Nuclear Fusion Redux: How Realistic Are Scientists' Plans to Build Mini-Stars on Earth?

Mon, 16 Feb 2009 13:00:00 GMT

Image via BBC I know what you're thinking: This, again? Or: Why are scientists still wasting precious time and money futilely pursuing such pie-in-the-sky schemes? Having read my fair share of nuclear fusion hyperbole, I can certainly sympathize with the sentiment. But, from the sounds of British physicist Brian Cox's assessment, it looks like this latest attempt at building a working commercial prototype within the next few years may actually happen. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Tales of Vanishing Tritium Exit Signs Prompt Health Concerns

Mon, 09 Feb 2009 07:00:00 GMT

When thousands of exit signs in Wal-Mart stores nationwide mysteriously began to disappear, few initially took notice. That is, until the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), the government agency tasked with the oversight of nuclear safety, stepped in. According to the Center for Public Integrity's Marina Walker Guevara, the NRC began sending notices in mid-January to 61 companies and organizations that own 500 or more tritium exit signs against their records and report any missing or lost ones.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Can a Credit Card-Sized Chip Helps Scientists Determine What's Ailing Coral Reefs?

Mon, 02 Feb 2009 23:30:00 GMT

Image via Wikimedia Commons The advent of microarrays and advanced genomic technologies is making it easier for scientists to take a (much) closer look at some of the world's most confounding problems. Marine biologists have long wondered which pathogens are to blame for the multitude of diseases that have weakened and, in some cases, killed large tracts of coral reefs around the world. PhyloChip, a new DNA microarray developed by a team of scientists from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and UC Merced, could help shed lights on this vexing question. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Obama Administration Will Let States Set Auto Emissions Standards

Mon, 26 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Image from BarackObama.com In a marked break from his predecessor, President Barack Obama will today direct the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to approve requests made by California and 13 other states to establish strict new auto emission and fuel efficiency (i.e. CAFE) standards, reports the NYT's John M. Broder and Peter Baker. The president will also instruct the agency to begin enforcing a 2007 national fuel efficiency standard law that the Bush administration refused to act on. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Epic Fail: Efforts to Fight Invasive Species Could Cause 'Ecosystem Meltdown'

Mon, 19 Jan 2009 07:00:00 GMT

Image from Sara Golemon Chalk up another one for human "ingenuity." Efforts to reverse the proliferation of invasive species on Macquarie Island, a 50-square mile piece of land located approximately halfway between Australia and Antarctica, have taken a disastrous turn for the worse--with the likely end scenario a complete "ecosystem meltdown." The sole last resort, scientists now believe, is a massive $16 million rescue plan, reports the LAT's Thomas H. Maugh II.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Busting Crime (And Climate Mysteries) with Algae

Mon, 12 Jan 2009 23:20:00 GMT

Image from Peter Siver) Crime-fighting doesn't typically fall within a botanist's job description but, then again, Peter Siver is hardly your typical botanist, as Julie Wernau makes clear in her nice profile. Siver has spent his entire career studying diatoms and chrysophytes, microscopic photoautotrophs that are commonly found in oceans, lakes and other bodies of water. In the process, he has traveled around the world looking for clues about climate change events stretching back millions of years--and, occasionally, has helped solve the odd murder case. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Could Large-Scale Oxygen Pumps Fix the Baltic Sea's Dead Zones?

Sun, 21 Dec 2008 17:00:00 GMT

Image from NASA It seemed like just yesterday geo-engineering was one of those taboo subjects you couldn't touch with a ten foot pole. Now, though still far from being widely embraced, it has been recognized by many governments and reputable research institutions as a potential last ditch alternative to conventional climate mitigation strategies. One consequence has been that more and more scientists have been turning to these highly unconventional methods as a way to address other seemingly intractable problems, like dead zones. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

UN Supported African Enterprise to Set Up Major Geothermal Facility in East Africa's Rift Valley

Sat, 20 Dec 2008 23:00:00 GMT

Image from ditzy girl 2009 may be the year when geothermal energy finally comes into its own in developing countries in Asia and Africa. After meeting with some initial success in Kenya, where, over the past 3 years, sites have been drilled to identify local hotspots, the Global Environmental Facility (GEF), along with the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), will fund a new entity-the African Rift Geothermal Development Facility (ARGeo)-to tap into the Rift Valley's vast, unexplored geothermal potential, according to SciDev.Net's Laura Garca. Touting its creation at the Poznan climate talks a few weeks ago, UNEP's Achim Steiner declared that the enterprise would help fight climate challenge and bring energy to billions. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

