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What is Carbon Farming?
By Roberta Attanasio Greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, fluorinated gases, and ozone) work like the glass walls of a greenhouse and are responsible for the greenhouse effect. What is the greenhouse effect? It’s a process in which greenhouse gases let the radiation from the sun onto the Earth’s surface. At the same time, they trap the heat that reflects back up into the atmosphere. The greenhouse effect keeps our planet at an average 59 degrees Fahrenheit (15 degrees Celsius). However, if the greenhouse effect is too strong, our planet gets warmer and warmer. This is what is happening now — the greenhouse effect is becoming stronger because of increased release of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.…
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Ozone, Plants and Heat Waves: Team Players in Adverse Health Effects
By The Editors Ozone, the principal component of the mixture of air pollutants known as “smog“, is produced from the action of sunlight on air contaminants from automobile exhausts and other sources. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) “Ozone in the air we breathe can harm our health—typically on hot, sunny days when ozone can reach unhealthy levels. Even relatively low levels of ozone can cause health effects. Breathing ozone can trigger a variety of health problems including chest pain, coughing, throat irritation, and congestion. It can worsen bronchitis, emphysema, and asthma. Ground level ozone also can reduce lung function and inflame the linings of the lungs. Repeated…
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Carbon Dioxide Fertilization Effect and Greening of Deserts
By The Editors Rising atmospheric carbon dioxide levels (CO2) are greening our deserts — in other words, many of the planet’s arid environments are greener than they would otherwise be if CO2 had remained constant. The greening of our deserts is due to the so-called CO2 fertilization effect, which can be defined as the enhancement of photosynthesis caused by rising CO2 levels in the atmosphere. Photosynthesis is the driving force behind most of the life on our planet. It’s a set of chemical reactions used by many plants and some other organisms to build carbohydrates (sugars) from carbon dioxide and water, using light as source of energy. Most forms of photosynthesis release…
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Turn Down the Heat: A New Report on the Effects of Climate Change
By The Editors In a previous post, “Redrawing the Energy-Climate Map”, we have mentioned the 4-for-2°C scenario – a concept from a World Energy Outlook Special Report released on June 10 by the International Energy Agency (IEA). Governments around the world have agreed to limit the long-term rise in the average global temperature to 2 degrees Celsius (°C). However, according to the report, the path we are currently on is more likely to result in a temperature increase of between 3.6 °C and 5.3 °C. Under the 4-for-2°C scenario, the global temperature increase could be limited to 2°C by implementing four energy policies that rely only on existing technologies and have…
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2013 World Day to Combat Desertification: Today, June 17
By The Editors The theme of the 2013 World Day to Combat Desertification is drought and water scarcity. Freshwater is valuable. Of all the water on Earth, only 2.5 per cent is freshwater. And of all this freshwater, the total usable supply for ecosystems and humans is less than 1 per cent. When demand for water exceeds available supply, it results in water scarcity. This is why the World Economic Forum, in their Global Risk Report 2013, suggests that decreasing water supply is among the top five risks, both by likelihood and impact, that humanity faces over the next ten years. Increasing water scarcity and drought, in part as a result of climate change, will…
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Redrawing the Energy-Climate Map
By The Editors The energy sector is the single largest source of climate-changing greenhouse-gas emissions. Limiting these emissions is an essential focus of global action. A new World Energy Outlook Special Report from the International Energy Agency (IEA) shows that the world is not on track to meet one of the targets agreed by governments. This target is to limit the long-term rise in the average global temperature to 2 degrees Celsius (°C). The path we are currently on is more likely to result in a temperature increase of between 3.6 °C and 5.3 °C. The report, which is entitled “Redrawing the Energy-Climate Map” and can be found at the IEA…
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The Foodprint: Eyes on Methane
By The Editors We all know something about the carbon footprint, a little less about the plastic footprint, and — may be we haven’t heard (yet) about the foodprint. What is the foodprint? It’s all related to methane. Methane is a colorless, odorless gas with a wide distribution in nature. It is the principal component of natural gas. National Geographic calls it the “Good Gas, Bad Gas” and it goes on to say: “Burn natural gas and it warms your house. But let it leak, from fracked wells or the melting Arctic, and it warms the whole planet.” To this, we can add:that, globally, over 60% of total methane emissions come from human activities. Methane…
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Climate Change Arguments? Use Flowchart Help!
By The Editors James West, the Climate Desk Producer at Mother Jones, has developed an entertaining and scientifically correct flowchart – actually a cheat sheet – to help everyone win every climate argument. Go to his page: You’ll find many more topics clearly explained with brilliant flow charts. In the mean time, we’ll wait for the answer to “So what do we do then?” in the future follow-up to his climate change cheat sheet.
