warm

Record heat sweeps Arctic Sea, ice in 2007

SAN FRANCISCO--Warmth may not be an attribute you associate with a place where the sun doesn't shine in the winter and the sea freezes over, but all things are relative. And compared to earlier years, the Arctic was downright sweltering this year.

According to new research presented here at the the American Geophysical Union conference, the Arctic Ocean reached record high temperatures, arctic ice diminished to a record low, and ice melted on Greenland for a record number of days.

"In 2007, we had off-the-charts warming" of the Arctic Sea in the summer, said Mike Steele, an … Read more

Warming climate triples northern fire frequency

SAN FRANCISCO--Researchers have linked global climate change to a tripling in the frequency of large fires in major forests of Alaska and Canada.

Black spruce forests cover about 2.7 million square kilometers in Canada and Alaska--about a third of the area of the lower 48 states of the U.S., and fire records date back to the 1950s. Beginning around 1987, the rate that large wildfires struck the forest jumped from about once every 10 years to once every 3 years, said Eric Kasischke of the University of Maryland at College Park, speaking at the American Geophysical Union conference … Read more

Why my existence is bad for the environment

Tuesday was a really bad day for my carbon footprint.

First I learned that my divorce is heating up the planet. A Michigan State University study concluded that divorced couples use up more space in their respective homes, resulting in 38 million more rooms around the globe to light, heat, and cool.

Then, later in the day, as I readied to go home and light candles for the first night of Hanukkah--the Jewish Festival of Lights--I learned of the environmental implications of the annual tradition. The Jerusalem Post told of a campaign--now the topic of much blog fodder--encouraging Jews to … Read more

Kangaroo flatulence will save us all

According to an AFP report, scientists are trying to find a way to install kangaroo parts in Australian and New Zealand cattle and sheep. Methane from livestock's gaseous emissions accounts for 14 percent of greenhouse gases in Australia and up to 50 percent in New Zealand. Since kangaroos' flatulence contains no methane, the scientists reckon that genetically engineering herds with special bacteria and extra stomachs found in 'roos could help decelerate global warming.

Read the full story on Yahoo news: "Eco-friendly kangaroo farts could help global warming"

Rumor: Taiwan mulling a phase out of incandescent bulbs

Incandescent bulbs are getting it from all sides these days.

Taiwan may soon join the list of national and state governments to impose regulations that lead to the demise of traditional incandescent bulbs. Neal Hunter, CEO of LED Lighting Fixtures (LLF), says there are rumors in the lighting world that Taiwan will pass legislation that would phase out incandescents by 2011 or 2012. Sporadic reports in Taiwanese papers have come out saying that the Ministry of Economic Affairs wants to get rid of incandescents too.

Taiwan will also promote LEDs as the light source of choice for the future, he … Read more

Saving the planet cheaper than you think

Opponents of climate change have said that the effort could reduce the U.S. gross domestic product by $1 trillion, cost 3.4 million jobs, and result in price hikes of trillions of dollars for American consumers. But a new study from McKinsey & Co. puts the price tag way below earlier predictions and indicates that 40 percent of the reductions may bring actual savings to the economy, not costs.

Read the full story at Businessweek.com..

Divorce pains the planet

As if the burden of divorce weren't bad enough, people with failed marriages can be blamed for global warming, according to a study by Michigan State University.

Divorced couples use up more space in their respective homes, which amounts to to 38 million more rooms worldwide to light, heat and cool, noted the report.

And people who divorced used 73 billion kilowatt-hours more of electricity and 627 billion gallons of water than they would otherwise in 2005.

Dissolving a marriage also means doubling possessions, from the lowly can opener to the SUV. The report, however, did not estimate how … Read more

Report: Billions of jellyfish wipe out salmon farm

A 10-square-mile pack of jellyfish wiped out a 100,000-fish salmon farm in Northern Ireland, the Associated Press reported Wednesday.

The billions of jellyfish, piled densely in a 35-foot-deep layer, did in the fish through stings and stress, according to John Russell, managing director of Northern Salmon.

The Pelagia nocticula species, or "mauve stinger," ordinarily is found in warmer waters such as the Mediterranean Sea. Scientists pointed to the presence of the jellyfish, rarely seen that far north, as evidence of global warming.

All of the fish, worth $2 million, are dead or dying and, absent government aid, … Read more

A new source of water: Floating nuclear power plants

Nuclear power plants have a lot of excess heat, so why not use that heat to make fresh water?

That's the idea of S.S. Verma, with the Department of Physics at the Sont Longowal Institute in Punjab, India. If located offshore near large population centers, the plants could provide cheap electricity as well as fresh water to megacities like Mumbai.

Some companies are already looking at developing desalination platforms that can be attached to nuclear plants, he said, according to the Indo-Asian News Service (via Earthtimes). (Verma's complete paper can be found here.)

The general and very … Read more