New Study Finds Half a Million Sharks Are Finned Every Year in Ecuador

Fri, 19 Dec 2008 23:50:00 GMT

Image from Shifting Baselines Over at Shifting Baselines, Jennifer Jacquet, a PhD student at the University of British Columbia (UBC) Fisheries Centre (who is working with the renowned Dr. Daniel Pauly), writes about a new study on which she was the lead author, entitled "Hot Soup: Sharks Captured in Ecuador's Waters" (sub. required). She and her colleagues found that the Ecuadorian government failed to report the catching of around half a million sharks each year. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

PBS Airs Must-See Episode about Climate Change and Kiribati: 'Paradise Lost'

Wed, 17 Dec 2008 23:50:00 GMT

Image from luigig It's easy to dismiss climate change as a threat when you live in a country that hasn't been affected much or that, at most, has only seen slight alterations. But what if you lived on one of the many South Pacific Islands? Climate scientists believe these islands will be some of the most at risk of succumbing to future sea-level rise-a gloomy scenario that may not be too far off (perhaps as early as 50 years from now), according to new research presented at the AGU conference in San Francisco this week. One of these vulnerable islands, Kiribati, is the setting for a must-see episode of PBS' Now show, (appropriately) entitled "Paradise Lost". ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

NSF Reports on Jellyfish Gone Wild

Sun, 14 Dec 2008 22:30:00 GMT

Image from Monty Graham/Dauphin Island Sea Lab If you have any interest whatsoever in jellyfish-and, really, who doesn't?-then you should head on over to the National Science Foundation (NSF) website and read their special report on the environmental causes and ramifications of large jellyfish swarms. The interactive site is chock-full of videos, pictures (of course), interesting trivia (for example: a single jellyfish may release up to 45,000 eggs in a day) and several excellent primers on the species' ecology and swarm behavior. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Cheetahs on the Brink of Extinction, UN Report Finds

Sat, 13 Dec 2008 23:50:00 GMT

Image from Martin Pettitt Cheetahs are fast, but can they outrun extinction? According to a new report released by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), the speedy feline, which can reach speeds of up to 120 kilometers per hour, or 75 mph (making it the world's fastest land animal), is at risk of becoming the latest extinct species, The Independent's Ian Johnston reports. The report blames the cheetah's downfall on the usual suspects: habitat loss and degradation, urban development and hunting. Current populations levels stand at 10 percent of their historic highs. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Ozone Depletion Contributes to Ocean Acidification in the Southern Ocean

Fri, 12 Dec 2008 23:50:00 GMT

Image from World Meteorological Organization Forty percent: That is the share of annual oceanic carbon dioxide uptake accounted for by the Southern Ocean. Given that oceans comprise Earth's largest carbon sink, that is not an insignificant figure; indeed, this sole region is responsible for absorbing a staggering amount of anthropogenic emissions -- close to 1 petagram (1 Pg = 1,000,000,000,000,000 grams) per year. Which makes it all the more worrisome that ocean acidification is rapidly weakening its capacity to take up our excess emissions, something I discussed last month. Now we hear that ozone depletion, already a long-standing problem in itself, could be worsening the situation. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

NASA Satellites Help Track Natural Oil Slicks as Potential GHG Sources

Wed, 10 Dec 2008 23:55:59 GMT

Image from NASA It may seem unusually high, but almost half of the oil that makes its way into the ocean derives from natural sources. To find these oil slicks, scientists have long made use of satellite radar instruments. Upon reaching the surface, oil has a tendency to spread out into a thin layer, which causes a glint that can easily be seen by radar, explains the New Scientist's Catherine Brahic (see a short video here). ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

First Arctic Ice-Free Summer Could be in 2015

Sun, 07 Dec 2008 11:00:00 GMT

Image from NASA It's hard sometimes to make heads or tail of all these gloomy predictions -- what with the projected year always changing (just scan through our previous posts on the subject to see what I mean) -- but, for what it's worth, some scientists are now pegging it at 2015. That, according to David Barber of the University of Manitoba, will be the year when all of the region's sea ice will be gone for the first time. There will still be ice during the winter, of course, but, as Barber put it to Winnipeg Free Press' Kevin Rollason, it will "always be first-year ice".... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Scotland Crafts Own World-Beating Climate Bill

Sat, 06 Dec 2008 21:30:00 GMT

Image from amandabhslater If you liked Obama's proposed climate agenda, then you'll love Scotland's. Not only would it require an 80 percent cut in carbon dioxide emissions below 1990 levels by mid-century, it would also require equivalent reductions from the five other major greenhouse gases. Emission levels would have to be reduced 50 percent below 1990 levels by 2030. Unlike most other international variants, it would target shipping and aviation emissions as well, reports the BBC.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

