Warmer Climate could stifle carbon uptake by Trees

A new CU-Boulder study indicates subalpine forests in the West will soak up less carbon dioxide as the climate warms and the growing seasons lengthen. Contrary to conventional belief, as the climate warms and growing seasons lengthen subalpine forests are likely to soak up less carbon dioxide, according to a new University of Colorado at Boulder study. As a result, more of the greenhouse gas will be left to concentrate in the atmosphere. "Our findings contradict studies of other ecosystems that conclude longer growing seasons actually increase plant carbon uptake," said Jia Hu, who conducted the …

ASUS’s N51V is First Notebook to Receive Carbon Footprint Certificate

Taiwanese company ASUS’s N51V notebook computer is the world’s first notebook computer to receive both Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) and carbon footprint (PAS 2050:2008) certificates. Based on EPD, ASUS follows BSI PAS 2050:2008 to implement Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) which includes five phases—materials, manufacturing, using, transportation, and disposal—and subsequently discloses completely the direct and indirect GHG emission data during each phase.

ASUS’ GHG Reduction Policy states that it supports the strategy to mitigate climate change and embrace the “no-regret policy” by reducing ASUS-owned …

Enzyme to clean up Pollution from Explosives

Scientists in the York Structural Biology Laboratory and the Centre for Novel Agricultural Products at the University of York have uncovered the structure of an unusual enzyme which can be used to reverse the contamination of land by explosives. The discovery is expected to support the development of plants that can help tackle pollution caused by royal demolition explosive, also known as RDX.

In fact, researchers at York have identified bacteria that use RDX as a food source and used that knowledge to develop transgenic plants that …

Scientists to produce Plastic from Banana Plants

Banana plants can be used in production of plastic products. Researchers at Queen’s University Belfast are pioneering a new technique to incorporate by-products from banana plantations in the Canary Islands into the production of rotationally moulded plastics. In addition to the environmental benefits, the project will increase the profitability of the plantation owners and help job security for those working in the area.

Mark Kearns, Rotational Moulding Manager at the Polymer Processing Research Centre in Queen’s School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, said: “Almost 20 …

Arctic Warming Reversing Long-term Cooling Cycle

The Arctic is warmer than ever. In fact it is now warmer than it’s been in the past 2000 years. This increase in Arctic temperature is reversing a long-term natural cooling cycle caused by a characteristic wobble in Earth’s orbit, an international team of researchers reported on Thursday in the journal Science.

How it happened? Thanks to Carbon dioxide and other gases generated by human activities on Earth. The Climate-warming greenhouse gas emissions disturbed a 21,000-year cycle linked to gradual changes …