Jellyfish Journeys May Affect Climate

Investors back plankton in bid to send CO2 to a watery grave

(NEWSER) - Plankton may hold the key to solving global warming—or so say Silicon Valley entrepreneurs who are investing heavily in the idea. Scientists will dump several tons of plankton-producing iron into the ocean to see if the microscopic organisms will, as they expect, suck CO2 from the atmosphere and carry it to the ocean floor. More»

Studies point to environmental toll of each kid

(NEWSER) - You’ve got your hybrid, your low-watt bulbs, and your solar panels: what’s the next step to saving the planet? Try a pack of condoms. New studies point to the hefty environmental toll of each child, particularly in America, the Washington Post reports. Every kid born in the US means another 1,644 tons of carbon dioxide, says an Oregon State study: that’s 91 times more than a Bangladeshi baby. (Americans live longer in a car-loving nation.) More»

(NEWSER) - Snorkelers and scuba divers aren’t the worst threat to the embattled coral reefs of the world—climate change, commercial fishing, and pollution take top honors—but the casual tourist can lessen, and even mitigate, the damage he or she causes, Slate reports. Of course, snorkelers shouldn’t purposefully snap off pieces of the majestic underwater life forms. But carelessly dragging equipment across coral, or walking on it, while looking for a better view is equally destructive. More»

'Pathetic' Waxman-Markey at least puts a price on carbon: Friedman

(NEWSER) - Waxman-Markey is a "pathetic" and "appalling" bill that totally fails to respond to the urgency of climate change—and it should be passed by the Senate and signed into law straight away, writes Thomas Friedman. For the New York Times columnist, the flawed legislation has one great virtue: it finally puts a price on carbon emissions, and "will usher in a new mind-set among consumers, investors, farmers, innovators and entrepreneurs that in time will make a big difference." More»

(NEWSER) - You know all those dire warnings about global warming? They're actually too optimistic, says a top scientist in the field. The climate is going to heat up much faster than anticipated over the next century, with more environmental damage as a result, said Chris Field of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The main culprit is a sharp increase in greenhouse gas emissions—mostly from coal—in developing nations such as India and China, Reuters notes. More»