Science & Tech News
Laudato Si’ takes both a clear view of the current science while eyeing hope for the future. We continue that effort keeping track of science and tech news regarding climate change and decarbonisation. If you are interested in participating on the team of scientists and technical practitioners supporting GCCM, or if you have findings or articles to suggest for this space, please contact [email protected]
Wildfires on Arctic tundra can contribute to widespread permafrost thaw much like blazes in forested areas, according to a study published in the most recent issue of the online journal Scientific Reports. The project, led by the U.S. Geological Survey, examined the effects of the massive Anaktuvuk River fire, which burned roughly 1,000 square kilometers of tundra on Alaska’s North Slope … Read More
This rapidly breaking and melting Greenland ice sheet could raise sea level by nearly 2 feet
Greenland’s glaciers held 75% of the world’s freshwater before humans started pumping greenhouse gases into the atmosphere in high volumes, at the beginning of the Industrial Age. Since then, Greenland has been melting, but the melting has sped up considerably now. The New York times produced an in-depth multi-media report on Greenland’s ice sheets. Now, a massive glacier in Greenland … Read More
The Carmichael coal mine in Australia will emit 79 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent a year — more than the annual emissions from Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, and about equal to the average annual emissions from both Malaysia and Austria. The projects will also emit three times as much carbon dioxide equivalent per year as the city … Read More
In what is being hailed as a “landmark” conservation policy, President Obama on Tuesday released a presidential memorandum establishing that energy, mining, and other development projects on America’s public lands should result in a net benefit — or at minimum no net loss — for the nation’s rivers, lands, and wildlife resources. “We all have a moral obligation to …Read More
Climate change is our nation’s greatest challenge—left unaddressed, it will have devastating impacts on our economy, our environment, and our communities and families. The good news is that addressing this challenge presents a tremendous opportunity to grow our economy and increase our shared prosperity. Today, NextGen Climate America released a new economic analysis based on data from E3’s Pathways to Deep Decarbonization in … Read More
Carbon in atmosphere still rising fast – Earth passing thresholds
Climate change is set to pass the milestone of 1C of warming since pre-industrial times by the end of 2015, representing “uncharted territory” according to scientists at the UK’s Met Office. 2015 is also set to be the hottest on record, as the temperatures are so far beating past records “by a country mile”, they said. The World Meteorological (Met) … Read More
Researchers develop low-cost offshore floating wind turbine – 12 euro cents per kilowatt hour
From Josh Hill at Clean Technica Researchers have designed and patented a floating platform for offshore wind turbines that they believe can reduce costs up to 12 euro cents per kilowatt hour. A team of researchers from the the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering of the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC) developed the new model of a floating structure for offshore wind … Read More
Scientists warned the US president about global warming 50 years ago: 5 Nov 1965
On 5 November 1965 climate scientists summarized the risks associated with rising carbon pollution in a report for Lyndon Baines Johnson. As the American Association for the Advancement of Science highlighted, US president Lyndon Johnson’s science advisory committee sent him a report entitled Restoring the Quality of Our Environment. The introduction to the report noted: Pollutants have altered on a global … Read More
I am often asked what’s wrong with our children and I almost always answer, adults are what’s wrong. We tell our children to control themselves while slapping and spanking and ejecting them violently in our homes, child care centers, schools, detention facilities and prisons. Adults tell children to be honest while lying and cheating and not to be violent while … Read More
6 US states considering carbon pricing
Massachusetts, Connecticut, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington all have proposed legislation exploring carbon pricing as option for cutting greenhouse gas emissions. Although the idea of a carbon price is not new, it is increasingly seen as a key climate solution in the lead-up to the U.N. climate talks in Paris in December. Six major oil and gas companies, including …
Cross-posted from Business Green, by Lauren Compere, Boston Common Asset Management on 30 Oct 2015 The build-up to a new international climate agreement has seen 55 countries specify the amount of funding they require to deliver the mitigation and adaptation projects needed to keep global warming below 2°C. This totals $4.8tr, more than the entire GDP of Japan or Germany, and represents … Read More
New study finds damage climate change will do to the economy has been dramatically underestimated
A new study published in Nature by scientists at Stanford and UC Berkeley has made waves for its finding that thus far we have dramatically underestimated the damage human-caused climate change will do to the global economy. By looking at data from 160 countries across the 50-year period from 1960 to 2010, the authors found that an average local temperature of 13°C (55°F) is … Read More
An interview with Ed Maibach, director of the Center for Climate Change Communication at George Mason University Fifteen years ago, there was very little difference between the way that Democrats and Republicans viewed climate change. About two out of three out of each group saw it as real and human-caused and serious. Now we’re down to about a third … Read More
This post was written by Marie Venner
Comments are closed here.