Ecosystems News

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Too Little, Too Late May Be the Verdict For Coral Reefs and Cutting Back on CO2 Emissions

Ocean acidification could devastate coral reefs and other marine ecosystems even if atmospheric carbon dioxide stabilizes at 450 ppm, a level well below that of many climate change forecasts

22 Sep 2008

Warm Water Flowing On Ocean Floor Suggests Marine Life in Area Considered Barren

An international team of earth scientists report movement of warmed sea water through the flat, Pacific Ocean floor off Costa Rica. The movement is greater than that off midocean volcanic ridges. The finding suggests possible marine life in a part of the ocean once considered barren

22 Sep 2008

Humans and Fires Influencing the Climate for at Least 2000 Years

Climate has been implicated by a new study as a major driver of wildfires in the last 2,000 years

22 Sep 2008

Decade of Arctic Ice Data Studies as Ice Shelf Collapses into the Sea

Last month, immense ice shelves collapsed into the Arctic Ocean. Polar bears are losing vital hunting grounds and countries are now staking claims to potential oil reserves under the pole. To better gauge the climate changes, Ohio researchers will “reanalyze” a decade of atmospheric, sea, ice and land surface data merged into a single computer model

22 Sep 2008

Significant Increase in Spread of Alien Plants Over Europe

The number of alien plant species has more than tripled over the last 25 years. This is the finding of a study by European scientists who evaluated the data from 48 European countries and regions

18 Sep 2008

Arctic Sea Ice Set To Reach Lowest Level Ever

Arctic sea ice may well have reached its lowest volumes ever, as summer ice coverage of the Arctic Sea looks set to be close to last year's record lows or lower

15 Sep 2008

Microbiological Treatment Can Remove Selenium Pollution

A new study funded by the European Union has demonstrated that unsafe levels of selenium, sometimes referred to as an “essential toxin”, can be reduced by a microbiological treatment. With this method, microorganisms reduce selenate to the less-toxic elemental selenium, which can potentially be recovered from the process. An estimated 0.5 to 1 billion people worldwide suffer from selenium deficiency, even though many live near areas where levels of selenium have reached toxic levels.

15 Sep 2008

Population, Environment Expert Asks If the 'Population Bomb' Has Exploded and Launches New Book at Wilson Center

Forty years after his seminal book The Population Bomb, Paul Ehrlich is again stirring debate over the connections between population growth and environmental degradation

15 Sep 2008

Old Growth Forests Proved to be Valuable Carbon Sinks

Contrary to 40 years of conventional wisdom, a new analysis to be published Friday in the journal Nature suggests that old growth forests are usually carbon sinks

10 Sep 2008

Nanoscale Silver Use To Present Environmental Challenges

Widespread use of nanoscale silver will challenge regulatory agencies to balance important potential benefits against the possibility of significant environmental risk, highlighting the need to identify research priorities concerning this emerging technology, according to a new report released today by the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies (PEN)

9 Sep 2008