News tagged with burning fossil fuels

Better plants for biofuels

An article in F1000 Biology Reports published today argues that recent advances in knowledge mean that plant-derived biofuels could meet about 30% of the global demand for liquid transportation fuels, drastically reducing the am ...

Space & Earth / Environment

created May 02, 2012 | popularity 1 / 5 (1) | comments 2

Energy guzzler Singapore boosts 'green' buildings

From the bone-chilling air conditioning that pumps through Singapore's malls and offices to lights that burn all night, the city state is one of Asia's most intensive energy users.

Technology / Energy & Green Tech

created Apr 24, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Solar thermal process produces cement with no carbon dioxide emissions

(Phys.org) -- While the largest contributor to anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions is the power industry, the second largest is the more often overlooked cement industry, which accounts for 5-6% of all ...

Chemistry / Materials Science

created Apr 10, 2012 | popularity 4.6 / 5 (25) | comments 22 | with audio podcast report

Cut back on soot, methane to slow warming: study

There are simple, inexpensive ways to cut back on two major pollutants -- soot and methane -- and taking action now could slow climate change for years to come, international scientists said Thursday.

Space & Earth / Environment

created Jan 12, 2012 | popularity 2.9 / 5 (7) | comments 6

Global carbon emissions reach record 10 billion tons -- threatening 2 degree target

Global carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels have increased by 49 per cent in the last two decades, according to the latest figures by an international team, including researchers at the Tyndall Centre for Climate ...

Space & Earth / Environment

created Dec 04, 2011 | popularity 4 / 5 (21) | comments 46 | with audio podcast

Geoengineering could save Earth -- or destroy it

(AP) -- Brighten clouds with sea water? Spray aerosols high in the stratosphere? Paint roofs white and plant light-colored crops? How about positioning "sun shades" over the Earth?

Space & Earth / Environment

created Dec 02, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 13

Wind farm development can be powerful, as long as proper design is implemented

Wind energy helps alleviate some of the environmental concerns about burning fossil fuels, but wind farms also introduce their own problems related to wildlife conservation, including habitat loss and mortality to birds and ...

Technology / Energy & Green Tech

created Oct 26, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0

Run-off, emissions deliver double whammy to coastal marine creatures, study finds

Increasing acidification in coastal waters could compromise the ability of oysters and other marine creatures to form and keep their shells, according to a new study led by University of Georgia researchers.

Space & Earth / Environment

created Oct 24, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Urban 'heat island' effect is a small part of global warming; white roofs don't reduce it

Cities release more heat to the atmosphere than the rural vegetated areas around them, but how much influence these urban "heat islands" have on global warming has been a matter of debate. Now a study by Stanford researchers ...

Space & Earth / Environment

created Oct 19, 2011 | popularity 2.9 / 5 (14) | comments 68 | with audio podcast

Links in the chain: Global carbon emissions and consumption

It is difficult to measure accurately each nation's contribution of carbon dioxide to the Earth's atmosphere. Carbon is extracted out of the ground as coal, gas, and oil, and these fuels are often exported to other countries ...

Space & Earth / Environment

created Oct 17, 2011 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (6) | comments 11 | with audio podcast

Student unlocks secrets of mercury

More than one billion people around the world depend upon fish for protein in their diet. But the threat of mercury poisoning, especially in children, has raised concerns about the safety of eating fish.

Space & Earth / Environment

created Oct 13, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 1

Rebalancing the nuclear debate through education

Better physics teaching with a particular emphasis on radioactivity and radiation science could improve public awareness through education of the environmental benefits and relative safety of nuclear power generation, according ...

Other Sciences / Other

created Sep 09, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 1

Aerosols affect climate more than satellite estimates predict

Aerosol particles, including soot and sulfur dioxide from burning fossil fuels, essentially mask the effects of greenhouse gases and are at the heart of the biggest uncertainty in climate change prediction. New research from ...

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

created Aug 01, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (4) | comments 24 | with audio podcast

Surprises from the ocean: Marine plankton and ocean pH

The world's oceans support vast populations of single-celled organisms (phytoplankton) that are responsible, through photosynthesis, for removing about half of the carbon dioxide that is produced by burning fossil fuels – ...

Biology / Ecology

created Jun 21, 2011 | popularity 4.4 / 5 (5) | comments 3 | with audio podcast

Ocean acidification leaves clownfish deaf to predators

(PhysOrg.com) -- Since the Industrial Revolution, over half of all the CO2 produced by burning fossil fuels has been absorbed by the ocean, making pH drop faster than any time in the last 650,000 years and ...

Biology / Ecology

created Jun 01, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 3 | with audio podcast