EPA Ignores Own Scientists' Advice, Makes a Gift to Coal Mining Interests

Fri, 05 Dec 2008 23:55:00 GMT

Image from Jen SFO-CBN In what's become a depressingly predictable trend, the EPA's higher-ups have once again chosen to consciously ignore the better advice of their scientists and reverse a long-standing rule banning the dumping of coal mining debris into mountain streams. ProPublica's Joaquin Sapien writes that the reversal will clear the new for a new measure that environmental groups are rightly calling a "gift to mining interests": the ability to dispose of leftover rocks and dirt from mountaintop mining (a practice Bush officials have allowed to expand in recent years) by flagrantly violating the landmark Clean Water Act. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

British Scientists Launch Climate Change Monitoring Robot Gliders in Atlantic Ocean

Wed, 03 Dec 2008 22:50:04 GMT

Image from National Oceanography Center Meet Ammonite, Bellamite and Coprolite. You've probably never heard of them before (and may not hear much about them thereafter), but these three robots, part of a growing fleet of so-called Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs), could soon become a potent tool in global efforts to forestall the worst of climate change. Developed by a team of oceanographers at the National Oceanography Center, Southamptom, UK, the trio is now busily profiling the top 1,000 meters of the Atlantic Ocean between the Canary Islands and the west coast of Africa, reports New Scientist's Jessica Griggs to detect any early indications of future climate variations. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Richard Branson Backs Legal Bid to Protect Virgin Island Mangroves

Sun, 30 Nov 2008 10:00:00 GMT

The outcome of a case pitting an environmental charity organization against the British Virgin Islands (BVI) government and several developers could determine the future of the Caribbean environment and set the groundwork for the creation of an international environment court, writes The Independent's Robert Verkaik. The Virgin Islands Environmental Council (VIEC), whose legal efforts are being backed by none other than Sir Richard Branson (who, it must be said, owns a family home on Necker Island, one of the Virgin Islands), is trying to block the construction of a multimillion-dollar luxury resort on Beef Island. The campaigners argue that the resort would cause irreparable damage, and could possibly destroy, one of the region's most vulnerable mangrove systems. Under the developers' plans, one of the golf holes for their course would be located right in the middle of the threatened mangrove swamp. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

San Francisco Considers Taking the Plunge on Congestion Pricing

Sat, 29 Nov 2008 12:55:00 GMT

Image from Orin Optiglot Will San Francisco succeed where New York City and others have failed? The San Francisco Chronicle's Michael Cabanatuan reports that the City by the Sea is weighing a congestion pricing proposal that would require motorists to pay a $3 fee to enter, leave or pass through certain parts of SF during peak hours. Though the city's Board of Supervisors won't be making a recommendation until at least February next year, several voiced support for it during a meeting held last Tuesday.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Will Safety Concerns Delay the Completion of the Expo Line in Los Angeles?

Fri, 28 Nov 2008 21:15:00 GMT

Every time I feel as though L.A. is finally on the cusp on improving its (woefully) underfunded public transit system, something comes along to scuttle my excitement. The latest controversy surrounds the Expo Line, an $862 million light rail project that will connect downtown Los Angeles to Culver City and which is slated for completion in mid-2010. (That will be the first phase; the second phase will eventually extend the line from Culver City to Santa Monica -- see the "subway to the sea.") The plan could be delayed, however, if safety concerns win the day next week, the LAT's Steve Hymon reports. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

How Do Icebergs Form? Scientists Explain in New Study

Fri, 28 Nov 2008 15:25:15 GMT

Image from kaet44 It's not quite rocket science, but, as it turns out, it does involve a healthy dose of math and physics. The new "law" coined by Richard Alley, a glaciologist at Pennsylvania State University, and a team of other U.S.-based researchers will allow scientists to predict when and how icebergs in Greenland and Antarctica calve, or break off from larger ice shelves. The calving process is important because it is known to accelerate ice sheet flow and contribute to sea level rise. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Greenlanders See Independence and Natural Riches as the Upside of Climate Change

Wed, 26 Nov 2008 23:50:00 GMT

Image from NASA Where many see a bleak future in climate change, characterized by melting ice caps, water shortages, acidic oceans and mass extinctions, others see an opportunity. Or, to be more precise, lots of dollar signs. Nature's Nicola Jones reports that Greenlanders have just voted en masse in favor of a resolution that would bring them one tantalizing step closer to full-fledged independence from Denmark -- a move spurred primarily by their new-found bullishness over what a warmer world could mean for their country. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Emissions from Soil Organic Carbon Not as Bad as Previously Thought

