water and land resources. (Source: AAAS)

Global Warming: The rising temperatures that have occurred in the last ten years have diminished plants&#8217; ability to soak up carbon from the atmosphere. (via Guardian) Post from: BlissTree (Source: Breastfeeding 1-2-3)
Physiological Mechanisms in Coping with Climate Change
Physiological and Biochemical Zoology, Volume 83, Issue 5, Page 713-720, September/October 2010. Abstract Although many studies have modeled the effects of climate change on future species distributions and extinctions, the theoretical approach most commonly used?climate envelope modeling?typically ignores the potential physiological capacity of animals to respond to climate change. We explore the consequences of the phenotypic plasticity available to animals, by examining physiological responses of free?living animals in their natural habitats and by applying integrative, mechanistic models of heat exchange in invertebrates and humans. Specifically, we explore how behavioral, autonomic, and morphological modifications such as nocturnal activity, selective brain cooling, and bo...
Niche Dimensions in Fishes: An Integrative View
Physiological and Biochemical Zoology, Volume 83, Issue 5, Page 808-826, September/October 2010. Abstract Current shifts in ecosystem composition and function emphasize the need for an understanding of the links between environmental factors and organism fitness and tolerance. The examples discussed here illustrate how recent progress in the field of comparative physiology may provide a better mechanistic understanding of the ecological concepts of the fundamental and realized niches and thus provide insights into the impacts of anthropogenic disturbance. Here we argue that, as a link between physiological and ecological indicators of organismal performance, the mechanisms shaping aerobic scope and passive tolerance set the dimensions of an animal?s niche, here defined as its capac...
Pakistan floods driven by climate change, say UN officials
The devastating floods that have submerged one-fifth of Pakistan's landmass may be due to the effects of climate change, says the UN. (Source: SciDev.Net)<div id="medworm"><p><b><i>MedWorm Message:</i></b> Register for <b><a href="http://www.medmatcha.com" target ="_self">MedMatcha, MedWorm's medical advertising network</a></b>, and receive $5 free advertising.</p></div>
Rising temperatures reducing ability of plants to absorb carbon, study warns
Research shows warming over past decade caused droughts that reduced number of plants available to soak up CO²Rising temperatures in the past decade have reduced the ability of the world's plants to soak up carbon from the atmosphere, scientists said today.Large-scale droughts have wiped out plants that would have otherwise absorbed an amount of carbon equivalent to Britain's annual man-made greenhouse gas emissions.Scientists measure the amount of atmospheric CO² absorbed by plants and turned into biomass as a quantity known as the net primary production. NPP increased from 1982 to 1999 as temperatures rose and there was more solar radiation.But the period from 2000 to 2009 reverses that trend ? surprising some scientists. Maosheng Zhao and Steven Running of the University of Montana ...
Cleaning up emissions
Emissions trading is an economic workaround, a fudge if you will, to reducing one&#8217;s pollution levels by buying off the emissions credits of others who are polluting less. Emissions trading (also known as cap and trade) is a market-based approach used to control pollution by providing economic incentives for achieving reductions in the emissions of pollutants. The conventional approach as first suggested back in the 1960s is that a regulator sets a cap on the level of pollution allowed. Companies then buy permits representing their allowable emissions of any given pollutant. Critically, the total amount of pollution covered by the permits cannot exceed the cap, which supposedly then limits the total emissions across an industry. Companies who anticipate exceeding their permits can the...
Can The International Science Community Find The Balance Between Cooperation And Competition?
Science has a long history of crossing borders, bridging cultures and balancing the public good with private gain. That tradition, the focus of the upcoming Kavli Prize Science Forum, may face a more challenging future. Cooperation comes naturally to science; or at least it should, as the big problems science is called upon to address - from climate change to pandemics - respect no boundaries. And science at its best is a group effort, inclusive and open... (Source: Health News from Medical News Today)
Climate sceptics mislead the public
Andrew Montford who is conducting an investigation into the UEA inquiry has a history of omitting evidence to suit his argumentsSelf-proclaimed climate change sceptics are preparing to reignite the controversy over the emails hacked from the University of East Anglia, but there is clear evidence that they have misled the public about the significance of the messages.The Global Warming Policy Foundation, which, with amazing timing, was officially launched by Lord Lawson of Blaby just three days after the emails first appeared on the web on 20 November 2009, has commissioned an investigation into the three official inquiries about the messages.These inquiries, by the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee, an independent panel chaired by Lord Oxburgh, and an independent review led...
