The Green Grok Blogs on Scientific Research
HFCs: Stratosphere, No Problem. Climate, Another Story.
by Bill ChameidesJun 30, 2009
filed under: atmosphere, ozone hole, Hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), climate change, Montreal Protocol, global warming, research, ozone, paper, chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), science, Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs)
Hydrofluorocarbons or HFCs have replaced those nasty Freons to protect the ozone layer, but those HFCs can still wreak climatic havoc.
To Geo-engineer or Not to Geo-engineer
by Bill ChameidesJun 24, 2009
filed under: fossil fuels, greenhouse gas emissions, geo-engineering, climate change, oceans, phytoplankton, global warming, ocean acidification, science, carbon dioxide emissions
Imagine tinkering with the climate system to cancel out global warming — the stuff of mad scientists or global saviors?
Commencement ... Now What?
by Bill Chameides, Wendy Graber, and Erica RowellJun 04, 2009
filed under: science, environmentalism, energy efficiency, Energy Star
Summer time and the living is easy. Or is it? If you're a student and you've just loosed yourself from the rigors of academia for a spell, where do you turn? What do you do? Here are a few web tools to help you figure out what's next.
Day After Tomorrow Not Any Time Soon
by Bill ChameidesJun 03, 2009
filed under: abrupt climate change, climate, Geophysical Research Letters, oceans, Pulse of the Planet, ice, research, ice sheets, ice age, Younger-Dryas, climate disruption, Amy Bower, climate change, Susan Lozier, science
Model simulations predict a global warming-induced ice age is not in the cards this century. Cool ... or should I say, "Neat"?
Two Bits of Good News on the Climate Front
by Bill ChameidesMay 27, 2009
filed under: Caribbean, climate change, oceans, American Samoa, global warming, coral reefs, United States, paper, ocean acidification, climate disruption, science, carbon dioxide emissions, research
Some encouraging developments: lower carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and a chance for coral reefs.
Deep Ocean Revisions Do Not Spell Global Warming Rethink
by Bill ChameidesMay 20, 2009
filed under: climate, climate change, oceans, Pulse of the Planet, global warming, research, science
A new paper suggests that our model for the circulation of the deep ocean may be wrong. But claims that all global warming science should therefore be thrown overboard just don’t hold water.
Biofuels Can Be Electrifying
by Bill ChameidesMay 12, 2009
filed under: science, fossil fuels, transportation, automobile, corn ethanol, gasoline, electric cars, cellulosic ethanol, cars, carbon dioxide emissions, renewables, biofuels, research
It was a bad week for ethanol. First EPA proposed disqualifying corn ethanol as a renewable fuel (see yesterday's Grok post). Then, a new paper questioned the whole concept of powering cars with ethanol.
Is Scientific Ignorance Environmental Bliss?
by Bill ChameidesApr 30, 2009
filed under: education, How 15-Year-Olds Perform in Environmental Science and Geoscience, science, environmentalism, Green at Fifteen?
When asked why we work so tirelessly on environmental issues, old fogies like me often respond that we’re concerned about the world we're handing off to its youth. But what about the young people themselves? What do they think about the environment? A new report surveying teens from 57 countries has some surprising answers.
Staring Down the Double-Barrel Climate Shotgun
by Bill ChameidesApr 29, 2009
filed under: wetlands, climate change, oceans, Pulse of the Planet, global warming, research, climate disruption, science, carbon dioxide emissions, permafrost, methane
Surprises in the climate system can very quickly make global warming a whole lot worse than predicted. One such surprise could come from a sudden release of methane, from one or both of two major sources. Thanks to a new paper, we probably know which barrel of that double-barrel shotgun to worry about first.
Is Soot Melting the Ice?
by Bill ChameidesApr 14, 2009
filed under: aerosols, climate change, Arctic, Pulse of the Planet, global warming
A few months back on a flight to the West Coast I looked out the window to see a strange site: instead of being white, the snow-covered Rockies had a gray tinge. A new paper suggests a similar phenomenon may be responsible for melting the Arctic’s polar ice cap.
