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Confirmed: Stress Gradient Hypothesis: How Plant Communities Endure Stress

By Guest PostFebruary 5, 2013Natureandrew altieri, barnacles, brown university ecologist, caribbean coral reefs, China, climatic zones, ecology letters, ecosystem, environmental stress, global meta analysis, growth responses, heat stress, high stress, highly competitive species, hypothesis in 1994, iology at brown, jiao tong university, less competitive species, mark bertness, mussel beds, negative interactions, organisms, patagonia, predictive value, qiang he, ray callaway, reduction in competition, rhode island, rule of thumb, salt marshes, santa barbara, sardinian sand dunes, sea grass beds, seaweeds, shanghai, shift to facilitation, shores, soil moisture, stress gradient hypothesis, stress increase, stress types, survival responses, university of california, university of montana

The Stress Gradient Hypothesis holds that as stress increases in an ecosystem, mutually supportive interactions become more significant and negative interactions, such as competition, become less so. The idea has been hotly debated but is now backed by a review of hundreds of studies co-authored in Ecology Letters by Mark Bertness, professor of biology at Brown, who first formally proposed the hypothesis in 1994. The time has come, he said, to test its application and predictive value.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Ecology is rife with predation, competition, and other dramatic “negative interactions,” but those alone do not determine the course life on Earth. Organisms sometimes benefit each other, too, and according to the Stress Gradient Hypothesis, their “positive interactions” become measurably more influential when ecosystems become threatened by conditions such as drought. Ecologists have argued about the hypothesis ever since Brown University ecologist Mark Bertness co-proposed it in 1994; Bertness says a large new global meta-analysis he co-authored in Ecology Letters definitively shows that it is true. (more…)

Berkeley Lab Applies U.S. Tools and Technologies to Spur Low-Carbon Cities in China

By Guest PostNovember 16, 2012Environmentbenchmark, carbon dioxide, carbon emission, central government, China, china energy group, china today, chinese cities, chongqing, eco city, energy foundation, Environment, green, indicator, industrial activity, intensity, low carbon, low-carbon city, modern urbanites, nan zhou, ndrc, new energy city, province, reduce emission, renewable technology, san francisco, shanghai, urban environment

When eight cities and five provinces in China were asked by the central government to develop a plan to become “low carbon,” many had no idea what to do. Some planted trees. Others decided to build up a solar panel industry. One city even thought about building a lake to be more “green.” Local government leaders were at a loss as to how to reduce their carbon emissions.

In 2008, China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) initiated a joint effort to address energy and environmental challenges facing urban centers in both countries. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory’s China Energy Group was tasked by DOE to identify and recommend best practices, tools and technologies. With nearly 25 years experience analyzing energy use in China, the China Energy Group has tailored a variety of resources to help local Chinese officials turn government mandates into practical how-to guides for understanding their energy usage and reducing their carbon dioxide emissions. (more…)

China and the Internet

By Guest PostNovember 2, 2012Media, Politics, Technologyatmosphere, blogger, China, china forum, chinese farmer, chinese life, chinese society, delaware, double edged knife, earthquake, east china, Facebook, false information, gap, governmental control, immunity, internet, internet companies, internet users, joseph chen, journalist, li gang, li qiming, mobile devices, netizens, normal university, nuclear pollution, number, poems online, poetry contest, poor, popular activities, public opinion, renren inc, rich, sanjiu yan, shanghai, site, Social networking, social tension, Twitter, university, university student, urban areas, weibo, weibo today

Internet bringing change to Chinese society, China Forum speaker says

The Internet is affecting every facet of Chinese life and shaping public opinion, according to Sanjiu Yan, the guest speaker at the inaugural China Forum, held Friday, Oct. 26, at the University of Delaware.

Yan, a former journalist who is now the dean of the College of Communication at East China Normal University in Shanghai, presented the first talk in the China Forum, a new monthly lecture series hosted by the Confucius Institute at UD. (more…)

Air Quality Worsened by Paved Surfaces

By Guest PostJune 11, 2011Environmentair pollution, atmospheric measurements, brad smull, china meteorological administration, coastal cities, computer simulations, emissions, fei chen, ground-level ozone, Houston, houston area, Japan, land and sea temperatures, los angeles, national center for atmospheric research, national science foundation, ncar, nsf, pavement, petrochemical facilities, pollutants, sea, shanghai, smog, traffic jams, unhealthy air, united states, university of tsukuba, urban areas on air pollution, urban development, urbanization, warm summer weather, weather patterns, wind patterns

*Widespread urban development alters weather patterns*

New research focusing on the Houston area suggests that widespread urban development alters weather patterns in a way that can make it easier for pollutants to accumulate during warm summer weather instead of being blown out to sea.

The international study, led by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), could have implications for the air quality of fast-growing coastal cities in the United States and other mid-latitude regions overseas. (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…)

IBM Provides Smartphone Data Services for Solar-Powered Robot Car Journey From Italy to China

By Guest PostJuly 26, 2010Environment, Technologyandroid 2.1 mobile platform, China, co2 bluetooth sensors, co2 pollutants, ed jellard, human centric solutions, hursley development lab, ibm, italy, nicola palmarini, parma, sensaris, shanghai, smartphones, solar energy powered vehicles, tivoli storage manager, viac, vislab intercontinental autonomous challenge, world expo

*Smartphones to Collect and Tweet CO2 Levels as Part of Environmental Research Project*

MILAN, Italy – 26 Jul 2010: The VisLab Intercontinental Autonomous Challenge (VIAC), an epic 13,000km journey from Parma, Italy to Shanghai, China using unmanned, solar energy powered vehicles, aims to showcase the benefits of green transport.

Over the course of the trip, the automated vehicles will use IBM Human Centric solutions to collect data on CO2 pollutants in the regions covered along the way – Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Hungary, Ukraine, Russia, Kazakhstan and China – using the data to assess the health and environmental impact of CO2 in these areas.

(more…)

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