In the past several decades, global plankton populations have declined due to climate change. Because human life depends on the presence of these oxygen-producing creatures, marine biologist Chris Bowler is working to study plankton as much as possible before they disappear. Bowler and a team of other scientists have been collecting plankton samples across the world for the past 2 1/2 years as part of the Tara Oceans expedition.

The expedition was a massive effort along a 62,000 mile journey, visiting 32 countries with a total 196 people who took turns aboard (126 scientists, 24 journalists, 7 artists, 8 cooks, 23 sailors, 3 customs officials, 1 doctor, 4 guests). The expedition cost about 9 million euros.

An ideal study of climate change impact on plankton populations would involve monitoring the same location over a period of time, watching what happens to the various species of microorganisms as time passes. The Tara Oceans team, however, collected samples from around the world, and will use that data to determine which plankton are likely to migrate, thrive or go extinct as certain conditions arise in waters across the globe. The expedition has collected approximately 27,000 samples, which the team will study to determine which varieties of plankton prefer particular habitats (more polluted, more acidic, etc.) and have a better understanding of which species will be able to survive forecast conditions.

The team has discovered up to one million new species of microorganisms. It will take years to sift through all of the samples, by which point some species may already be extinct. Hopefully, however, the research will show a great enough population of plankton will be able to live in warm, acidic waters.

Main image: plankton mix from scientific station 146. Credit: C. Sardet/CNRS/Tara Oceans

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The analysis was done by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), a nonprofit alliance of more than 400,000 citizens and scientists. The researchers studied six months of primetime Fox News programs, from February to July 2012. They also analyzed one year of op-eds from the Wall Street Journal. In both cases, the research focused on stories about climate change.

Both media outlets were found to be dismissive of the fact that human-caused climate change is happening, despite scientific consensus. The study also found that the stories commonly included disparaging comments about particular scientists and “cherry picking” of data. Overall, the coverage was found to promote distrust of science, and climate science in particular.

“It’s like they’re talking and writing about a parallel universe,” said Brenda Ekwurzel, a climate scientist at UCS. “Their viewers and readers simply aren’t getting an accurate story on climate science.”

The study recommends that News Corp. should thoroughly review its coverage of climate change, and develop standards for communicating on the subject. UCS also suggests that journalists working for News Corp. should be better trained on how to distinguish between ideological beliefs and scientific facts. In fact, Rupert Murdoch actually pledged in 2007 that his organizations’ coverage of climate change would improve over time — but that hasn’t happened yet. In 2010, Fox was widely criticized for a leaked memo to all staff telling them to report on climate change as “theory” rather than fact. Not much has changed in 2012.

Main image credit: kwest/Shutterstock

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The report, by the humanitarian organization DARA, finds that climate change already causes an average of 400,000 deaths each year, mostly due to hunger and communicable diseases in developing countries. Meanwhile, there are 4.5 million carbon-related deaths due to causes including indoor smoke and air pollution. That adds up to nearly 5 million deaths a year, and the number will rise to nearly 6 million by 2030.

In economic terms, the report finds that climate change cost the world $700 billion — or close to 1 percent of global GDP — in lost potential for economic development in 2010. Combined with costs related to the carbon-intensive economy, the total was more than $1.2 trillion.

As temperatures rise, the economic impact of climate change is estimated to more than double, reaching 2.5 percent of global GDP by 2030, and additional carbon economy costs will bring the total impact to more than 3 percent.

Developing countries will suffer the most in terms of both mortality and money. The report says least developed countries face an average of more than 10 percent forgone GDP in 2010 because of climate change and the carbon economy. Over 90 percent of deaths from both sets of causes, and more than 98 percent of those caused by climate change, will occur in developing countries.

The report calls for action to reduce climate change and carbon dependence and estimates that shift would cost 0.5 percent of GDP this decade. Other studies have found a higher cost — 2 percent of Global GDP in one case, according to Reuters.

Along with reducing the impact of climate change and carbon-intensive energy, the DARA report says the international community must work to mitigate key risks like food security, smoke and air pollution and diseases that are associated with the environmental damages.

Main photo credit: Bidgee/Wikimedia Commons

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Named NOTT-300, the new porous yet absorbent material is made from mix of water, aluminum nitrate salt, and cheap organic materials, and is non-toxic compared to the ammonia-based carbon capture materials currently used in the process. According to the research published in the journal Nature Chemistry, the NOTT-300 material requires less energy to regenerate and reuse once carbon saturates it and is removed for storage.

“I feel this can been viewed as a revolution to a certain degree,” said Sihai Yang from Nottingham University. “There is promising potential to overcome the traditional amine material on both environmental and economic grounds.”

