Carbon Footprint
Wallaby gut bacteria could put the brakes on livestock methane
July 1, 2011 5:58 am | News | CommentsScientists looking for possible ways to cut down on excessive methane emissions from livestock found a potential answer in an unlikely place: the gut of the Australian Tammar wallaby. This species releases 80% less methane per unit of energy than other animals, and researchers have isolated and grown cultures of the bacteria responsibly.
The energy debate: coal vs. nuclear
June 13, 2011 11:06 am | News | CommentsTwo Rutgers energy and environment researchers recently completed work on a long-term study of consumers’ attitudes toward two high-profile energy sources: coal and nuclear energy. Their work finds that while global warming and safety do factor into Americans’ decisions on these two forms of energy, other factors are at play that figure into their choices.
Carbon release to atmosphere 10 times faster than in the past
June 7, 2011 11:04 am | News | CommentsThe rate of release of carbon into the atmosphere today is nearly 10 times as fast as during the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM), 55.9 million years ago, the best analog we have for current global warming, according to an international team of geologists. Rate matters and this current rapid change may not allow sufficient time for the biological environment to adjust.
High-pressure AFM allows researchers to study CO2 behavior
June 7, 2011 7:02 am | News | CommentsA team of researchers in the western U.S. have built a new type of atomic force microscope that allows them to monitor how carbon dioxide behaves when injected into porous rocks. The microscope can withstand temperatures of approximately 350 K and pressures up to 100 atmospheres.
Greenhouse gas emissions hitting record highs
June 6, 2011 6:14 am | by Arthur Max, Associated Press | News | CommentsRecent reports of record high greenhouse gas emissions and unprecedented carbon levels in the atmosphere have added a sense of urgency to the efforts of United Nations climate negotiators, who are trying to make industrial countries continue reducing greenhouse gas emissions after their current commitment expires next year.
Direct removal of carbon dioxide from air likely not viable
May 9, 2011 7:39 am | News | CommentsTechnologies for removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere are unlikely to offer an economically feasible way to slow human-driven climate change for several decades, according to a report issued by the American Physical Society and led by Princeton engineer Robert Socolow.
Chemistry curbs spreading of carbon dioxide
May 6, 2011 9:14 am | News | CommentsResearchers in England have found that the presence of a simple chemical reaction with brine can delay or prevent the spreading of stored carbon dioxide in underground aquifers. Mathematical analysis shows that with knowledge of the physical structure of a saline storage aquifer, the movement of CO 2 within it be calculated and, in theory, manipulated.
Scientists: Soot may be key to rapid Arctic melt
April 21, 2011 4:31 am | by Randolph E. Schmid, AP Science Writer | News | CommentsThe Arctic is warming more rapidly than other regions of the world, and scientists believe a mostly invisible thin layer of soot is causing it to absorb more heat. Studies now indicate that cutting the concentration of short-lived pollutants, such as soot, will reduce the rate of warming in the Arctic faster than cuts in carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.
Sugarcane cools climate in Brazil
April 18, 2011 7:29 am | News | CommentsScientists from the Carnegie Institution have found that expansion of the Brazilian sugarcane crop in areas previously occupied by other crops cools the local climate. It does so by reflecting sunlight back into space and by lowering the temperature of the surrounding air as the plants "exhale" cooler water.
Carbon sequestration estimate in U.S. increased, barring a drought
April 18, 2011 4:54 am | by David Stauth | News | CommentsA recent study compiling research results from 35 institutions suggests that forests and other vegetation can sequester as much as 40% of the carbon emissions in the lower 48 states, a larger amount than previously estimated. Major disturbances like droughts, however, can substantially reduce this capability.
Estimation of organic carbon in surface water now possible
March 4, 2011 5:39 am | News | CommentsA new carbon model developed by researchers with the U.S. Geological Survey now allows scientists to estimate sources and losses of organic carbon in surface waters in the United States. Study results indicate that streams act as both sources and sinks for organic carbon.
Deep core complete: WAIS Divide project finishes 5-year effort
February 11, 2011 4:38 am | News | CommentsThe U.S. Antarctic Program has at last drilled and recovered a 3,331-m long ice core from the West Antarctic Ice Sheet Divide, a high point on the ice sheet where the ice begins to flow in different directions. The NSF-funded effort took five years in one of the stormiest regions of the continent and should offer the best data yet on climate in the last 40,000 years.
Solar-powered trash can reduces carbon footprint, cuts costs
February 8, 2011 5:41 am | by Richard Lewis | News | CommentsInvented by a Brown Univ. student, Kai Morrell, Big Belly trash cans compact the trash they receive, getting energy from solar panels. The cans, which have appeared on campus, are also networked, and call for pickup when they are full. Fewer pickups means savings on truck fuel and maintenance staff time.
Carbon sequestration: the ethanol of the next decade?
August 28, 2009 7:15 am | by Paul Livingstone | Blogs | CommentsThe climate change bill has become the poor cousin of health care this summer, but that may soon change. The Senate will eventually vote on cap-and-trade, and already the technology stream is offering carbon storage solutions. Let’s just get used to it: carbon sequestration, like ethanol, will soon be big business.
Joule Biotechnologies Introduces Process For Producing Renewable Transportation Fuels
July 28, 2009 10:50 am | Product Releases | CommentsJoule Biotechnologies unveiled its Helioculture technology—a process that harnesses sunlight to directly convert carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) into SolarFuel liquid energy.
ETV Motors Completes Demonstration of Turbine-charged Electric Vehicle
July 28, 2009 10:43 am | Product Releases | CommentsETV Motors successfully completed a milestone test of its novel Range-Extended Electric Vehicle (REEV) architecture.