New computer model advances climate change research
Scientists can now study climate change in far more detail with powerful new computer software released by the National Center for Atmospheric Research. The Community Earth System Model will be one of the primary climate models used for the next assessment by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. (Source: ScienceDaily Headlines)<div id="medworm"><p><b><i>MedWorm Message:</i></b> Register for <b><a href="http://www.medmatcha.com" target ="_self">MedMatcha, MedWorm's medical advertising network</a></b>, and receive $5 free advertising.</p></div>
Too hot to handle: Impacts of climate change on mussels
Climate change is causing higher air and water temperatures along the east coast of the United States. These changes have shrunk the geographic region where blue mussels are able to survive, according to new findings. (Source: ScienceDaily Headlines)
University of Minnesota team to lead $10 million NSF project on the study of global climate change
(University of Minnesota) A multi-disciplinary team of researchers led by University of Minnesota computer science professor Vipin Kumar in the university's College of Science and Engineering has been awarded a $10 million grant from the National Science Foundation to study climate change. (Source: EurekAlert! - Social and Behavioral Science)
Climate change and the vuvuzela leave mark on Oxford Dictionary of English
Other words and phrases introduced for the latest edition include 'toxic debt', 'staycation', 'cheesebal' and 'national treasure'The World Cup in South Africa, climate change, the credit crunch and technology have all left their mark on the way we talk, the new edition of the Oxford Dictionary of English reveals, as the latest crop of new words to be added to its pages is published today.Football fans will perhaps be unsurprised to learn that the vuvuzela, whose apian drone soundtracked yet another summer of hurt, has blared its way into the dictionary's pages. By being ushered into the dictionary, which is based on how language is really used, the metre-long plastic horn has cemented its immortality as well as its ubiquity.Climate change, an issue only marginally less controversial than r...
Global Warming? Hardly.
New cartoon by Trussell & Trussell on Politics Daily. Global Warming? Hardly. Who ya gonna believe? Me? Or your fryin&#8217; eyes? Filed under: Politics Daily Tagged: climate change, comics, global warming, gop, humor, political cartoon, republican (Source: Donna Trussell)
Is the Flooding in Pakistan a Climate Change Disaster?
UNITED NATIONS -- Devastating flooding that has swamped one-fifth of Pakistan and left millions homeless is likely the worst natural disaster to date attributable to climate change, U.N. officials and climatologists are now openly saying.Most experts are still cautioning against tying any specific event directly to emissions of greenhouse gases. But scientists at the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) in Geneva say there's no doubt that higher Atlantic Ocean temperatures contributed to the disaster begun late last month. [More] (Source: Scientific American - Official RSS Feed)<div id="medworm"><p><b><i>MedWorm Message:</i></b> Register for <b><a href="http://www.medmatcha.com" target ="_self">MedMatcha, MedWorm's medical advertising network</a></b>, and receive $5 free advertising.</p></div>
Lost in Space
I'll be in the Alpha Quadrant of the galaxy for the next couple of days, so I may not be able to get another post up till late Thursday or Friday. Meanwhile, another open door crashed through: Many children who are disruptive in school classrooms are misdiagnosed with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, when all they really are ... are young. As I have noted here before, ADHD is a disease label that is applied more or less indiscriminately to children whose behavior adults don't like. I say indiscriminately because there is no diagnostic marker for the "disease," no physical manifestation, no test you can give. School demands something of children that evolution did not equip them for very well: to sit quietly in rows and concentrate on boring tasks for hours on end. Some kids just c...
How to reduce UK transport carbon emissions by 76 per cent by 2050
Researchers in the UK have achieved a significant breakthrough in climate change policy by showing how to make drastic cuts in carbon dioxide emissions from transport. The study goes beyond the science and paints a picture of what a low carbon transport future would look like. What emerges is vision of a less stressful, quieter, healthier, more resilient and confident society. (Source: ScienceDaily Headlines)
Obituary: Stephen Henry Schneider (1945?2010)
Obituary: Stephen Henry Schneider (1945&#8211;2010) Nature 466, 933 (2010). doi:10.1038/466933a Authors: Michael D. Mastrandrea A voice of reason in climate-change science and policy. (Source: Nature)
Density-regulated population dynamics and conditional dispersal alter the fate of mutations occurring at the front of an expanding population
Authors: T M&#252;nkem&#252;ller, M J Travis, O J Burton, K Schiffers & K Johst (Source: Heredity)
Clif 2 Mile Challenge: Can You Switch From Car To Bike For 2 Miles or Less?
Blisstree is big on biking ? for both exercise and as an eco-friendly transportation alternative ? so we&#8217;re pretty stoked about the Clif 2 Mile Challenge. Here&#8217;s how it works: At least 40% of travel in the U.S. consists of trips that are 2 miles or less, and over 90% of those trips are made by car. So Clif Bar is encouraging commuters to ditch their cars and ride their bikes for all commutes that are 2 miles or less ? and they&#8217;ll give away $100,000 to three non-profit organizations that support bike advocacy and fighting climate change. Check out this video to learn more about how much biking can help the environment, and visit Clif 2 Mile Challenge&#8217;s website to register for the challenge. Which charity would you support? Do you think you could meet the ch...<div id="medworm"><p><b><i>MedWorm Message:</i></b> Register for <b><a href="http://www.medmatcha.com" target ="_self">MedMatcha, MedWorm's medical advertising network</a></b>, and receive $5 free advertising.</p></div>
The Brain in Science Education: What Should Everyone Learn?