Whither the West Antarctic Ice Sheet?
by Bill ChameidesMar 24, 2009
filed under: sea level rise, climate, Greenland, climate change, Pulse of the Planet, global warming, ice sheets, Antarctica
Mention global warming, and you might think of rising sea levels inundating coastal cities and island nations. But how much could sea levels rise? Two new papers shed some light.
Pulse of the Planet: Good News From Africa - Tropical Forests Inhale
by Bill ChameidesFeb 23, 2009
filed under: greenhouse gases, climate, greenhouse gas emissions, climate change, Pulse of the Planet, forests, global warming, missing sink
A heretofore unrecognized ally has emerged In the global warming fight: tropical forests.
Reflecting on the Night Side of the Moon
by Bill ChameidesFeb 18, 2009
filed under: greenhouse gas emissions, climate change, Geophysical Research Letters, global warming, moon, science, research, albedo
Could global warming be caused by a change in the Earth’s reflectivity? In other words, is the Earth absorbing more sunlight? Believe it or not, scientists have been spending their nights gazing at the moon to answer those questions.
The Old Ice Age Myth Put to Rest
by Bill ChameidesFeb 10, 2009
filed under: Europe, aerosols, air quality, air pollution, climate change, global warming, coal, cooling, paper, Germany, climate skeptics, Switzerland, health, particulate matter, fossil fuels, science
Global warming skeptics often point to an "imminent ice age” touted by the popular press in the 1970s to dissuade the public from believing today’s very real threat of global warming. The argument was always a red herring, and now a new paper resolves the scientific issues raised by the supposed warnings.
Pulse of the Planet: Can’t Turn Down the Heat
by Bill ChameidesFeb 09, 2009
filed under: isotopes, fossil fuels, Susan Solomon, Sherwood Rowland, climate change, Pulse of the Planet, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Mario Molina, carbon-13, carbon-12, Paul Crutzen, carbon dioxide emissions
Imagine you’re in the shower and you turn up the hot water, but it gets too hot – scalding hot. What do you do? Turn the hot water down, of course. But what if you can’t? And what if you can’t even get out of the shower? You’d probably regret having turned up the hot water tap. A new paper shows that that kind of scenario is what we're facing in the case of global warming.
Pulse of the Planet: Climate Is on the March
by Bill ChameidesJan 26, 2009
filed under: tilt, animals, climate change, Pulse of the Planet, global warming, research, moths, seasons, obliquity, science, Northwest Hawaiian Island Marine Monument, Milankovitch theory
As students from Duke’s Nicholas School of the Environment visit the Papahanaumokuakea (pronounced Pa-pa-hah-now-mo-koo-ah-keh-ah) Marine National Monument, two new papers suggest that subtle but profound changes in the Earth’s climate are underway that could threaten that very ecosystem.
Statistically Speaking: What Do Scientists Think About Climate Change?
by Bill ChameidesJan 23, 2009
filed under: statistically speaking, science, global warming, research, climate change
Ah, delving into the mind of a scientist. There's a heady task. The media talk of both consensus and scientific debate when it comes to climate change. So what do actual scientists really think? A new survey of 3,146 scientists attempts to answer this question and more.
News Flash: Two Stellar Appointments by Obama
by Bill ChameidesDec 19, 2008
filed under: John Holdren, climate change, energy, oceans, Barack Obama, Jane Lubchenco, science, policy, politics
The unofficial word is that President-elect Obama will announce two stellar science appointments today. John Holdren of Harvard University and the Woods Hole Research Center is his pick for White House science adviser, and Jane Lubchenco of Oregon State University has been selected to head the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Token Scientist or the Real Deal?
by Bill ChameidesDec 16, 2008
filed under: Secretary of Energy, Department of Energy, science, Steven Chu, research, Barack Obama, politics, Environmental Protection Agency
Yes, it’s official—Steven Chu is Barack Obama’s nominee for Secretary of Energy. Chu is a scientist extraordinaire, who sounds like he might actually be qualified for the post. How did that happen?
A Visit to Ground Zero in the Climate Change Sweepstakes
by Bill ChameidesDec 15, 2008
filed under: grok video, climate change, Himalayas, Nepal, global warming, research, water, glaciers, science, rivers
I visited Nepal last week for the first time in 15 years. Back then, Nepal was a cool place to test your metal on a trek. Today, it is a disaster-in-the-making as the globe warms.
