carbon dioxide
“Green curtains” of outdoor vines can not only shade windows and keep interiors from growing too hot, but can produce food for the occupants or workers inside the buildings they grow on. That’s exactly what “curtains” of goya and morning glory are doing for 20 manufacturing and office buildings
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With just 70 to 75 per cent as much sunlight hitting the Earth in its early days four billion years ago, why wasn’t the planet frozen solid? Scientists have theorised that high concentrations of carbon dioxide must have fueled a greenhouse effect that kept Earth warmer than it otherwise
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The US government is hurting its efforts to regulate carbon dioxide emissions by using flawed economic models that grossly underestimate the greenhouse gas’ impact on the climate and the economy’s future, according to a group of more than 200 climate economists. “The Social Cost of Carbon,” a report from
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The last time our planet’s atmospheric carbon dioxide levels were as high as they are today? Try 15 million years ago. That according to research, published this week in the journal Science, by scientists at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA). “The last time carbon dioxide levels were
carbon dioxide
In one of the odder discoveries related to climate change, researchers with the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) have found that rising carbon dioxide levels are causing opium poppies to become more potent. Scienceline, New York University’s environmental reporting programme, says researchers have found that poppies grown today produce
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High levels of carbon dioxide cause fish to grow abnormally large ear bones — known as otoliths — according to new research from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California – San Diego. Otoliths serve a vital function in fish by helping them sense orientation and acceleration. Before conducting their
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More than 100 scientists gathered in London today to demonstrate their support for a campaign seeking a 10 per cent reduction of CO2 emissions in the city by 2010. Pano Kroko, chairman of the Environmental Parliament, announced the 10×10 campaign after a summit meeting at the London School of
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How do the world’s different countries compare by carbon footprint? A new analysis available online — Carbon Footprints of Nations — presents such data in an interactive for the first time. The analysis was developed by researchers at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) and the Centre of International
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Because the EU chemical industry is exposed to international competition, it’s entitled to free, performance-based carbon dioxide allocations, according to provisional figures released by the European Commission and reviewed by the European Chemical Industry Council. While the analysis is preliminary, the aim of performance-based allocations is to prevent “carbon
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Tiny creatures known as diatoms could have a huge impact on the planet if, as scientists fear, they become less able to absorb carbon dioxide as the climate warms. Diatoms, a major group of eukaryotic algae, currently take in nearly one-fourth of the world’s carbon dioxide. However, their carbon-sucking
carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide emissions from the average new car in the UK dropped by a record amount in 2008 (PDF), according to a new report from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). The report states that emissions from new cars shrank by 4.2 percent last year, to 158.
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A new barcoding system unveiled this week will inform consumers about the carbon emissions associated with a product and will also help them learn about any projects the manufacturer supports to offset those emissions. The CO2code, offered by the CO2code Initiative, “creates public awareness of products emissions and opens innovative