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Kevin Makice

Study: Food crisis imminent within next decade if no change to climate policy - 0 views

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    "Research released today shows that within the next 10 years large parts of Asia can expect increased risk of more severe droughts, which will impact regional and possibly even global food security."
Kevin Makice

Enough wind to power global energy demand, new research says - 0 views

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    "There is enough energy available in winds to meet all of the world's demand. Atmospheric turbines that convert steadier and faster high-altitude winds into energy could generate even more power than ground- and ocean-based units. New research from Carnegie's Ken Caldeira examines the limits of the amount of power that could be harvested from winds, as well as the effects high-altitude wind power could have on the climate as a whole. Their work is published September 9 by Nature Climate Change."
Kevin Makice

UCLA researchers create highly transparent solar cells for windows that generate electr... - 0 views

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    UCLA researchers have developed a new transparent solar cell that is an advance toward giving windows in homes and other buildings the ability to generate electricity while still allowing people to see outside. Their study appears in the journal ACS Nano.   The UCLA team describes a new kind of polymer solar cell (PSC) that produces energy by absorbing mainly infrared light, not visible light, making the cells nearly 70% transparent to the human eye. They made the device from a photoactive plastic that converts infrared light into an electrical current
Kevin Makice

Researcher releases first results from nationwide bee count - 0 views

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    A San Francisco State University biologist has released the initial results of her nationwide citizen science project to count bee populations and has found low numbers of bees in urban areas across America, adding weight to the theory that habitat loss is one of the primary reasons for sharp declines in the population of bees and other important pollinators.
Kevin Makice

Diversity aided mammals' survival over deep time - 0 views

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    Mammoths were one of the "megafauna" that went extinct during the Pleistocene extinction. According to the first study of mammal range and diversity in "deep time" from the Eocene to the Pleistocene, the mammoth family did not show any sign of being predisposed for extinction.
Kevin Makice

Carbon-consuming life-forms in Antarctica - 0 views

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    Lake Bonney in Antarctica is perennially covered in ice. It is exposed to severe environmental stresses, including minimal nutrients, low temperatures, extreme shade, and, during the winter, 24-hour darkness. But, for the single-celled organisms that live there, the lake is home. To study them, Dr. Rachel Morgan-Kiss from the University of Miami, Ohio, and her team went to Antarctica to sample the ice-covered lake. The article describing her method will be published April 20, in the JoVE (the Journal of Visualized Experiments)
christian briggs

Why Young Americans Are Driving So Much Less Than Their Parents - Commute - The Atlanti... - 0 views

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    A survey by the National Association of Realtors conducted in March 2011 revealed that 62 percent of people ages 18-29 said they would prefer to live in a communities with a mix of single family homes, condos and apartments, nearby retail shops, restaurants, cafes and bars, as well as workplaces, libraries, and schools served by public transportation.  A separate 2011 Urban Land Institute survey found that nearly two-thirds of 18 to 32-year-olds polled preferred to live in walkable communities. Younger Americans are also using technology to substitute for driving, connecting with friends and family online, substituting Facebook, Twitter, Skype, or FaceTime interactions for in-person visits and using online shopping and e-commerce in place of driving to and from grocery and retail stores, the report notes. For generations of Americans, car ownership was an almost mandatory rite of passage-a symbol of freedom and independence. For more and more young people today, a car is a burden they no longer wish to carry. 
Kevin Makice

Solar cell turns windows into generators - 0 views

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    Imagine a world where the windows of high-rise office buildings are powerful energy producers, offering its inhabitants much more than some fresh air, light and a view.
Kevin Makice

The Origins of Futurism - 0 views

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    Modern futurism began at the dawn of the 20th century with a series of essays by H.G. Wells, which he called "Anticipations." Wells proposed that serious thinkers should write soberly, factually and objectively about the great "mechanical and scientific progress" transforming human affairs. But if the goal of futurism is to shed enlightenment over the dark forces of historical change, then we must recall that history is one of the humanities, not a hard science. Tomorrow obeys a futurist the way lightning obeys a weatherman. Still, while it might be impossible to know the future, that hasn't stopped people from forecasting it-and sometimes in ways that are of real, practical use.
Kevin Makice

