Climate Changer

Very large and unexpected burst of methane in the Arctic tundra shows new study out in Nature.    

The newly discovered surge of greenhouse gas is brought to you by International Polar Year. Thanks to that research push, a team led by biogeochemist Torben Christensen of Lund University, Sweden, got a two-month extension on the usual field season at a monitoring station in northeast Greenland. Scientists have been measuring methane emissions from far-northern tundra during the growing season for decades, but it had been assumed that once methane levels taper off in late summer, they stay at next to nil over the freezing fall and winter.
Continue reading Gas bursting from the frozen Arctic tundra

As mongabay reports some researchers have devised a scientific methodology for prioritizing conservation of limestone karsts. These limestone karsts are biologically-rich outcroppings found in Southeast Asia and other parts of the world. Reuben Clements of WWF-Malaysia reported that larger karsts support greater numbers of endemic snails - a proxy for biological uniqueness among other species - making them a priority for protection. This is according data from 43 karsts across Peninsular Malaysia and Sabah.

Continue reading Limestone karsts, the Asia’s islands of biodiversity are under threat from mining

US President -elect Barack Obama gave the first of his weekly addresses to the nation and declared “that his administration would mark a new chapter in American leadership on climate change.”

Few challenges facing America — and the world — are more urgent than combating climate change, he said. Many of you are working to confront this challenge….but too often, Washington has failed to show the same kind of leadership. That will change when I take office.

Continue reading Barack Obama and his New Chapter on Climate Change