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Clean Energy From CO2?

By Guest PostMay 23, 2012Environmentcarbon dioxide, cpg, crust, cycle, deane morrison, earth, electricity, fossil fuels, geologic formation, geothermal heat, geothermal systems, global warming, green future, heat mining company, hydrofracking, impermeable rock, international space station, jimmy randolph, martin saar, mobility, renewable energy, supercritical, thomas kuehn, underground storage, united states, university of minnesota, villain co2

Global warming villain CO₂ may have a surprisingly green future

The next frontier in the search for renewable energy lies less than two miles from where you are now.

Unless you’re reading this on the International Space Station.

Geothermal heat a mile or two deep in Earth’s crust is a potential source of energy that could be tapped by an unlikely carrier: carbon dioxide (CO₂), the central villain in global warming. That energy, unlike solar and wind, could be easily turned on and off without the intermediate step of being stored in a battery. And it would be constant and reliable. (more…)

Study Highlights How Twitter is Used to Share Information After a Disaster

By Guest PostMay 22, 2012Media, Technology2011 nuclear disaster, andrew binder, fukushima, fukushima daiichi, fukushima disaster, hazard, Japan, nuclear plant, social media, technology issues, tool, tsunami, tweets, Twitter, twitter posts, united states, websites

A study from North Carolina State University shows how people used Twitter following the 2011 nuclear disaster in Japan, highlighting challenges for using the social media tool to share information. The study also indicates that social media haven’t changed what we communicate so much as how quickly we can disseminate it.

“I wanted to see if Twitter was an effective tool for sharing meaningful information about nuclear risk in the wake of the disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant,” says Dr. Andrew Binder, an assistant professor of communication at NC State and author of a paper describing the work. “I knew people would be sharing information, but I wanted to see whether it was anecdotal or substantive, and whether users were providing analysis and placing information in context. (more…)

Clergy can fight HIV on faith-friendly terms

By Guest PostMay 20, 2012Culture, Healthafrican american, african american clergy, aids epidemic, amy nunn, black americans, black clergy, blacks, brown university, hiv, hiv infection, hiv prevention, michelle lally, miriam hospital, philadelphia, sex, sexuality, tim flanigan, united states

In the United States, where blacks bear a disproportionate burden of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, black religious institutions could help turn the tide. In a new study in PLoS ONE based on dozens of interviews and focus groups with 38 of Philadelphia’s most influential black clergy, physicians and public health researchers find that traditional barriers to preaching about HIV prevention could give way to faith-friendly messages about getting tested and staying on treatment.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — The public health community has long struggled with how best to reduce HIV infection rates among black Americans, which is seven times that of whites. In a new paper in the journal PLoS ONE, a team of physicians and public health researchers report that African-American clergy say they are ready to join the fight against the disease by focusing on HIV testing, treatment, and social justice, a strategy that is compatible with religious teaching. (more…)

Increasing Predator-Friendly Land Can Help Farmers Reduce Costs

By Guest PostMay 17, 2012Environmentcrop pests, crops, doug landis, farmers, farming areas, insecticides, ladybugs, landscape scale, megan woltz, michigan state university, natural habitat, natural killer, pest control, pests, predatory insects, rufus isaacs, soybean aphids, soybean fields, soybean pest, united states

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Having natural habitat in farming areas that supports ladybugs could help increase their abundance in crops where they control pests and help farmers reduce their costs, says a Michigan State University study.

Ladybugs and other predatory insects eat crop pests, saving farmers an estimated $4.6 billion a year on insecticides. Non-crop plants provide these predatory insects with food and shelter, helping them to survive and thrive in areas where they are needed. In an attempt to increase benefits from predatory insects, researchers have often planted strips of flowers along the edges of crop fields. (more…)

Mather Lecture

By Guest PostMay 14, 2012Environmentatmosphere, atmospheric moisture, biodiversity, charles j vörösmarty, China, climate change, computer model, cort willmott, deforestation, Europe, geospatial data, global water crisis, hydrology, India, industrializing place, john r mather, mather lecture, nancy targett, natural water systems, nitrogen pollution, noaa, river, sandra mather, stress, thermal regime, united states, university of delaware, water cycle, water management

Renowned expert Charles J. Vörösmarty addresses global water crisis

The world’s streams, rivers and lakes are under increasing stress because of human water management – and mismanagement – that threaten aquatic biodiversity and the water supply, Charles J. Vörösmarty said recently during the second annual John R. Mather Visiting Scholars Lecture.

Vörösmarty, professor of civil engineering with the City College of New York, presented “Global Water Crisis: The Slippery Slope” on May 3 at the University of Delaware’s Roselle Center for the Arts.

“The contemporary water system is really defined increasingly by the actions of humans,” he said. (more…)

Income Inequality Leads to More U.S. Deaths, Study Finds

By Guest PostMay 13, 2012Economycensus bureau, chronic illness, cumulative odds, data structure, death rates, discrete time hazard model, gini coefficient, hui zheng, income inequality, jeff grabmeier, metric, mortality, statistical model, united states, us deaths

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A new study provides the best evidence to date that higher levels of income inequality in the United States actually lead to more deaths in the country over a period of years.

The findings suggest that income inequality at any one point doesn’t work instantaneously – it begins increasing mortality rates 5 years later, and its influence peaks after 7 years, before fading after 12 years.

“This finding is striking and it supports the argument that income inequality is a public health concern,” said Hui Zheng, author of the study and assistant professor of sociology at Ohio State University. (more…)

Undocumented, Young Immigrants Face Obstacles, Uncertain Futures

By Guest PostMay 12, 2012Politicsamerican youth, citizenship, dream act, ford foundation, immigration status, irvine, latino youth, leo chavez, nightmare, orange county, roberto gonzales, undocumented, united states, university of california, university of chicago, young adults

Undocumented Latino youth who migrate to the United States face futures clouded by limited rights and the constant fear of deportation, according to a new report from the University of Chicago and the University of California, Irvine.

Many don’t fully realize the constraints of their status until they become older teenagers and young adults, the report finds.

“Rites of passage common to American youth — getting a driver’s license, traveling, working and applying to college — are either denied, unattainable or dangerous to pursue for undocumented immigrants,” said Leo Chavez, professor of anthropology at University of California, Irvine. “It’s at this point that many undocumented Latino youth realize society sees them as discardable, as easily castaway. Yet, rather than merely give up, many become involved in campaigns to change the law.” (more…)

Ecosystem Effects of Biodiversity Loss Could Rival Impacts of Climate Change, Pollution

By Guest PostMay 10, 2012Environment, Natureacid deposition, air pollution, algae, bacteria, biodiversity loss, biological diversity, bradley cardinale, california, canada, climate change, david hooper, ecosystem, environmental change, environmental stress, environmental stressors, extinction, forests, fungi, global warming, henry gholz, impact, leslie gonzalez, nutrient pollution, oxygen, ozone pollution, pollution, san josé, serpentine grasslands, Sweden, united states, university of michigan

ANN ARBOR, Mich.— Loss of biodiversity appears to impact ecosystems as much as climate change, pollution and other major forms of environmental stress, according to a new study from an international research team.

The study is the first comprehensive effort to directly compare the impacts of biological diversity loss to the anticipated effects of a host of other human-caused environmental changes.

The results highlight the need for stronger local, national and international efforts to protect biodiversity and the benefits it provides, according to the researchers, who are based at nine institutions in the United States, Canada and Sweden. (more…)

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