Environment – Page 190 – Shamskm: A site to exchange knowledge and solutions

The Undead May Influence Biodiversity, Greenhouse Gas Emissions

By Guest PostJanuary 27, 2011Environmentbiodiversity, cellular mechanisms, dormant microbes, greenhouse gas emissions, jay lennon, microorganisms affect, university of notre dame

EAST LANSING, Mich. — It’s commonly known, at least among microbiologists, that microbes have an additional option to living or dying — dormancy.

Dormant microbes are less like zombies and more like hibernating bears. What isn’t known, however, is how large numbers of dormant microorganisms affect the natural environments when they act as microbial seed banks. In the current issue of Nature Reviews: Microbiology, Jay Lennon, Michigan State University assistant professor of microbiology and molecular genetics, examines the cellular mechanisms that allow microbes to hibernate and addresses the implications they can have on larger ecosystems such as soil, oceans, lakes and the human body. (more…)

Personal Solar Panel Could Make Electricity More Accessible in the Developing World

By Guest PostJanuary 27, 2011Environmentabdrahamane traoré, amin and traoré, developers, dim light, emerald, engineering, june energy, kerosene, kerosene lamp, Mali, michigan, shanhoor amin, smartphone, solar panel, techarb

ANN ARBOR, Mich.— As a child in Mali, Abdrahamane Traoré often did his homework by the sooty, dim light of a kerosene lamp.

As an adult in Michigan, he sometimes has a tough time reaching his family back home. Traoré’s mother must walk to a neighboring village to keep a cell phone charged. (more…)

Mathematical Model Could Help Predict and Prevent Future Extinctions

By Guest PostJanuary 27, 20111 commentEnvironmentextinction cascades, future extinctions, man made disasters, mathematical model

Research could rescue fragile ecosystems and halt complex cascade events

In an effort to better understand the dynamics of complex networks, scientists have developed a mathematical model to describe interactions within ecological food webs. This research, performed by Northwestern University physics professor Adilson Motter and his student, Sagar Sahasrabudhe, is published in the January 25 issue of Nature Communications. The work illustrates how human intervention may effectively aid species conservation efforts. (more…)

Mercury in Bay Area Fish a Legacy of California Mining

By Guest PostJanuary 26, 2011Environmentcalifornia mining, fingerprinting technique, fingerprints of mercury, mercury contamination, mercury in fish, mercury mining

ANN ARBOR, Mich.— Mercury contamination, a worldwide environmental problem, has been called “public enemy No. 1” in California’s San Francisco Bay. (more…)

War, Plague No Match for Deforestation in Driving CO2 Buildup

By Guest PostJanuary 22, 2011Environmentagriculture, Antarctica, atmosphere, black death, black death in europe, burning of coal and oil, carbon dioxide, China, conquest of the americas, deforestation, demand for gasoline, earth, Environment, fall of the ming dynasty, forests, genghis khan, global carbon budget, global carbon cycle, greenland, human impact on climate, industrial era, julia pongratz, ken caldeira, mongol hordes, mongol invasions in asia, vegetation cover

Stanford, CA — Genghis Khan and his Mongol hordes had an impact on the global carbon cycle as big as today’s annual demand for gasoline. The Black Death, on the other hand, came and went too quickly for it to cause much of a blip in the global carbon budget. Dwarfing both of these events, however, has been the historical trend towards increasing deforestation, which over centuries has released vast amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, as crop and pasture lands expanded to feed growing human populations. Even Genghis Kahn couldn’t stop it for long. (more…)

Shrinking Snow and Ice Cover Intensify Global Warming

By Guest PostJanuary 19, 2011Environmentalbedo feedback, atmospheric cooling effect, climate perturbations, cryospheric albedo feedback, frozen surface area, shrinking snow, summer sea ice

ANN ARBOR, Mich.— The decreases in Earth’s snow and ice cover over the past 30 years have exacerbated global warming more than models predict they should have, on average, new research from the University of Michigan shows. (more…)

Scientists: Big City Life May Alter Green Attitudes

By Guest PostJanuary 18, 20111 commentCulture, EnvironmentBeijing, center for systems integration and sustainability, China, chinese citizens, csis, economic, employment status, Environment, environmental behavior, environmental problems, environmental values, environmentally friendly activities, human behavior, jianguo jack liu, large cities, pro environmental behavior, rapid economic growth, shanghai, thomas baerwald, tianjin, united states, urban areas, urban china, xiaodong chen

*Study of Chinese citizens says jobs more important than salary when it comes to pro-environmental behavior*

People with good jobs found in large cities are more likely to engage in pro-environmental activities. So says a new study of China’s environmental behavior published this week in the British journal Environmental Conservation.

For the first time, scientists weighed employment and leadership when considering how people act regarding their natural surroundings. They found the status and political power of companies in cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Tianjin strongly influence the conservation practices of their employees. (more…)

Have We Changed Our Ways After the BP Oil Spill? Not Really

By Guest PostJanuary 18, 2011Environmentbp oil spill, gulf coast states, oil spill disaster

ANN ARBOR, Mich.—On the heels of last week’s federal recommendations to help prevent another BP oil spill disaster, a University of Michigan researcher says the tragedy has come close to acting as a catalyst for deeper change—but not quite. (more…)

Category Archives: Environment