Modern science explains how an ancient ritual worked.
NASA observatory highlights the importance of studying CO2 on Earth: it’s connected to everything
Groundbreaking data allows us to study carbon dioxide in unprecedented detail.
First ‘negative emissions plant’ that turns ambient CO2 into stone switches on in Iceland
This is still experimental technology but in the future it could prove to be a lifeline.
Waste not, want not: astronauts to turn pee into nutrients, tools on deep-space missions
Stay hydrated up there, ladies and gents.
Replacing beef with beans on Americans’ plates might be the fastest way to cut CO2 emissions
If Americans ate beans instead of beef, the U.S. would realize 50 to 75% of its 2020 GHG-reduction targets.
We just breached the 410 ppm threshold for carbon dioxide — the highest it’s been since the mid-Pliocene
From bad to worse.
New protein can increase yields, save farmers millions every year
A tiny protein which can make a big difference!
Scientists want to track ocean heat using magnetic fields
As the Earth heats up, much of the heat sinks into the oceans.
Scientists are trapping more and more CO2 into volcanic basalt
Storing CO2 underground might be one pivotal for our climate future.
Photosynthetic solar cell turns carbon dioxide and sunlight into fuel
Fossil fuels could soon be a thing of the past.
NASA shows how much CO2 we really pump into the atmosphere
Carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere have never been higher: the average global CO2 levels have reached the 400 parts per million (ppm) milestone in the spring of 2015, The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) announced in the first week of November. Secretary-General Michel Jarraud warns that it won’t be long before even higher levels of the gas become a “permanent reality.”
China pollutes more than previously thought – still way less per capita than the US
According to recently released data from Chinese authorities, the country is burning out even more than previously thought
Massive aquifers beneath the world’s deserts might store more carbon than all living plants
Chinese researchers sampled water from an underground aquifer in the Tarim Basin and found these store vast quantities of carbon dioxide as a result of human activities. If the same holds true for all the desert aquifers around the world, the trapped carbon would amount to about a quarter more than the amount stored in living plants on land. Previously, the carbon trapped in aquifers was thought to be negligible. Clearly, this isn’t the case and these should not be disturbed so that the carbon doesn’t wash up into the atmosphere.
Carbon emissions threaten to destroy pink salmon population
The effects of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions are great and long reaching – a new study has found that pink salmon in the Pacific Ocean are threatened by increasing ocean acidification.
Ocean acidification could destroy shelled animals by 2030
Ocean acidification, one of the often ignored dangers associated with climate change is becoming increasingly worrying. As our climate becomes hotter and hotter, the oceans become more and more acidic, and this threatens some animals’ ability to create and maintain carbonatic shells.
Scientists find direct evidence that CO2 heats the Earth’s crust
When we’re talking about CO2 emissions and global warming, we generally mean atmospheric CO2 – where the gas is spewed and generates the greenhouse effect, warming our atmosphere and subsequently, our planet. But a new study conducted by US researchers found that CO2 actually warms the Earth’s crust directly; the more CO2 we emit, the hotter our planet will get.
Washing soda could be used to capture CO2 fired by power plants
Lawrence Livermore scientists have devised tiny capsules made up of a highly permeable polymer shell and a sodium carbonate solution that actively reacts with and absorbs carbon dioxide (CO2). Sodium carbonate is typically known as the main ingredient in washing soda, a common household item. The capsules are a lot cheaper and more environmentally friendly than other chemical carbon capture
New process turns CO2 into alcohol using enzymes
We’ve previously told you how our ancestors’ adaptation to metabolizing alcohol which first happened some 10 million years ago may have been essential to their survival. There’s more to it though. The same enzyme that metabolizes alcohol, dehydrogenase (ADH4), may be eventually used to transform CO2 into alcohol, which could be later used as a fuel, according to a paper
Failing carbon policies: we’re seeing the largest carbon emissions increase in 30 years
U.N. scientists released a report in which they conclude man-made carbon emissions released between 2012 and 2013 were higher than in any other year since 1984. If this trend is set to continue, the planet will reach a tipping point where global warming will become an irreversible phenomenon that could cause enough sea level rise, drought, and severe weather to significantly harm human
Copper foam turns CO2 into useful chemicals
Brown University researchers reported the development of a copper foam which could turn CO2 into useful chemicals such as formic acid – a preservative and antibacterial agent in livestock feed. As CO2 emissions continue to grow, scientists are trying to find potential uses to it. The problem with carbon dioxide is that it is extremely stable, so breaking it and