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A River Ran Through It

By Guest PostOctober 17, 2010Nature, Sciencealan tessier, arizona state university, climate change, colorado, colorado river delta, downstream, ecosystems, food chain, grand canyon, humans, irrigation, jacques finlay, john sabo, las vegas, los angeles, minneapolis, Mississippi, new york city, Phoenix, river flows, rivers, sea of cortez, small tributaries, storm floods, streams

About the image: A now dry Colorado River delta branches into the Baja/Sonoran Desert near the Sea of Cortez. Image credit: Pete McBride

Rivers and streams supply the lifeblood to ecosystems across the globe, providing water for drinking and irrigation for humans as well as a wide array of life forms from single-celled organisms up to the fish humans eat.

But humans and nature itself are making it tough on rivers to continue in their central role to support fish species, according to new research by a team of scientists including John Sabo, a biologist at Arizona State University.

Globally, rivers and streams are being drained due to human use and climate change. These and other human impacts alter the natural variability of river flows.

Some affected rivers have dried and no longer run, while others have seen increases in the variability of flows due to storm floods. (more…)

Many Still Do Not Understand The ‘Why’ of Climate Change

By Guest PostOctober 16, 2010Environmentclimate change, why

Sixty-three percent of Americans believe that global warming is happening, but many do not understand why, according to a national study conducted by researchers at Yale University. (more…)

Population Change: Another Influence on Climate Change

By Guest PostOctober 12, 2010Environmentclimate change, population aging, population change, population dynamics

Changes in population, including aging and urbanization, could affect global carbon dioxide emissions

Changes in the human population, including aging and urbanization, could significantly affect global emissions of carbon dioxide over the next 40 years, according to research results published this week. (more…)

The Root Impact of Climate Change

By Guest PostSeptember 23, 20101 commentEnvironmentatmospheric changes, christopher s bond, climate change, david koppenaal, dong xu, gary stacey, interdisciplinary plant group, jianlin cheng, ljiljana paša-tolić, melting glaciers, nutrient uptake, plant roots, rising ocean levels, root hair cells, university of missouri

COLUMBIA, Mo. — When people discuss climate change, they usually think of impacts above ground, such as atmospheric changes, rising ocean levels, or melting glaciers. Less attention is paid to the effects right under their feet. Now, with the help of a $1.2 million grant from the federal Plant Feedstock Genomics for Bioenergy program, University of Missouri researchers are peering underground to see how climate change affects plant roots.

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Why “Scientific Consensus” Fails to Persuade

By Guest PostSeptember 18, 2010Culture, Scienceamerican public, climate change, dan kahan, donald bramand, egalitarian values, Environment, environmental risks, fictional author, hank, jenkins-smith, nuclear waste disposal, scientific consensus, university of oklahoma, yale university

Suppose a close friend who is trying to figure out the facts about climate change asks whether you think a scientist who has written a book on the topic is a knowledgeable and trustworthy expert. You see from the dust jacket that the author received a Ph.D. in a pertinent field from a major university, is on the faculty at another one, and is a member of the National Academy of Sciences. Would you advise your friend that the scientist seems like an “expert”? (more…)

Fears of a Decline in Bee Pollination Confirmed by U of T Research: May be due to Climate Change

By Guest PostSeptember 8, 2010Naturebee pollination, climate change, climate driven mismatch, decline in pollination, pollination deficits

Widespread reports of a decline in the population of bees and other flower-visiting animals have aroused fear and speculation that pollination is also likely on the decline. A recent University of Toronto study provides the first long-term evidence of a downward trend in pollination, while also pointing to climate change as a possible contributor. (more…)

Ice Core Drilling Effort Involving CU-Boulder Should Help Assess Abrupt Climate Change Risks

By Guest PostAugust 3, 20102 commentsEnvironment, Sciencebedrock, climate change, cu-boulder, dorthe dahl-jensen, eemian, eemian ice drilling project, Germany, greenland, ice cores, ice sheet, interglacial period, j p steffensen, jim white, neem, north greenland, tyler jones, vasilii petrenko

Ice Core Drilling Effort Involving CU-Boulder Should Help Assess Abrupt Climate Change Risks An international science team involving the University of Colorado at Boulder that is working on the North Greenland Eemian Ice Drilling project hit bedrock July 27 after two summers of work, drilling down more than 1.5 miles in an effort to help assess the risks of abrupt future climate change on Earth.

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Global Model Confirms: Cool Roofs Can Offset Carbon Dioxide Emissions and Mitigate Global Warming

By Guest PostJuly 20, 20101 commentEnvironment, Scienceberkeley lab, carbon dioxide, carbon emissions, climate change, cool roof, cool the world, curb, doe, emissions, evaporation, goddard space flight center, hashem akbari, keith oleson, light-colored rooftops, model, NASA, ncar, radiation, steven chu, surabi menon, Technology, temperature, topography, urban heat

Can light-colored rooftops and roads really curb carbon emissions and combat global climate change?

The idea has been around for years, but now, a new study by researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory that is the first to use a global model to study the question has found that implementing cool roofs and cool pavements in cities around the world can not only help cities stay cooler, they can also cool the world, with the potential of canceling the heating effect of up to two years of worldwide carbon dioxide emissions.

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