Sun, 23 Nov 2008 16:10:00 GMT

Image from LHOON As I've argued many times in the past, climate models may not be foolproof but, with the right data and assumptions, they can serve an invaluable function in helping scientists and policymakers devise effective mitigation strategies. I'd be lying if I didn't say that I've seen my fair share of problematic models in the past but, as with most things, they have improved by leaps and bounds in only a few years' time. Now the findings of a new study conducted by researchers at Cornell University should help scientists do a much better job of incorporating soil organic carbon content into their models.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Olympic Success Converts Millions of British to Cycling

Sat, 22 Nov 2008 23:00:00 GMT

Image from garryknight It's amazing what an Olympic victory can do for a country's cycling fervor. Yes, as noted by The Times' transport correspondent, Ben Webster, the British are in the midst of a cycling revival of sorts -- fueled as much by the recent hikes in energy prices as by their team's epic haul at the Beijing Olympics. The squad, which boasted two Olympic track cycling champions and a BMX world champion, took home an impressive 12 medals -- 7 gold, 3 silver and 2 bronze -- to top the medal table in that category. That cycling prowess seems to have rubbed off on a large section of the population in the last few months, resulting in record numbers in London and other major cities.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Geoengineering Redux: Fertilizing Trees with Nitrogen to Fight Climate Change

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 23:51:44 GMT

Image from Joshua Rappeneker It's not quite ocean iron fertilization, but I have a feeling this new geoengineering proposed will still raise quite a few hackles. The idea, which originated with Federico Magnani of Italy's University of Bologna, is, as the name implies, fairly straightforward: You would fertilize, or "dope," as the New Scientist's Catherine Brahic put it, trees with nitrogen to stimulate their ability to absorb more carbon dioxide and, by increasing their albedo, to reflect more solar radiation back out into space. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Ocean's 'Poop Machines' Could Help Fight Climate Change

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 23:55:17 GMT

Image from WHOI Believe it or not, there actually has been a good deal of research done on whether salps, a group of tubular, free-floating tunicates (which one of my former professor affectionately to as nature's "poop machines"), could help slow climate change. (And, if you don't, try typing "salp carbon," or some variant, into Google Scholar and see what you find.) How, you wonder? By living up to their nickname, of course: producing copious amounts of carbon-replete waste, or particulate organic matter (POC), that are exported to the deep ocean.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Tropical Dead Zones Set to Expand by 50 Percent Under Climate Change

Mon, 17 Nov 2008 12:32:00 GMT

Image from Science Dead zones are certainly no stranger to these pages. As Matthew quipped in a recent post, stories about the Gulf of Mexico's (in)famous dead zone have a way of turning up on TreeHugger, as if on cue, every summer. And while the general narrative has stayed the same -- large nutrient inputs derived from fertilizer and pesticide run-off turn once vibrant ecosystems into barren, lifeless deserts -- some new science suggests climate change will play a role in exacerbating an already dire situation, expanding the volume of dead zones in tropical oceans by up to 50 percent over the coming century. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Eating the Sun: Oliver Morton's Sweeping Take on Photosynthesis, Plant Evolution and Renewable Energy

Mon, 17 Nov 2008 10:00:00 GMT

Those of you who, as I do, have long felt that photosynthesis was the unsung hero of the energy debate will find much to like about Oliver Morton's "Eating the Sun." Though ostensibly about the history of photosynthesis, this epic volume is so much more: an account of the planet's early development, a vivid recounting of some of the twentieth century's most heated scientific rivalries and discoveries and a shrewd, almost philosophical, take on the climate and energy crises. Morton, who has written for several publications, including The New Yorker and The Economist, and who is now Nature's chief news and features editor, has the keen eye of a scientist and the flowing writing style of an accomplished novelist. Where another might have struggled with the sheer scope of this book, Morton ably guides the reader through the dense narrative, describing every technology, theory and equation down to the minutiae with the ease of an accomplished scholar-scientist (at over 400 pages, that is quite a feat). ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

KQED Visits Yosemite's Shrinking Dana Glacier to See the Effects of Climate Change First-Hand

Sat, 15 Nov 2008 19:00:00 GMT

Despite having written at length (some might say excessively) about the sorry fate of Yosemite's dwindling glaciers and the Sierra snowpack, I've always felt as though my posts were missing something -- a certain audio/visual oomph, you might say. Though I'm much too busy to visit Yosemite in person these days (I intend to do over the coming months, however), the fine folks at KQED have provided the next best alternative: an elaborate video and photo montage on Climate Watch, their climate change-focused blog. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Recent Posts by TreeHugger's Jeremy Elton Jacquot, Los Angeles