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U.S. Program Aims to Develop Technology to Economically and Sustainably Produce Ethanol from Biomass

The United States has embarked on an ambitious program to develop technology and infrastructure to economically and sustainably produce ethanol from biomass.

28 Nov 2007

Humanity Has Greater Impact on Global Environment Than 'Natural' Forces

Ecologists pay too much attention to increasingly rare "pristine" ecosystems while ignoring the overwhelming influence of humans on the environment, say researchers from McGill University and the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC).

27 Nov 2007

Investment from Developed Countries Key in Fight Against Ecomigration

Climate change is the largest environmental change expected this century. It is likely to intensify droughts, storms and floods, which will undoubtedly lead to environmental migrations and potential conflicts in the areas migrated to.

27 Nov 2007

Are Current Projections of Climate Change-Impacts on Biodiversity Misleading?

This is the urgent question arising from the study "Quaternary climate changes explain diversity among reptiles and amphibians", published in the journal Ecography.

22 Nov 2007

Connected Wind Farms More Cost Effective

Wind power, long considered to be as fickle as wind itself, can be groomed to become a steady, dependable source of electricity and delivered at a lower cost than at present, according to scientists at Stanford University.

22 Nov 2007

Delay in 2007 Autumn Colour Caused by Increased Atmospheric CO2 not Global Warming

The delay in autumnal leaf coloration and leaf fall in trees is caused by rising levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere and not by increased global temperatures, suggests a new study by researchers at the University of Southampton.

14 Nov 2007

State of the Carbon Cycle Report for North America

The first "State of the Carbon Cycle Report" for North America, released online this week by the U.S. Climate Change Science Program, finds the continent's carbon budget increasingly overwhelmed by human-caused emissions.

14 Nov 2007

Peanut Husks Used to Clean Up Industrial Effluent

Researchers in Turkey have turned to peanut husks to help them clean up industrial effluent. Writing in the Inderscience publication the International Journal of Environment and Pollution, the team describes how this readily available waste material can be used to extract toxic copper ions from waste water.

6 Nov 2007

Green Roofing Provides Energy Savings

An article in the November 2007 issue of BioScience describes the history and summarizes the benefits and challenges of green roofs—roofs with a vegetated surface and substrate.

4 Nov 2007

Forest Fires Drive Carbon Levels in Northern Forests

Far removed from streams of gas-thirsty cars and pollution-belching factories lies another key player in global climate change. Circling the northern hemisphere, the conifer-dominated boreal forests - one of the largest ecosystems on earth - act as a vast natural regulator of atmospheric carbon levels.

31 Oct 2007