Study Finds Sharp Decline in Ocean Organism Resulting from Climate Change
According to a study published in Nature Geoscience, ocean acidification driven by climate change is sharply affecting the health of microscopic sea organisms called foraminifera. These amoeba-like organisms live on the surface water of oceans and traditionally absorb huge amounts of carbon pollution from the atmosphere.
The foraminifera have been a buffer against climate change, as they absorb CO2 from the air and transform it into their calcium-based shells. When they die, their shells sink to the ocean floor, thereby storing the carbon indefinitely. However, due to increased ocean acidification resulting from greenhouse gas emissions, modern shells now weigh 30-35% less than those found in sediments ranging from before the Industrial Revolution. This decline in shell size is both a cause and effect of climate change. It is caused by increased ocean acidification, but it will also magnify the effect of greenhouse gas emissions, since less carbon will now be removed from the atmosphere.
Additionally, the study found a historic link between higher atmospheric carbon dioxide levels and low shell weights in a 50,000-year-long record obtained from a Southern Ocean marine sediment core.
Warming Climate Doubling Tree Deaths in Western U.S.
A USGS study to be published on Friday found that tree deaths in the western United States have more than doubled over the last few decades. The study attributes the deaths to a warmer and drier climate in the region. The researchers analyzed old-growth forests with a wide variety of forest types, at all elevations, in trees of all sizes, and in pines, firs, hemlocks, and others, and found consistent results throughout.
The study also ruled out a number of other possible sources of the deaths, including air pollution, effects of fire suppression, and normal forest dynamics.
“Average temperature in the West rose by more than 1° F over the last few decades,” said USGS scientist and co-leader of the research team, Phil van Mantgem. “While this may not sound like much, it has been enough to reduce winter snowpack, cause earlier snowmelt, and lengthen the summer drought.”
This study, coupled with the pine beetle infestation in Colorado and the migration of plants to higher elevations in Southern California mountains, is just another bright red flag that cannot be ignored.
Study: Antarctica is Warming Along With Rest of the Planet
Scientists announced today that despite some past evidence to the contrary, the continent of Antarctica is warming, along with the rest of the planet. The new study took into account satellite measurements and found that between 1957 and 2006, temperatures in Antarctica rose an average of 0.18 degrees Fahrenheit.
These findings deal a blow to climate change skeptics who have used past indications of Antarctic cooling as evidence that anthropogenic climate change is not occurring.
Unfortunately, the consequences of a melting Antarctic could be great since its ice sheets hold enough water to raise sea levels by 187 feet if they were to melt.
Vast Majority of Earth Scientists Attribute Climate Change to Human Activities
While U.S. voters may doubt climate change is caused by humans, the overwhelming majority of earth scientists from around the globe disagree. In a survey released on Tuesday by researchers from the University of Illinois at Chicago, it was found that 82% of 3,146 earth scientists surveyed blame human activity for changing global temperatures.
Of these scientists, 97% of climatologists believe humans play a role. The biggest doubters came from the fields of petroleum geology and meteorology, with only 47% and 64% attributing climate changes to human behavior, respectively. READ MORE
Palin: Alaska Will Sue to Prevent Protection of Beluga Whales
On the same day that EPA nominee Lisa Jackson declared that politics should not trump science in government, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin announced that her state would be filing a lawsuit to prevent beluga whales in the Cook Inlet from being protected under the Endangered Species Act.
Due to the decline in the fragile population of fewer than 400 remaining beluga whales in the Inlet, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) listed these whales as endangered last year. NOAA warned that, “The Cook Inlet beluga population declined nearly 50 percent between 1994 and 1998,” and that “the Cook Inlet beluga population [was] at 375 for both 2007 and 2008. Estimates have varied from a high of 653 belugas in 1994 to a low of 278 belugas in 2005.” READ MORE
Contradicting FDA, Researchers Find BPA Toxic to Humans at Typical Levels
In contradiction to the FDA’s declaration that BPA is not dangerous, researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham have demonstrated that low levels of BPA given orally to rodents will cause tumors and genetic changes consistent with the early stages of cancer.
The study, led by UAB toxicologist and senior scientist, Coral Lamartiniere, gave female rats levels of BPA that were at or below those normally ingested by humans. The researchers suspect that pre-pubescent girls are especially susceptible to the risks of this chemical.
As we’ve previously noted, the FDA’s crafting of its report last year on BPA was widely criticized as being unduly influenced by the plastics industry and reliant on faulty methods. It will be interesting to see if the FDA takes into consideration this UAB study when reassessing BPA’s potential toxicity this year.
Stanford Launches $100 Million Energy Institute
Stanford announced on Monday the creation of a new $100 million energy research institute. The Precourt Institute for Energy will research a wide range of technologies, from solar and wind, to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
“We need to work on technologies that meet what I call the Tom Friedman test — new technology that meets the China price, that you can sell to China as an alternative to burning coal,” Stanford President John Hennessy said. “That’s the Holy Grail in this, and that’s the kind of problem we want to focus on.”
Lynn Orr, who is the director of the new institute, noted that seed funding to push forward new research and innovation in energy will now be available. “Stanford faculty and students are brimming with ideas that, with some initial support, can be brought to the point that external support can be obtained,” he explained.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson on ‘Death by Black Hole”
This has been making the rounds on the web lately. It is an entertaining video of the great Neil DeGrasse Tyson describing “death by black hole.” In case you aren’t familiar with DeGrasse Tyson, he is one of the U.S.’s leading astrophysicists, the host of NOVA Science Now, and of course, author of the term Manhattanhenge.
