The verdict is in—again: Climate change mitigation cannot be achieved without wood bioenergy and sustainable forest management. This is according to the latest report on Climate Change and Land from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The report unambiguously calls for “sustainable management of global land resources, including promoting forest management that is aimed at storing carbon while yielding timber, fiber and bioenergy.”
The bottom of the sea can be a gassy place. Underwater volcanoes and vents spew carbon dioxide (CO2) near the crevices where tectonic plates rift apart. Hungry bacteria convert decomposing creatures of the deep into natural methane. And, new research from Japan reminds us, enormous, miles-wide reservoirs of greenhouse gases lurk in untouched pockets just below the seafloor.
"In an effort to further business aviation’s carbon neutrality goals, Avfuel will make sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) available to operators fueling at Jackson Hole Aviation on Sept. 3-4."
"Levels of microplastics in drinking water don't appear to be a health risk, according to the World Health Organization.
However the U.N. health agency also noted that more research is needed into how microplastics may impact human health and the environment, the Associated Press reported."
"A colossal iceberg four and a half times the size of Manhattan has broken off the Pine Island Glacier in West Antarctica, marking the second time the glacier has calved a giant iceberg in just two years, according to news reports."
"Average temperatures have risen in every US state since the early 1900s, causing extreme summers, longer wildfire and allergy seasons, declines in crop and livestock production, and the spread of tropical diseases to be more common."
If you live east of the Rocky Mountains, you've probably encountered switchgrass, perhaps without even realizing it. A hardy perennial, the roadside and prairie grass is as ubiquitous as it is unassuming.
You may get to know it better soon, though. Switchgrass has been lauded as a promising source of biofuels with multiple advantages over current favored options, including corn. Genetically modifying switchgrass could boost crop yields and its commercial viability.
“With the contribution of eight consecutive high monthly temperature records set from January to August, and the remainder of the months ranking among their five warmest, 2016 became the warmest year in NOAA's 137-year series. Remarkably, this is the third consecutive year a new global annual temperature record has been set. The average global temperature across land and ocean surface areas for 2016 was 0.94°C (1.69°F) above the 20th century average of 13.9°C (57.0°F), surpassing the previous record warmth of 2015 by 0.04°C (0.07°F). The global temperatures in 2016 were majorly influenced by strong El Niño conditions that prevailed at the beginning of the year.”
“The oceans are warming up faster than we thought. While this is bad news for the planet, it's good news for climate change scientists who have — for the last two decades — puzzled over warming trends in ocean surface temperatures for nearly 20 years.”
"Erosion is a major problem on many farms – and one with a cascading effect. Not only does it deplete the farm of a valuable resource, it also creates downstream problems due to nutrient runoff. A new study from the University of Missouri shows that switchgrass could be a good option for curbing the negative effects of erosion, and may even prove to bring positive economic returns as a biofuel crop."