Lab experiments with the new material captured close to 100 percent of the carbon dioxide it was exposed to and the scientists say it should maintain at least a 90 percent success rate in real world conditions. The material picks up harmful gases like sulphur dioxide yet shows no adsorption of hydrogen, methane, nitrogen and oxygen. For commercial applications, the team believes the material could be used in a series of interchangeable filters which can be removed, cleaned, and put back into service repeatedly, making it even more efficient (and cheaper) than systems currently in development.

Carbon capture is not without naysayers, including those who are right to point out that we are not sure what will happen to all that CO2 stored underground for long periods of time. But for the time being, until we are willing to make real substantial cuts in emissions, we need a stopgap measure to slow the release of CO2 into our atmosphere before it tips the scales too far. NOTT-300 may be just the material to help us do that.

[via Yahoo News]

Image Credit: Public Domain Photos

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With gray, cloudy Scandinavian winters, Denmark isn’t exactly known for its sunshine. Solar panels, however, still perform well there. Demand has been driven partly by a net metering program set up in 2010. Net metering, which is also available in many places in the United States, gives homeowners credit for extra solar power produced by the panels on their roof. If someone’s away during the day, or is simply using less power than the solar panels are generating, their electric meter will begin to spin backward. At a later point, when the homeowner needs that power, they can access it from the grid without paying for it. That’s an especially good deal in Denmark, which has some of the highest electricity prices in the world.

Danish citizens have an appetite for innovative products, so they’ve been quick to embrace solar power, according to a manager from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. “Denmark benefits from a strong design tradition and this also characterizes the Danish solar sector in which aesthetics and thinking ahead of user needs is a central part of product development,” said Kim Schultz, from Invest in Denmark.  “This means that solar solutions are more likely to meet consumers’ demands.”

Denmark also has other strong renewable energy programs, which have made the existing infrastructure ideally suited for solar power. Wind power has been well developed, especially offshore, and is continuing to grow. Denmark plans to get 50 percent of its electricity from wind power by 2020, and is already over halfway to that goal. By 2050, the country plans to get 100 percent of its electricity from renewable sources. If Denmark’s solar use is any indication, the country may even reach that ambitious goal there early. This is the kind of leadership we need to fight climate change in time.

Main image credit: Carsten Medom Madsen/Shutterstock

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Alexandre Guertin-Pasquier of the University of Montreal presented his research in Toronto this weekend at the Canadian Paleontology Conference. Guertine-Pasquier states the fossilized forest on Bylot Island is similar to current forests in southern Alaska. He points to similar plant diversity between the two environments, including willow, pine and spruce trees. Pollen found in the site also suggests the ancient forest flourished in a climate with an average temperature of 32 degrees Fahrenheit, significantly warmer than Bylot Island’s current average temperature of 5 degrees Fahrenheit.

The scientists were able to estimate the forest was at its peak between 2.6 million and 3 million years ago, a range determined through examination of the forest’s ancient sediment, particularly the soil’s magnetic particles. The Earth’s magnetic field affects movement of magnetic sediment in rocks, making them turn to the magnetic poles like a compass, so scientists were able to date the site’s sediment using the well-known history of the poles’ movement.

While forecasts predict that the climate on the Canadian Arctic’s Bylot Island won’t support a forest until the year 2100, there is a separate obstacle: Seeds must be brought to the area before any trees can grow. Migration is much easier for animals than plants, which must rely on creatures, wind and water to move a seed from place to place. For trees, it all depends on whether seeds are dispersed and taken to their new environment.

“Although it would of course take time for a whole forest to regrow, the findings show that our grandchildren should be able to plant a tree and watch it grow,” said Guertin-Pasquier.

Bylot Island is not the only place where warming temperatures could breathe new life into ancient forests. Drilling in the seabed off Antarctica revealed a 52-million-year-old rainforest that may also see revival. Scientists concluded that “without drastic changes,” the planet could be headed back to the temperatures that made possible.

Photo: View from the study site in June 2010. Credit: Alexandre Guertin-Pasquier

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The previous version of Maps made it easy to find a train or bus; a click of a button would lead to simple public transportation directions in both a list and a map. Now, unfortunately, pushing the transit button leads to a list of third-party apps rather than directions. You need to choose an app, launch it, and wait for it to load before you can begin to get public transit info.

You’d need to do this for every city where you need directions, so if you’re visiting a friend or family member but want to get around town on your own, you’ll have to install new apps. There’s also no easy way to compare driving, walking or public transit options.

Why the change? The Apple Maps app used to use Google’s mapping service, but Apple has replaced it with their own map data. Over the last few years, as Google became more of a competitor, Apple acquired three mapping companies of its own. Apple either lacks public transit data or decided not to include it. Either way, it’s a giant step backward.