Courtesy of the University of California, Davis, Center for Neuroscience What should everyone learn about the brain?  At the national level, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) describes what adults should know in its seminal work Science for All Americans.[1] AAAS also recommends learning goals for K-12 students in its Benchmarks for Science Literacy[2,3], and Atlas of Science Literacy[4,5], and the National Research Council (NRC) offers a similar set of goals in its National Science Education Standards.[6] States and school districts use the AAAS and NRC recommendations as a basis for the design of their own standards, which then inform the development of curriculum and assessment materials (those commercially developed as well as those developed with grant fu...
Communities take action to save plants
Communities are swapping local vegetable and plant varieties to save foods from extinction and fight the effects of climate changeOne variety of crop is lost every day, according to the Global Diversity Crop Trust (GDCT). Yet biodiversity experts are warning that seed banks around the world ? which preserve plant life under threat of extinction ? are vulnerable in the face of budget cuts. In Britain, the UK government is calling for up to 40% cost reductions across its departments, and the Millennium Seed Bank Partnership at Kew, for example, is uncertain how much support it will receive in the coming year.UK gardeners, though, are taking action. By saving seeds from homegrown vegetables and sharing them at seed swap&nbsp;events, communities are preserving rare varieties and helping to...
New Report Assesses Nation's Botanical Capacity
The Botanical Capacity Assessment Project (BCAP) has released a report, &#8220;Assessing Botanical Capacity to Address Grand Challenges in the United States.&#8221; The report, which includes recommendations for the government, academia, and non-governmental organizations, is believed to be the first assessment of the nation&#8217;s botanical capacity. The Chicago Botanic Garden and Botanic Gardens Conservation International&#8217;s U.S. office worked with several partners to assess strengths and areas for improvement in plant science education, research and habitat management in the United States. This one-year, grant-funded project involved four key stages: 1) literature review, 2) survey of the botanical community, 3) workshop with key stakeholders, and 4) production and distribution ...
New Chief for National Climate Change and Wildlife Science Center
Dr. Doug Beard has been selected as the new chief of the National Climate Change and Wildlife Science Center (NCCWSC). The Center, a part of the United States Geological Survey (USGS), is tasked with understanding the impacts of climate change on fish and wildlife and developing tools that resource managers can use to protect wildlife and their habitats. As head of the NCCWSC, Beard will also oversee the establishment and program direction of the Department of the Interior&#8217;s eight regional Climate Science Centers. Beard has served as the interim director of the NCCWSC since September 2009. Prior to that, he served as program coordinator for fisheries and aquatic and endangered resources at USGS. Beard has a Ph.D. in zoology and worked in fisheries management in the Wisconsin and Min...
In the AIBS Webstore
&#8220;Communicating Science: A Primer for Working with the Media&#8221; Evolution, climate change, stem cell research &#8212; Scientists are frequently called upon to provide expert information on hot button issues that pervade the daily news headlines, yet most find themselves woefully unprepared for the bright lights of the television studio or leading questions from a newspaper journalist. A publication from AIBS, &#8220;Communicating Science: A Primer for Working with the Media,&#8221; will prepare scientists for successful and effective media interviews. Whether you are new to media outreach or just in a need of a media refresher, &#8220;Communicating Science&#8221; offers advice, case studies, and training exercises to prepare scientists for print, radio, and television interviews...<div id="medworm"><p><b><i>MedWorm Message:</i></b> Register for <b><a href="http://www.medmatcha.com" target ="_self">MedMatcha, MedWorm's medical advertising network</a></b>, and receive $5 free advertising.</p></div>
Become an Advocate for Science: Join the AIBS Legislative Action Center
Quick, free, easy, effective, impactful! Join the AIBS Legislative Action Center today! The AIBS Legislative Action Center is an online resource that allows biologists and science educators to quickly and effectively influence policy and public opinion. Each day lawmakers must make tough decisions about science policy. For example, what investments to make in federal research programs, how to conserve biodiversity, how to mitigate climate change, or under what circumstances to permit stem cell research. Scientists now have the opportunity to help elected officials understand these issues. This exciting new advocacy tool allows individuals to quickly and easily communicate with members of Congress, executive branch officials, and selected media outlets. This new tool is made possible thro...
Russia launches inquiry into Pavlovsk seed bank after Twitter campaign
President Dmitry Medvedev orders immediate inquiry into potential destruction of world's oldest seed bank? Pavlovsk seed bank faces destructionThe Russian president, Dmitry Medvedev, has ordered an immediate inquiry into the potential destruction of the world's oldest seed bank following a court case and a Twitter campaign by Guardian readers and others.The fate of the station appeared to be sealed last week when a court ruled in favour of the Pavlovsk research station and its surrounding farmland being turned into private housing. It holds the world's largest fruit collections and was protected by 12 Russian scientists during the second world war who chose to starve to death rather than eat the unique collection of seeds and plants which they were guarding during the 900-day siege of Le...
