Group items tagged

"Australian scientists have found a way to print large but extremely lightweight and flexible solar panels like money. World-leading scientists at the CSIRO said the A3-sized panels, which are created by laying a liquid photovoltaic ink onto thin, flexible plastic could soon mean everyone has the ability to print their own solar panels at home."

TeachWild is a nationwide marine debris project being run by leading scientists from the CSIRO and universities together with teachers, students and employees from Founding Partner Shell Australia. Information collected by citizen scientists will contribute to a comprehensive national picture of the marine debris issue across Australia. This website is equipped with some of the most up-to-date information and learning materials available on marine debris.

"Climate scientists struggle to explain warming slowdown,' said Reuters. But warming is speeding up, and scientists can explain it"

The Climate Change articles from New Scientist

"An analysis of global temperatures by NASA scientists shows that 2013 was the seventh warmest year since 1880 (tied with 2006 and 2009). Nine of the 10 warmest years on record all have occurred since 2000, with 2010 and 2005 ranking as the warmest. Scientists at NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) reported that 2013 continued the long-term trend of rising air temperatures over the land and sea surface. This animation shows monthly temperature anomalies from 1880 through 2013."

"The US National Academy of Sciences and The Royal Society cordially invite you to join us for the release of "Climate Change: Evidence & Causes," a new publication produced jointly by the two institutions. Written by a UK-US team of leading climate scientists and reviewed by climate scientists and others, the publication is intended as a brief, readable reference document for decision makers, policy makers, educators, and other individuals seeking authoritative information on the some of the questions that continue to be asked."

"A report by a team of international scientists concludes there now is no doubt climatic changes are due to humans rather than any other natural factors."

"Global greenhouse gas emissions from burning fossil fuels reached the highest levels in human history last year, driven predominantly by Chinese growth, and are projected to surge even further in 2013. New data from the Global Carbon Project - a team of international scientists who track global emissions - finds carbon dioxide released from burning fossil fuels and making cement grew 2.2 per cent in 2012 from the previous year. In 2013 a further 2.1 per cent rise is expected. But the latest data suggests the world's emissions could be slowing. The approximate 2 per cent growth in 2012 and 2013 falls short of the 3.1 per cent average annual rise since 2000. CSIRO climate scientist Dr Pep Canadell - who is also executive director of the Global Carbon Project - told Fairfax Media the emissions rates of the past two years could be the tentative signs of a global slow down."

"A large section of the mighty West Antarctica ice sheet has begun falling apart and its continued melting now appears to be unstoppable, two groups of scientists reported on Monday. If the findings hold up, they suggest that the melting could destabilize neighboring parts of the ice sheet and a rise in sea level of 10 feet or more may be unavoidable in coming centuries."

"How do we achieve food security in the face of climate change? Answering this question means weaving together many strands of evidence about our complex food and climate systems to produce a clear image. In response to this challenge, the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS), with support from the Global Donor Platform for Rural Development, convened the Commission on Sustainable Agriculture and Climate Change, thirteen senior scientists working on agriculture, climate, nutrition, economics and natural resources in governmental, academic and civil society institutions around the world."

"To some, the existence and consequences of global warming and climate change seems obvious while to others, the eco-friendly movement appears to be a mass-hysteria response to sensationalized hype. Where do you stand on this great debate? Here is a complete guide to both sides of the global warming issue. Read on to see which point of view makes more sense to you."

"Today, the most comprehensive analysis of peer-reviewed climate research to date was published in the journal Environmental Research Letters. Our analysis found that among papers expressing a position on human-caused global warming, over 97% endorsed the consensus position that humans are causing global warming. Overwhelming agreement among scientists had already formed in the early 1990s. And the consensus is getting stronger."

"The Lucky Country has experienced a major spike in extreme weather in the past few years, with a string of devastating incidents just since January. That has people wondering if the island continent is somehow a perfect bellwether for the Earth's changing climate. So scientists are bearing down on the problem with intensity, investigating Australia's increasingly violent weather patterns and trying to figure out what they might portend for the rest of the world as our climate changes."

"The majority of the 9 billion people on Earth will live with severe pressure on fresh water within the space of two generations as climate change, pollution and over-use of resources take their toll, 500 scientists have warned."

"About 20 of the UK's leading scientists and meteorologists are due to meet at the Met Office to discuss Britain's "unusual" weather patterns. They will try to identify the factors that caused the chilly winter of 2010-11 and the long, wet summer of 2012. They will also try to work out why this spring was the coldest in 50 years - with a UK average of 6C (42.8F) between March and May."

"Many times in human history governments have tried to write policies based around future technologies and missed identifying the transformational keys. In the 1970s, for example, few if any horizon-scanning policies on communications predicted the internet or mobile phones. Yet scientists are increasingly unified in the need to develop new technologies to address the critical problems now facing us in fields such as energy and climate change."

Australian scientists have found a way of hugely increasing the efficiency of solar panels while substantially reducing their cost. The University of NSW researchers have come up with improvements in photovoltaic panel design that had not been expected for another decade.

"A new study adds to evidence that future warming will produce lower average rainfall around the world, even though Earth's past warming episodes led to more precipitation. A team of Chinese and US scientists modelled climate data over the last millennium. Their work may help resolve intense debate surrounding palaeoclimatic records and model projections of future greenhouse gas warming."

"Materials scientists and electrochemists the world over are joining forces to create new types of batteries that perform better and last longer, are more reliable and demand less of the environment. The latest in a line of promising developments plugs into the properties of certain plants, crops and biological wastes."

"A joint Australian-UK study has found that deep soils store up to five times more carbon than previously thought. The research, conducted by scientists at Murdoch University, shows carbon is stored at depths of up to 40 metres. The paper's authors say the the findings merit a reassessment of the current measurements used to judge soil carbon stores."