Glacier-fed river systems threatened by climate change - 0 views

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    Glacial meltwater increases biodiversity in mountainous freshwater ecosystems. As glaciers vanish due to global warming, so will those species dependent upon the icy runoff. This is the conclusion of a study authored by researchers from, among other institutions, the University of Copenhagen.
Kevin Makice

Was human evolution caused by climate change? - 0 views

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    According to a paper published in Science, models of how animal and plant distributions are affected by climate change may also explain aspects of human evolution. The approach takes existing knowledge of the geographical spread of other species through the warming and cooling of the ice ages to provide a model that can be applied to human origins.
Kevin Makice

'Gravity is climate' - 10 years of climate research satellites GRACE - 0 views

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    For the first time, the melting of glaciers in Greenland could now be measured with high accuracy from space. Just in time for the tenth anniversary of the twin satellites GRACE (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment) a sharp image has surface, which also renders the spatial distribution of the glacial melt more precisely. The Greenland ice shield had to cope with up to 240 gigatons of mass loss between 2002 and 2011. This corresponds to a sea level rise of about 0.7 mm per year. These statements were made possible by the high-precision measurements of the GRACE mission, whose data records result in a hitherto unequaled accurate picture of the earth's gravity. One of Newton's laws states that the gravity of an object depends directly on its mass. "When the mass of the Greenland ice sheet changes, so does the gravity there," explains Dr. Frank Flechtner from the GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences. "The GRACE gravity field measurements therefore give us information on mass changes, including climate-related ones."
Kevin Makice

Earth's past is warning for the future - 0 views

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    When the Earth's carbon dioxide level increased at a rapid rate during the Triassic-Jurassic period 200 million years ago, nearly half the ocean's marine life became extinct. USC Dornsife geologists contributed to a recent paper that examines materials embedded in ancient rocks to provide clues about the possibility of similar future global events.
Kevin Makice

Sustainability principles need to be integrated into business education - 0 views

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    The principles of sustainability need not be at odds with a classic education in business, since environmental and poverty issues likely will be among the biggest challenges for tomorrow's leaders of industry, according to published research from a University of Illinois expert in poverty and subsistence marketplace behaviors.
Kevin Makice

Study: Demise of large animals caused by both man and climate change - 0 views

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    Past waves of extinctions which removed some of the world's largest animals were caused by both people and climate change, according to new research from the University of Cambridge. Their findings were reported today, 05 March, in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
Kevin Makice

Climate change could impact on polar ecosystems - 0 views

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    Polar ecosystems could be at risk from the spread of toxic cyanobacteria if the climate continues to warm, say scientists.
Kevin Makice

Heavy metal pollution causes severe declines in wild bees - 0 views

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    Wild bees are important pollinators and numerous studies dealing with pollination of wild plants and crops underline their vital role in ecosystems functioning. While honey bees can be easily transported to various location when needed, wild bees' presence is dependent on the availability of high quality semi-natural habitats. Some crops, such as apples and cherries, and many wild flowers are more effectively pollinated by wild bees and other insects rather than managed honey bees.
Kevin Makice

Researchers develop informatics tools for identifying effective carbon capture technolo... - 0 views

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    Approximately 75 percent of electricity used in the United States is produced by coal-burning power plants that spew carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere and contribute to global warming. To reduce this effect, many researchers are searching for porous materials to filter out the CO2 generated by these plants before it reaches the atmosphere, a process commonly known as carbon capture. But identifying these materials is easier said than done
Kevin Makice

New study links dust to increased glacier melting, ocean productivity - 0 views

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    A University of Miami (UM) Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science-led study shows a link between large dust storms on Iceland and glacial melting. The dust is both accelerating glacial melting and contributing important nutrients to the surrounding North Atlantic Ocean. The results provide new insights on the role of dust in climate change and high-latitude ocean ecosystems.
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