EPA Will Consider Limiting Rocket Fuel in Drinking Water
Last year the EPA proposed not setting a national standard for perchlorate in drinking water. However, dangerous levels of perchlorate, which is a toxic component of rocket fuel, have been found in at least 395 locations in 35 states.
Nonetheless, the EPA previously held:
“that in over 99% of public drinking water systems, perchlorate was not at levels of public health concern. Therefore, based on the Safe Water Drinking Act criteria, the Agency determined there is not a ‘meaningful opportunity for health risk reduction’ through a national drinking water regulation.” READ MORE
Obama: Upgrade Energy, Efficiency, Health Care, Education, Technology, Science, Accountability and Transparency
Part 1:
Part 2:
President-elect Obama expanded on his ambitious proposals today.
Obama’s Change.gov concludes that:
“The plan will save or create 3 million jobs by doubling the production of alternative energy; weatherizing 75% of federal buildings and two million American homes…” computerizing America’s medical records; updating thousands of schools, community colleges, and public universities; expanding broadband; and investing in science, research, and technology.” READ MORE
Geothermal Plant in Hawaii Accidentally Strikes Liquid Hot Magma
Although this event occurred in 2005 at Ormat Technology’s Puna Geothermal Plant on the Big Island of Hawaii, scientists only recently released a full analysis of the nature of this discovery and the events surrounding it.
Basically, engineers at the Puna Plant, which opened in 1993 and produces 30 MW of commercial power, were drilling a standard injection hole into the earth when, at a depth of 2488 m, they hit a pool of dacite magma. At this point, the magma flowed 5.5 m up the wellbore (which is 26 cm diameter) where it cooled and solidified. Engineers attempted to drill more holes in that vicinity– all of which also struck magma. READ MORE
New U.S. Geological Survey Report Warns of Even More Dramatic and Abrupt Climate Change
A new report led by the U.S. Geological Survey warns that climate change may be more dramatic and abrupt than previously predicted. The analysis, which was based on an assessment of published science literature, makes the following major conclusions:
1. Climate model simulations and observations suggest that rapid and sustained September arctic sea ice loss is likely in the 21st century.
2. The southwestern United States may be beginning an abrupt period of increased drought.
3. It is very likely that the northward flow of warm water in the upper layers of the Atlantic Ocean, which has an important impact on the global climate system, will decrease by approximately 25-30 percent. However, it is very unlikely that this circulation will collapse or that the weakening will occur abruptly during the 21st century and beyond.
4. An abrupt change in sea level is possible, but predictions are highly uncertain due to shortcomings in existing climate models.
5. There is unlikely to be an abrupt release of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, to the atmosphere from deposits in the earth. However, it is very likely that the pace of methane emissions will increase. READ MORE
Top 5 Environmental Newsmakers of 2008
Maura Judkis at Fresh Greens put together a list of the “Top 5 Environmental Newsmakers of 2008.” Here are her top 5, along with links to our own coverage of them:
1. Al Gore
2. James Hansen (since we didn’t cover Hansen this year, we’re copying Fresh Greens’ summary)
“Hansen, a leading NASA climate change scientist who first testified in Congress about the dangers of global warming decades ago, made headlines in the spring for two statements. The first was his research that set a goal of 350 parts per million of atmospheric carbon dioxide to prevent Earth from going beyond the tipping point for catastrophic climate events, like rising sea levels. The second was his controversial statement that oil executives should go on trial for crimes against humanity for their involvement in climate change – a charge that was widely derided. Though the idea of trials may have been going too far, Hansen’s scientific findings are respected worldwide.”
4. Sarah Palin
5. Barack Obama
CNN Meteorologist: Global Warming Theory is ‘Arrogant’
This one is too easy. Even though no one at ForceChange is a professional scientist, we apparently know more about science than CNN Meteorologist Chad Myers (yes, this Chad Myers). Appearing on Lou Dobbs Tonight (who took time off from advocating protectionism and xenophobia to question climate change), Myers states:
“You know, to think that we could affect weather all that much is pretty arrogant. Mother Nature is so big, the world is so big, the oceans are so big– I think we’re going to die from a lack of fresh water or we’re going to die from ocean acidification before we die from global warming, for sure.”
Of course, Myers is not the first skeptic to make this bizarre the “world is so big we are arrogant to think we can change it” argument. We’re not sure who first articulated it, but the logic behind it is pretty weak. Arrogance is a social behavior exhibited by humans, not a scientific observation of the natural world. To make an assertion that “we are not changing the climate because it would be arrogant to think we are changing the climate” is an inapposite argument that is just silly. Of course, what is needed to properly analyze climate change is scientific observation of facts regarding the natural world. Unfortunately for Myers, this too is missing from his argument. READ MORE
NASA: Reducing smog and soot can have immediate impact on climate change
A study indicating that cutting smog and soot has an immediate effect on climate change was released this week by NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Sciences. The study comes at an interesting time, since the California Air Resources Board is voting today to dramatically regulate the soot emissions from heavy diesel trucks in the state.
According to the NASA study, cutting soot emissions will not only improve human health, but it will make an immediate impact on reducing climate change. READ MORE