Global Warming And Your Health
Warning: preg_match_all() [function.preg-match-all]: Compilation failed: unrecognized character after (? or (?- at offset 2 in /home/perlren/public_html/wp-content/plugins/abd-clickable-links.php on line 30 Warning: Invalid argument supplied for foreach() in /home/perlren/public_html/wp-content/plugins/abd-clickable-links.php on line 50 From ScienceDaily.com: Global warming could do more to hurt your health than simply threaten summertime heat stroke, says a public health physician. Although heat related illnesses and deaths will increase with the temperatures, climate change is expected to also attack human health with dirtier air and water, more flood-related accidents and injuries, threats to food supplies, hundreds of millions of environmental refugees, and stress on and possible coll...
Will this summer of extremes be a wake-up call? | Stefan Rahmstorf
This decade has been marked by a number of weather extremes ? which show how vulnerable our societies are? 2010 could be among warmest years recorded by manThis summer has been one of weather-related extremes in Russia, Pakistan, China, Europe, the Arctic ? you name it. But does this have anything to do with global warming, and are human emissions to blame?While it cannot be scientifically proven (or disproven, for that matter) that global warming caused any particular extreme event, we can say that global warming very likely makes many kinds of extreme weather both more frequent and more severe.For weeks, central Russia has been in the grips of its worst-ever heatwave, which has caused probably thousands of fatalities. As a result of drought and heat, more than 500 wildfires have ra...
Estimation of the urban heat island for UK climate change projections - Kershaw T, Sanderson M, Coley D, Eames M.
Cities are known to exert a significant influence on their local climate, and are generally warmer than their surroundings. However, climate models generally do not include a representation of urban areas, and so climate projections from models are likely ... (Source: SafetyLit: All (Unduplicated))<div id="medworm"><p><b><i>MedWorm Message:</i></b> Register for <b><a href="http://www.medmatcha.com" target ="_self">MedMatcha, MedWorm's medical advertising network</a></b>, and receive $5 free advertising.</p></div>
Climate change affects geographical range of plants, study finds
Researches in Sweden have shown how climate change many million years ago has influenced the geographical range of plants by modeling climate preferences for extinct species. The method can also be used to predict what effects climate change of today and tomorrow will have on future distributions of plants and animals. (Source: ScienceDaily Headlines)
Too hot to handle: Impacts of climate change on mussels
(Wiley-Blackwell) Climate change is causing higher air and water temperatures along the east coast of the United States. These changes have shrunk the geographic region where blue mussels are able to survive, according to findings by University of South Carolina researchers published in the Journal of Biogeography. (Source: EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health)
Artificial meat? Food for thought
Leading scientists say meat grown in vats may be necessary to feed 9 billion people expected to be alive by middle of centuryArtificial meat grown in vats may be needed if the 9 billion people expected to be alive in 2050 are to be adequately fed without destroying the earth, some of the world's leading scientists report today.But a major academic assessment of future global food supplies, led by John Beddington, the UK government chief scientist, suggests that even with new technologies such as genetic modification and nanotechnology, hundreds of millions of people may still go hungry owing to a combination of climate change, water shortages and increasing food consumption.In a set of 21 papers published by the Royal Society, the scientists from many disciplines and countries say that lit...
Is global warming responsible for recent increase in extreme weather?
New York Times: Has the recent spate of extreme weather&mdash;floods in Pakistan and Northwestern China, wildfires in Belarus, Ukraine, and Russia, and the heatwave in the Eastern US&mdash;been caused, or worsened, by manmade climate change? Justin Gillis of the New York Times interviewed climatologists and meteorologists to find out. The answer: probably. Readers of Physics Today might remember that MIT's Kerry Emanuel considered the impact of climate change on hurricanes in his August 2006 Quick Study article. (Source: Physics Today News Picks)
Transgenic crops coping with water scarcity.