It’s hard to get people to switch to public transportation. Even for city-dwellers who don’t own cars, if public transit seems complicated, someone might choose to take a taxi. To receive mass adoption, public transit needs to be easy to use. The information needs to be at peoples’ fingertips fast, so they don’t miss the bus or train.

There are rumors that Google is planning to offer its own Maps app, separately, in Apple’s App Store. That would be welcome news — if Apple actually allows it. We’ll see what happens.

Main image credit: Kim Gunnarson/Flickr

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“It’s absolute realistic,” he added insistently to an incredulous-looking Charlie Rose. “It will happen.”

Branson said federal budget cuts to NASA have opened up an opportunity for the private sector. His spaceflight company Virgin Galactic plans to start offering commercial space flights — priced at $200,000 for a two-hour trip — beginning next year. And he says he and his kids will be on the first flight.

The Virgin America CEO has never been known as a shrinking violet. Last year, he celebrated the launch of the Virgin Galactic space terminal in New Mexico by opening a bottle of champagne while rappelling from a balcony.

Branson, a noted environmentalist and fan of Al Gore, didn’t mention the environmental impact of space tourism, which could soon surpass all of the world’s subsonic airplanes as a source of climate change.

He did say the ability to visit space will open up to a broader range of people as the price for a trip falls over time. He also said Virgin will be able to use profits from space tourism in the next 20 years to move into new territory, like putting more satellites into space for various uses and launching the Mars program.

Meanwhile, back in his core business closer to Earth, he acknowledged that the current quality of U.S. air carriers is “pretty abysmal.” Still, even for the bedraggled airline industry, Branson said has a shiny, if somewhat hard-to-swallow new vision: A flight from the U.S. to Australia in two and a half hours within his children’s lifetime.

Photo of Branson before the 2009 demonstration of WhiteKnight2 in 2009. Credit: Arnfinn Christensen/Wikimedia

Video credit: CBS News

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“We are now in uncharted territory,” said NSIDC Director Mark Serreze. “While we’ve long known that as the planet warms up, changes would be seen first and be most pronounced in the Arctic, few of us were prepared for how rapidly the changes would actually occur.”

Arctic sea ice grows in the winter when the sun sets, and shrinks in the summertime. In the past, the ice commonly survived for several years, but in recent years it has become more common for large areas of ice to completely melt away in the summertime. This year, following record retreats in June and July, sea ice fell to the lowest extent ever on record on Aug. 26. That record low — of 4.10 million square kilometers — was broken again on Sept. 4, when the extent of ice fell below 4.00 million square kilometers. On Sept. 16, it fell again to 3.41 million square kilometers.

The changes are unprecedented. It’s very unusual for melting to happen this late in the season, and the researchers note that it’s possible the melting could continue. The fact that melting has occurred in late August and September demonstrates how unusually thin the ice is. The researchers had predicted the ice would refreeze much earlier.

The melting of the ice will itself increase global warming, helping to speed more melting. What’s next? It’s possible it won’t be long before the ice is almost gone.

“Twenty years from now from now in August you might be able to take a ship right across the Arctic Ocean,” said Serreze.

Image of arctic sea ice extent on Sept. 16 by NASA.

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This week’s news involves a bit of both. Shell Oil announced on Monday that it will be postponing the completion of its Alaskan Arctic wells until 2013. The reason behind the setback of a $4.5 billion, six-year investment? A spill containment dome — equipment required by environmental regulations — was damaged during a testing accident. It’s almost as if the environmental regulations are actually working!

“The time required to repair the dome, along with steps we have taken to protect local whaling operations and to ensure the safety of operations from ice floe movement, have led us to revise our plans for the 2012 – 2013 exploration program,” the company said in a statement. “In order to lay a strong foundation for operations in 2013, we will forgo drilling into hydrocarbon zones this year.”

While this isn’t the end of Arctic drilling, it is a wake-up call to Shell and other “Drill, Baby Drill!” advocates that are extracting oil from thousands of feet below Earth’s surface. Temperatures below freezing, icy waters and high swells make the region an especially dangerous one for offshore drilling.

Environmentalists have long opposed using the Arctic as an oil reservoir. “We think it’s crazy,” said Niel Lawrence, senior attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council. “And the evidence is mounting that shows it’s crazy.” Greenpeace echoed those sentiments in an email: “Investors must now be asking whether investing such vast sums of money trying to exploit the fragile Arctic is really worth it.”

Other factions, unsurprisingly, are expressing different sentiments. “It’s a disappointment that this particular system is not ready yet,” said Marvin E. Odum, the president of Shell Oil.

This “disappointment” for Shell Oil may be a small bit of good news for the Pacific walrus, one of Alaska’s many victims of climate change and its receding ice.

Main photo credit: Shutterstock

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