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The geology of the planet: Welcome to the Anthropocene. THE Earth is a big thing; if you divided it up evenly among its 7 billion inhabitants, they would get almost 1 trillion tonnes each. To think that the workings of so vast an entity could be lastingly changed by a species that has been scampering across its surface for less than 1% of 1% of its history seems, on the face of it, absurd. But it is not. Humans have become a force of nature reshaping the planet on a geological scale—but at a far-faster-than-geological speed. A single engineering project, the Syncrude mine in the Athabasca tar sands, involves moving 30 billion tonnes of earth—twice the amount of sediment that flows down all the rivers in the world in a year.

Geologists care about sediments, hammering away at them to uncover what they have to say about the past—especially the huge spans of time as the Earth passes from one geological period to another. The carbon cycle (and the global warming debate) is part of this change. The new geology leaves all in doubt. Study: Shifting the world to 100% clean, renewable energy by 2030. L.A. Cicero Mark Z. Jacobson, professor of civil and environmental engineering Most of the technology needed to shift the world from fossil fuel to clean, renewable energy already exists. To make clear the extent of those hurdles – and how they could be overcome – they have written an article that is the cover story in the November issue of Scientific American. The key is turning to wind, water and solar energy to generate electrical power – making a massive commitment to them – and eliminating combustion as a way to generate power for vehicles as well as for normal electricity use. The problem lies in the use of fossil fuels and biomass combustion, which are notoriously inefficient at producing usable energy.

With vehicles that run on electricity, it's the opposite. Data from U.S. Jacobson and Delucchi used data from the U.S. "If you make this transition to renewables and electricity, then you eliminate the need for 13,000 new or existing coal plants," Jacobson said. Media Contact. Going Green but Getting Nowhere.

Global warming 'confirmed' by independent study. 21 October 2011Last updated at 01:29 By Richard Black Environment correspondent, BBC News Weather stations are giving a true picture of global warming, the group found The Earth's surface really is getting warmer, a new analysis by a US scientific group set up in the wake of the "Climategate" affair has concluded. The Berkeley Earth Project has used new methods and some new data, but finds the same warming trend seen by groups such as the UK Met Office and Nasa. The project received funds from sources that back organisations lobbying against action on climate change.

"Climategate", in 2009, involved claims global warming had been exaggerated. Emails of University of East Anglia (UEA) climate scientists were hacked, posted online and used by critics to allege manipulation of climate change data. Fresh start The group includes physicist Saul Perlmutter, a Nobel Prize winner this year Continue reading the main story “Start Quote End QuoteRichard MullerBerkeley group founder 'Time for apology' H2OIL : Canada’s home for top environmental jobs and leading environmental companies. Story of Stuff. Climate Change, White Roofs, and Common Sense. White roofs may not be so green. Sometimes It Gets Complicated Recently I’ve argued on TheGreenGrok.com that in some cases, as in discerning the long-term global temperature trend (or employing smart regulation when it comes to deepwater drilling) a little common sense will suffice. But sometimes the climate system can surprise you — what seems like common sense may prove to be not so commonsensical.

In a paper published in the Journal of Climate authors Mark Z. Jacobson and John Ten Hoeve of Stanford University argue that the climate impact of white roofs is a case in point. Be a Painter, Paint It White When faced with a tough problem, it’s often a good idea to start with the low-hanging fruit — the simple, easy stuff that gets the ball rolling.

In the case of global warming, white roofs looked to be the low-hanging no-brainer. Cool idea, right? Easy, But Not Such a Good Idea, Say Authors Jacobson and Ten Hoeve When you paint a roof white, there’s more happening than meets the eye. Recently on Streetfilms. Map shows stark divide between who caused climate change and who's being hit | Damian Carrington | Environment. Greater risk from increased extreme weather combined with limited social and financial ability to cope means the global south has the greatest vulnerability. Photograph: Maplecroft When the world's nations convene in Durban in November in the latest attempt to inch towards a global deal to tackle climate change, one fundamental principle will, as ever, underlie the negotiations.

Is is the contention that while rich, industrialised nations caused climate change through past carbon emissions, it is the developing world that is bearing the brunt. It follows from that, developing nations say, that the rich nations must therefore pay to enable the developing nations to both develop cleanly and adapt to the impacts of global warming. The point is starkly illustrated in a new map of climate vulnerability (above): the rich global north has low vulnerability, the poor global south has high vulnerability. Breathingearth - CO2, birth &death rates by country, simulated real-time - StumbleUpon.

Environnement. Environnement : Les animaux rapetissent avec le réchauffement climatique. Certaines espèces animales et végétales ont diminué de taille avec l'augmentation de la température et du C02 dans l'atmosphère. Lors d'un fort réchauffement de la planète il y a 55 millions d'années, certaines espèces avaient perdu jusqu'à 75% de leur taille. Le réchauffement climatique aurait une conséquence inattendue : le rapetissement des plantes et des animaux.

Selon un article paru cette semaine dans la revue scientifique américaine Nature Climate Change, la mise en perspective de plusieurs études démontrerait que l'augmentation de la température de l'air et de l'eau provoque une baisse de la taille des animaux, des plantes et des micro-organismes. Les biologistes David Bickford et Jennifer Sheridan, de l'université de Singapour, s'appuient notamment sur des études menées sur une précédente période exceptionnelle de réchauffement climatique.

Il y a 55,8 millions d'année, la température de la Terre a augmenté en moyenne de 6°C. Moins de nourriture pour les humains ? (avec agences) National Geographic - Inspiring People to Care About the Planet Since 1888. A Greener Future? | Video channel on TED.com.