Authors: Cominelli E, Tonelli C Water scarcity is a serious problem that will be exacerbated by global climate change. Massive quantities of water are used in agriculture, and abiotic stresses, especially drought and increased salinity, are primary causes of crop loss worldwide. Various approaches may be adopted to consume less water in agriculture, one of them being the development of plants that use less water yet maintain high yields in conditions of water scarcity. In recent years several molecular networks concerned with stress perception, signal transduction and stress responses in plants have been elucidated. Consequently, engineering some of the genes involved in these mechanisms promises to enhance plant tolerance to stresses and in particular increase their water use efficien...<div id="medworm"><p><b><i>MedWorm Message:</i></b> Register for <b><a href="http://www.medmatcha.com" target ="_self">MedMatcha, MedWorm's medical advertising network</a></b>, and receive $5 free advertising.</p></div>
The Fire Next Time
Inner Russia.A place that more often than not is temperate to cool to plain frozen for most of the year.Well, this year, there are such devastating droughts and heat waves there that there have been significant California-esque wild fires and scorched earth. So much so that they have had to limit wheat exports, thus resulting in rising wheat and grain prices throughout the world.A third of Pakistan is now flooded, a la the usual scenario in Bangladesh. Are these just part of the normal variation in the climate or is this evidence that "climate change" is affecting us sooner rather than later?I'm unsure, although I am a firm believer that the planet is being warmed due to the actions of mankind.It is grey outside. Rainy. Dreary. But, not in a charming, English sort of way. It is gloomy, dar...
"The Most Difficult, Challenging Pest Problem of Our Generation." Across America, Bedbugs Are Biting
The American way of life is facing a new threat, one as profound as climate change or pandemic flu. Bedbugs. OK, that's a bit hysterical. But without DDT and the other now-banned pesticides that kept bedbugs in check for more than 50 years, the United States is as vulnerable as parts of the world where the insects remain a plague. (Source: RWJF News Digest - Public Health)
Your Opinion Of Climate Change Depends On Your Social Psychology
Listen to the brief audio clip from an interview with Jay Ingram, host of Daily Planet. [More] (Source: Scientific American - Official RSS Feed)
Carbon Cycle and Climate Change
As climate change accelerates, it is important to know the likely impact of climate change on the carbon cycle (see the Perspective by Reich). Gross primary production (GPP) is a ? [Read more] (Source: This Week in Science)
[Perspective] Climate Change: The Carbon Dioxide Exchange
Understanding how carbon dioxide cycles between land and atmosphere is key to developing better climate models.Author: Peter B. Reich (Source: Science: Current Issue)<div id="medworm"><p><b><i>MedWorm Message:</i></b> Register for <b><a href="http://www.medmatcha.com" target ="_self">MedMatcha, MedWorm's medical advertising network</a></b>, and receive $5 free advertising.</p></div>
Niche Dimensions in Fishes: An Integrative View*
Physiological and Biochemical Zoology, Volume 0, Issue 0, Page 000, Latest Articles. Abstract Current shifts in ecosystem composition and function emphasize the need for an understanding of the links between environmental factors and organism fitness and tolerance. The examples discussed here illustrate how recent progress in the field of comparative physiology may provide a better mechanistic understanding of the ecological concepts of the fundamental and realized niches and thus provide insights into the impacts of anthropogenic disturbance. Here we argue that, as a link between physiological and ecological indicators of organismal performance, the mechanisms shaping aerobic scope and passive tolerance set the dimensions of an animal?s niche, here defined as its capacity to survi...
Scientists test Australia's Moreton Bay as coral 'lifeboat'
An international team of scientists has been exploring Australia's Moreton Bay, close to Brisbane, as a possible 'lifeboat' to save corals from the Great Barrier Reef at risk of extermination under climate change. In a new research paper, they say that corals have been able to survive and flourish in the Bay, which lies well to the south of the main GBR coral zones, during about half of the past 7000 years. (Source: ScienceDaily Headlines)
Linguist on mission to save Inuit 'fossil language' disappearing with the ice
Cambridge researcher will live in Arctic and document Inughuit culture and language threatened by climate changeStephen Pax Leonard will soon swap the lawns, libraries and high tables of Cambridge University for three months of darkness, temperatures as low as -40C and hunting seals for food with a spear.But the academic researcher, who leaves Britain this weekend, has a mission: to take the last chance to document the language and traditions of an entire culture."I'm extremely excited but, yes, also apprehensive," Leonard said as he made the final preparations for what is, by anyone's standards, the trip of a lifetime.Leonard, an anthropological linguist, is to spend a year living with the Inughuit people of north-west Greenland, a tiny community whose members manage to live a similar hun...
Plant?Soil Water Relations and Species Border of Clarkia xantiana ssp. xantiana (Onagraceae)
International Journal of Plant Sciences, Volume 171, Issue 7, Page 749-760, September 2010. Low precipitation can limit plant distributions. Soil variation might interact with precipitation gradients to define species borders. Analyzing the eastern species border of the California annual Clarkia xantiana ssp. xantiana, we assessed the following: (1) the geography of plant water status, precipitation, and soil; (2) soil control of plant water status; and (3) water status control of plant performance. Plant water potential declined toward the border in consecutive years. Precipitation declined in parallel and was lower in the year of lower water potential. Many border soils are derived from metasedimentary rock, while igneous rock dominates the species range to the west and unoccupied ...
