All posts in Environmental science
Wind power: renewable energy for the cities of the future
Renewable energy? I’m a big fan! Unfortunately, so are modern wind turbines, which are the subject of intense arguments and criticism despite their many benefits. However, this view might be changed somewhat, by a new innovation by Farzad Safaei at the [...]
How to green the desert and reverse climate change
“Desertification is a fancy word for land that is turning to desert,” begins Allan Savory in this quietly powerful talk. And it’s happening to about two-thirds of the world’s grasslands, accelerating climate change and causing traditional grazing societies to descend [...]
Asteroids, extinctions, and biodiversity: Wiping the slate clean for new life to flourish
The recent meteor strike in Russia has been a rather sobering reminder that Earth has been regularly battered during its history, by space rocks. Actually, the amount of meteoritic material constantly landing on Earth is startling – on average, over [...]
Climate Change, Resilience, Communication
Climate Change Last week I listened to a webinar on climate change discussing findings of the draft report from the National Climate Assessment and Development Advisory Committee. Not much has changed from the year 2000 report, or the 2009 report. [...]
Unknown Corals of the Deep
Corals are some of the most beautiful things to be found under the sea, blossoming in clusters like gardens off tropical coasts worldwide. Easily the grandest display is to be found in Australia with the Great Barrier Reef, and it [...]
Citizen Science
Citizen Scientists An interesting report released last week from the UK Environmental Observation Framework reveals the benefit of citizen scientists to governmental environmental organisations. The Nerc Centre for Ecology and Hydrology and the Natural History Museum in London, reviewed 234 projects – [...]
Mankind can bet on global warming, and win: Dr.Mark Boslough
Dr. Mark Boslough is a world-renowned expert on global catastrophies. As a Caltech-trained physicist, member of the technical staff of Sandia National Laboratories, and adjunct professor at the University of New Mexico, he is regularly seen on science documentaries and [...]
Great danger for the Great Barrier Reef
The Great Barrier Reef is easily among the world’s great natural wonders. A world heritage site since 1981, it’s known everywhere as a showcase for the beauty which Earth’s oceans are capable of producing. The world’s largest system of coral [...]
Breaking plates
What do Australia and India have in common? The answer is that they both share one of Earth’s tectonic plates – the drifting eggshell-like pieces of Earth’s crust, on which all of our planet’s continents sit. However, the Indo-Australian Plate [...]
Weekly Science Picks
Sigh, my photo caption sums it all up… But here are the news stories that caught my eye and I hope you find them interesting as well. Maybe reading them will inspire your own work or to dig deeper for [...]
Environmental Sabbath Day – A Simple Proposal
In our efforts to reduce greenhouse gases we often overlook the cultural dimensions. These days, we love the idea of “24/7” – that production and services run “24 hours a day, 7 days a week”. Certainly this makes for higher [...]
The rise in representation of non-human entities
It happened over ten years ago. Jimmy was incarcerated against his will, held in a cage, isolated, and denied the basic freedom he deserved. A Habeas Corpus request was put in on his behalf. A long ordeal involving lawyers and various international [...]
Arctic sea ice extent is plummeting to a likely new record low
The plot is from US National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) and shows the Arctic sea ice extent data for the melt seasons of 2007 and 2012 alongside the 1979-1999 average. 2007 was a record low year, but with [...]
Adapting Drinking Water Resources to the Impacts of Climate change in Europe – ADWICE Stakeholder Exchange Conference 2012
The ADWICE Stakeholder Conference will take place on 2 October 2012 in Brussels, Belgium. The event will offer a platform for dialogue for understanding the vulnerability of drinking water resources, water quality and water abstraction infrastructures to local, national and [...]