Tag Archives: climate change
As the warming climate causes ice and snow to retreat, vegetation is increasing towards the Arctic. A new analysis of satellite data, collected since 1982, has revealed a vigorous increase in vegetation growth between the 45th parallel north and the Arctic Ocean. In many places, the climate has shifted north by as much as 4 to 6 degrees of latitude and now resembles what was found 400 to 700 kilometres to the south in 1982. At that rate, by the end of this century, northern Sweden could get temperatures similar to southern France now. Howvever, the rate of vegetaion increase … Continue Reading
Scientists at the University of Western Sydney have embarked on a large-scale study of how the natural environment would cope with the atmospheric conditions which are expected if if no significant action is taken to reduce carbon emissions. The centrepiece of the study is six fibreglass and steel ring structures 28 metres high and 25 metres in diameter in native woodland at Richmond, west of Sydney. The structures contain an array of sensors and equipment that will deliver CO2 to the trees within the rings and create an atmosphere where CO2 is at 550 ppm – the level expected within … Continue Reading
A new GreenBiz Cafe video is now on YouTube. Take a look:
A study published in Science journal, claims to have narrowed the range by which the world’s temperature can be expected to rise with a doubling of carbon dioxide concentrations from pre-industrial levels. Earlier studies, including the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) 2007 report, have precicted a rise of between 2.0°C and 4.5°C, with a mean of about 3°C. The new study predicts that the Earth’s surface temperatures would rise by between 1.7°C and 2.6°C with a mean value of 2.3°C. The new analysis uses palaeoclimate data going back to the latter stages of the most recent Ice Age, 21,000 … Continue Reading
Northern Europe and northern parts of the United States and Asia are currently experiencing extreme cold and, particularly, heavy snow falls. We have long been told that this sort of thing is just a weather variation that can happen even if the climate as a whole is getting warmer. But new research from NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Science suggests that the cold is not just an anomaly but is actually the result of warming. The warming from climate change is greatest at Poles. This is causing Arctic ice to melt, so that the air above the Arctic is warmer … Continue Reading
For his fans, he’s more of the all-dancing, all-singing Richard Alley:
The UK Met Office has produced the first comprehensive review of climate change since the 2007 report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. First the good news: According to the IPCC report, average ocean rises of up to 4 metres could occur by the end of the century. Further research has resulted in a projected likely rise of between 20 and 60 centimetres with the worst case being 2 metres. The IPCC reported a study by NASA which suggested that the Gulf Stream may be slowing down. The Gulf Stream brings warm water from the tropics and raises European … Continue Reading
There have been several estimates that Greenland is shedding roughly 230 billion tonnes of ice and West Antarctica around 132 billion tonnes per year and analysts have been concerned that these rates are much faster than predicted by climate models – suggesting that the models may be far too conservative. Now researchers from the US Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the Technical University of Delft and SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research have published research which corrects that estimate for deformation processes occurring in the Earth’s crust. The researchers used GPS and sea floor pressure measurements to estimate the movement of the … Continue Reading
Paul Hanlon, the science editor of Britain’s Daily Mail has been possibly the UK’s most influential climate sceptic. Following a trip to Greenland he writes: "Yes, global warming is real – and deeply worrying". His article continues "I have long been something of a climate-change sceptic, but my views in recent years have shifted. For me, the most convincing evidence that something worrying is going on lies right here in the Arctic. " "Greenland is silent, almost. There is no wind, no birds, no insects; apart from the scientists around me the world of Man is far away. But there … Continue Reading
Videos
Renewables News- Dysol Aiming to Print Storage with Solar CellsAustralia's Dyesol Limited has acquired an equity stake in Printed Power Pte Ltd, a spinoff company of Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. Printed Power is focussing on integrating dye solar cell technology with printed storage and power management systems to … Continue Reading → […]
- CSIRO Printer Makes 10m of Solar Cells a MinuteCSIRO researchers have built a gigantic printer that spits out solar cells at a rate of about ten metres a minute. The printer system uses existing technology to embed polymer solar cells (also known as organic solar cells) in thin … Continue Reading → […]
- New Aussie Technology to Clean Polluted WaterScientists from Deakin University, together with French colleagues, say that they have manufactured a lightweight and reusable material that can absorb up to 33 times its weight in a wide range of spilt oils, chemical solvents and dyes, while repelling … Continue Reading → […]
- Dysol Aiming to Print Storage with Solar Cells