Analysis: Extreme weather plagues farming, talks flounder
By Timothy Gardner WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Global wheat markets reeling from Russian droughts, thousands of cattle killed by heat in Kansas, and countless crop acres wiped out by floods in Pakistan are glimpses of what can be expected as the world struggles to battle climate change. [More] (Source: Scientific American - Official RSS Feed)<div id="medworm"><p><b><i>MedWorm Message:</i></b> Register for <b><a href="http://www.medmatcha.com" target ="_self">MedMatcha, MedWorm's medical advertising network</a></b>, and receive $5 free advertising.</p></div>
Previous government left legacy of waste ? coalition
Baroness Warsi and Climate Change Secretary Chris Huhne: "While one party created this mess, two parties are coming together to solve it" (Source: Management in Practice)
Biodiversity hot spots more vulnerable to global warming than thought
Global warming may present a threat to animal and plant life even in biodiversity hot spots once thought less likely to suffer from climate change, according to a new study. (Source: ScienceDaily Headlines)
This Week in Science
Designer Anti-HIV | Peripheral Quality Control | A Nova Source of Gamma Rays | De-Twinning a Superconductor | Changes in the Rocks | Nanoprobes of Cell Potential | Carbon Cycle and Climate Change | A Gut Feeling | Out of Africa | Riboswitch Revealed | Carrier Mobility in Topological Insulators | Building a Network (Source: Science: Current Issue)
Rain contributes to cycling patterns of clouds: Researchers demonstrate how honeycomb clouds exhibit self-organization
Like shifting sand dunes, some clouds disappear in one place and reappear in another. New research shows why: Air movement due to rain forms patterns in low clouds that remain cohesive structures even while appearing to shift about the sky, due to a principle called self-organization. These clouds cover much of the open ocean. Understanding how their patterns evolve will eventually help scientists build better models for predicting climate change. (Source: ScienceDaily Headlines)
In pictures: The break-up of the Petermann Glacier
Greenland shed its largest chunk of ice in nearly half a century last week when the momentous break-up of the Petermann Glacier set a 100 sq mile chunk of ice drifting into the North Strait between Greenland and Canada (Source: Guardian Unlimited Science)<div id="medworm"><p><b><i>MedWorm Message:</i></b> Register for <b><a href="http://www.medmatcha.com" target ="_self">MedMatcha, MedWorm's medical advertising network</a></b>, and receive $5 free advertising.</p></div>
Temperature Increases Could Slow Rice Production, Study Says
A study published online Monday in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that anticipated temperature increases "could slow the growth of rice production unless farmers adapt by changing management practices and switch to more heat-tolerant varieties," Reuters reports (Fogarty, 8/10). "This is the latest in a line of studies to suggest that climate change will make it harder to feed the world's growing population by cutting yields," BBC writes (Black, 8/9)... (Source: Health News from Medical News Today)
Indonesian ice field may be gone in a few years, core may contain secrets of Pacific El Nino events
Glaciologists who drilled through an ice cap perched precariously on the edge of a 16,000-foot-high Indonesian mountain ridge say that the ice field could vanish within in the next few years, another victim of global climate change. (Source: ScienceDaily Headlines)
Hundreds More Heart Attacks When Temperature Drops Just One Degree
A UK study found that for each 1&deg;C drop in outside temperature there were approximately 200 more heart attacks in a single day in Great Britain. The study, published in the BMJ (British Medical Journal) writes that there is increasing interest in the link between the weather and health in light of global climate change. The authors write that previous studies had identified a link between outdoor ambient temperature and short term mortality risk - with both elevations and reductions in temperature having an effect... (Source: Health News from Medical News Today)
Common orchid gives scientists hope in face of climate change
A study that focuses on epigenetics in European common marsh orchids has revealed that some plants may be able to adapt more quickly to environmental change than previously thought. The research brings new hope to plant conservation. (Source: ScienceDaily Headlines)
Climate change poses a heart risk
Many more people will die of heart problems as climate change continues, experts warn. (Source: BBC News | Health | UK Edition)<div id="medworm"><p><b><i>MedWorm Message:</i></b> Register for <b><a href="http://www.medmatcha.com" target ="_self">MedMatcha, MedWorm's medical advertising network</a></b>, and receive $5 free advertising.</p></div>
The effects of summer temperature, age and socioeconomic circumstance on Acute Myocardial Infarction admissions in Melbourne, Australia
Conclusions: This study has demonstrated that both age and socioeconomic inequality contribute to AMI admissions to hospital in Melbourne during hot weather. By using socioeconomic circumstance to define quintiles, differences in AMI admissions were quantified and demographic differences in AMI admissions were described. Including disease specificity into climate-health research methods is necessary to identify climate-sensitive diseases and highlight the burden of climate-sensitive disease in the community. Cardiac disease is a major cause of death and disability and identifying cardiac-specific climate thresholds and the spatio-demographic characteristics of vulnerable groups within populations is an important step towards preventative health care by informing public health officials and...
