Molecule that eats carbon dioxide may fight global warming

September 24th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Scientists in Michigan, US, have reported that "green" roofs, which are popular urban rooftops covered with plants, could help fight global warming. The scientists found that replacing traditional roofing materials in an urban area the size of Detroit, with a population of about one-million, with green roofs would be equivalent to eliminating a year's worth of carbon dioxide (CO2) emitted by 10,000 mid-sized SUVs and trucks.

September 24th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Roofs full of green plants could help fight global warming, say scientists. Kristin Getter, Michigan State University (MSU) horticulturist and colleagues, who conducted the study point out that green roofs are multi-functional.

September 3rd, 2009 WASHINGTON - Melting permafrost in arctic regions, triggered by global warming, will release underground methane. Once released, methane would speed up global warming by trapping the earths heat radiation about 20 times more efficiently than the greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide.

August 22nd, 2009 WASHINGTON - A new research has determined that cleaning up black carbon emissions, created through diesel and solid biomass fuel burning, provides instant benefits against global warming. The research was conducted by Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC (University of California) San Diego climate and atmospheric scientist V.

July 23rd, 2009 WASHINGTON - An Indian-American physicist has devised a cleaner and more efficient way of capturing carbon dioxide from its polluting source, like coal-fired power plants. Lawrence Livermore National Lab (LLNL) researcher Amitesh Maiti has come up with a screening method that would use ionic liquids -- molten salt that becomes liquid under the boiling point of water (100 degrees Celsius) -- to separate carbon dioxide from its source.

July 16th, 2009 WASHINGTON - In a new study, a scientist has said that the accidental discovery of a bowl-shaped molecule that pulls carbon dioxide (CO2) out of the air suggests exciting new possibilities for dealing with global warming, including genetically engineering microbes to manufacture those CO2 "catchers". According to J.

July 15th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A team of researchers has discovered an unexpected concentration of a certain isotopic molecule in parts of the stratosphere that could have implications for understanding the carbon cycle and its response to climate change. By analyzing samples of air taken from the stratosphere-the layer of Earth's atmosphere that sits between six and 30 miles above the surface-the team found a much higher concentration of 16O13C18O at high latitudes than expected.

June 25th, 2009 Calif. board weighs pollution tax on industriesSACRAMENTO, Calif. — California regulators are considering a proposal to impose the nation's first statewide carbon fee on utilities, oil refineries and other polluting industries.

June 20th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Deutsche Bank has erected a seven-story carbon clock in the center of New York City, which ticks off the tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) being emitted into the atmosphere. The move is being touted as a public relations move designed to raise awareness of global warming.

June 11th, 2009 WASHINGTON - In a new study, a team of scientists has found a direct relationship between carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and global warming. The study was done by Damon Matthews, a professor in Concordia University's Department of Geography, Planning and the Environment, along with colleagues from Victoria and the UK.

May 31st, 2009 LONDON - While many studies have predicted that global warming will cause widespread disruptions to ecosystems, a new study has found that a species of starfish may benefit from rising ocean temperatures and carbon dioxide concentrations. Previous studies have concluded that sea animals with calcified shells or skeletons, such as starfish, will suffer as carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels dissolves in the sea, making the water more acidic and destroying the calcium carbonate on which the creatures depend.

April 29th, 2009 To keep warming low, deeper pollution cuts neededWASHINGTON — If the world is going to limit global warming to just a few degrees, it has to slash carbon dioxide pollution much more than now being discussed, two new science studies say. Carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels — coal, oil and natural gas — is the chief cause of global warming.

April 15th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A new analysis has determined that the threat of global warming can still be greatly diminished if nations cut emissions of heat-trapping greenhouse gases by 70 percent this century. The analysis was done by scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR).

March 14th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Carbon dioxide released from the Antartic Ocean due to shifting wind patterns may drastically increase global warming, say scientists. Many scientists think that the end of the last ice age was triggered by a change in earth's orbit that caused the northern part of the planet to warm.

February 24th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Scientists hope to get a clearer picture of how the Earth reacts to carbon dioxide with the launch Tuesday of a new spacecraft designed to collect data on the climate-changing gas. The Orbiting Carbon Observatory is set for launch early Tuesday from California and will take about eight million measurements every 16 days for the next two years.