Search

The article profiles researcher Vaclav Smil in relation to his thought of the past and future of energy production and energy transitions. Topics include Smil's thought on climate change mitigation, his views on the history of fossil fuel use, and his opinions on the potential of renewable energy in relation to its environmental impacts. The views of businessman Bill Gates on Smil are noted.

The article focuses on ideas of preventing climate change impacts discussed at a meeting at Montana State University (MSU) in Bozeman, Montana. Topics include plantations of crops, sown to capture carbon dioxide (CO2 from the atmosphere, developments of negative emissions technologies (NETs) to mitigate global warming such as bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS), presenting the view of Naomi Vaughan of University of East Anglia in Norwich, England on the issue.

The article discusses hydrogen generation by an electrochemical membrane reactor to prevent climate change. It includes stripping hydrogen from more convenient carriers, including ammonia, methane, and biomass. These fuels could be delivered to the point of need by using an existing infrastructure, where they could then be converted to hydrogen for use in fuel cells.

The article discusses the notion of sensitive intervention points (SIPs) in relation to climate change prevention and socioeconomic events. Topics include the significance of nonlinear aspects of social change, investments in clean energy technologies, and the passage of a Climate Change Act in 2008 in Great Britain.

Afforestation and forest management are considered to be key instruments in mitigating climate change. Here we show that since 1750, in spite of considerable afforestation, wood extraction has led to Europe's forests accumulating a carbon debt of 3.1 petagrams of carbon.We found that afforestation is responsible for an increase of 0.12 watts per square meter in the radiative imbalance at the top of the atmosphere, whereas an increase of 0.12 kelvin in summertime atmospheric boundary layer temperature was mainly caused by species conversion. Thus, two and a half centuries of forest management in Europe have not cooled the climate. The political imperative to mitigate climate change through afforestation and forest management therefore risks failure, unless it is recognized that not all forestry contributes to climate change mitigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports that researchers in Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles in the United States and Madrid in Spain were arrested after demonstrations organized by the coalition Scientist Rebellion due to governments' failure to stop climate change.

The capture of carbon dioxide at the point of emission from coal- or gas-burning power plants is an attractive route to reducing carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere. To commercialize carbon capture, as well as transport of liquified carbon dioxide and its storage in exploited oil fields or saline formations, many technological, commercial, and political hurdles remain to be overcome. Urgent action is required if carbon capture and storage is to play a large role in limiting climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the creation of hydrogen using electrically heated reactors, noting research in an issue article by S. T. Wismann et al. Topics include the role of electrification in mitigating climate change, the use of renewable energy sources and energy storage, and the conversion of electricity to heat.

The article examines the potential and limitations of the planned planetary-scale carbon dioxide removal (CDR) from the atmosphere. It cites several proven strategies for limiting climate change, including enhancing energy efficiency and capturing wind and solar energy. It elaborates on the categories under which CDR fall into, which include the more mature strategies and engineered approaches. The drawbacks of CDR are also discussed.

The article focuses on the development and implementation of the 2015 Paris Agreement (PA) to combat climatic changes. It states that diplomats meeting in November 2017 need to focus on the infrastructure of data and analysis necessary as the PA becomes operational. It comments on the decentralized nature of the PA and efforts to help policy-makers deal with climatic changes as a matter of risk-management. They talk about the use of Bayesian methodology in developing reliable risk indicators.

The article discusses the challenges in U.S.'s effort to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions for a 2025 goal, as established at the international climate agreement to limit climate change at the Paris, France summit in 2015.

The article reports on the results of a May 18, 2019 election in Australia in relation to the lack of climate change prevention policies proposed by the Liberal-National coalition that won the election.

The article discusses efforts by U.S., Saudi Arabia, and Brazil representatives to block a study of geoengineering methods of climate change prevention at a United Nations environmental summit in Nairobi, Kenya.

The article reports on March 15, 2019 student protests to call for climate change prevention policies, noting support for the protests by scientists.

The article discusses research on the role of rewilding in mitigating climate change. Topics include the significance of herbivore grazing in preventing forest fires, research about ancient habitats, and the impact of warming on Arctic tundra that is being overgrown by shrubs. Problems with predicting the results of rewilding are noted.

The article discusses the U.S. government body Global Change Research Program's recommendations that the U.S. should fund research on geoengineering to prevent climate change, including through reducing carbon in the atmosphere and improving Earth's albedo [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The battle to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and prevent the most dangerous consequences of climate change will be waged across multiple fronts, including efforts to increase energy efficiency; efforts to deploy nonfossil fuel sources, including renewable and nuclear energy; and investment in adaptation to reduce the impacts of the climate change that will occur regardless of the actions we take. But with more than 80% of the world's energy coming from fossil fuel, winning the battle also requires capturing CO2 from large stationary sources and storing that CO2 in geologic repositories. Offshore geological repositories have received relatively little attention as potential CO2 storage sites, despite their having a number of important advantages over onshore sites, and should be considered more closely. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports that only 56 nations have submitted pledges to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to the United Nations three months prior to a scheduled gathering of 195 nations in Paris, France to finalize a new international deal to reduce climatic changes.

The article discusses why the U.S. National Research Council (NRC) has announced that the U.S. government should fund research in the field of climate engineering. Topics include the concept of albedo modification through such methods as making clouds more reflective, how the Department of Energy has pulled funding initiatives for similar research in the past for fear of bad publicity, and how climate change skeptics have impacted research.

The article discusses the People's Climate March on September 21, 2014 in New York City, sponsored by the international environmental organization 350.org, which included former U.S. vice president (VP) Al Gore, United Nations (UN) secretary general Ban Ki-moon, and scientist Jane Goodall.

The article discusses a report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) asserting that human activity is a factor in the increase of extreme weather events in the world, such as floods, hurricanes, and heat waves. The report does not blame anthropogenic climate change solely for specific weather events, but points to models that indicate that both are likely to increase. Recommendations are given for measures to combat climate change and the risks of future weather events.

The article offers information on the plans that the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is conceiving after winning the Nobel Prize for its two decades of labor.

The article discusses Ocean Iron Fertilization (OIF) as a tool in mitigating the rising atmospheric carbon dioxide. The process involves the stimulation of net phytoplankton growth by releasing iron to certain parts of the surface ocean. OIF has been studied for years by the International Oceanographic Community for the improvement of people's understanding to the role of iron in regulating ocean ecosystems and carbon dynamics. Despite the uncertainty in the efficacy of OIF, private organizations are making plans to conduct larger-scale iron releases to generate carbon offsets.