Greenland ice sheet faces 'tipping point in 10 years'
Scientists warn that temperature rise of between 2C and 7C would cause ice to melt, resulting in 23ft rise in sea levelThe entire ice mass of Greenland will disappear from the world map if temperatures rise by as little as 2C, with severe consequences for the rest of the world, a panel of scientists told Congress today.Greenland shed its largest chunk of ice in nearly half a century last week, and faces an even grimmer future, according to Richard Alley, a geosciences professor at Pennsylvania State University"Sometime in the next decade we may pass that tipping point which would put us warmer than temperatures that Greenland can survive," Alley told a briefing in Congress, adding that a rise in the range of 2C to 7C would mean the obliteration of Greenland's ice sheet.The fall-out would b...
Greenland ice sheet faces tipping point
Scientists warn that temperature rise of between 2C and 7C would cause ice to melt, resulting in 23ft rise in sea levelThe entire ice mass of Greenland will disappear from the world map if temperatures rise by as little as 2C, with severe consequences for the rest of the world, a panel of scientists told Congress today.Greenland shed its largest chunk of ice in nearly half a century last week, and faces an even grimmer future, according to Richard Alley, a geosciences professor at Pennsylvania State University"Sometime in the next decade we may pass that tipping point which would put us warmer than temperatures that Greenland can survive," Alley told a briefing in Congress, adding that a rise in the range of 2C to 7C would mean the obliteration of Greenland's ice sheet.The fall-out would b...
Linkages among climate change, crop yields and Mexico-US cross-border migration [Sustainability_Science-SS]
This study quantitatively examines the linkages... (Source: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences)
Also In Global Health News: Food Production And Climate Change; Poverty And Hunger In India; Composting Toilets In Malawi
Paper Identifies How African Countries Adapt Food Production To Deal With Climate Change A new discussion paper, led by a researcher from the University of Nairobi and produced by the International Food Policy Research Institute, examines how 10 sub-Saharan African countries have adapted food production to mitigate the effects of climate change, IRIN reports. The paper found that most countries use crops that mature faster and are tolerant of frequent and intense droughts... (Source: Health News from Medical News Today)<div id="medworm"><p><b><i>MedWorm Message:</i></b> Register for <b><a href="http://www.medmatcha.com" target ="_self">MedMatcha, MedWorm's medical advertising network</a></b>, and receive $5 free advertising.</p></div>
Can Cell Phones Speed Adaptation to Climate Change?
FM radio and cellular phones are fostering a rising awareness of climate impacts and mitigation in some of the globe's remotest and most undeveloped regions. &nbsp; [More] (Source: Scientific American - Official RSS Feed)
Higher temperatures to slow Asian rice production
Production of rice, the world's most important crop for ensuring food security, will be thwarted as temperatures increase in rice-growing areas with continued climate change, according to a new study. Researchers found evidence that the net impact of projected temperature increases will be to slow the growth of rice production in Asia. Rising temperatures during the past 25 years have already cut the yield growth rate by 10-20 percent in several locations. (Source: ScienceDaily Headlines)
Common orchid gives scientists hope in face of climate change
(Royal Botanic Gardens Kew) A study led by scientists from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew's Jodrell Laboratory, which focuses on epigenetics in European common marsh orchids, has revealed that some plants may be able to adapt more quickly to environmental change than previously thought. The new study, published in Molecular Biology and Evolution, brings new hope to plant conservation. (Source: EurekAlert! - Biology)
NOAA awards grant to investigate impacts of land use and climate change on hypoxia in Green Bay
(NOAA Headquarters) Scientists researching the causes and effects of hypoxia in Green Bay, part of Lake Michigan, Wisc., have been awarded $348,037 for the first year of an anticipated four-year $1,367,300 project through NOAA's Coastal Hypoxia Research Program. (Source: EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health)
Charting a Course for the U.S. Forest Service's Response to Climate Change
Dave Cleaves wasn't raised to fight for the trees.The 62-year-old economist grew up in the cornfields of northwestern Ohio at a time when the state's forests were routinely felled to make way for farmland. But for Cleaves, an outdoor enthusiast, identifying trees always held more appeal than milking cows. [More] (Source: Scientific American - Official RSS Feed)<div id="medworm"><p><b><i>MedWorm Message:</i></b> Register for <b><a href="http://www.medmatcha.com" target ="_self">MedMatcha, MedWorm's medical advertising network</a></b>, and receive $5 free advertising.</p></div>
How Acidification Threatens Oceans from the Inside Out (preview)
&quot;Slow sperm ... now that&rsquo;s a problem,&rdquo; said Jonathan Havenhand, his British accent compounding the gravity of the message. &ldquo;That means fewer fertilized eggs, fewer babies and smaller populations.&rdquo; We were sharing a hilly cab ride along the glistening northern coast of Spain to attend an international symposium about the effects of climate change and excess atmospheric carbon dioxide on the world&rsquo;s oceans. As researchers, we were concerned about the underappreciated effects of changing ocean chemistry on the cells, tissues and organs of marine species. In laboratory experiments at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, Havenhand had demonstrated that such changes could seriously impede the most fundamental strategy of survival: sex.Ocean acidification--a ...
The Importance Of How Humanity Reacts To Climate Change
The way that humanity reacts to climate change may do more damage to many areas of the planet than climate change itself unless we plan properly, an important new study published in Conservation Letters by Conservation International's Will Turner and a group of other leading scientists has concluded. The paper Climate change: helping nature survive the human response, looks at efforts to both reduce emissions of greenhouse gases and potential action that could be taken by people to adapt to a changed climate and assesses the potential impact that these could have on global ecosystems... (Source: Health News from Medical News Today)
Butterflies shed light on how some species respond to global warming
Researchers have begun studying the genetic explanation for how two species of butterflies respond to warming. They are investigating what genes are responsible for the individualized responses, and will use genomic tools to learn which genes are involved when the species is experiencing climate change. (Source: ScienceDaily Headlines)
Higher temperatures to slow Asian rice production
(University of California - San Diego) Production of rice, the world's most important crop for ensuring food security, will be thwarted as temperatures increase in rice-growing areas with continued climate change, according to a study in PNAS. Researchers found evidence that the net impact of projected temperature increases will be to slow the growth of rice production in Asia. Rising temperatures during the past 25 years have already cut the yield growth rate by 10-20 percent in several locations. (Source: EurekAlert! - Social and Behavioral Science)
If you want your research to influence policy
Science: In her Issues and Perspectives column, Elisabeth Pain describes the ways that scientists can participate directly in debates about policies that affect or are affected by their research. Nanotechnology, climate change, and human stem cells are three currently controversial areas where it could be in scientists' best interests to engage policymakers. On the other hand, as Pain points out: Be aware that, as you align your research questions more closely to policy issues, you're also exposing yourself publicly. As the public debate about climate change reminds us, it can get nasty, so you'd better be prepared. Pain's article provides links to resources than can provide that preparation. (Source: Physics Today News Picks)<div id="medworm"><p><b><i>MedWorm Message:</i></b> Register for <b><a href="http://www.medmatcha.com" target ="_self">MedMatcha, MedWorm's medical advertising network</a></b>, and receive $5 free advertising.</p></div>
Stability assessment of gas mixtures containing terpenes at nominal 5 nmol/mol contained in treated aluminum gas cylinders.
Authors: Rhoderick GC Studies of climate change increasingly recognize the diverse influences exerted by terpenes in the atmosphere, including roles in particulates, ozone formation, and their oxidizing potential. Measurements of key terpenes suggest atmospheric concentrations ranging from low pmol/mol (parts per trillion) to nmol/mol (parts per billion), depending on location and compound. To accurately establish concentration trends, assess the role of terpenes in atmospheric chemistry, and relate measurement records from many laboratories and researchers, it is essential to have good calibration standards. The feasibility of preparing well-characterized, stable gas cylinder standards for terpenes at the nmol/mol level is not yet well established. Several of the world's National Metr...
Pavlovsk seed bank faces destruction
'Priceless collection' in Russia was never registered so is therefore worthless and does not officially exist, say developersTwelve Russian scientists famously chose to starve to death rather than eat the unique collection of seeds and plants they were protecting for humanity during the 900-day siege of Leningrad in the second world war. But the world's first global seed bank now faces destruction once more, to make way for a private housing estate.The fate of the Pavlovsk agricultural station outside St Petersburg will be decided in the courts this week. If, as expected, the case goes against it then the collection of plants built up over 85 years could be destroyed within months.At stake, say Russian and British campaigners for the station, is not just scientific history but one of the w...
Can Charcoal Slow Climate Change and Improve Agriculture?
The ancient inhabitants of Amazonia knew how to keep fragile soils fertile--and may have hit upon a way to combat present-day climate change . That technique? Biochar , or any plant or animal waste turned to charcoal and put back into the ground. (Source: Scientific American - Official RSS Feed)
Disaster politics: tipping points for change in the adaptation of sociopolitical regimes - Pelling M, Dill K.
Calls from the climate change community and a more widespread concern for human security have reawakened the interest of geographers and others in disaster politics. A legacy of geographical research on the political causes and consequences of disaster is ... (Source: SafetyLit: All (Unduplicated))

 

Additional Resources Environmental Issue By Jeanette Joy Fisher, Fri Dec 9th Environmental Psychology considers two issues with wood burningfireplaces. What's important to you? Your home environment foremotional support or saving the environment? If you plan to move Read more...

Additional Resources Honda Parts Meet The Standards Of The Reduction Of Fuel Emissions Honda ties up with SELEV, "Study of Extremely Low Emission Vehicles", a Riverside program hosted by the University of California, which shows the advantage of upgrading the internal combustion engine Read more...

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